St James' Church of Scotland, Lossiemouth

For Christ, For You

Lossiemouth Church of Scotland

Prospect Terrace, Lossiemouth, Moray IV31 6JS.

The Union of the former Parishes of St. Gerardine's High Church and St. James' Church

Minister: Rev. Geoff McKee.

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You are here: Home / Sermons / Alpha and Omega

Alpha and Omega

November 30, 2015 by 2

This is Rev. Graham Crawford’s sermon for “Christ the King” Sunday – 22 November 2015:

According to one writer:

“The Sunday of Christ the King is the day for all us disobedient ones to repent; and to renew our obedience. Then we may prepare for Christmas, and the birth of great David’s greater Son.”

It is the last Sunday of the Christian year. It is the climax of all that we have been thinking and learning about over the year. It is a time when we celebrate that Jesus is not just our Saviour but Lord of our lives, our King and head of the church.

It is a time for celebration, a time for rededication, a time to refocus ourselves on the important matters of life.

Never in history has that been more important than today.

There are so many things that are vying for top spot in our lives.

A quick trawl through Facebook after last weekend’s attacks show fear, hatred, suspicion, discrimination, bigotry and racism trying to gain the upper hand. Advertisers on TV try to make greed the king as Christmas approaches and underlying all of culture is an atmosphere of self-preservation and self-interest.

And yet standing against all of this is a man who said, “ My kingdom is not of this world. I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognise that all I say is true.”

A man who was more than a man, who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. A man of whom it was said that, at his name, every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth, and every tongue confess that he is Lord.

This is who we recognise and celebrate. This is who we are called to recommit to today and to reflect on as we bring this year to an end and begin to look forward to another year preparing to celebrate his birth again in the most humble of circumstances.

So let us start by hearing John’s great account of the Lordship of Christ from the beginning of his book of Revelation (Revelation 1: 4b – 8):

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

As usual with Revelation, this passage is full of language which is difficult for us to really come to terms with.

There are images and concepts that were well understood at the time and place of writing that have become mysterious and confusing in our own day. This is not helped by translators who love to take things literally instead of asking: “What did it mean to the writer?”

Nowhere is that more apparent than in the writer’s description, in this first verse, of the Holy Spirit. The translators of the NIV do us a disservice by translating it as the Seven Spirits. The New Living translation gets closer to the essence by calling it the Sevenfold Spirit. I know I have said many times before that in the ancient world numbers can have a deep significance, no number more so than seven.

It is the number that denotes completeness, wholeness, perfection. So, in calling the Holy spirit the sevenfold spirit, the writer is really telling us that the Holy Spirit is the perfect Spirit, the complete Spirit, indeed you could say Holy Spirit.

For anything that is Holy is perfect, complete and whole by definition.

Thus, what the writer is doing at the beginning is saying, in his own terms, grace and peace from the God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. There is nothing particularly mysterious or odd about what he is saying.

He goes on in his description of Jesus Christ to call him a faithful witness, the first to rise from the dead, never to die again and the ruler of creation.

Christ witnessed to what he knew and was. Many of us are afraid to witness. We hesitate because we hear other people speak, people who maybe were helped in the addictions by the saving grace of Christ or had some other very dramatic and spectacular turnaround and think, well, what have I to offer? I’ve been to church all my days; it was just a slow dawning to me of the truth of scripture. Either that or we are afraid that people will poke holes in our story, ridicule our beliefs or accuse us of hypocrisy. And yet we all need to remember a very simple truth about our witness. We do not witness about what we have done. We are witnesses to the saving grace of Christ because of what Christ has done for us, not what we have done for him.

Remember this, if you remember nothing else this morning: Christ demonstrated his great love for you, and you, and you, by setting you free from your sins on the cross, guaranteeing you, and you and you a place in his Kingdom and by making all of us priests to administer his love, his Father’s great love to others through acts of mercy and ministry.

