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Ascension PCA Blog

Fall Plans to Reopen

What a year it has been?! The LORD’s providence is so often unexpected, and this year has certainly been evidence of that fact. But thanks be to God! – we have an Anchor for our souls (Hebrews 6:19) knowing that while the times may be constantly shifting, our God is a Rock (II Samuel 22:3) and His promises are constant! It’s been a few months since we’ve officially communicated with you and therefore, we wanted to do so, giving you an update on our plans for the fall. Of course, we do so, knowing that all of our plans depend on the direction of our heavenly Father and submitting to His good will. While we are thankful for the time…

A Final Word about Unity

We’ve spent the last month allowing God’s Word to challenge us concerning unity in the body of Christ. I’ve spoken about the need to work for the unity Christ has achieved for us by way of a slow and deliberate walk. While I’ve said all that I want to say (for now), please be challenged just once more by the voice of Brett McCracken (Senior Editor for The Gospel Coalition). The following is an excerpt from a larger article of his entitled “Church, Don’t Let the Coronavirus Divide You.” The entire article is well worth your time but this part caught my attention as something that we haven’t really talked about and yet is incredibly helpful. We live in an un-nuanced…

Stay Home, Stay Healthy…Be Changed

It’s now been almost three weeks since we were ‘ordered,’ here in the state of Washington, to stay home. Then just last week, we were given an extension to this ‘invitation,’ leaving us home-bound for another four weeks. Never have any of us experienced such a thing nor are we likely (we hope) to experience it again. After this all goes ‘away,’ and life resumes to normal (or the new normal, whatever that looks like), what will we say “happened” during this time? We will all, no doubt, remember and lament COVID-19’s disruption to our lives, whether it was school or trips cancelled or other important life events postponed. But what will be the positive fruit of sanctification in this…

Should I Fast for Lent?

The season of Lent, the forty days leading up to Easter, has begun. For those who follow the church calendar, Lent is traditionally a time of preparation for, and anticipation of, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. This has been done, among other ways, by fasting … by abstaining from something worth denying yourself of as you seek to fix your eyes on Jesus. So… should we fast for Lent? I’d actually like to divide that question in two. Part one: should we fast? YES! Part two: for Lent? It doesn’t need to be during this specific time but SURE, if you want to! In other words, in general, we need to think about the spiritual practice of fasting more than…

Quiet Generosity

You play the role of financial counselor… A quiet, unassuming woman, with gray hair slightly unkept, comes to you for advice. She doesn’t get paid until next week, she’s going to have to ration her food to eat for the rest of the week unless she heads to the market but she really wants to give the last of what she has this month to the temple treasury. What do you say? According to the Mishnah, one of the major early records of Jewish tradition, there were thirteen “shofar chests” set against the wall in the court of women in the temple in Ancient Israel. These trumpet shaped receptacles invited worshippers to give to the worship and work of the…

Season of Advent 2019

In this season in the Church calendar, we remember Israel’s waiting for Christ’s birth, and we anticipate Him coming again. Online Book Advent Devotional for the Whole Family Looking for a resource to further deepen your journey through this season? Christmas Eve Service Tuesday, Dec 24 7:00pm–8:00pm In the ECoG gym (NOT the sanctuary).

“Life is Sweet” Annual Fundraising Gala

2019 has been an eventful year in the pro-life movement with multiple states coming forward with new laws that take away all rights of the unborn — even trying to take life after birth. This year’s Gala was created to educate guests on how to talk about the pro-life movement in our current culture. On October 17, twenty folks from Ascension gathered at Lynnwood Convention Center for the annual fundraising gala of the Pregnancy Resource Center (PRC) of Snohomish County. Some attendees were learning about the ministry for the first time, and others were getting updates and took the opportunity to become financial partners. It was encouraging to see so many hundreds in attendance from across the county. The PRC…

Worship as an Introduction to Jesus

“How do you view our worship service each Lord’s Day?” That was the question posed to us by Mike Rasmussen In October when he preached his sermon from 1 Corinthians 14 titled "Why Do Christians Meet?" In answering that question, there were five reasons he gave. I’d like to remind you of them and make some comments about each, especially the last one. 1. We meet to worship God: This answer trumps all other answers! Our God is worthy of all blessing and honor and glory and He delights when His people delight in Him! 2. We meet to celebrate the sacraments: The Lord’s supper and baptism are given to the church, the body of Christ, not to us individually.…

