Slices
Prepare
Solar power harvests energy from the sun, turning it into power we can use. Jesus gives his followers a vision of Christian living that is charged with the presence of God on the inside. Pray: ‘Lord, empower me today.’
Bible passage
Jesus taken up into heaven
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’
6 Then they gathered round him and asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’
7 He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’
Explore
The ancient site of Stonehenge in the west of England is still shrouded in mystery. Its stone circle and burial chamber, composed of bluestone rocks, was somehow transported from west Wales and was on its present site thousands of years before the birth of Christ. Part of an elaborate religious system, it is aligned to make the most of the earth’s rotation around the sun. Jesus speaks here of an alignment that is needed in his disciples’ lives. He has already told them not to leave Jerusalem once he has left them (1:4) but to wait for a gift from God.
The Holy Spirit’s dynamic presence will effect change within the lives of his followers and also across the world. God’s power begins on the inside and works through the whole of creation. Broken by bereavement and then bewildered by the hope of his resurrection, their lives are soon to be transformed by a new power. Armed with this dynamic and elemental power, they will become living witnesses to God’s unfolding story.
Respond
Pray: ‘Lord, I thank you for this gift of power and I align myself to your loving purposes. May the light of your Spirit illumine my ways and help me be a living signpost to your kingdom.’
Deeper Bible study
Read the Bible in a year: 2 Samuel 17, 18; Psalms 52-54
Pray for Scripture Union
Thank God for the work of SU across the world. Pray for Sue Winning as she oversees the grants process which enables projects and national movements to be supported financially.
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