The fact – the undeniable fact – that God, in Christ, has chosen you to be the recipient and administrator of that love is nothing short of miraculous. It is truly spectacular. Surely we can witness to that? Surely we are each one of us able to tell others of that love and of that commission? Others may try to deflect us from that message, they may try to send us down dead end alleys of philosophical debate. Do not be sidetracked. Do not let their unwillingness to face reality deflect you from your task.

Like the hymn writer, I admit I do not know any of that, but this I do know: that Jesus Christ died to save me from myself and to guarantee me a place beside him in his Kingdom because he loves me and I want to now share that love with everyone I meet.

Sure, I’d like you to come to my discipleship classes. Sure, I’d like you to grow in your faith and understanding. But the basic reality of your salvation is enough to make you a witness to Christ’s saving love and your willingness to let him be the Lord of your life.

For John goes on, in his description of Jesus, to portray him as the all-powerful king, victorious in battle, glorious in peace.

Those people who say that they are Christian, not because of his grace, but because they admire him as a teacher surely miss the point.

John is quite convinced that Jesus is more than an earthbound teacher: he is God, incarnate, all-glorious above.

When you read John’s words, they are not simply good advice; they are truth given from God above, from the King of Kings! John is not writing simply for his own health or to pique your interest. He is not writing to give you a blueprint for what the future might hold. He is writing so that you will know the truth and that the truth will set you free. He is writing so that you might recognize again Christ’s call upon your life as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

John is writing so that, as you look forward again to the most humble of births in the stable, you might consider how great is God’s love for you, that he would humble himself to that extent in order to bring you into his love.

And so, as a sign of our penitence, rededication and commitment to demonstrating Christ’s lordship to the world let us stand and confess our faith using the Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in
GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
and in
JESUS CHRIST HIS ONLY SON OUR LORD
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead,
He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead
I believe in
the HOLY GHOST; the HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH;
the COMMUNION OF SAINTS;
the FORGIVENESS OF SINS;
the RESURRECTION OF THE BODY;
and the LIFE EVERLASTING.

AMEN

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Filed Under: Sermons

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Jesus Ascends to Glory

May 28, 2025 By 2

Sunday 25 May 2025 is Ascension Sunday.

Christians celebrate the time when Jesus ascended to heaven. Ascension Day itself is generally observed on a Thursday, the fortieth day after Easter.

Today’s Main Scripture

Jesus speaks to his disciples, following his resurrection at Easter and shortly before his ascension:

John 14 (from The Message Bible Translation)
The Road
14 1-4 “Don’t let this rattle you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”

5 Thomas said, “Master, we have no idea where you’re going. How do you expect us to know the road?”

6-7 Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”

8 Philip said, “Master, show us the Father; then we’ll be content.”

9-10 “You’ve been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don’t understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, ‘Where is the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren’t mere words. I don’t just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.

11-14 “Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can’t believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do.

The Spirit of Truth
15-17 “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

18-20 “I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.

21 “The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?”

23-24 “Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me.

25-27 “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

28 “You’ve heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, and I’m coming back.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.

29-31 “I’ve told you this ahead of time, before it happens, so that when it does happen, the confirmation will deepen your belief in me. I’ll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don’t worry—he has nothing on me, no claim on me. But so the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father’s instructions right down to the last detail.

“Get up. Let’s go. It’s time to leave here.”

Sermon by Rev. Anne-Marie Simpson

To get straight to beginning of the sermon, click here.

Sermon Text

For 40 days after Easter morning, Jesus remained on earth.

We know of several occasions when he met with some of his disciples.

Mary Magdalene in the dawn Garden, the two walking the road to Emmaus. appearing more than once to those in the upper room. On the shore at sunrise, and now in this final time of parting.

We can only surmise how Jesus spent the rest of this time before his departure. How many others did he meet with, perhaps, who did not record the fact? How many lives did he touch in those final 40 days on Earth?

Just as it was vital for Jesus to prove his resurrection to his followers, so it was very important that he took his leave properly.

His appearances to them could not just stop suddenly. That would leave too much uncertainty in the minds of his friends. Nor could the story that we’ve heard today of this awesome ascension be omitted from the narrative.

