Sunday 17 May 2026
Ascension
Welcome!
Welcome to excerpts from the worship held within the newly formed Westhills Church of Scotland Congregation. We know that not all members of the congregation are able to be in church on Sunday morning; offering these excerpts from the Sunday morning service might help you feel included. Where we can, we offer parts of the service in text and audio, whichever works best for you.
If this post helps you explore what happens within an act of worship then please read on…
The Psalms
Psalm 68: 5 – 10
Live recording
Your Weekly Church Notices
Scripture
Acts 1: 6 – 14
Live recording
John 17: 1 – 11
Live recording
Praise – Come let us sing of a wonderful love
Prayers
Live recording
God of life and love, how often have we been told that you are not a remote uncaring God far from those who call to you in prayer, yet maybe we have been slow to believe?
And how often have we heard that before we call to you, you are already answering, and before we speak you are already listening, yet maybe we have been deaf to that truth?
Lord, we have faith; help us when faith falls short.
And how often have we been assured that nothing whatsoever in the world as it is, or was, or shall be, can separate us from your love yet, we have been reluctant to trust that it is so?
Lord, we have faith; help us when faith falls short.
And when you ask us to believe the impossible, to believe that you rose from the dead, that you ascended into heaven, that you are forever with us in the power of your Spirit, open not only our hearts but our minds to the possibility of a God who can, who is so much greater, so much more powerful that we can ever imagine.
Lord, we have faith; help us when faith falls short.
Draw near to us now that we may open ourselves to your gracious presence. Subdue the powers that would draw us away from faith and distract us from the truth of who you are. Breathe on us the spirit of love that conscious of being held in your embrace, we may in return touch other people’s lives with love, and so reflect in our living the way that is Christ.
Lord, we have faith; help us when faith falls short.
This is grace; that when our faith falls short, you come to us in undeserved love to lift us up, to accept us as we are in all our shortcomings. We bring our gifts, an offering that falls short of all you offered to us yet, in grace you accept what we bring. You see the loving heart. Father, in us you see the image of your Son.
Hear us as we join in the words of the Lord’s Prayer saying…
Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in 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. Amen.
Address
Live recording
We are fortunate to have the story of Jesus life contained in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke andin a different way within John’s Gospel. That whole sense of what Jesus said, and what he did and where he went helps to fix in our minds the reality of his worldly presence, his finite humanity. But every so often that story leads us off in a different direction when we are confronted by things not associated with everyday life. What about those miracles he performed? The lame he made walk and the blind he made see, and the feeding of the five thousand, and Lazarus he raised from the dead? And the water he turned into wine?
For a long time people have questioned what it is we are meant to do with the miracles – did they actually happen? What do they mean? Are they simply revealing a timeless truth? Are they just the literary tool of an author, something akin to a figure of speech, to make Jesus seem more special than he actually was?
And then we have some stories that are even more challenging than the miracles; like the story of Jesus Transfiguration and of his Ascension. We might even think on the minefield that is the Book of Revelation, which has been challenging since the day it was written! Today is Ascension Sunday, the day we celebrate Jesus ascending into Heaven. It is the last Sunday of the season of Easter. Next Sunday is Pentecost and then the season of Pentecost runs all the way through to Advent. We can look at that two ways; either nothing much happens in the next six months between now and Christmas OR that Pentecost is in fact the singularly most defining characteristic of the Christian life; everything from the birth of Christ through his ministry, death and resurrection leads to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.
Luke is the only author to record Jesus’ ascension as he mentions it in both his Gospel and in the Book of Acts. Luke’s description of the Ascension at the end of his Gospel is brief to say the least “And then he led them out of the city as far as Bethany, where he raised his hands and blessed them. As he was blessing them, he departed from them and was taken up into heaven. They worshipped him and went back into Jerusalem, filled with great joy, and spent all their time in the temple giving thanks to God.”
And that’s it – Jesus lifted his hands in blessing and as he did so he was lifted up into Heaven. When Luke later writes the Acts of the Apostles, he records a more elaborate version of the Ascension. Jesus now gives a word of instruction and angels appear and speak to the disciples who are still gazing up into the sky. “But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, says Jesus, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
It is hard for us to take these two accounts of the Ascension, written by the same person, some time apart, as being entirely factual. It’s like this: “Anything you say may be written down and used in evidence against you; anything you omit to say may harm your defence.” We don’t like people changing their statement because we then don’t know which account to trust. A lawyer would declare you an unreliable witness if you change your statement.
