"Launch Day: Handing Off Mission Control"

The Great Commission & Ascension; Mark 14:27-31, 61-62, Matthew 28:16-18, Matthew 28:19-20

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Opening: The Artemis Handover

This month, we’ve all been watching the Artemis II mission - the first time in over 50 years that humans have ventured back toward the moon. For many of us right here on the East Coast of Florida, it wasn’t just a news story; it was a front-row seat. How many of you stood in your driveway on April 1st to watch it go up? (wait)

We felt that familiar rumble in our chests as we watched that rocket pierce the sky, carrying four human beings from Kennedy Space Center toward a 10-day, 695,000 mile journey around the far-side of the moon.

It’s easy to be captivated by all the smoke and fire of a launch like that, but the real heart of the mission isn’t in the SLS Orion itself - it’s in Mission Control Think about the 24/7 endurance required to keep dozens of teams moving in one direction. In spaceflight, there is a critical, high-stakes moment called “the handover.” It’s that precise window where one team of controllers passes their monitors and their responsibilities to the next shift. If the handover fails, the mission fails.

In the Bible, we can relate the preparation and handover of Jesus’ “launch day” in two very different narratives: In Mark 14, it looks like total mission failure. The crew is scattering, the shepherd is being struck, and fear is grounding the entire operation. Surely, the mission would be scrubbed.

But the countdown clock didn’t stop.

Four days later, on a mountain in Galilee, we reach the ultimate “Launch Day.” In Matthew 28, Jesus stands before a team that had previously deserted Him. He doesn’t take the controls back to complete the mission Himself; instead, He initiates the greatest handover in history. He looks at His fragile, human, “motley crew” and says, “All authority is mine… now, you go.”

Today we aren’t just spectators watching a launch from our driveways. We are the ones sitting at the console. The “Launch” has happened, the headset has been passed, and we have been given the controls to the Kingdom mission.

Pray

Part 1: The Pre-Launch Briefing

Just as Artemis represents humanity’s return to the stars, the Great Commission represents our return to God’s work on earth. But before the “Go” for launch, there was a briefing.

Let’s look at Mark 14:27–28 “Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because [NIV: fall away] of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.’ “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Now, put yourself in the disciple’s shoes at this moment. They are “Team Jesus.” They’ve just had the foot-washing, the bread and the wine. They feel unified, strong and ready. But Jesus drops a bombshell: You’re all going to turn heel and run.

Peter immediately tries a “manual override.” He argues with the Commander: “Not me! The rest of these guys might fail, but I’m 100%, all systems go!” But Jesus knows the truth. They aren’t just unprepared for what’s about to happen, they can’t even stay awake for the prayer meeting. They think they are pilots, but Jesus knows they are about to descend into chaos.

Even as the mission seems to disintegrate during his arrest and trial, Jesus remains in Command. While the disciples are scattering, Jesus is in the Captain’s seat. When the high priest asks if He is the Messiah, Jesus doesn’t flinch: He says, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God” (Mark 14:62 )

He is establishing His authority before the hand-off. He wants them to know: “When your world turns upside down, I am still seated. When you lose control, I haven’t.” How many of you know that sometimes things don’t go as planned, we’re not perfect, we mess up and things can get pretty upside down in life. But when things get bad… oh, if we would just hand over the controls to the One who is already seated at the right hand of God... (preach!)

Here is the most beautiful part of the briefing. Jesus knows they will fail, so He gives them a flight plan so they can get back on course: He tells them, “yeah, something awful is going to happen, and you’re gonna scatter, but after that, “after I have been raised,” He says, “meet me in Galilee.”

Why Galilee? Most of us think it’s just a convenient trail-head. But look at the history: In Joshua 20, Galilee was designated as a City of Refuge. It was the designated place of safety for those who had blood on their hands - a sanctuary from the “avenger.”

When Jesus says, “Meet me in Galilee,” He isn’t just picking a rally point, he’s showing us all a beacon of grace. He’s saying, “You’re going to mess up. You’re going to strike the Shepherd. You’re going to have failure on your hands. But don’t wallow in the shame. Don’t let the Accuser ground your mission. Meet me in the place of Refuge.”

Our mission trajectory isn’t oriented on our perfect performance; it’s anchored on His perfect grace. When we lose our bearings, we have a refuge, a north star, a beacon of hope as the anchor for our souls. If we would stop dwelling on the mistakes of our past and just meet Him in the place of refuge, we’d regain that peace that passes all understanding so that we can continue the mission.

Part 2: The Official Hand-Off

Not only is our refuge from the accuser in Him - but the power to overcome every tactic of the enemy was officially transferred from the physical person of Jesus to His followers on Launch Day.

After the darkness of the crucifixion and the silence of the tomb, the mission didn’t end - it hit it’s most critical milestone. (We just celebrated Resurrection Sunday… give affirmation!) On the third day, He rose from the grave. He appeared first to Mary, and the rest of the team followed the plan, we read in Matthew 28:16, “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.”

Can you imagine that meeting? Jesus had conquered death. He’s standing there in a resurrected body. Yet, Matthew 28:17 records a strange detail: “When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.”

Even with the “Commander” standing right in front of them, some of the team was still processing the data. They had seen the miracles and the healings for three years, yet they were human. Let me just say, if you feel unqualified today, take heart - Jesus doesn’t wait for a “perfect” crew to launch the mission; He just wants a present one.

Then comes the moment of the Great Handover. Jesus clears the air of all doubt in verse 18, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18 )

He is in the driver’s seat and He has the authority to pass the ship to whomever He wishes. As the CEO of the universe, and He is now authorizing His people to act in His name. This is the moment where the mission shifts: in NASA terms, this is where the mission moves from the Launch Pad to Mission Control.

Jesus is no longer doing the work for them; He is commissioning them to do the work with Him. He presses the “Launch” button and hands the controls to us.

Think about the weight of that. Jesus says, “Everything I’ve done, you are now authorized to do in my name.”

Now, let’s be clear - there is one thing we cannot do. We don’t have the authority to die for the sins of the world. He already did the heavy lifting. He took the “G-force” of God’s wrath; He took all the heat, all the risk, the pain and the punishment. He dealt with the “Avenger of Blood” once and for all.

But everything else? The healing, the prayer, the breaking of chains, the speaking of truth - that is now our modus operandum. As Jesus “lifted off” from the earth, He didn’t take the authority with Him; He left it here, in your hands and mine. He did the hard work so that we could do the heart work - the work of prayer, evangelism and discipleship.

Part 3: Mission Trajectory

Jesus’ final instructions them mark the moment when “mission control” is officially passed. In Matthew 28:19–20 He says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” The “New Commandment” was officially handed to the “New Commanders.”

In a recent interview, Victor Glover, the pilot of the Artemis II Mission, shared a profound perspective from 250,000 miles away. (play video or read quote?)

YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/WdgsAtjrxq4?si=7zJ4ZOoXD2ltm9BM

“I can really see Earth as one thing… you're on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live… Maybe the distance... makes you think what we’re doing is special, but... I'm trying to tell you - you are special. In all of this emptiness… You have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together.”

God created this “Spaceship Earth” for us to share life with Him. Sin was just the debris that got in the way, so He sent His Son to clear the path and remove the barrier between God and us. His desire is for every passenger on this ship to hear the Good News. We aren’t just “manager of a garden”; we are co-regents of an oasis, created to enjoy together, with the Creator and with each other!

Looking at the images of Earth taken from Orion, you realize just how vast this task actually is. It’s mostly blue, but about 29% of our planet is land, and of that only about 24.6 million square miles are habitable. That’s still a lot of ground to cover!

Now consider this: When Jesus walked the earth, His entire ministry covered only about 3,000 square miles - mostly Galilee and Judea. For those of us here on the coast, that is roughly the size of Volusia, Flagler, and Brevard Counties combined. For you math geeks who are still following - that means Jesus personally touched only 0.0122% of the habitable land on earth.

With His final command, the mission was no longer restricted to one local “county.” It was launched into all nations. In Acts 1:8 He laid out the geography when He said, “you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

At Cross Creek Community Church, we take our seat at the console of that global mission. We may be small in number, but we are mighty in influence because we follow the “multiplication” mandate:

Jerusalem (Local): We serve our own backyard through our Day School, Hot Meals for the hungry, and sharing this Community Center.

Judea (Regional): We reach out through Care Portal and the Hogue's mission to the foster system with One Family. We connect and collaborate with other churches in our area through SHIFT Worship Nights and OneVolusia.com

Samaria (National): We engage Nationally through the National Day of Prayer and the Governor’s Faith and Community Initiative.

The Ends of the Earth (Global): We reach across the ocean to the Widow’s Farm in Kadawa and the DOVE Hospital Fund in Kenya, Africa.

To reach "every nation” (including those that hadn’t even been discovered yet), the mission had to be multiplied. It seemed like “Mission Impossible,” but Jesus gave them a secret weapon. He moved from being a physical leader beside them to being a a Sovereign King within them. (more about that next week!)

On Launch Day, Jesus promised His continual presence “to the end of the age.” He isn’t watching us from a distant heaven like a cold observer in Houston; He is the life-support system inside the capsule of our lives, sustaining us every mile of the journey.

Summary: Taking the Controls

On Friday night, many of us also watched again as the Orion capsule came hurtling back to earth, landing in the Pacific in a perfect splashdown. We saw those four crew members emerge to cheers from the flight crew - and I’ll be honest, there were tears in my eyes. It was the end of one journey, but the beginning of a new era.

One day, we will see our Savior coming on the clouds - not with a splashdown, but with fire, lighting, and seven angels heralding the “Day of the Lord.” But until that day? We must stay on mission!

For many years I lived as a “Spectator Christian.” I studied the Bible, I checked the boxes, and I prayed the right prayers at the right times. I watched the world from my driveway like I was watching a launch from the Cape - feeling like I was exempt from the work because, “I was already saved!”

But Jesus didn’t die for our comfort; He died for our commission.

His final words weren’t “watch and wait;” they were “Therefore, GO.” In the original language, that “Go” is an active, ongoing participle. It literally means, “as you are going…”

As you are going to the grocery story… as you are going to your office… as you are going to pick up your kids from school... make disciples.

Jesus handed the controls to His “ground crew.” He is still the Commander-in-Chief, but He has chosen you to move the mission forward. You are not a spectator on the stands; you are in the flight controller at the console. You are an ambassador of Christ to a world that is desperately seeking a place of refuge… an oasis in the dark nothingness.

The controls have been handed over, the coordinates are set, and the Commander isn’t just watching from a distance - He is with us until the very end of the age.

Cast Vision

Let me leave you with this thought; If every person who claimed the name of Christ began to view their life as a mission from God, we would change the world faster than any government, any policy, or any social shift ever could. This mission isn’t a human suggestion; it is God’s design.

Now... Go!

Small group Questions

In your small groups this week:

Share a time you had to let go of control and let Jesus move you forward.

Identify one person in your life and pray for an opportunity to share with them the good news.

Discuss how you can “teach” Christ’s love “as you are going” this week.

Pray (Stand)

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You did not leave the mission of redemption to chance, but entrusted it to be the mission of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Lord, forgive us for the times we have sat at the controls of our lives and ignored the flight plan you gave us. We admit that, like the disciples in Mark 14, we often want to scatter when things get difficult. But today, we fix our eyes on the rendezvous. We set our hearts on meeting you in your presence, and we acknowledge that all authority belongs to you.

Holy Spirit, embolden your “ground crew.” As we go into our offices, our schools, and our neighborhoods this week, remind us that we aren’t going alone. Help us to “make disciples” not by our own strength, but by the power of Your constant presence. We take up the mission today, trusting that the same Jesus who ascended to the right hand of the Father is walking right beside us now.

In the name of the One who is with us to the end of the age, Amen.

Tithes & Offerings

We also bless our tithes and offerings this morning. Without your generosity and support for this storehouse we would not be able to reach the local, regional, national, or global mission fields as we do. Each week we have the opportunity to demonstrate our faith in the Lord of All by offering a tenth of all our income, knowing full well 100% belongs to Him. (Bless them)

Malachi 3:10 “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, test me in this,” Says the Lord, “and see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.”

Communion NO COMMUNION THIS WEEK

We will partake in the Lord’s Supper during service on the first Sunday of the month through the Summer. We are praying and seeking the Lord for a fresh appreciation for the body and the blood of Jesus. We never want to take Communion irreverently by habit or routine, so the Elders and I prayed, and felt led to change things up for a season. I still encourage you all to take in communion in your homes as often as you need to! If you need special prayer or Pastoral Care, the Elders and I have the elements with us for that as well.

Benediction

Now, may “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”