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A Decade of Dynamic Discipleship A-Script: Acts 1 Intro: Did your ears catch the unbelievable story from Scripture this morning? Forty days after Good Friday, a group of men were convinced of t he reality that Jesus lived. Each of those who stood closest to Jesus believed that new power had entered his own life, a power that transcended the ugliness of that black day of crucifixion, It was a continual experience that confirmed over and again that Easter was real. But what about this story? One can understand Easter. Love over-coming the power of evil and hate. Life conquering the ugliness of death. Hope victorious over despair. Joy winning its way over sadness. But this story is something different. Is it not so ehhing one finds neatly produced on Twilight Zone. Or possibly an experience that would interest those enamored with ESP. Th is event could easily be taken up by Edgar Case and used in his speculations about the continual existence of the soul in newer forms of life. The story sounds fantastic. It looks as though, as we read it with 20th century eyes, the writer would give us the impression that Jesus was the first astronaut without benefit of a modern space suit and all the propulsion necessary to be pushed into the orbit of the heavenlies. Is this one of many events recorded in the Bible that tax the faith of modern men? Is it simply another story to which we shrug our shoulders and say, So what. So Jesus ascended into heaven. It doesn't seem plausible to me, but it doesn't matter. Yet Dr. Luke a careful historian, and a scientist in his time thought it important enough to include in history about the church as he writes to a man named Theophilus. And the church collectively seems to think it important too. In every calendar that governs the church year this event today is called Ascension Sunday, the time when Christ ascended into heaven. After we have finished playing with this story, we have to face the realities to which it points. I. Jesus leaves them to continue in a responsible relationship to him by faith. A. He calls them to maturity from infancy. 1. They had the experience--together they had followed Jesus. They had heard him speak, Blessed are you....They saw him in conflict with the religious leaders, " 0 you hypocrites They saw his tenderness with the needy 2. They had gotten the word. The callousness of their souls, the cataracts on their eyes, the fogginess of their minds. 3. Now he leaves. He cannot even be sometime who simply retires, and later may be called upon. lie physically leaves them. 4. Their relationship to this one is now by faith. They trust what their eyes have seen, what their minds had come to know, what their souls had experienced. B. How many times this has happened in history. 1. Martin Luther King's death. Many who believed in non-violence while he was alive turned to militancy when he died.
Object Description
Title of Sermon | A Decade of Dynamic Discipleship |
Author | Landwehr, Arthur |
Subject | Ascension, Jesus' Challenge to Disciples |
Date of sermon | n/a |
Type | Text |
Format | |
Number of Pages | 3 |
Language | English |
Biblical Book | Acts |
Verses | 1 |
Rights | For permission to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise use this image, please contact The Styberg Library by phone (847)866-3909 or email styberg.library@garrett.edu |
Collection | The Arthur Landwehr Sermon Collection (Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary) |
Identifier | 611 A Decade of Dynamic Discipleship.pdf |
Description
Title of Sermon | Page 1 |
Biblical Book | Biblical Book |
Collection | The Arthur Landwehr Sermon Collection (Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary) |
Transcript | A Decade of Dynamic Discipleship A-Script: Acts 1 Intro: Did your ears catch the unbelievable story from Scripture this morning? Forty days after Good Friday, a group of men were convinced of t he reality that Jesus lived. Each of those who stood closest to Jesus believed that new power had entered his own life, a power that transcended the ugliness of that black day of crucifixion, It was a continual experience that confirmed over and again that Easter was real. But what about this story? One can understand Easter. Love over-coming the power of evil and hate. Life conquering the ugliness of death. Hope victorious over despair. Joy winning its way over sadness. But this story is something different. Is it not so ehhing one finds neatly produced on Twilight Zone. Or possibly an experience that would interest those enamored with ESP. Th is event could easily be taken up by Edgar Case and used in his speculations about the continual existence of the soul in newer forms of life. The story sounds fantastic. It looks as though, as we read it with 20th century eyes, the writer would give us the impression that Jesus was the first astronaut without benefit of a modern space suit and all the propulsion necessary to be pushed into the orbit of the heavenlies. Is this one of many events recorded in the Bible that tax the faith of modern men? Is it simply another story to which we shrug our shoulders and say, So what. So Jesus ascended into heaven. It doesn't seem plausible to me, but it doesn't matter. Yet Dr. Luke a careful historian, and a scientist in his time thought it important enough to include in history about the church as he writes to a man named Theophilus. And the church collectively seems to think it important too. In every calendar that governs the church year this event today is called Ascension Sunday, the time when Christ ascended into heaven. After we have finished playing with this story, we have to face the realities to which it points. I. Jesus leaves them to continue in a responsible relationship to him by faith. A. He calls them to maturity from infancy. 1. They had the experience--together they had followed Jesus. They had heard him speak, Blessed are you....They saw him in conflict with the religious leaders, " 0 you hypocrites They saw his tenderness with the needy 2. They had gotten the word. The callousness of their souls, the cataracts on their eyes, the fogginess of their minds. 3. Now he leaves. He cannot even be sometime who simply retires, and later may be called upon. lie physically leaves them. 4. Their relationship to this one is now by faith. They trust what their eyes have seen, what their minds had come to know, what their souls had experienced. B. How many times this has happened in history. 1. Martin Luther King's death. Many who believed in non-violence while he was alive turned to militancy when he died. |