COMING SOON: Celebrate Moms
Ascension Day
Compared to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Ascension Day gets little notice—if any at—all in churches that do not follow a liturgical calendar. Yet, the ascension of Jesus Christ, His return to the glories of heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father, is an essential and hopeful part of His redemptive work.
Matthew Burden’s 2022 article Why Christ’s Ascension is Essential is a helpful resource for understanding the significance of Jesus’ return to heaven. Through this link, the article has been unlocked for you, without a subscription.
Interested in learning even more? Consider the following resources, also unlocked for subscription-free access:
David Moffitt (May 21, 2020), What’s Up with the Ascension?
Malcolm Guite (2015), Ascension Day (a sonnet)
Robert H. Lauer (April 24, 1961), The Richness of the Ascension
Wendy Alsup (May 10, 2018), Carrying on After Jesus is ‘Gone’
Read the Bible: Psalm 69
Save me, God,
for the water has risen to my neck.
2 I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing;
I have come into deep water,
and a flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary from my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without cause
are more numerous than the hairs of my head;
my deceitful enemies, who would destroy me,
are powerful.
Though I did not steal, I must repay.
5 God, you know my foolishness,
and my guilty acts are not hidden from you.
6 Do not let those who put their hope in you
be disgraced because of me,
LORD GOD of Armies;
do not let those who seek you
be humiliated because of me,
God of Israel.
7 For I have endured insults because of you,
and shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers
and a foreigner to my mother’s sons
9 because zeal for your house has consumed me,
and the insults of those who insult you
have fallen on me.
10 I mourned and fasted,
but it brought me insults.
11 I wore sackcloth as my clothing,
and I was a joke to them.
12 Those who sit at the city gate talk about me,
and drunkards make up songs about me.
13 But as for me, LORD,
my prayer to you is for a time of favor.
In your abundant, faithful love, God,
answer me with your sure salvation.
14 Rescue me from the miry mud; don’t let me sink.
Let me be rescued from those who hate me
and from the deep water.
Psalm 69:1-14 (CSB)
Read all of Psalm 69 using the link below.
Read the Bible: Psalm 68
God arises. His enemies scatter,
and those who hate him flee from his presence.
2 As smoke is blown away,
so you blow them away.
As wax melts before the fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.
3 But the righteous are glad;
they rejoice before God and celebrate with joy.
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name.
Exalt him who rides on the clouds —
his name is the LORD — and celebrate before him.
5 God in his holy dwelling is
a father of the fatherless
and a champion of widows.
6 God provides homes for those who are deserted.
He leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a scorched land.
7 God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the desert, Selah
8 the earth trembled and the skies poured rain
before God, the God of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 You, God, showered abundant rain;
you revived your inheritance when it languished.
10 Your people settled in it;
God, you provided for the poor by your goodness.
Psalm 68:1-10 (CSB)
Read all of Psalm 68 using the link below.
Sunday School is for All Ages!
Exodus 10:21-29 recounts the ninth plague, the plague of darkness. Frankly, after water turned to blood, heaps of dead frogs, festering boils, dead livestock, hail strong enough to kill even people, and apocalyptic clouds of locusts to strip all the hail did not, simple darkness sounds a little anticlimactic.
Until we recall that the chief god of the Egyptian pantheon was Ra, the sun god. And the Egyptian Pharaoh was considered the embodiment of Ra, thus achieving divine status. Egyptian legend believed that each night after the sun had set, Ra wrestled with the serpent of darkness all night long. The Egyptians knew Ra had defeated the serpent when the sun rose again the next morning.
But the sun didn’t rise on this morning, or for two more mornings that followed. All of Egypt—except for Goshen where the Hebrews lived—was plunged into a three day darkness so weighty and oppressive that it could be felt. When the sun does not dawn for three days, what is Egypt to conclude about the power of Ra and of the Pharaoh said to be his embodiment?
But God made a distinction between Israel and her enslavers. We read in verse 23, “Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.”
The people of God today still live adjacent to a darkness that can be felt, yet still have light right where we live. Centuries later, the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth:
But if our gospel is veiled [darkened], it is veiled to those who are perishing. In this case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).
Sunday School for all ages begins weekly at 9:45 AM. All are warmly welcome.
[Thanks to God of Deliverance: A Study of Exodus 1-18 by Jen Wilkin for the back story of the nightly battle between Ra and the serpent of darkness.]
Read the Bible: Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us;
may he make his face shine upon us Selah
2 so that your way may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations rejoice and shout for joy,
for you judge the peoples with fairness
and lead the nations on earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, God,
let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has produced its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Psalms 67:1-7 (CSB)
REMEMBER: Honor a Mother and/or Father Figure
ABSOLUTE DEADLINE FOR MOTHER FIGURES IS MAY 5, 2024.
The fifth of the Ten Commandments instructs Christ followers to give honor to those who have served as mother or father figures. There are countless ways to follow this commandment and ahead of Mother’s (May 12) and Father’s Day (June 16), we’d like to offer one more.
Use the button below to read more and to submit information for a mother or father figure you would like to give honor.
Questions? Contact us.
Read the Bible: Psalm 66
Let the whole earth shout joyfully to God!
2 Sing about the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are your works!
Your enemies will cringe before you
because of your great strength.
4 The whole earth will worship you
and sing praise to you.
They will sing praise to your name.” Selah
5 Come and see the wonders of God;
his acts for humanity are awe-inspiring.
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
and they crossed the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
7 He rules forever by his might;
he keeps his eye on the nations.
The rebellious should not exalt themselves. Selah
8 Bless our God, you peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard.
9 He keeps us alive
and does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For you, God, tested us;
you refined us as silver is refined.
11 You lured us into a trap;
you placed burdens on our backs.
12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us out to abundance.
13 I will enter your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay you my vows
14 that my lips promised
and my mouth spoke during my distress.
15 I will offer you fattened sheep as burnt offerings,
with the fragrant smoke of rams;
I will sacrifice bulls with goats. Selah
16 Come and listen, all who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth,
and praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had been aware of malice in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 However, God has listened;
he has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God!
He has not turned away my prayer
or turned his faithful love from me.
Psalms 66:1-20 (CSB)
Read the Bible: Psalm 65
Praise is rightfully yours,
God, in Zion;
vows to you will be fulfilled.
2 All humanity will come to you,
the one who hears prayer.
3 Iniquities overwhelm me;
only you can atone for our rebellions.
4 How happy is the one you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple.
5 You answer us in righteousness,
with awe-inspiring works,
God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the distant seas.
6 You establish the mountains by your power;
you are robed with strength.
7 You silence the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves,
and the tumult of the nations.
8 Those who live far away are awed by your signs;
you make east and west shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly,
enriching it greatly.
God’s stream is filled with water,
for you prepare the earth in this way,
providing people with grain.
10 You soften it with showers and bless its growth,
soaking its furrows and leveling its ridges.
11 You crown the year with your goodness;
your carts overflow with plenty.
12 The wilderness pastures overflow,
and the hills are robed with joy.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks
and the valleys covered with grain.
They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.
Psalms 65:1-13 (CSB)