Ascension Sunday and Mother's day with Nancy and Randy Campbell

CALL TO WORSHIP:    ONE: Love one another.
ALL: This is The Way of Christ.
ONE: Serve one another.
ALL: This is The Way of Christ.
ONE: Live in peace with one another. ALL: This is The Way of Christ.
ONE: Seek justice for one another. ALL: This is The Way of Christ.
ONE: We are called to walk, speak and live all our lives with the love of Jesus.
ALL: Come, let us follow The Way, let us love one another, and let us worship Christ our Saviour.


PRAYER & THE LORD'S PRAYER:    Go and make disciples of all nations, says the Lord; I
am with you always, to the close of the age. Through Your most dearly beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who, after His most glorious resurrection manifestly appeared to all His apostles, and in their sight ascended up into heaven to prepare a place for us. Heave is where He is, and there we might also ascend, and reign with Him in glory.
Almighty God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, ascended to the throne of heaven that He might rule over all things as Lord. Keep the church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of peace, and bring the whole of creation to worship at His feet, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Now, as Jesus taught His disciples, let us pray together: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom, Thy will be done, on earth as it is 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, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.


SPECIAL MUSIC:    Hail The Day That Sees Him Rise    (#265 — vs. 1, 2 & 5)

​DRAMA MOMENT:  

What Does A Stay-At-Home Mom Do All Day?

​What does a stay-at-home mother do all day?


MOM -- (enters wearing pajamas, robe and slippers, reading book,
carrying a box of chocolates, sits)

DAD -- (from off stage) Honey, I'm home! (shouts) What on earth
happened. Honey! Are you alright.

MOM -- (without looking) I'm in the bedroom. (eats a piece of
candy)

DAD -- (enters wearing business suit, carrying suit jacket and
briefcase) Honey! Are you alright?!

MOM -- (without looking) Yes. I'm fine.

DAD -- You're still in your pajamas. Are you sick?

MOM -- (turns page) No. I feel fine.

DAD -- What happened around here?

MOM -- Nothing. It was just an average day.

DAD -- An average day?! How can you say it was an average day?!
Look at this house!

MOM -- I already looked at it.

DAD -- And you think THIS is NORMAL?!

MOM -- What I said was that this was an average day.

DAD -- How can you say this was an average day, when the entire
house looks like an explosion?!

MOM -- This is a really good magazine. Have you ever read these magazines?

DAD -- I think you've snapped a twig! There are dirty dishes
from two meals all over the kitchen.

MOM -- FOUR meals. The kids have two snacks every day.

DAD -- You don't think it's a bit unusual that every dish in the
cupboard is dirty?!

MOM -- I let the kids make their own meals today. They tend to
use a lot of dishes when they cook for themselves.

DAD -- And what was that WAD of wet clothes doing on the laundry
room floor?

MOM -- The kids wanted to help with the laundry, but they lost
interest.

DAD -- This is really weird!

MOM -- (distracted with magazine) Huh? What was that, dear?

DAD -- None of the beds are made. There are dirty clothes strewn
all over the floors. There's a mess in the bathroom....

MOM -- Oh, that. I let the kids give the dog his bath.

DAD -- Do you know what the kids are doing now?

MOM -- Last I checked on them, they were making mud pies.

DAD -- Well, they're now using the mud pies as weapons.

MOM -- You might want to tell them to clean up for dinner.

DAD -- What dinner?! There's nothing on the stove or in the
oven!

MOM -- I'm sure you'll find something.

DAD -- There's nothing to find! The refrigerator and cupboards
look like Old Mother Hubbard! What's going on here?! What are
you up to?

MOM -- Actually, I'm not up to anything.

DAD -- You're up to SOMEthing! I know it!

MOM -- I'm just answering your question.

DAD -- What question?

MOM -- You asked me what I do all day.

DAD -- Yes, and you couldn't tell me.

MOM -- Does THIS answer your question?

DAD -- (looks around) I think I owe you an apology.

MOM -- An apology?

DAD -- Yes, I've always thought that I was the only one in this
family who works for a living. But, as a matter of fact, I
wouldn't dare to trade jobs with you, regardless of salary.

MOM -- Why, thank you for your acknowledgement.

DAD -- Now, can we please eat dinner?!

MOM -- (reading) Sure. Let me know when it's ready.

DAD -- (exiting) Oh, you're going to play THAT game, huh? Well,
I'll just order delivery pizza.

MOM -- Sounds good to me.

DAD -- (reenters) I can't find the phone number. Can you call?

MOM -- (exits with Dad) Sure. You can count on me!

©2013 Bob Snook. 

Offertory Prayer: Heavenly Father, You have provided us with a family, friends, a home and food to eat for each day. As You have been generous to us, we offer You these gifts as symbols of our utmost gratitude for Your kindness. Bless us, Father, with continues blessings. Forever in Your glory, Lord, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen

CHILDREN'S TIME:   

Up, Up and away

​Scripture: When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. Luke 24:50-53 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." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. Acts 1:8-9

.I do not love balloons. But a lot of people do. The only kind of balloon I can live with is this kind with helium.

