Prayer & Preparation for April 17th, 2022
This Lord's Day
Hey church,
I’d filed a couple of prayers regarding the Ascension that I’ll cite here. Let’s pray like this in anticipation of our worship this Lord’s Day:
“Father in heaven, we do join with you in exalting your Son. You have exalted him decisively to heaven’s throne, and now we exalt him in our praise, in spoken and sung and lived-out echoes of his majesty and worth. Not only is he risen, but he reigns. He ascended. He took his seat. And you crowned him Lord of all and wield all your divine power and authority through him—our brother—on heaven’s throne. In his marvelous and majestic name we pray. Amen.”
-David Mathis
“We bless you that our Lord Jesus has ascended to his Father and our Father, to his God and our God; has ascended on high, having led a host of captives in his train, and has received gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. That as the Forerunner he has for us entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf: a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, in the midst of the throne. That he is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. That he has gone before…and though where he has gone we cannot follow him now, yet we hope to follow him hereafter, when he shall come again to take us to himself, that where he is, there we may be also.”
-Matthew Henry
Here are some other details about the morning sermon and service that may inform your prayers and aid your preparation:
Songs:
“Come, People of the Risen King,” “Christ Our Hope in Life and Death,” “Behold the Lamb,” “Crown Him (Majesty),” and “Hail the Day”
Sermon title:
“The Heavens Were Opened!”
Supporting texts:
Genesis 1; Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 66; Luke 22:31-32; 24:49; John 14:12; 17; Ephesians 1:3, 22; 2:54-7; 4:7-16; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:14-16: 6:19-20; 7:25; 8:5; 9:24; 1 Peter 1:3-6
Relevant teaching:
“God made music for THIS. He gave us voices to sing THIS truth…. He wired the world and created humanity to break into song together over the victory that is almost too good for words: JESUS IS ALIVE! So we play strings and pound drums. We sing with gusto. This news is too great for whispers. This truth is too magnificent for indoor voices.”
-Mathis in Rich Wounds
“How far would Christ go in seeking and saving, in pursuing and wooing a bride for Himself? Some lovers say, “I’d go to hell and back for you.” Jesus is the only Lover who actually has. He suffered the horrors of hell because He loves His bride, and His sacrifice was the only way to deal with our sin. How far has he gone? ‘You came from heaven to earth…from the earth to the cross…from the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky. Lord, I lift your name on high.’ And He’s coming back to earth again, all for His bride…. So, please lean in and listen closely, because this is just a whisper of the love story that spans ages."
-Jeff Tague from his daughter’s wedding
“Before the throne of God above we have a strong and perfect plea,
A great High Priest whose name is love, who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on his hands; my name is written on his heart.
I know that while in heaven he stands, no tongue can bid me thence depart.
Hallelujah! Praise the One risen Son of God!”
“Jesus ascension into the presence of God gets all that he accomplished ‘down here’ to count for us ‘up there’ with God."
-Mathis in Rich Wounds
“The divine descended; but the human ascended”
-Turretin
“Soar we now where Christ has led, following our exalted Head.
Made like him, like him we rise; ours the cross, the grave the skies.”
Jeff Tague
