17 May 2026 - Seventh Sunday of Easter – Year A

The Faith Action Programme would like to thank Rev Gordon Kennedy, Moderator Designate for the Church of Scotland General Assembly of 2026 and Rt Rev Rosie Frew, Moderator of the Church of Scotland General Assembly 2025, for their joint thoughts on the Seventh Sunday after Easter.

Introduction

Our Lord Jesus Christ was lifted up to the right hand of God and given the name that is above every name. In His glorious ascension Jesus, the King and Head of the church, gives gifts to every person for service in God's mission so that the ministry Christ began will continue until Christ comes again.

Hebrews 4:14—16
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (ESV)

In our worship this Sunday our focus is on the Ascension of Jesus, a time of endings and new beginnings, but there are other routes you may wish to follow – the community of believers, the power and majesty of God.

Gordon – The theme for my year will be Walk In All His Ways, (Deut 10:12). Our Lord Jesus Christ walked in the way His Father appointed for Him, all the ways from Bethlehem to Calvary and the empty tomb. Rising alive from the grave our Lord Jesus continued to walk in all the ways of His Father, He showed himself alive to the disciples and spoke with them about the Kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus now sits enthroned in glory and we follow Him, today we walk in all the ways God has appointed for us.

Rosie – The theme for my year has been Extravagant Love. God's love that is wide and long and high and deep. Love as deep as the incarnation when Christ humbled Himself to be born among us, love as deep as the cross where Christ died for us. Love so wide that it embraces all. Love so long that it will last until the end of time. As Jesus ascends to sit of the right hand of the Father in the highest heavens we see the height of His love.

Acts 1:6-14

The risen Lord Jesus Christ sets about building a new community. He meets with His disciples, speaking with them, teaching them (and us) the significance of the ministry He began and continues to fulfil. Jesus spoke with His disciples about the Kingdom of God, and the disciples ask Jesus about the fulness of the Kingdom (v. 6).

The new community of Christ will not be established by our working harder, or by our human ingenuity or strategic planning. The inauguration of the Kingdom of God is the work of God alone (v. 7). The Lord has determined how and when the fulness of God's Kingdom will be experienced, we do well to submit to Him.

It is the purpose of God that Christ equips and sends His disciples into all creation to serve the mission of God. Having been blessed by the presence and ministry of Jesus, the disciples are now sent out to bear witness to the good news of God's love in Jesus.

The witness bearing of the disciples is empowered by the ascension gift of God's Holy Spirit. Only in the power and presence of God's own Holy Spirit can the disciples of Jesus serve God's mission to bless all creation.

The ending of Jesus' earthly ministry is the beginning of the new ministry of the disciples of Jesus Christ. The gift of the Holy Spirit not only empowers for service but assures the disciples of the continuing presence of God with them. The ascension of Jesus is not a spectator event, it is not an interesting topic for conversation, it is a call to service. The disciples are to be devoted to prayer and committed to witnessing to the good news of Jesus.

Psalm 68:1-10,32-35

In the same way as an evening breeze blows away the eye–watering smoke from the garden fire pit, so shall the enemies of God be driven away from God's holy presence. Our God is the great God who rides above and across all creation and no opponent can endure His glorious coming.

God is great and exalted and yet has chosen to be made known to His people by the unique name, the LORD, (vv. 4, 32). In Himself God is the great Father of all who are fatherless, the strong defender of all who are weak and vulnerable. Our God arises in power and majesty to act in power and majesty to bless all creation.

In the Old Testament God displays grace in the works of the exodus. When God's people were oppressed and enslaved God arose and set His people free. He brought them out from their place of torment, guided them through a weary wilderness, revealed His covenant purposes on the mountain clouded with smoke and lightening.

The people of God do not find a home made with hands but coming to the one living God they are welcomed at home with God in His great goodness and in God's gracious provision for all who are in need.

The glory of God and His wonderful works are not only for one nation or one people - all the peoples of the earth - every kingdom and nation shall sing to the glory of God. The speaking God thunders His voice, a life–giving word that is heard in and from all creation. Those made righteous by God hear and obey His word (in Hebrew the one word can be translated into English as ‘hear' and ‘obey').

