Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Luke 24:46-53; Acts 1:9-11), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• When you consider “the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” when you think about who Jesus is and what he has done for us, what are the main things you think about? Do they include his Ascension into heaven? Why or why not?

• It might be said that we in the church today have focused largely on what Jesus did in the past, and have not emphasized much about his present reality or his promises for the future. Why do you think this might be? Why might it be good to pay more attention to the present and future aspects of the Gospel (without neglecting the past)?

• “Lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:50-51). “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come again in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Jesus still has a fully human body, and he lives in heaven, always blessing us by his grace. Why is Jesus’ full, glorified, enduring humanity in heaven a blessing to us?

• [52-53] Worship, great joy, and continually blessing God together are good responses of Christ’s people to his Ascension. Is there also room in our response to his Ascension for sadness at his bodily absence, or longing for his return? What kind of response to the Ascension would you say most characterizes your spiritual life? Your life together with God’s people?

• Can you “hang your hat” on the Ascension? Is it relevant to your daily life? To your prayers? What difference does the present reality of Jesus in heaven make in your life when you see your plans change and your hopes dashed? When your life is falling apart, whether because of choices you’ve made or pain others have inflicted? Is the Ascension a big enough deal to you that you think others should know about it, too?