Hope!
Sermon
Life Everlasting
The Essential Book of Funeral Resources
Object:
For a woman who died following the painful ordeal of bone cancer
Hope!
John 14:1-6; Revelation 7:9-17
Hope!
Hope ... there are a variety of hopes and dreams in life. Think back for a moment to your childhood years -- when life was somewhat carefree, when your cares were few in number -- there were countless things you hoped to receive. If you were a boy, your hope might have been for a new bicycle on your fifth birthday. Perhaps as a young girl, you had hoped for a special new doll. Childhood hopes. So simple. So free. Children with wild hope ... hope because these children knew that because their parents loved them so very much, those parents would do their very best to fulfill the hopes.
But what do we hope for when we are face-to-face with death? Is there hope? Is hope possible?
Yes, indeed! Hope is possible!
Christians call it the "hope of the righteous." Our Christian hope is not a wild dream that if we want it badly enough, then our Heavenly Father will grant it. Rather, our Christian hope is a firm confidence that what God has promised to us, his earthly children, he will give.
Yet, we find it hard to possess hope as we gather today in this church and worship God during this funeral service for Millie. Each and every one of us has lost a beautiful part of our lives, because of what Millie did, as a wife, a mother, a sister, a neighbor, a good friend. We long for her "wonderful way" of living life ... a way that spoke ever so deeply and meaningfully of the love of God flowing from her to others. As a member of the congregation noted, "She was always there -- her steadfastness, her faithfulness, her smile." There is a sting to death that is not removed while on this side of eternity. So, for us today, we hold the Christian hope of the righteous high before us!
That hope is a special word God has for the dying, those who grieve, and for those who are brokenhearted. That word is Easter. To you who are now so troubled, our Lord Jesus says, "Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:1-2).
That is the Easter promise. "Even though you die, yet shall you live."
This is God's promise to you and to me. But then, our Lord also says, "Lo, I am with you always." That, too, is God's eternal promise to you, to me.
What that promise means is given more clarity as Jesus speaks about his Father's house. He indicates it has many large rooms or areas, and that he, himself, has gone to make this ready for the believer. And then, John, in the book of Revelation, gives even more detail to our picture. He does not tell us about bloodless, stained-glass window Christian figures. John speaks about simple and ordinary Christian men and women, like you, like me, like Millie, who, in their earthly lives, sought to be like Christ. Perhaps they were slaves or school teachers, plumbers or salesmen, housewives, mothers, farmers, railroaders -- all of whom, because they were witnesses of Christ's resurrection, followed their Lord in thought, word, and deed.
And what is their reward? Language is a poor instrument to describe heavenly life, but John does his best. And the result is a beautiful picture in language that comes simply to this: "Now at last they are able to serve God day and night. Their tears of frustration, their weariness of mind and body, their hurts, their pain, the illnesses, the suffering -- all these earthly woes are gone. The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
That is our Christian hope. A hope that we, who have faith in the risen Lord Jesus, the Christ, will indeed share in eternal life.
Take that hope seriously. Share that hope in word and deed. Amen.
-- A. Donald Main
(Reprinted from "I'll Give You A Daisy A Day," CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio 45804, © 1978.)
Hope!
John 14:1-6; Revelation 7:9-17
Hope!
Hope ... there are a variety of hopes and dreams in life. Think back for a moment to your childhood years -- when life was somewhat carefree, when your cares were few in number -- there were countless things you hoped to receive. If you were a boy, your hope might have been for a new bicycle on your fifth birthday. Perhaps as a young girl, you had hoped for a special new doll. Childhood hopes. So simple. So free. Children with wild hope ... hope because these children knew that because their parents loved them so very much, those parents would do their very best to fulfill the hopes.
But what do we hope for when we are face-to-face with death? Is there hope? Is hope possible?
Yes, indeed! Hope is possible!
Christians call it the "hope of the righteous." Our Christian hope is not a wild dream that if we want it badly enough, then our Heavenly Father will grant it. Rather, our Christian hope is a firm confidence that what God has promised to us, his earthly children, he will give.
Yet, we find it hard to possess hope as we gather today in this church and worship God during this funeral service for Millie. Each and every one of us has lost a beautiful part of our lives, because of what Millie did, as a wife, a mother, a sister, a neighbor, a good friend. We long for her "wonderful way" of living life ... a way that spoke ever so deeply and meaningfully of the love of God flowing from her to others. As a member of the congregation noted, "She was always there -- her steadfastness, her faithfulness, her smile." There is a sting to death that is not removed while on this side of eternity. So, for us today, we hold the Christian hope of the righteous high before us!
That hope is a special word God has for the dying, those who grieve, and for those who are brokenhearted. That word is Easter. To you who are now so troubled, our Lord Jesus says, "Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:1-2).
That is the Easter promise. "Even though you die, yet shall you live."
This is God's promise to you and to me. But then, our Lord also says, "Lo, I am with you always." That, too, is God's eternal promise to you, to me.
What that promise means is given more clarity as Jesus speaks about his Father's house. He indicates it has many large rooms or areas, and that he, himself, has gone to make this ready for the believer. And then, John, in the book of Revelation, gives even more detail to our picture. He does not tell us about bloodless, stained-glass window Christian figures. John speaks about simple and ordinary Christian men and women, like you, like me, like Millie, who, in their earthly lives, sought to be like Christ. Perhaps they were slaves or school teachers, plumbers or salesmen, housewives, mothers, farmers, railroaders -- all of whom, because they were witnesses of Christ's resurrection, followed their Lord in thought, word, and deed.
And what is their reward? Language is a poor instrument to describe heavenly life, but John does his best. And the result is a beautiful picture in language that comes simply to this: "Now at last they are able to serve God day and night. Their tears of frustration, their weariness of mind and body, their hurts, their pain, the illnesses, the suffering -- all these earthly woes are gone. The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
That is our Christian hope. A hope that we, who have faith in the risen Lord Jesus, the Christ, will indeed share in eternal life.
Take that hope seriously. Share that hope in word and deed. Amen.
-- A. Donald Main
(Reprinted from "I'll Give You A Daisy A Day," CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio 45804, © 1978.)