At the ascension our Lord Jesus Christ is lifted up by this mighty God into His eternal presence. All the power and authority of the presence of God is given to Jesus that He might reign as the King in God's Kingdom.

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

Peter is writing to the disciples as those who are "aliens and strangers" (2:11 NIV). The Lord Jesus Christ has ascended into glory; His disciples continue to follow Him enduring the fiery trial (v. 12). The disciples of Jesus suffered therefor it should not surprise anyone that we will suffer in our discipleship. We cannot follow a suffering Saviour and not like Him suffer.

The disciples of Jesus grow in living with suffering for the sake of the gospel. We know that our suffering is a small reflection of Christ's sufferings on the cross for us and our salvation. We learn endurance from the example of Jesus. We come to know that our suffering in following Jesus does not mean that He is not reigning in glory. On the contrary the glory of our King Jesus is displayed in our patient endurance of suffering. As we walk in all the ways of suffering, we mature in kindness and goodness towards those through whom suffering comes into our lives.

As disciples of the ascended Jesus we live humble lives, not making ourselves greater than we are – but in all things – magnifying the glory of Jesus. We depend upon the gracious care of our Lord for us in our need, we depend upon His strength that we might resist the devil.

The likeness of Jesus is to be seen in the lives of His disciples, especially when we are suffering for His sake.

John 17:1-11

On the night when He was betrayed and arrested Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, opens His heart to His ever–loving Father and graciously shares His intimate prayer with us. The Saviour Jesus knows that in a few hours all things will be changed in His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection. Jesus will walk in all the ways God has set before Him, enduring the cross, despising the shame and in His death finishing all the work His Father gave him to accomplish.

In humility Jesus lifts His eyes to heaven, to the eternal presence of God, then He speaks to the ever–living God while the disciples overhear His prayer.

The Father is asked to glorify the Son, so that in being glorified the Son may honour and glorify the Father (1, 5). The ascension glory of the Lord Jesus is not grasped by Jesus but is given to Him - not as a reward or a wage, but rather that He might continue to serve the great mission of God to renew and restore all things.

The Son prays that when He returns to the Father, the Father will keep all the disciples in His truth, in His word which they have received and believed - the work of keeping hold of the disciples the Son now entrusts to the Father.

The Lord Jesus has been held by His Father God and in the same way, all those who follow Jesus as disciples will now be held in God's powerful hand, kept safe with Him as we walk in all His ways.

Sermon ideas

Sermon idea 1

Walk in the ways of the Ascension of Jesus

1. The next step
A first step always implies a second step. You would look foolish if you were stuck half way through taking a step without completing it. Beginning a journey is good, but finishing is the goal. In Acts 1:1, Luke tells us that his gospel began to record all that Jesus "began to do and to teach". The implication of the verb began, ἤρξατο, v1, is that the second volume continues the story. This is an account of what Jesus continued to do. The beginning is good; the continuation is also good.
What does the story of Jesus ascension tell us about the next steps in the ministry of our Lord Jesus?

2. The disciples are now Jesus' witnesses, v8
What Jesus started to do is to call people to follow Him. On the cross Jesus sacrificed Himself that those who follow Him would be forgiven and reconciled to God. All those who follow Jesus, who are renewed and transformed by His death and resurrection are now to be His witnesses.

Witnesses – speaking about what you know, what you have experienced of the grace of the Lord Jesus.

Beginning in your neighbourhood and going on from there to the ends of the earth, you will never meet anyone to whom Jesus has not sent you to be a witness.

3. Jesus is lifted up, vv9-11
The disciples have so far depended upon the physical presence of Jesus. Now His body is lifted up to the highest place, what will the disciples depend upon as they give their witness?

The promise of the word, v 11. Through angels God speaks a word of promise. The same Jesus who is presently ascended will certainly and bodily come to His disciples again.

The gift of the Holy Spirit, v8, cf. Lk 24:48—49. The Holy Spirit is the power to enable us to bear witness, the Holy Spirit is the presence of the living God in us and with us as we give witness.

