Call to Gather, Pray, and Worship God
Psalm 128:1-6
- Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in obedience to him. - You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours. - Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table. - Yes, this will be the blessing
for the man who fears the Lord. - May the Lord bless you from Zion;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life. - May you live to see your children’s children—
peace be on Israel.
Zion is the mount in Jerusalem on which the temple used to sit, the place “where God’s glory dwells” (Psalm 26:8). The primary content of the blessing being mentioned is in Psalm 128:2-4. Read it above and pray about your fear and obedience factors.
Jesus’ Departure to Heaven
Prior to Jesus’ death, His disciples were with Him nearly all the time. Granted there were times that the Lord went off by Himself to solitary places to meet with His Father unencumbered. But for the most part, He was always accessible to His closest followers.
After His death, He appeared to His followers (over five hundred of them – see 1 Corinthians 15:6). But something was different. They could not “follow” Him to the garden or next town or next location. Jesus would just disappear ‘into thin air’ as some say. And it happened multiple times. But this time – something is significantly different, as is His message to them before He disappears. Check it out as you internalize Jesus’ words so that they “remain in you” as our Immersion taught this week.
Acts 1:1-14
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 baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around 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.”
Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
From the Going of Jesus to the Coming of the Holy Spirit
John 20:21
“As the Father sent Me, I am sending You”
10 Day Prayer Challenge
Day 1: Ascension Day (May 14th)
Theme: Jesus
Pray that your friends or family encounter Jesus in all His grace, challenge, and love. Pray that they come to acknowledge with you and the Apostle Paul, ‘For me, to live is Christ.’
Day 2: Friday after Ascension (May 15th)
Theme: Praise
Pray for your friends or family to be awakened to all that they have already received from God in their lives, and all that He offers them in Christ, that they might in turn praise Him.
Day 3: Saturday after Ascension (May 16th)
Theme: Thanks
Pray for your friends or family to be awakened to all that they have already received from God in their lives, and all that He offers them in Christ, that they might in turn praise Him.
Day 4: Sunday after Ascension (May 17th)
Theme: Repentance
Pray that your friends or family are led by the Holy Spirit to understand the cost of God’s love for them in Christ’s death for their sins and that His sacrifice would lead them to repentance.
Day 5: Monday after Ascension (May 18th)
Theme: Offering of Self
Pray for the Holy Spirit to bring an understanding of life in its fullness to your friends or family to inspire them to put everything they have at the disposal of God.
Day 6: Tuesday after Ascension (May 19th)
Theme: Pray for their specific needs
Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of your friends or family through addressing specific needs or situations you know they face.
Day 7: Wednesday after Ascension (May 20th)
Theme: Help
Pray for your friends or family to know that they never have to face anything alone, but that in their need they can call on God for help.
Day 8: Thursday after Ascension (May 21st)
Theme: Adoration
Pray for the eyes of your friends or family to be opened to all that Jesus offers them and that they would turn their faces to Him and enjoy the warmth of His love.
Day 9: Friday after Ascension (May 22nd)
Theme: Celebration
Pray for yourself and others whom the Lord will send to help show your friends or family their route to God and that they would come to experience our loving Father God running to greet them.
Day 10: Saturday after Ascension (May 23rd)
Theme: Silence
Pray for the Holy Spirit to put on your heart the desires of life with God to include your family and friends.
The Day of Pentecost (May 23rd)
Theme: Thy Kingdom Come
Pray ‘Come Holy Spirit’ for your friends or family, that they may joyfully enter the Kingdom of God and find themselves used by God to pray and act out ‘Thy Kingdom Come.'