Sermons 2026

Acts 1:1–11

Theme:  “Will You at this time?”

Outline:
1.    Disciples Question, is now the time for the Kingdom to be Restored?
a.    Jesus reply, for the Father to know.
2.    Kingdom has been restored, but not nationally, restored in JC
a.    At the moment, what is Jesus Doing? 3 Kingdoms ruling
3.    Gives you a mission, be witnesses, now is the time to witness, as we wait for our King to come as He has promised.

Sermon

Alleluia! Christ has risen!
He has risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation is the First lesson from the Acts of the Apostles the first chapter verses one through eleven.

Beloved lambs, Good Morning! Is it here? Is now the time? Can the day finally be here! What is your favorite time of year? Do you look forward to all of the presents and gifts at Christmas? I am sure that you look forward to your birthdays, the presents, cake and candies. You become excited. You cannot contain yourself. As Christians, we have an even greater excitement looking forward to the Day when Jesus comes again. We know Jesus will come again. What do we do in the meantime? How do we take our excitement of His coming, and use it for the good of those around us? Ponder those questions as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.

1.    Is now the time?

Our Lord has been with His disciples for forty days. He has continued to teach them and give them many various proofs of His resurrection from the dead. The time has come for Jesus to depart, to be raised to the right hand of the Father. The disciples take this opportunity to ask a question, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 

As faithful Jews, the disciples have been waiting and longing for the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel of old, physically. Israel of old wanted a kingdom so that they could be like the rest of the nations. God gave them what they desired with the warning that they would become like the nations. Yet, God also blessed them. The kingdoms of David and Solomon were kingdoms to marvel at for their wealth, glory, fame, and prestige once again. Every Jew desired a return to this glory, honor and power ever since the Kingdom was split into two, Israel and Judah. They would be a people of God physically, being ruled by the Messiah forever. That is what they looked forward to based on verses like Psalm 2 where the Nations are given to the King, the Lord’s Anointed.

After all, an earthly kingdom is a land and a nation on which the king depends. Take his people away, and the king ceases to be king; they, too, are what they are without him as a king.  As my former College history teacher used to say, It is good to be the king. It’s better to be the king with the army so you can put down all those measly little peasant revolts. Eventually Israel became like the nations, worshiped the Baals and Ashera’s and were carried off into exile and Judah likewise followed. Since then, the people had been ruled by many and various powers and authorities, Rome being the most recent among them. The people were waiting for the promised offspring of David to rule forever and ever. Jesus has died and risen. He will never die again. So the disciples were wondering, “Is now finally the time? Will the kingdom be restored fully and completely?” 

2.    Jesus’ Kingdom

Our Lord does not berate the disciples for this question. He simply states, ““It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 

Basically, our Lord says, do not worry about that. “It is not for you to know times or seasons.” Trust the Father. Trust the One who holds all things in His authority and in His timetable. The Kingdom has come, and is now, but not the physical way that the Jews and disciples were thinking. The kingdom has already come and been established because of Jesus Christ, and His death and resurrection from the dead. It is not the people that make Christ’s kingdom and make Him a King. It is God Himself. Jesus is our King and He rules the world, the heavens, and the Church by His power. “It depends wholly on him and could not exist without him. God’s kingdom is found wherever God is and rules by his power, grace, and glory. He makes his own domain and his own people, and never they him. It is the kingdom of the heavens because heavenly powers make it and also give it heavenly character; the kingdom of God (Christ) because he is over and in it everywhere, at once its source and its control. This rule or kingdom goes back to the beginning and extends to eternity. When we look at the power and the omnipotence, it rules the whole universe; when we look at grace, it embraces the whole church; when we contemplate the glory we see heaven and all its inhabitants. The kingdom and rule of grace fills the whole Testament from Adam onward; it is the rule of grace through the Messianic promise. A new era began when the promise was fulfilled in Christ, the era of the New Testament which extends to the end of time. ”
 

3.    Disciples Mission

Is now the time?! Yes, in a sense. Jesus Christ is your King. He is ruling and reigning at the right hand of the Father for your good. He is ruling over the world, holding all of creation together. He is ruling over His church, giving you here His very Word, His body and blood, forgiving, relieving, strengthening, all for you. 

As we confess in the Book of Concord, The Augsburg Confession, Article III “He ascended into heaven that He might sit on the right hand of the Father, and forever reign and have dominion over all creatures, and sanctify 5] them that believe in Him, by sending the Holy Ghost into their hearts, to rule, comfort, and quicken them, and to defend them against the devil and the power of sin.6] The same Christ shall openly come again to judge the quick and the dead, etc., according to the Apostles’ Creed.” Jesus is ruling, in grace and mercy, even now, at the right hand of the Father, daily giving us His blessed Word to refresh our souls, and energize us to do the work He has given us to do.”

Jesus Christ has bodily, physically, ascended into the very heights of heaven. From there, He will come again! As the angels promise, “He who ascended into heaven, will come back in the same way as you have seen Him go.” We do not know when. As Frank Sinatra lovingly croons, “We'll meet again Don't know where, don't know when But I know we'll meet again some sunny day.” 

What do we do as we wait? How do we spend our time? Many continue to be like the disciples, stand gazing up into heaven, looking, watching, waiting for Jesus.

Yet, that is not what we are supposed to do. We are not supposed to be idle, gazing into heaven, and twiddling our thumbs. Rather, we are to be busy upon this earth serving the needs of our neighbor out of love toward God. Our Lord gave a mission to His disciples, and to us as well. 

What is the mission? It is, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to be witnesses to the world. It means we leave the comfort of home, family, and friends, to go to all the ends of the world, telling them the good news of the Gospel, that Jesus died and rose from the dead so that sins are forgiven, souls are saved, and new life is given here, as well as unto life everlasting.

We continue to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those around us. We do this through our thoughts, words, and actions, as the Holy Spirit Himself gives us opportunity to do so in our many and various vocations. As fathers and mothers, we read the Bible to our children. We teach them how to pray. We care for their physical, mental, and emotional well-being, making sure that they have everything that they need for this body and life. As workers, we do our best each and every day. We listen to our employers and those in authority over us, whether they be teachers, pastors, government officials, or others, because in so doing, we are giving honor and glory to God who placed them in those positions of authority. We speak well of those around us. We help to defend their reputations when we hear lies. We do not gossip, but we speak the truth in love. We use of our time, our possessions, everything we have for th furthering of God’s Kingdom, as we wait for the day when His Kingdom will come for everyone to see.

“Is today the day? Is it now?” Not yet it seems, though I pray that it does come soon. Until that day does come, or until you rest in our Lord’s nearer presence to await that Day, may the Holy Spirit continue to strengthen us to do the good work the Lord has given us to do, knowing that our Lord has not abandoned us, but indeed fills the whole world while remaining hidden in it amidst His holy Christian Church. There He rules over His people as His Holy Spirit works amongst baptized believers to keep them with Him through His Word and Sacraments.

Alleluia! Christ has risen!
He has risen Indeed! Alleluia!

The Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep, your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.