Dear Brothers and Sisters at Messiah,
Blessed Ascension Day to you!
Celebrated forty days after Easter, Ascension Day is the coronation celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ, as He is proclaimed King of the Universe. Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father -- everywhere in heaven and earth, with all the power and authority that were His since before time. Now He's with us always, as true God and true man! Meditating on His Word and remembering our baptism, we firmly grasp our triune God's love for us and receive a foretaste of the feast to come.
But our ongoing situation may cause doubts. It's Ascension Day -- but we're unable to celebrate like we have in previous years, with our brothers and sisters in St. Peter's at Rockford. We've developed draft guidelines for resuming in-person activities at Messiah (read them here and contact your elder with your feedback) -- but we don't know when that will happen.
In the meantime, how can we be sure Jesus still loves and cares for us? Because He continues to intercede for us with our Heavenly Father -- just as he did the night before His death, as recorded in this coming Sunday's Gospel:
“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” (John 17:5-11)
Speaking of this coming Sunday, here's our upcoming online worship schedule:
On Sunday, May 24, the Service of Prayer and Preaching will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel, beginning at 10 am. You'll be able to watch it as it happens by going to our YouTube home page! (learn how to subscribe to our YouTube channel below and never miss a service.)
An audio recording of the service will also be available; it'll be posted on Messiah's website and Facebook page by 12 noon on May 24.
There will be no Bible study on Memorial Day weekend (Sunday, May 24); we'll resume on Sunday, May 31 at 9 am, looking at Martin Luther's letter "Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague". You can get a head start by downloading the letter from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod website.
Thanks once more for your heartfelt response to our online services and your faithful, generous support of Messiah's ministry. On this Ascension Day, may the prayer of Christ's whole church be ours:
Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart & mind & continually dwell there with Him, who lives & reigns with You & the Holy Spirit, one God, now & forever. Amen.
Yours in Him,
Rick Krueger
P.S. If you subscribe to our YouTube channel, you can have direct links for new videos sent right to your email. (Also, getting over 100 subscribers will let us customize our channel's web address.) Here's how:
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2727 Five Mile Road NE
Grand Rapids MI 49525
616.363.2553
messiahgr@messiahg
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