We find ourselves today rather fixated on the idea that facts equal truth. For something to be true it must be factually correct and if we cannot establish the facts then the matter in question must not be true. Perhaps in a court of law that approach is the right one but it does not serve us well when we come to the scriptures because the Bible is not concerned so much with how something happened but focuses more on why something happened. We do not need to get bogged down in how Jesus ascended in to Heaven but rather to concentrate on why Jesus ascended into heaven. Why was it important for Luke to record that Jesus time on earth had come to an end?
The story of Jesus life is fixed to a time and a place. Herod was King, Pontius Pilate was governor and so on it goes fixing Jesus life into the events and people of a particular point in history. The Ascension removes Jesus from that fixed point in time and affords him timeless and eternal qualities. The early Church knew Jesus in that timeless and eternal way through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and through His ongoing guidance of the apostles as they went out preaching the Gospel. Luke is not therefore re-telling an event; he is reflecting on the Jesus he already knows through his own experiences and conveys those truths to us through words inadequate and stumbling. Luke tries to bridge the gap between earthly existence and heavenly existence. He may not be entirely factual but he is deeply spiritual. If you had to create an image or description of Jesus eternal, timeless and ever present, what words or pictures would you use? I wouldn’t be surprised if you ended up with a description something like Luke’s!
And yet for all the importance of the truth Luke is trying to convey to us, he doesn’t linger on it. The Disciples are still staring into the sky when the angels come and call them back to the task in hand, back to the everyday, reassuring them that Jesus will come back. And the task in hand is to share the Good News.
No one is saying that such a task is an easy one. Jesus recognises how demanding a task it can be when he prays for his Disciples (John 17) but he will give them strength and he will equip them for their calling.
We appreciate too that the task has not changed in 2000 years. We too are disciples and like that first rather eclectic group of disciples we have a calling to fulfil. We cannot just stand gazing at the heavens; we are called back to reality, back to the everyday, back to the people around us who need to hear the Good News. This is reflected in Jesus words as he prayed for his disciples,
‘And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me so that they may be one just as you and I are one.’
(John 17: 11)
Praise – Make me a channel of your peace
Prayers for Others
Live recording
UK Politics
Leadership is never easy. Every decision is open to challenge. In politics your best friend and ally can so readily become your adversary. Politics seems to be a place of self-interest rather than service to others. In prayer Father, we offer to you the state of politics in our own nation; the uncertainty that comes with the resignation of Cabinet Ministers and the potential for leadership challenges. We cannot help but feel it is regrettable when the party becomes the story rather than their achievements and goals and ambitions for the people and the nation. Father God, hear us in our prayers as we place our government into your hands…
Prayers for the Scottish Parliament
Lord Jesus, during the years of your ministry you had a chequered relationship with those who wielded power. Pay unto Ceasar that which belongs to Ceasar. Religious leaders you described as whitewashed sepulchres! All too often you challenged the authority of those who held civil or religious power.
And we too have chequered relationships with those who govern us; even though we democratically elect them. We place into your care those of our Scottish Parliament no matter which party they represent, as they seek to build the future of Scotland and its people. They will face criticism. They will face scrutiny. They will disappoint. In the complex society we live in every solution creates its own problem, governing is no easy task.
May they know grace, integrity and openness of mind. May they listen to the voice of the people and be guided by faith in a God of love and compassion. Lord hear our prayers for the Scottish Parliament…
The General Assembly
We pray for those who make the decisions for the future of the Church of Scotland. The General Assembly is already in session receiving reports, engaging in debate and depending on the grace of God seeking to make the best decisions for the future of the church. It is no easy task. Though congregations are responding to changing circumstances there is yet work to be done and an unfamiliar future to unfold. We pray for all who hold a commission to this year’s Assembly and place the unfolding future of our denomination into Your care. Lord hear our prayers for the work of the General Assembly…
Praise – Come down O love divine
The Grace
And now… May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and all whom you love, now and for evermore. AMEN.