Posted by jan
on October 31, 2009, 9:42 pm
174.44.162.157
A few weeks ago, a good customer/friend of ours died of prostrate cancer. He was 63. He was a believer, but had no church, so his family asked me to conduct the funeral at the funeral home. I did, after much prayer to the Lord for help in explaining spiritual concepts to many folks who have never set foot in a church. Had so many positive comments from that sermon, that I'm including here for you... maybe it will help in some small way. Love you ((hugs)) -- jan
A reading from the Word of God, found in St. John’s gospel, chapter 14, Jesus speaking: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s Home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.” (NLT)
Sermon: I’d like to take a few minutes to offer comfort, and hope to Tim’s family. Doris [Tim's elderly mother], I’ve walked in your shoes, having buried our own daughter, Lora. The words I’m about to share will NOT make you miss Tim less. It won’t take away the longing to hold Tim, or talk with him. It won’t take away the pain of missing him with you.
Hope is what it is – hope is something to “LOOK FORWARD TO”, even AS you grieve Tim’s absence today.
Tim and I talked about faith in God several times. He told me that, like his dad before him, he believed… but he was a quiet believer in the Lord. To him, being a Christian meant LIVING like one who believes, not talking about it. I think he was successful at doing just that.
Perhaps you are one who does not believe. To you, a person lives, and then dies. Period. I would like to challenge you today that even science disagrees with this.
Science tells us that energy CANNOT be destroyed, only converted… The Bible tells us that every person is, like God, a trinity: we have a body, a soul (or personality), and a spirit – ENERGY – some have called it the “divine spark”. If energy cannot be destroyed, only converted… then where does OUR energy – our spirit – go at death?
I remember one thing the pastor told us at our daughter’s funeral: “This body did NOT give Lora life – Lora gave this body life.” And so I say to you today – Tim’s body did NOT give Tim life; Tim gave his body life.
This illustration might seem simple, but simple is usually better. You see this glove? You see it moving? Is this glove moving my hand – or is my hand moving this glove? You see, we are so used to thinking that a person’s body IS the person – but it’s not. It’s just like this glove. It contains a hand, which – right now – you cannot see. In the same way, Tim’s body housed the “real” Tim… his soul, and his spirit, which we also could not see.
Jesus, speaking to his followers, tells them – and us – that “I am going to prepare a place for you….When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.”
Tim’s place was ready… Jesus came to get Tim… and as his spirit & soul left his body to join God… that body died. But TIM did NOT. He now lives in God’s home – Tim has moved, if you will… and that is the hope I want you to embrace… that Jesus DID NOT LIE… so that in the days ahead, when you miss Tim – when you’re lonely, or angry that he’s gone from THIS world – hold on to the hope of being with Tim again… only this time, forever.
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