4. Walk in the ways of Jesus
The life and ministry of the Lord Jesus are examples for us, patterns of gospel service which we are to continue in the power of the Holy Spirit. It's time to way in His ways.

Sermon idea 2

Endings and beginnings

What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from. (TS Elliot, Little Gidding)

There's nothing worse than unsatisfactory endings and unfinished business.

The Ascension was about making a good ending. It would have been unthinkable that the appearances of the risen Christ should grow fewer and fewer until they finally petered out. That would have effectively wrecked the already fragile faith of His followers. There had to come a day of division when the Jesus of earth became the Christ of heaven. There had to come a day for Jesus and His disciples to say goodbye.

You may wish to imagine Peter's thoughts on that day....

Never again, Jesus,
shall we break bread together in this world.
Never again will You teach me to fish on Galilee.
Never again will I go walking on water with You.
Never again will You wash my feet.
Never again will You greet me from the dawn lit shore.
Never again will You sleep in my boat,
oblivious seemingly to the wind and waves.

Never again will You preach in my village, disturb our worship,
yet bring healing and hope to so many at evening.
Never again will You stay at mine and enjoy home cooking.
Never again will You rouse me from deep sleep
to watch with You and pray.

Never again, Jesus, this side of heaven will we laugh, weep and walk together.
Yet, sometimes, I feel sure,
You will still chide me:
for my lack of faith,
for my headstrong will and stubborn pride
and for my ignorant presumption.
Sometimes too – and I shall grieve at this –
I will sense your gaze
when I deny or betray You,
even though you are not there with me.

For whenever the cock crows,
I will weep.
Whenever fish are grilled on charcoal,
I will remember.
Yes, Jesus, I will so miss You.
A cloud has veiled You from my sight.

You have gone,
but only that part which eyes, ears and hands can sense.
And yet always You are and will be with us,
not as past memory, but as present tense and future hope.
Not as the carpenter, but as the king.
Not as the stranger, but as our friend.
Not as the victim, but as our Saviour.

We shall know You as the Scriptures burn within us.
We shall touch You in the neighbour that we love.
We shall hear You in the silence when we pray.
We shall see You when bread is broken and wine outpoured.
Yet these are but a foretaste of that joy –
when You will come, and we shall be with You forever,
and never cloud shall veil You from our sight.
(Found on https://anna1991thought4theday.blogspot.com/2011/06/nice-reflection-on-ascension.html)

Always You are and will be with us….

For me, this is the message of the Ascension. The disciples / we remain enfolded in Christ's love, and nothing can separate us from that love.

Community – in an age when loneliness is a major problem these passages speak about the importance of community – being part of a family, knowing You are one of God's people, the family of believers throughout the world, community of believers – they all joined together constantly in prayer, community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit (though that's jumping to Trinity Sunday!)

Prayers

Gathering prayer / Call to worship

Sing to God, sing praises to God's name;
lift up a song to the one who rides through the deserts;
whose name is the LORD;
exult before Him!
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in His holy habitation.

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace,
that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

A responsive setting

Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord,
to the one who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens,
who thunders with mighty voice.
Proclaim the power of God,
whose power is in the heavens.
You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to all people.
Praise be to God!

Confession / Repentance
Themes for this prayer include:

We have not believed God's word of promise,
We have not served as witnesses of grace to a needy world,
We have sought to serve in our own strength and in our own ways.

Thanksgiving / Gratitude

Ascended Lord Jesus we praise you.
Once You lived a human life subject to the limitations of time:
now You are the same yesterday, today and forever.
Once You were limited to one particular place:
now You are present wherever people turn to You.
Once only those who met You face to face knew You:
now Your divine love extends through all the world.
Jesus, ascended Lord of time and space,
love as wide as life, we praise and adore You, Amen.

From Words for Worship

Prayer for others / Intercession

Newspaper prayers – use the headlines in the weekend papers as the starting point for your prayers for others.
The theme of the ascension of the Lord Jesus can be used to guide requests,
e.g., that Jesus would give gifts of peace, welcome, wellbeing, blessing.