People at the time needed to know this part most fully. Indeed, we need to understand exactly where Jesus has gone.

There have to be witnesses. There is much mystery to this story, ascending into a cloud seems, well, rather vague. We desperately want more detail.

Luke gives us a brief description in his gospel and another in the book of the Acts of the Apostles.

Yet, however brief this story is, it is so important for both the disciples and for us today.

The disciples needed closure for them. This is an ending, the end of their time spent with Jesus – i.e. the end of Jesus amongst them present here in this world.

Yet it is also a beginning. The beginning of a brand new chapter for the disciples.

Now they have been given final instructions. Wait here in Jerusalem and show you are empowered by the Holy Spirit, then go out and preach the good news of repentance and salvation to all the world.

They must continue Jesus’ work of justice and compassion, healing and acceptance, but now they must also preach their testament, make new believers and baptise them in the Holy Spirit, not just the people of Israel, but everyone, right around the world.

They are witnesses. They have a testament to share.

And if this work seems impossibly huge to undertake, so very difficult to achieve, then Jesus has promised them a helper. That will be given power through baptism in the Holy Spirit. And so the disciples are not overwhelmed by the task in hand, or cowed under the weight of their commission. Instead, they go back into Jerusalem filled with joy at what Jesus has promised. Filled with joy at what they have seen.

They know exactly where Jesus has gone. They’ve witnessed him rising to heaven with their very own eyes, and there is no room for doubt. Now they have a friend in heaven, a friend whom we believe presents our prayers at the throne of God and intercedes on our behalf. A friend who has sent them a helper, a friend who has always present with us, always available when we need help.

The human Jesus could only be in one place at any given time, but now as a heavenly being, Jesus transcends the spatial and the temporal qualities of this world.

He can be constantly with his disciples. He is constantly with us.

Furthermore, Jesus has promised them that they will follow where he has gone.

Before the crucifixion he has told them that he goes to prepare a place for them. Those words that we say at every funeral, I go to prepare a place for you. Now they understand what that means. One day they too will be in heaven, where they will see Jesus again and live in the presence of their Heavenly Father. They also know that Jesus is listening to their pleas and prayers. He might be out of sight, but he isn’t out of their hearing.

And Jesus has promised to return, to come back one day when everything will be put right, and the whole of creation will be restored to its original state of balance.

The early church watched patiently and diligently for the coming, believing it to be imminent.

But God’s time is not our time, as we are reminded in the second letter of Peter: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.

But we must keep watch and be prepared for this coming, for this event, so that we are ready to meet with Jesus on his return. Ready for whatever that will mean for us.

Jesus speaks of how his ascension has been written into Hebrew scripture in the laws of Moses, in the writing of the prophets, and in the Psalms, as we’ve heard in Psalm 93, and in Psalm 47.

The signs have always been there, but it would have been impossible for human minds to comprehend what was meant.

The story of death and resurrection and ascension is too full of wonder, too full of awe for us to fully understand. Jesus has ascended to sit enthroned at the right hand of the Father, where, as Paul tells us, he reigns supreme.

In the meantime, the disciples returned to Jerusalem in great joy to spend their time giving thanks in the temple, praying to God, knowing that they are heard, and knowing that whatever happens to them, Jesus awaits them with a place prepared.

And so what does this day of Ascension mean for us?

We’ve been promised everything that the disciples were promised.

We know that God, Jesus has gone before us, and we live in the hope that this and every other promise He has made will be fulfilled. that, through repentance, our sins will be forgiven, and we will go to take up that place, which He has prepared for us in his Father’s house, where we will live forever in the presence of God, reconciled and beloved for eternity.

And the second coming, what will that be like?

The angels in Acts have told us that Jesus will return in the same way as he left, descending from a cloud, perhaps, to the awestruck gaze of the people below.

Will you be there, as generations’-worth of prayers are answered, watching and waiting in joyful expectation, as your Lord and Saviour descends to bring the Kingdom that we pray for to come?

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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