Sermon illustrations for Ascension of the Lord (2025)
Illustration
Acts 1:1-11
The American middle class is still being squeezed. And there are too many Americans forever mired in poverty. A University of California at Davis study found that one-third to one-half of children who are poor for a substantial part of their childhood will be poor as adults. All this leads to despair, which the famed French existentialist Albert Camus defined as accepting your condition in life even when you can’t stand it (The Rebel, p.14).
Martin Luther claimed that the ascension reported in our text is the story of Christ setting us free from this despair and all its evils. As Luther put it:
he [Christ] has ascended in high and sits above in heaven, in order to imprison the prisons and chain up the stocks. The kingdom, office, and work which he has executed on high is that he has cast captivity into captivity. (Collected Sermons, Vol.6, pp.118-119)
John Calvin saw this text as testimony to the kingdom of God which helps us cope with present despair and sin by thinking about the heavenly realities in which things of the flesh do not matter. He wrote:
Therefore, we may properly set the world, the flesh, and whatsoever is in man’s nature against the kingdom of God, as contrary to it. For the natural man is wholly occupied about the things of the world, and he seeketh felicity here; in the mean season, we are as it were banished from God and he likewise from us; but Christ by the preaching of the gospel, doth lift us up in the mediation of the life to come. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVIII/2, p.37)
Luther says that though sin still tries to allure us now we can “trample it under foot…” . (Complete Sermons, Vol.6, pp.118-119)
Mark E.
* * *
Acts 1:1-11 and Luke 24:44-53
The Gospel of Luke seems to show Jesus ascending to heaven on the day of his resurrection. The Acts of the apostles specifically states that for forty days, Jesus taught the disciples about the kingdom of God. There are occasions when different evangelists recount stories of Jesus in very different ways, but this gospel and Acts were both written by Luke the physician and companion of Paul.
What gives?
I don’t think there’s an answer nor does there have to be. We all perceive the same period of time differently. There’s dental time (When will this ever end?) and vacation time (Didn’t we just get here?) which demonstrate that two hours can seem eternal, and two weeks can seem fleeting. My guess is that years after the ascension, Luke spoke with several of the apostles and disciples and heard more than one account of just how long Jesus abided with them.
Rather than choose, he told both stories. That’s probably what I would do.
Frank R.
* * *
Acts 1:1-11
The disciples, like us, want God to come and reign. It would be so much easier than us trying to make the world more like what God intended, struggling to live as Jesus instructed us. Couldn’t God just come to earth and solve everything? And yet, that’s not how faith works. We are called to move into the Holy Spirit gifts of courage, strength, and awareness that come to us. We are called to strive to create a just world, a world of love and compassion, a world where the least among us are treasured and cared for. Sometimes that’s hard work and it seems like the ideals of God, the hopes of Jesus for the world, are so very far away. Why can’t it just be as easy as God taking over?
Yet, I don’t know about you, but I like the freedom to choose. I like the freedom to act in faith, to love my neighbor (even when that’s a struggle). I want to be able to call on the Holy Spirit so I can be a better follower of Jesus today than I was yesterday. And I need to remember to ask for that grace, that courage, that compassion, and that love to enter me so that I can share it. Jesus may not be physically present with me, but I feel the movement of the Holy Spirit in my life. Do you?
Bonnie B.
* * *
Ephesians 1:15-23
I love the letters in which Paul prays about the faithfulness of the churches he planted. The church in Ephesus receives that greeting. Furthermore, Paul calls on the Holy Spirit to nurture the church, to give it wisdom and courage to continue in faith. That’s hard sometimes. It’s easy to follow the world and the world’s opinions and desires. It’s harder to remain focused on God and God’s hopes for us as individuals, communities, and the world.