There are so many things you can do with balloons. Some people can make balloons into various shapes. That is fun to watch! There are also a lot of different games you can play with balloons. You can tie them around your ankle and play "Stomp the Balloon" or you can fill them with water and have a water balloon fight.
One of the most enjoyable things one can do with a balloon is to fill it with helium. I am sure you know that when filled with helium, a balloon floats in the air. If you don't want it to get away from you, it is a good idea to hold on tight or tie it around your wrist. But it is also quite enjoyable when it does float away from you. It is fun to stand and watch as the balloon floats higher and higher into the heavens until it totally disappears. The only way to experience that is to be willing to let it go.
When Jesus was ready to return to heaven, he took his disciples aside to make sure that they understood everything that had happened to him. He explained why it was important for him to be crucified and to be raised from the dead to fulfill what the Scriptures had said about him. He also told them that he was going to return to his Father in heaven, and that the Holy Spirit would come to be with them.
At first, the disciples were sad that Jesus would be leaving them, but then the Bible tells us that Jesus opened their minds so they would understand. Then, an amazing thing happened. The Bible tells us that Jesus lifted his hands and blessed his disciples. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. (Release your balloon and watch it float to the ceiling.)
I don't know how all of this looked, but in my imagination I can see the disciples standing and watching as Jesus ascended higher and higher until he disappeared from view. Were the disciples sad? No way! The Bible tells us that when Jesus had ascended into heaven, the disciples worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
There they stayed continually in the  temple, praising God_
We are here today for the very same purpose. We have come into the temple to worship him with great Joy!

Dear Father, we thank you for sending Jesus, your only Son, to die for our sin. We know that he has risen from the dead and has returned to heaven. Bless us today as we worship him with great joy! Amen.

MEDITATION: A Praying Mother
​

Let us pray: Lord God, we pray for mothers everywhere. Like Samuel's mother, may they have wisdom to know how to protect their children and keep them from harm. Like Naomi, may they be able to turn hard situations into good. Like Lois and Eunice, may they be ready to share the love of Christ with their children.

We thank You, Lord, for all the other examples of faithful mothers in Scripture, like Sarah and Elizabeth. We are mindful this day of all these women, and especially Mary, the mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who had the courage to say yes to Your calling. In all that mothers give to others, may they have the joy of knowing that they, too, are children, held in the love and care of God. Bless them on this special day.
Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah. The other wife, Peninnah, had several children, but Hannah was barren. Despite the fact that she couldn't have children, her husband was very devoted to her, and Hannah remained the favourite. Peninnah was jealous and set out to make Hannah's life miserable. Every day she said to Hannah; "You are childless, Hannah, and therefore you're worthless."

What hurtful words, but Hannah did nothing to retaliate. She prayed to God and wept. She must have cried many tears knowing that she would never nurture or love a child of her own. This pain of hers would go on for many years.

Each year the family travelled from their home in Ramah to the temple at Shiloh. And every year Hannah watched other parents celebrating with their children. She was left to the side as her husband, Elkanah, offered sacrifices and gave gifts to his children and their mother, Peninnah. All Hannah could do was to silently grieve alone. She was suffering depression, she couldn't eat and she was emotionally drained.
Elkanah tried to console her, as any good husband would do. But, like most men, he spoke before really thinking about what he was saying. He said to Hannah, "Why get so upset over no children? You have me, and that's better than having ten sons!" Can you imagine ladies?

If my husband said something like that to me under the same circumstances, I'm not sure how good a Christian I would be at that moment. But I do understand what Elkanah was trying to do. Being a good husband, he wanted his wife to be happy — happy wife, happy life. Let's face it, it's more pleasant and fun to be around a happy person. But despite the well-meaning effort of her husband, Hannah remained depressed. She desperately wanted a son of her own. worship God, and that little boy, Samuel, knew how to worship God, because he had learned how from his mother. If you want your children to learn how to worship, then you must worship with them. Include them in the church service, in Bible study and meal-time prayers.

Remember Jesus' parable about the men who built homes, one upon the sand and the others upon the rock. A storm came and destroyed the one built on the sand, but the homes on the rock stood strong. Jesus was teaching us to build our life on the rock, which Hannah did by being an example of worship.

Hannah had three more sons and two daughters, but she never lost her devotion to Samuel. Hannah continued to pray, in good times as well as bad, and she continued to worship. She appreciated the many gifts God had given her and she thanked Him every day.

This wonderful woman can teach us how to be a good mother, or father, for that fact. Hannah teaches us to make a commitment to lead our children to serve God — to be a model and example to our children. Our relationship with God through Christ fuels our trust, commitment and life.

As you leave today, ask yourself these four questions:
-    Can you trust God with your children? You can if you trust God with your life -Can you lead your children to serve God? You can if you serve God
-    Can you lead your children to worship God? You can if you worship God
-    Can you lead your children to become great men and women of God, people God can use to spread His Word? You can if you have built your life upon the rock and have a real relationship with Christ.

Hannah's story offers us many things that we can do today. She turned to God in prayer during her time of need. She praised and thanked Him when He answered he prayer. She kept her commitment to the Lord, even though it must have been extremely difficult for her. God blessed her beyond what she had asked.

Hannah's story has been an inspiration to women who have struggled. Her attitude of prayer and dependence on the Lord is a powerful example for us today. She is a real role model. Hannah's love for her son bore fruit. The Bible says, "As Samuel grew, the Lord was with him and people listened carefully to his advice." A mother couldn't ask for a better tribute to her son. And this is the only one of its kind in the whole Bible.

So Hannah, on this Mother's Day, we salute you. Through your trust in God, you caused wonderful things to happen. You have shown us how to do the same. Thank you, Hannah, for touching our hearts and setting such a wonderful example for us today.