Discipleship Hour at Ascension

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” ~ Proverbs 1:7 “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” ~ Proverbs 18:15 September at Ascension brings the start of a new year of Discipleship Hour: the hour before our public worship every Lord’s Day (Sunday). These classes are a core ministry of APC and one of the primary opportunities to acquire and seek knowledge so that we mature as Christian disciples. From 9:00am to 9:45am we offer classes for all ages. Classes will begin on Sunday, September 22. Classes for children and youth are segregated by age, with the child’s birth date as of September 1 being the…

The Truth of God Visible

For the past two months, in this space we’ve been meditating on one of the most important rituals in our life together as a Body: the Lord’s Supper. We’ve been reminded that it calls us to a new, other-worldly Story, and we’ve considered what our thought habits ought to be as we come to the Table. In this last column on the Supper, I’d simply like to end with a hymn. The well-thought out, concisely and memorably packed, and theologically rich words of our hymnody are some of our greatest treasures. While there are too many to learn to sing, we’d do well to meditate often on their poetry. In the 19th century the Scottish theologian Horatius Bonar crafted such…

Thought Habits at the Table

Last month, I used this space to get us thinking about the weekly ritual in our life together as the church, the Lord’s Supper. While last month’s reflection was more philosophical, I’m making this month’s very practical. Specifically, I’d like to address what we ought to think about when we come to the Table of the Lord. While this is something that I have talked with some of our communicant kids about, it is something that I rarely have spoken about to many of you adults. “So I’ve listened to Pastor Nate (or Ed) introduce and remind us of what we are doing, I’ve taken the bread and wine from an elder, and I’m back in my seat… Now what?” While…

Tasting God’s New World

This month, I’d like to use this space to begin meditating on an important aspect of “Worshipping Jesus,” namely, the Lord’s Supper. Week after week we participate in this meal the Lord Jesus has given to us, and yet, what is really going on in this“eating and drinking?” This month, I’d like to simply launch the topic through a lengthy quote from a book that I’ve been reading. The book is titled Remembrance, Communion, and Hope by J. Todd Billings. I’ve not finished it, so I can’t yet give it a hearty endorsement, but what I’ve read I’ve enjoyed and been challenged by. I found the following quote thought-provoking because it speaks to the power of the symbols and rituals…

A Prayer for Lord’s Day Worship

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. Psalm 95:1–3 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the Day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 4:42 Dear heavenly Father, thank You for the calling, privilege, and importance of worshiping together on the Lord’s…

What If I Can’t Sing?

Sometimes we meet people who say, “I can’t sing” — as in, “The sound that comes out of my mouth when I try to sing is not what I was hoping for.” Perhaps this is you, and you can recall an awkward conversation as a child when you were asked to mouth the words, rather than sing them, or you were told that being a member of your school or church choir might not be the “best fit” for your gifts. But if you can speak, you can sing. God designed you to sing and gave you everything you need to sing as well as he wants you to. He’s far less concerned with your tunefulness than your integrity. Christian singing…

Our Congregational “Voice”

I have been so impressed with our singing lately (and I have heard others comment on it as well). Perhaps it is just our swelling numbers (though I think there is more to it than just that), but our “congregational voice” is getting stronger. We live in a world of commercialized worship bands, many of whom I really enjoy in the car (i.e. Hillsong, Bethel, Chris Tomlin, Rend Collective). These bands are polished and popular, and a few of their songs are really valuable and helpful. However, lest you bemoan our humble-in-comparison on-stage presence at APC each Lord’s Day morning, remember this: your collective voice is what our Sunday morning singing is all about — not the instruments, not the riffs,…

Falling Clipboards

He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them … that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works, but keep His commandments. ~ Psalm 78:5–7 There is a sweet sound at Ascension that I want to talk briefly about … it’s the sound of falling clipboards. I know you’ve heard it too, the occasional clang or clunk of a clipboard sliding off of a lap or a chair and onto the gym floor. Sometimes it’s masked by our singing, but often it takes center stage during a Scripture reading, or at the beginning of my…

Shout for Joy!

Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! Psalm 14:1 I don’t watch every time the Seahawks play, but I recently enjoyed their last game down at CenturyLink Field. As I watched, and as they panned the camera across the stands, I was struck again at how fanatical people are for football. Dressed accordingly in their blue and green, some of them with painted faces and holding up signs, these people are really dedicated. How much money did they have to pay to sit (stand) in those seats, some of them week after week?! One guy even sported a “1” tattoo on his right forearm and a “2” on his left forearm so that when…

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