Blessing / Closing prayer

O God, the King of Glory,
who has exalted Your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph into Your Kingdom;
leave us not without comfort;
send to us Your Holy Spirit to be our Comforter
and to exalt us into the same place where our Saviour Christ has gone before us,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen.

adapted from Prayers for the Christian Year, 1952, service for the ascension of our Lord.

Musical suggestions

God Welcomes All (GWA) is the new supplement to Church Hymnary Fourth Edition. This exciting new collection features over 200 hymns and songs in a wide range of styles by writers from Scotland and around the world.

The full music and words-only versions are now available; and digital resources, including the expansion of the existing Church of Scotland music website, will be published in due course, with streaming functions and further information on each song; backing tracks; and lyric videos. God Welcomes All is available to order from https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786225573/god-welcomes-all

Our online music resource is on the Church of Scotland website; you can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship. You will also find playlists for this week and liturgical seasons and themes on the Weekly Worship and Inspire Me tabs.

You can find further musical suggestions for this week in a range of styles on the Songs for Sunday blog from Trinity College Glasgow.

• CH4 436 – "Christ triumphant, ever reigning"
• CH4 437 – "He is exalted"
• CH4 439 – "Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious"
• CH4 441 – "Blessing and honor and glory and power"
• CH4 443 – "He is Lord, he is Lord"
• CH4 444 – "Out of sight the Lord has gone"
• CH4 443 – "Alleluia, sing to Jesus!"
• MP 366 – "Jesus is King"
• MP 1141 – You're the Work of God the Father"
• Praise 477 – "All heaven declares"
• Praise 478 – "Ascend Christ, who gained"
• Praise 483 – "Hail, O once rejected Jesus"
• Praise 488 – "Heavenly hosts in ceaseless worship"

Reflecting on our worship practice

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the way we worship has changed and we need to reflect on the changing or newly established patterns that emerged and continue to emerge as a result of the disruption.

We can facilitate worship for all by exploring imaginative approaches to inclusion, participation and our use of technologies in ways that suit our contexts. This is not an exhaustive list, but some things we could consider are:

• Framing various parts of the worship service in accessible language to help worshippers understand the character and purpose of each part. This is essential for creating worship for all (intergenerational worship) that reflects your community of faith.
• Holding spaces for reflection and encouraging prayer to be articulated in verbal and non-verbal ways, individually and in online breakout rooms.
• In online formats the effective use of the chat function and microphone settings encourages active participation in prayer, e.g. saying the Lord's Prayer together unmuted, in a moment of ‘holy chaos'.
• While singing in our congregations is still restricted, we can worship corporately by using antiphonal psalm readings, creeds and participative prayers.
• Using music and the arts as part of the worship encourages the use of imagination in place of sung or spoken words.
• Use of silence, sensory and kinaesthetic practices allow for experience and expression beyond regular audio and visual mediums.

The following questions might help you develop a habit of reflecting on how we create and deliver content and its effectiveness and impact, and then applying what we learn to develop our practice.

• How inclusive was the worship?
  Could the worship delivery and content be described as worship for all/ intergenerational?
  Was it sensitive to different "Spiritual Styles"?
• How was the balance between passive and active participation?
• How were people empowered to connect with or encounter God?
  What helped this?
  What hindered this?
• How cohesive was the worship?
  Did it function well as a whole?
  How effective was each of the individual elements in fulfilling its purpose?
• How balanced was the worship?
  What themes/topics/doctrines/areas of Christian life were included?
• How did the worship connect with your context/contemporary issues?
  Was it relevant in the everyday lives of those attending and in the wider parish/ community?
  How well did the worship connect with local and national issues?
  How well did the worship connect with world events/issues?
• What have I learned that can help me next time I plan and deliver worship?

Useful links

You can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship in our online hymnary.

You are free to download, project, print and circulate multiple copies of any of this material for use in worship services, bible studies, parish magazines, etc., but reproduction for commercial purposes is not permitted.

Please note that the views expressed in these materials are those of the individual writer and not necessarily the official view of the Church of Scotland, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly.