Ascension Written Sermons

Double Portion of Peace Rob Gieselmann, May 28, 2017 Elijah had a great and powerful spirit.   His protégé, Elisha, asked him to bequeath a double portion of that spirit to him. Elijah promised him, yes , but only if you you actually see me taken-up by God into heaven. A double portion , and now, just as Jesus is about to be taken up into heaven like Elijah, Jesus promises his own protégé’s the same thing, a double portion . The Holy Spirit. You will receive excessive power when the Holy Spirit arrives. Perhaps you will make the connection: Ascension, our namesake, is about nothing, if not Spiritual Power . Greater things than these shall you do , Jesus promised, anticipating his departure and the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. And I wonder, What might these greater things be? That you might do. Double portion, and if you could do double of anything Jesus did, what might you pick? Walk on water? I’d walk on water – it’s my favorite miracle. ...

Shout it Out! Lent 1A 2017, Rob Gieselmann 1. In Michael Punke’s novel, The Revenant , Pawnee Indians attack and capture the protagonist, Hugh Glass , first with arrows, shooting him in the leg, and then with a rock weapon, bashing his skull. Glass blacks out . When he wakes-up , he finds he is shackled , hands and feet, and the Pawnee tribe is watching him from a stone’s throw away. He knows he is going to die. So Glass turns onto his side in a way they cannot see his subtle movements - He pulls a cinnabar rock he has saved in his shirt pocket. With the rock, he paints his face red.   Next he rolls onto his stomach – it is a gesture the Pawnee take to be religious , like a prayer before death. The chief sends two braves over to Glass – And when they get within several feet of him – Glass jumps up on his feet – ignoring the sharp pain from the arrow   – and faces the braves, and the entire tribe . The Pawnee are shocked – for there Gla...