How do you respond to the assertion, I like Jesus, but I'm not sure about the church.

Find out in the issues et cetera book of the month for May, gathered by Christ, the overlooked gift of the church.

Learn more about this new resource at issuesetc.org, or by calling Concordia Publishing House 1-800-325-3040.

Gathered by Christ, the issues et cetera book of the month for May, issuesetc.org or 1-800-325-3040.

Christ is the world's reason of God, and God, and the reason for God's sin, for God's sin, for God's sin, for God's sin, for God's sin.

In all of this art, it's the whole of this time.

I will only pray, my life in this time.

A Lutheran public radio choir with the hymn, Christ is a world's redeemer, it speaks there of our trust and hope secure our life when we shall die.

And Jesus speaks of that trust, that hope, and that life, in his high priestly prayer, in the gospel reading, in John 17, in this coming Sunday, according to the three-year electionary.

Welcome back to issues et cetera, coming to you live from the studios of Lutheran public radio in Collinsville, Illinois.

John Todd Wilkin, thanks for tuning us in, joining us to look forward to Sunday morning, according to the three-year electionary.

Pastor Sean Denzer, director of worship for the Lutheran Church, Missouri Senate.

Sean, welcome back.

It's great to be here, Todd.

So Thursday, this week, or I should say last week, we were at a high point, in the church year, certainly in the narrative about Jesus, what do we kind of unintentionally skipping over here a little bit as we move on to Sunday morning?

Yeah, it's the ascension, and it's interesting to me that this is one that has not somehow shifted to Sunday.

I'm in favor of that, by the way. There's kind of two ways to look at this.

Is it important enough that it belongs on a Sunday?

And again, all of this is kind of coming at the service second hand, you know, as if we got to make it up ourselves looking at the church here.

Is it important enough that it ought to be talked about on a Sunday?

The other way of thinking about it is it's so important that we can't wait for a Sunday or we can't force us to just come in our routine, but actually we expect everybody to take an extra amount of time and come out for something that important.

I would point to Christmas. It doesn't matter what day of the year that is, we attend, right?

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