Ascension 2020. Holy Communion
7 PM Central Daylight Time, May 21st, 2020
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The melody is linked under the name of the hymn.
The lyrics are linked to the Bethany Lutheran Hymnal page.
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that like as we
do believe Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to have ascended
into the heavens, so may we may also in heart and mind thither ascend and with
Him continually dwell; who liveth, etc.
The Gospel Mark 16:14-20
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #656 Behold a Host
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #656 Behold a Host
The Ending Rejected by the Great and Mighty
The Hymn #341 Crown Him with Many Crowns
The Hymn #341 Crown Him with Many Crowns
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #294 O Word of God
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #294 O Word of God
In Our Prayers
- Randy Anderson is having another round of chemo.
- Pastor Jim Schroeder is having an angiogram today.
- Pastor Palangyos is delivering rice to his mission - food is short.
- Norma Boeckler's area (Midland - Sanford, Michigan) has passed the highpoint of the flood. Her home is in the danger zone.
- Those being treated for cancer and continuing therapy.
- Our national leaders, the justice system.
- Those suffering from the floods in Michigan.
KJV Luke 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. 50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
[The ending of Luke fits with the opening of Acts, which Luke also wrote.]
KJV Acts 1:1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
KJV Mark 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Ascension
O Jesus Christ, Thou almighty Son of God, who art no longer in humiliation here on earth, but sittest at the right hand of Thy Father, Lord over all things: We beseech Thee, send us Thy Holy Spirit; give Thy Church pious pastors, preserve Thy word, control and restrain the devil and all who would oppress us: mightily uphold Thy kingdom, until all Thine enemies shall have been put under Thy feet, that we may hold the victory over sin, death, and the devil, through Thee, who livest and reignest with God the Father and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
The Ending Rejected by the Great and Mighty
KJV Mark 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
Concordia Publishing House and the LCMS returned to their Seminex roots this year by excluding the ending of Mark's Gospel from the Bible. This took many years.
- The traditional text was mocked as being too Christian by the modernists who gradually influenced the professors first, the pastors second.
- Everyone clamored for a modern Bible, but that did not go well when the Virgin Birth was removed with the burdensome thees and thous.
- The seminarians had to be trained to mock the KJV, which not only uses the traditional text, but also remains very close to the Luther Bible, thanks to Tyndale. Eventually the seminarians all grew up with the ESV, RSV, NIV, and Good News.
- Now the laity are sufficiently asleep and the pastors misled to believe the modern Bibles are scientific and good, the KJV family crude and bad.
- For instance, the ending of Mark's Gospel - Mark 16:9ff - is too much in harmony with the other Gospels! Oh no, that cannot be, say the great and wise. They know better.
At this point, nothing in the Bible is normative for the great and wise, except tithing. Everyone is against legalism until they get to tithing, which was never taught by Jesus. Robert Marshall, who was death on anything traditional and Christian, was very tough on giving to his favorite socialist causes.
We can see another reason for the apostates to hate this passage - Jesus scolded the disciples for their unbelief. That was the chief criticism of Jesus aimed at the disciples during His public ministry too - "O ye of little faith!"
The foundation of sin is unbelief. Since unbelief is easily built up, sometimes by neglect, at other times by false teaching, we must guard against the encroaching effect of lacking faith in Christ. I was out in the Creation Garden this afternoon, cutting roses.
Earlier today, Ranger Bob asked about the caterpillars on the Butterfly Weed. He charged me to leave the alone - "They are beautiful!" Each plant has its favorite butterflies. Monarchs love Milkweed and that family of flowers. Butterfly Weed is an orange flowered version, getting ready to bloom now. It needs the insect, and the insect needs it. Who wrote the software for that relationship?
Meanwhile, I favor tiny flowers for tiny insects, because they cause mayhem for rose pests. If I leave them all alone, the beneficial insects feed the pests to their young, and the young grow up to be just like the parents.
Someone who does not believe in Creation by God's Word - the Logos - the Son of God - will get all the garden relationships wrong and bomb the garden with poisons, which kill everything.
Jesus scolded the disciples because they had trouble believing He was risen from the dead. That is understandable to some extent, but they were taught, just as we are. It does not matter what others teach, because the Scriptures teach us the truth. The Bible judges all books.
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
We can see that the disciples had faith after the risen Lord's teaching and His Ascension. They went out and did the impossible as a tiny minority in a pagan empire that persecuted them.
That is the only method - to proclaim the Gospel Word, which plants faith in the hearts of those who listen with sincerity.
James 1 wrote about Christ being grafted onto us.
18 Of his own will begat He us with the Word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
21 Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
I was thinking about the Monk of Mokha, since a reader got me interested in the true story of coffee from Yemen. The young man's girlfriend got him interested in a statue, and once he found out what it was (symbolizing Hills Brothers Coffee), he became a coffee fanatic. He had the ability and connections to realize his unusual dreams.
It reminded me of how God fires us certain abilities in believers and uses that for His glory. It often starts with marriage, when allowed, since people marry opposites who also have different talents. So we are all set up by God to accomplish different things in His Name.
This is in harmony with the Creation theme of the Bible. We are the firstfruits of His Gospel energy, implanted by the Word.
All the roses on the altar are grafted. The base is wild and tough. The top is a hybrid tea rose or a multiflora that has special colors, fragrance, petals, and leaves.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Jesus taught them the simple truth about faith - the access to God's grace. By loving Jesus for His gracious mercy we receive the love of God the Father.
Baptism accompanies faith. The baby hears the Gospel in baptism and has faith in the Gospel Promises. The Spirit dwells in that tiny believer. Those who come to faith as adults naturally have the motivation to seal their faith in Holy Baptism.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
The signs are miracles from God, which deeply offend the great, wise, and mighty. The foolish tempt God and dance with rattle-snakes in a kind of common more in harmony with devil worship than with the Gospel. The protests against this part is like the protests against the ending. They lack faith and fail to see this as a selection of the kind of miracles that accompany God's work.
19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
No wonder the apostates are offended with Mark. The Ascension is in agreement with Matthew and Luke - three witnesses. John's Gospel concludes all this with his basis thesis - all being told so that you might have faith and that in faith salvation and everlasting life.
