Podcasts Other Loop Church Chicago The Stage is Set

The Stage is Set

Published: June 6, 2019, 6 p.m.

This Sunday, Ascension Sunday, we will begin a new sermon series, Acts: Stories, Scenes, & Spirit. We will walk through the book of Acts paying attention to the ways in which God's Spirit was at work in the world forming a community called Church. It is a book that goes beyond objective historical reporting of the early church, but is described by Dr. Willie Jennings as, a book that produces a "life-giving historical consciousness...that pulls us toward a future with God in the new creation" (pg. 4).  

This week, we begin at the very start of this story, a sequel of sorts to the Gospel of Luke: Acts 1:1-12a. In this text we meet the living, breathing, resurrected Lord Jesus who spends 40 days on earth with the Apostles. During this time of preparation, Jesus offers instructions, speaks of promises, and calls the disciples to task. And just as the stage is set, Jesus disappears from the scene in a cloud bound for Heaven. 

How long should we look up at the clouds before responding to the instructions? How long should we wait to receive the promises? How will we know when we have been equipped for the task?

(6/2/19)