Ascension

OBJECTIVE

The Church celebrates the Feast of the Ascension on Thursday, the fortieth day in the Holy Fifty Days. It is considered one of the Seven Major Feasts of the Lord. On this day, the Lord ascended by His divine power to Heaven and sat at the right hand of the Father. The Ascension of Christ Himself was part of His plan for our ascension as well. He ascended to prepare a place for us in His Kingdom.

INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 5 Minutes

Option One: Psalm 150 Ascension Response

Sing the chorus response of Psalm 150 for the Feast of Ascension.

Option Two: Cloud Watching

Ask the students how many of them have ever been in an airplane. What was it like to break through the clouds and see them from above? How many of them have just watched the clouds while sitting in the park or in the car on a drive?

Have the class imagine what it would be like to watch our Lord Jesus Christ take Himself up through the clouds to Heaven. Encourage participation in forming a picture in their minds of the glory of God in the Ascension.

Option Three: Coptic Church Calendar

Ask the students how they know when their birthdays are coming up, they should answer because it's on the same day every year. But some of the major feasts of our Church are different every year, so how do we know when they will be celebrated? Discuss some key elements in the church calendar:

Great Fast: 40 days for the 40 days our Lord fasted + 7 days of preparation + 7 days for Pascha
Resurrection: Holy 50 days, no fasting at all
Ascension: one of the seven major feasts that will be studied in this lesson, 40 days after Resurrection and always on a Thursday
Pentecost: always Sunday, 10 days after Ascension and 50 days after Resurrection, Apostles Fast starts the following day

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

Please read the passage of the Ascension in Acts 1:4-11 from the Bible. Read with inflection in your voice, standing up, and engaging the students, the goal is to make it come alive for them.

Memory Verse - "He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight." Acts 1:9b

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 10 Minutes

The Ascension of the Lord is when the Lord rises up to Heaven in front of His apostles, 40 days after His Resurrection. He gives us three promises:

The first promise is the sending of the Holy Spirit to remain with us eternally. Thus He said to them in advance: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send Him to you." (John 16:7) And so it happened; and He sent to them the Holy Spirit ten days after His Ascension.
As for the second promise, it is His word to them: "I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you." (John 14:18) And His word also: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt. 28:20) He fulfilled this promise also, and is still fulfilling it. The beloved Saint John saw Him in the midst of the seven churches, (Rev. 1: 13-14), holding the angels of the seven churches "or their pastors", in His right hand.
As for the third promise, it is His word to His Apostles: "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." (John 12:32) He draws us to Himself in order to lift us up to heaven, as He said: "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14: 2-3)

Consequently, it is a promise that we shall be with Him, on earth and in heaven. On earth: "I am with you always", and "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matt. 18:20) And in heaven: "that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:3) And as the Apostle saint Paul said: "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." (1 Thess. 4:17) How great is that glory

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 10 Minutes

Share the Discussion Icon in the attachments below with the students. Ask them what they see and encourage participation in discussing the icon. Lead them in their observations with positive feedback, guide them to read the following elements:

Our Lord is the largest figure to highlight His glory and importance in the story
Our Lord is wearing all white to symbolize His resurrection and glory
The stars around Him are symbols for Heaven
The two angels ministering to Him are the two that spoke to the Apostles in verse 10-11
The Apostles in this icon consist of the 11 faithful disciples, Saint Mary, and two holy women
The cloud under our Lord is mentioned in verse 9
In verse 10, it says the apostles "looked steadfastly toward heaven" and in the icon we see them all looking up

LIFE APPLICATION - 5 Minutes

In the Ascension of the Lord to heaven, He has drawn our sights and our hearts also to heaven. Therefore it was said about the Ascension of the Lord to heaven that the Apostles: "looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up" (Acts 1:10). That is one of the heavenly lessons to us, that we should be steadfastly looking toward heaven where the Lord has ascended, and to heaven from where He will come to us again.

The Feast of the Ascension teaches us the principle of ascending. Spiritual life or life with the Lord, is a perpetual ascension, a constant development upwards, till we arrive at the life of perfection. It is a continuous relationship to heaven.

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

Option One: Coloring Page

Distribute copies of the Coloring Page attachment at the bottom of this page. Give one to each child to color and decorate with crayons and markers. Make sure they write their names on it and take it home to review the memory verse.

Option Two: Color by Number

Distribute copies of the Color by Number attachment at the bottom of this page. Give one to each child to color by code with crayons and markers. Make sure they write their names on it and take it home to review the memory verse.

Option Three: Draw the Ascension

Distribute copies of the Draw the Ascension attachment at the bottom of this page. Give one to each child to draw on with crayons and markers. Make sure they write their names on it and take it home to review the memory verse.

Option Four: Cut and Paste the Ascension

Distribute copies of the Cut and Paste the Ascension attachment at the bottom of this page. Give one page and a sheet of blue construction paper to each child. Have them follow the directions to color, cut, and glue to create the Ascension scene. Make sure they write their names on it and take it home to review the memory verse.

SERVANT RESOURCES

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

As a cloud took Him out of the sight of the Apostles in His Ascension, so we also shall come with Him on the clouds on the last day. Choose a nice day this week to go outside with your child and look up at the sky. Review the story of the Ascension and imagine together the glory that God is waiting to share with us in Heaven.