Doing Love
Sermon
Day Full Of Grace
Twenty-Five Funeral Messages
Accidental Death
Do you remember the time, that innocent time of your life, when your mom and dad could do anything? Remember, as a child, how you trusted them? They had the solution to every problem. Their kiss could make pain go away. They could fix things that broke. Your dad could lick any other man in the world.
For a short period in everyone's life, mom, dad and God are all the same; all powerful, all wise, all protecting. There comes the time, however, when dad can't fix the toy that broke, and mom's kiss doesn't make the pain go away. They no longer tell you what to do, what to wear, what to say, what to eat. Dad, himself, is vulnerable. There are other men stronger than he; other men are faster or more handsome. He even gets the flu, like everyone else.
All of us here have probably survived those early notions of ours about our parents. The thoughts that mom, dad and God were equals, all powerful, and all wise are replaced with reality. We move into an adult world with one another, but sometimes we leave our thoughts and feelings about God at a childish level. Today we can't do that. We are yanked away from innocence by a brutal tragedy. God couldn't fix ___________ He couldn't stop the tragedy. What are we to think about God today?
As God's spokesman on this sad occasion, I want to tell you what God cannot and will not do. God cannot say "yes" to every prayer. If two opposing teams ask God for victory, obviously, God cannot say "yes" to both. God cannot step in and resuscitate victims of disasters. When a bomb goes off, everyone near it gets killed; the good and the bad without exceptions. When a tornado touches down, churches and massage parlors are destroyed, no exceptions. When cancer strikes, people die whether they be Christian or non-Christian. Bad things happen to good people.
A bad thing happened to ___________, and there is no one to blame; not God, not yourself, not even ___________ "Fixing blame" doesn't help us grow up in the faith. It keeps us from growing up and becoming an adult Christian.
As God's spokesman I must also tell you what God will do. God has already accomplished a great deal for ___________ and for each of us. Since the earthly body of ___________ could not be fixed, God has a way to give him a new body fit for living in a different world. God has already provided the way of eternal life for ____________. God has already had his Son die for ____________. God has already had his Son rise from the dead for ____________.
There is more of God's work in this tragic event. God's done some things for each of us. He has turned on kitchen appliances all over this community in order to shower the bereaved family with food. God has opened the mouths of otherwise shy people to say, "We're so sorry for your loss. We hurt too." God has gathered us together as a congregation for half an hour to share, care and carry a burden together, that alone would crush any one of us. God has crept inside each of us, so that none of us need be alone, unless we insist upon it.
For the few moments we are gathered here, this is God's church, God's body and God's people doing Godly work. Our Godly work is to look to the future together. You have a future because God has a future. ____________ has a future because God has a future. We have a future because God has told each of us how to find him. It's not in the broodings of our mind; not in the loneliness of our grief, but rather, in the sharing of our pain and our faith.
All we do when we gather in church on Sundays is acknowledge and thank the God who is active in our lives. We are not out to get special favors from God. He cannot do it for us. We are out to share our needs. We don't gather because we all agree on the same doctrine, because we don't. We gather because we need each other. We don't gather because God is more there than here. We gather because God promises to be with us when we gather.
There is only one thing God could not create on earth. Do you know what it is? He could demand obedience and get it (angels do not disobey him). God could command allegiance and get it (all heavenly creatures are faithful). He could create life and get it, but even God could not demand love and get it. He could only show us love and hope that we would do it.
People of the hurt family, you cannot, on your own, bear this burden well, but God has sent you all these people to share the sorrow, the pain and the future. You will find among us God at work, doing what he could not command: doing love. Don't look in the sky for an answer to the many questions you have. Look around you and into the eyes of others who care. Here you will see the greatness of God, and find the strength to confess: "How great Thou art."
Do you remember the time, that innocent time of your life, when your mom and dad could do anything? Remember, as a child, how you trusted them? They had the solution to every problem. Their kiss could make pain go away. They could fix things that broke. Your dad could lick any other man in the world.
For a short period in everyone's life, mom, dad and God are all the same; all powerful, all wise, all protecting. There comes the time, however, when dad can't fix the toy that broke, and mom's kiss doesn't make the pain go away. They no longer tell you what to do, what to wear, what to say, what to eat. Dad, himself, is vulnerable. There are other men stronger than he; other men are faster or more handsome. He even gets the flu, like everyone else.
All of us here have probably survived those early notions of ours about our parents. The thoughts that mom, dad and God were equals, all powerful, and all wise are replaced with reality. We move into an adult world with one another, but sometimes we leave our thoughts and feelings about God at a childish level. Today we can't do that. We are yanked away from innocence by a brutal tragedy. God couldn't fix ___________ He couldn't stop the tragedy. What are we to think about God today?
As God's spokesman on this sad occasion, I want to tell you what God cannot and will not do. God cannot say "yes" to every prayer. If two opposing teams ask God for victory, obviously, God cannot say "yes" to both. God cannot step in and resuscitate victims of disasters. When a bomb goes off, everyone near it gets killed; the good and the bad without exceptions. When a tornado touches down, churches and massage parlors are destroyed, no exceptions. When cancer strikes, people die whether they be Christian or non-Christian. Bad things happen to good people.
A bad thing happened to ___________, and there is no one to blame; not God, not yourself, not even ___________ "Fixing blame" doesn't help us grow up in the faith. It keeps us from growing up and becoming an adult Christian.
As God's spokesman I must also tell you what God will do. God has already accomplished a great deal for ___________ and for each of us. Since the earthly body of ___________ could not be fixed, God has a way to give him a new body fit for living in a different world. God has already provided the way of eternal life for ____________. God has already had his Son die for ____________. God has already had his Son rise from the dead for ____________.
There is more of God's work in this tragic event. God's done some things for each of us. He has turned on kitchen appliances all over this community in order to shower the bereaved family with food. God has opened the mouths of otherwise shy people to say, "We're so sorry for your loss. We hurt too." God has gathered us together as a congregation for half an hour to share, care and carry a burden together, that alone would crush any one of us. God has crept inside each of us, so that none of us need be alone, unless we insist upon it.
For the few moments we are gathered here, this is God's church, God's body and God's people doing Godly work. Our Godly work is to look to the future together. You have a future because God has a future. ____________ has a future because God has a future. We have a future because God has told each of us how to find him. It's not in the broodings of our mind; not in the loneliness of our grief, but rather, in the sharing of our pain and our faith.
All we do when we gather in church on Sundays is acknowledge and thank the God who is active in our lives. We are not out to get special favors from God. He cannot do it for us. We are out to share our needs. We don't gather because we all agree on the same doctrine, because we don't. We gather because we need each other. We don't gather because God is more there than here. We gather because God promises to be with us when we gather.
There is only one thing God could not create on earth. Do you know what it is? He could demand obedience and get it (angels do not disobey him). God could command allegiance and get it (all heavenly creatures are faithful). He could create life and get it, but even God could not demand love and get it. He could only show us love and hope that we would do it.
People of the hurt family, you cannot, on your own, bear this burden well, but God has sent you all these people to share the sorrow, the pain and the future. You will find among us God at work, doing what he could not command: doing love. Don't look in the sky for an answer to the many questions you have. Look around you and into the eyes of others who care. Here you will see the greatness of God, and find the strength to confess: "How great Thou art."
