Sermon Text for Sunday June 1, 2014
To the Ends of the Earth
Acts 1:6-14 (NRSV)
So when they had come together, they asked him,
“Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods
that the Father has set by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.”
When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up,
and a cloud took him out of their sight.
While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven,
suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.
They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?
This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven,
will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet,
which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.
When they had entered the city, they went to
the room upstairs where they were staying,
Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus,
and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of[a] James.
All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer,
together with certain women,
including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
Throughout 2014, the Christian community at Brentwood Presbyterian Church is getting to know Jesus, the Christ, in a refreshing and transformative way. We invite you to listen for what the Spirit is saying in the text, then question how those insights might change the ways you see things and act in the world. Share your thoughts during the week on the meaning the Spirit creates for you in this text by posting a comment here.