Paul reminds the church, and us, that Jesus sits on the throne of God and loves us, leads us, redeems us as beloved. Jesus fills us. And yet, we have to allow ourselves to feel that love, that compassion, that forgiveness, and blessing. This Ascension Day let’s remember that Jesus is as close as our breath, as close as the breeze through the trees and the sun shining on us. What a blessing.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Ephesians 1:15-23
Robert Shannon shares this story. In the choir loft of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, you can see carved the letters “A E I O U.” Indeed, you can see them in many places in the Austrian capital. They stand for a Latin phrase which means “Austria Is Destined To Rule the World.” Today, Austria is a pleasant little country, beautiful and prosperous, but not a power among nations and in no position to rule Europe, let alone the world. The optimistic pronouncements of the past have been smashed by the hard facts of history.
Worldwide rule and dominion are difficult to achieve and most that have attempted to attain them do so for wrong reasons. There is one, though, who can and will reign over all things justly and lovingly. Paul writes about that in Ephesians 1. God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand in heavenly places. His reign is then described. “Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (vs. 21-23).
John Stott wrote, “To encounter Christ is to touch reality and experience transcendence. He gives us a sense of self-worth or personal significance, because he assures us of God's love for us.”
Bill T.
* * *
Ephesians 1:15-23
(This installment is adapted from my book “Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians,” part of the Immersion Bible Studies series, published in 2011).
Ephesus was one of the most important cities of Asia Minor, an ancient city that became part of the Roman Empire in 133 BC. At the time, its location at the mouth of the River Cayster made it an important trade center. Ironically, after the harbor was narrowed to improve navigation, the port became silted; and today the ruins of Ephesus are six miles inland.
Ephesus was a center for many faiths, including the cult of emperor worship. (This is alluded to in Revelation’s letter to the Ephesians). Most residents of this proud, sophisticated, and ancient city had a fierce nationalistic pride centered around the worship of the goddess Artemis. Her temple in Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
When Paul mentioned that Jesus is greater than “every ruler, authority, power, and dominion,” he is referring to the many different faiths and philosophies practiced in Ephesus – and certainly is also criticizing emperor worship without mentioning the emperor’s name. All of the above are mentioned so that the recipients of this letter know that they should be worshipping none of the above.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 24:44-53
Based on a true story, the film Bridge of Spies (2015) tells the story of lawyer James B. Donovan, who is called upon to defend an accused spy, Rudolf Abel. Abel is convicted but spared death. Later, Donovan is asked to travel to the Soviet Union to negotiate a prisoner trade involving Abel and a downed Soviet pilot. It’s Donovan’s public defense of Abel, however, that draws the most attention and public anger. He faces personal attacks. Still, he understands that in defending Abel, he is defending the values of the United States Constitution, and he uses the opportunity to give witness to those values both privately and in the courtroom.
Giving witness to essential matters is important. Jesus, before he ascends into heaven, charges his disciples to be witnesses. Jesus told the disciples, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
We have been commissioned to give witness, too. Will we show others Jesus Christ?
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 23:44-53
A 2008 Baylor University poll found that nearly one in two Americans believed in a distant, judgmental God (Paul Froese and Christopher Bader, America’s Four Gods). Not much has changed in American thinking on that score in the last decade and a half. Also, use the data in the first paragraph of the illustrations for the Acts text above. For Martin Luther, the Ascension challenges all our doubts and despair, for now we are effectively dwelling with Christ in all his heavenly glory. The reformer’s observations on the significance of the Ascension are profound. He wrote:
For Christ is a part of our flesh and blood, that is, our human nature sits in heaven above at the right hand of God… It is an unspeakably great glory and honor for humankind to have been raised so high by him, not merely to heaven among the holy angel and archangels… but to the level of direct equality with God himself. (Luther’s Works, Vol.13, p.243)
In another context, Luther also speaks of what we would lose without the Ascension. We would lose his presence in everyday life. As Luther puts it:
This and similar works of Christ should remind us that we must be very courageous and unafraid in times of sickness, pestilence, and life-threatening danger. At moments when the world says, “All is lost. The Christian responds, “Not so.” God still lives and Christ rules at the right hand of God. (Complete Sermons, Vol.7, p.25)
Mark E.
The American middle class is still being squeezed. And there are too many Americans forever mired in poverty. A University of California at Davis study found that one-third to one-half of children who are poor for a substantial part of their childhood will be poor as adults. All this leads to despair, which the famed French existentialist Albert Camus defined as accepting your condition in life even when you can’t stand it (The Rebel, p.14).
Martin Luther claimed that the ascension reported in our text is the story of Christ setting us free from this despair and all its evils. As Luther put it:
he [Christ] has ascended in high and sits above in heaven, in order to imprison the prisons and chain up the stocks. The kingdom, office, and work which he has executed on high is that he has cast captivity into captivity. (Collected Sermons, Vol.6, pp.118-119)
John Calvin saw this text as testimony to the kingdom of God which helps us cope with present despair and sin by thinking about the heavenly realities in which things of the flesh do not matter. He wrote:
Therefore, we may properly set the world, the flesh, and whatsoever is in man’s nature against the kingdom of God, as contrary to it. For the natural man is wholly occupied about the things of the world, and he seeketh felicity here; in the mean season, we are as it were banished from God and he likewise from us; but Christ by the preaching of the gospel, doth lift us up in the mediation of the life to come. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVIII/2, p.37)
Luther says that though sin still tries to allure us now we can “trample it under foot…” . (Complete Sermons, Vol.6, pp.118-119)
Mark E.
* * *
Acts 1:1-11 and Luke 24:44-53
The Gospel of Luke seems to show Jesus ascending to heaven on the day of his resurrection. The Acts of the apostles specifically states that for forty days, Jesus taught the disciples about the kingdom of God. There are occasions when different evangelists recount stories of Jesus in very different ways, but this gospel and Acts were both written by Luke the physician and companion of Paul.
What gives?
I don’t think there’s an answer nor does there have to be. We all perceive the same period of time differently. There’s dental time (When will this ever end?) and vacation time (Didn’t we just get here?) which demonstrate that two hours can seem eternal, and two weeks can seem fleeting. My guess is that years after the ascension, Luke spoke with several of the apostles and disciples and heard more than one account of just how long Jesus abided with them.
Rather than choose, he told both stories. That’s probably what I would do.
Frank R.
* * *
Acts 1:1-11
The disciples, like us, want God to come and reign. It would be so much easier than us trying to make the world more like what God intended, struggling to live as Jesus instructed us. Couldn’t God just come to earth and solve everything? And yet, that’s not how faith works. We are called to move into the Holy Spirit gifts of courage, strength, and awareness that come to us. We are called to strive to create a just world, a world of love and compassion, a world where the least among us are treasured and cared for. Sometimes that’s hard work and it seems like the ideals of God, the hopes of Jesus for the world, are so very far away. Why can’t it just be as easy as God taking over?
Yet, I don’t know about you, but I like the freedom to choose. I like the freedom to act in faith, to love my neighbor (even when that’s a struggle). I want to be able to call on the Holy Spirit so I can be a better follower of Jesus today than I was yesterday. And I need to remember to ask for that grace, that courage, that compassion, and that love to enter me so that I can share it. Jesus may not be physically present with me, but I feel the movement of the Holy Spirit in my life. Do you?
Bonnie B.
* * *
Ephesians 1:15-23
I love the letters in which Paul prays about the faithfulness of the churches he planted. The church in Ephesus receives that greeting. Furthermore, Paul calls on the Holy Spirit to nurture the church, to give it wisdom and courage to continue in faith. That’s hard sometimes. It’s easy to follow the world and the world’s opinions and desires. It’s harder to remain focused on God and God’s hopes for us as individuals, communities, and the world.
Paul reminds the church, and us, that Jesus sits on the throne of God and loves us, leads us, redeems us as beloved. Jesus fills us. And yet, we have to allow ourselves to feel that love, that compassion, that forgiveness, and blessing. This Ascension Day let’s remember that Jesus is as close as our breath, as close as the breeze through the trees and the sun shining on us. What a blessing.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Ephesians 1:15-23
Robert Shannon shares this story. In the choir loft of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, you can see carved the letters “A E I O U.” Indeed, you can see them in many places in the Austrian capital. They stand for a Latin phrase which means “Austria Is Destined To Rule the World.” Today, Austria is a pleasant little country, beautiful and prosperous, but not a power among nations and in no position to rule Europe, let alone the world. The optimistic pronouncements of the past have been smashed by the hard facts of history.
Worldwide rule and dominion are difficult to achieve and most that have attempted to attain them do so for wrong reasons. There is one, though, who can and will reign over all things justly and lovingly. Paul writes about that in Ephesians 1. God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand in heavenly places. His reign is then described. “Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (vs. 21-23).
John Stott wrote, “To encounter Christ is to touch reality and experience transcendence. He gives us a sense of self-worth or personal significance, because he assures us of God's love for us.”
Bill T.
* * *
Ephesians 1:15-23
(This installment is adapted from my book “Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians,” part of the Immersion Bible Studies series, published in 2011).
Ephesus was one of the most important cities of Asia Minor, an ancient city that became part of the Roman Empire in 133 BC. At the time, its location at the mouth of the River Cayster made it an important trade center. Ironically, after the harbor was narrowed to improve navigation, the port became silted; and today the ruins of Ephesus are six miles inland.
Ephesus was a center for many faiths, including the cult of emperor worship. (This is alluded to in Revelation’s letter to the Ephesians). Most residents of this proud, sophisticated, and ancient city had a fierce nationalistic pride centered around the worship of the goddess Artemis. Her temple in Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
When Paul mentioned that Jesus is greater than “every ruler, authority, power, and dominion,” he is referring to the many different faiths and philosophies practiced in Ephesus – and certainly is also criticizing emperor worship without mentioning the emperor’s name. All of the above are mentioned so that the recipients of this letter know that they should be worshipping none of the above.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 24:44-53
Based on a true story, the film Bridge of Spies (2015) tells the story of lawyer James B. Donovan, who is called upon to defend an accused spy, Rudolf Abel. Abel is convicted but spared death. Later, Donovan is asked to travel to the Soviet Union to negotiate a prisoner trade involving Abel and a downed Soviet pilot. It’s Donovan’s public defense of Abel, however, that draws the most attention and public anger. He faces personal attacks. Still, he understands that in defending Abel, he is defending the values of the United States Constitution, and he uses the opportunity to give witness to those values both privately and in the courtroom.
Giving witness to essential matters is important. Jesus, before he ascends into heaven, charges his disciples to be witnesses. Jesus told the disciples, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
We have been commissioned to give witness, too. Will we show others Jesus Christ?
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 23:44-53
A 2008 Baylor University poll found that nearly one in two Americans believed in a distant, judgmental God (Paul Froese and Christopher Bader, America’s Four Gods). Not much has changed in American thinking on that score in the last decade and a half. Also, use the data in the first paragraph of the illustrations for the Acts text above. For Martin Luther, the Ascension challenges all our doubts and despair, for now we are effectively dwelling with Christ in all his heavenly glory. The reformer’s observations on the significance of the Ascension are profound. He wrote:
For Christ is a part of our flesh and blood, that is, our human nature sits in heaven above at the right hand of God… It is an unspeakably great glory and honor for humankind to have been raised so high by him, not merely to heaven among the holy angel and archangels… but to the level of direct equality with God himself. (Luther’s Works, Vol.13, p.243)
In another context, Luther also speaks of what we would lose without the Ascension. We would lose his presence in everyday life. As Luther puts it:
This and similar works of Christ should remind us that we must be very courageous and unafraid in times of sickness, pestilence, and life-threatening danger. At moments when the world says, “All is lost. The Christian responds, “Not so.” God still lives and Christ rules at the right hand of God. (Complete Sermons, Vol.7, p.25)
Mark E.
