Grace Presbyterian Church
Seeking to equip people to live as Christian disciples wherever God has placed them.
Welcome And Opening Prayer
Prelude All glory be to God on high J. S. Bach
Responsive Call to Worship
One: Saint Patrick prayed,
All: Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.”
One: May Christ be in our worship.
All: May his Spirit reign in our midst.
One: Let us worship God!
Hymn Red 268* “The Head That Once Was Crowned with thorns”
The head that once was crowned with thorns
is crowned with glory now;
a royal diadem adorns
the mighty victor’s brow.
The highest place that heaven affords
is his, is his by right,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
and heaven’s eternal light.
The joy of all who dwell above,
the joy of all below,
to whom he manifests his love,
and grants his name to know.
To them the cross with all its shame,
with all its grace, is given,
their name, an everlasting name,
their joy, the joy of heaven.
They suffer with their Lord below,
they reign with him above,
their profit and their joy to know
the mystery of his love.
The cross he bore is life and health,
though shame and death to him:
his people’s hope, his people’s wealth,
their everlasting theme!
Opening Prayer and Prayer for Illumination
First Scripture Reading (Unison) Acts 1:1-11
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Time with Children
Call to Confession
Confession of Sin
Merciful God, we confess that we often look to you to get things done when you look to us to be your hands and feet. We stand, flatfooted, looking up at the heavens when your Spirit calls us to get a move on. Forgive us when we shirk our responsibilities. We pray for zeal and for courage and for great generosity of spirit and love that knows no bounds. Thank you for your example and for continuing to be our inspiration. Amen. Time for silent prayer and reflection.
Assurance of Pardon
Gloria Patri
Passing of the Peace
Second Scripture Reading Ephesians 1:15-23
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 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.
Sermon Jesus Ascends Rev. Robin Miller Currás
Hymn Red 92* “Crown Him with many Crowns”
Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne;
hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own; awake, my soul,
and sing of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless king
through all eternity.
Crown him the Lord of life,
who triumphed o’er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife
for those he came to save;
his glories now we sing
who died and rose on high,
who died eternal life to bring,
and lives that death may die.
Crown him the Lord of love;
behold his hands and side,
rich wounds, yet visible above,
in beauty glorified;
no angels in the sky can fully bear that sight,
but downward bends their burning eye
at mysteries so bright.
Crown him the Lord of years,
the potentate of time,
creator of the rolling spheres,
ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
for thou hast died for me;
thy praise shall never,
never fail throughout eternity.
Affirmation of Faith from the Heidelberg Catechism
Q. How does Christ’s ascension to heaven benefit us?
A. First, he is our advocate in heaven in the presence of his Father. Second, we have our own flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that Christ our head will also take us, his members, up to himself. Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth as a corresponding pledge. By the Spirit’s power we seek not earthly things but the things above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand.
Offertory Voluntary on Pleading Savior Charles Callahan
Doxology
Prayer after the Offering
Pastoral Prayers/The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Hymn Red 263* “Alleluia, Sing to Jesus”
Alleluia, sing to Jesus!
his the scepter, his the throne:
Alleluia! his the triumph,
his the victory alone.
Hark! the songs of peaceful Zion
thunder like a mighty flood.
Jesus, out of every nation,
has redeemed us by his blood.
Alleluia! not as orphans
are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! he is near us;
faith believes, nor questions how.
Though the cloud from sight received him when the forty days were o’er, shall our hearts forget his promise,
Alleluia! heavenly High Priest,
here on earth our help, our stay;
Alleluia! hear the sinful
cry to you from day to day.
Intercessor, Friend of sinners,
earth’s Redeemer, hear our plea,
where the songs of all the sinless
sweep across the crystal sea. “I am with you evermore”?
Benediction
——————————————————————————————————————–
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84531485041?pwd=UXRMUGJIOFVOWUh4cFFRK3BoenVsQT09
Meeting ID: 845 3148 5041
Passcode: 391303
Phone In 19292056099,,84531485041# US (New York)
https://gracemontclair.org/covid-19/worship/