Death is Not the End
Death is Not the End: A Funeral Sermon for a Faithful Christian
Scripture
Deuteronomy 29:29
Sermon
TEXT - Deut. 29:29 - "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God but those things which are revealed belong unto us."
Death is not an easy thing to accept. Even under the best of circumstances, death is a terrible thing. Nature has its seasons but death can come to anyone, at anytime, in any place. Truly we know not what a day may bring forth.
We come here today with sorrow in our hearts and questions on our minds as to why these things happen. Can we really know? There are many unexplainable sorrows in life and we must simply leave these in the hands of God who knows all things.
All of us are sorrowful here today but the Bible teaches us of 2 types of sorrow.
I Thess. 4:13 "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope."
Some here may have a sorrow with no hope beyond the grave while others have the sorrow of a friend that has gone on a long journey and will be joining that friend shortly. The Christian who dies and the believer who remains will one day meet again. There is a glad reunion day.
______ knew the Lord. He/she settled it at the Cross ______ yrs. ago.
To comfort your hearts and ease the pain of loss, I want to make 2 statements.
First Statement
1st - ______ did not die. God’s children do not die. Jesus said it Himself in John 11:26, "Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die". 2 Cor. 5:8 says, "absent from the body and present with the Lord". ______ did not die. He/she simply changed residents.
Like the old poem: I cannot think of them as dead Who walk with me no more Along the path of life I tread They have but gone before.
Yes, Gone to Glory! ______ simply changed residents from this world to the city of God. We are here only to bury the covering. ______ is not here. This here is only the covering. The important part, the soul, the being that made ______ went to be with the Lord. It is like when we receive a letter in the mail. We let the covering drop to the side and read and keep the letter inside that was important. God has left the outside here for awhile but has taken ______ to be with him.
We are told that when those who serve in the ranks of the Salvation Army die they are listed, not under the heading of "deaths" but under the heading "promotions". Promoted to Glory!
Even now ______ walks among the patriarchs of the Bible. He/she did not die. He/she simply fell asleep in Jesus.
Second Statement
2nd - This may be a shocker but if my Bible is right and if I understand anything of the glories of heaven, then I believe that it is safe to say that with only two exceptions ______ would not want to come back into this world of sin, pain, trial, and sorrow.
The two exceptions are 1. Maybe to ease your sorrow 2. Maybe to urge some loved one to turn to the Lord.
I was thinking ______ has already seen the angels for the first time. He/she has heard the angelic choirs, seen sights man has never seen, walked the streets of gold, talked to the people of the Bible. But best of all, he/she has seen Jesus.
Edward Guest lost his little daughter and wrote this poem.
IF THEY COULD WRITE
What glorious news they’s have to tell If only they could write today Those who have gone afar to dwell Where all the glorious spirits stay
In fancy then I set it down What ______ would pen for me "I’ve touched the hem of Jesus’ gown The way they did in Galilee
And thinking thus, I am content To bear the loneliness and wait Because I know her days are spent In the company of heaven’s great
Let me change the 2nd verse ---- "in fancy then I set it down what ______ would pen for me. I’ve touched the hem of Jesus’ gown the way they did in Galilee.
No --- I do not think that your loved one would want to come back to the world... keep reading with free account
Death is Not the End: A Funeral Sermon for a Faithful Christian
Scripture
Deuteronomy 29:29
Sermon
TEXT - Deut. 29:29 - "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God but those things which are revealed belong unto us."
Death is not an easy thing to accept. Even under the best of circumstances, death is a terrible thing. Nature has its seasons but death can come to anyone, at anytime, in any place. Truly we know not what a day may bring forth.
We come here today with sorrow in our hearts and questions on our minds as to why these things happen. Can we really know? There are many unexplainable sorrows in life and we must simply leave these in the hands of God who knows all things.
All of us are sorrowful here today but the Bible teaches us of 2 types of sorrow.
I Thess. 4:13 "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope."
Some here may have a sorrow with no hope beyond the grave while others have the sorrow of a friend that has gone on a long journey and will be joining that friend shortly. The Christian who dies and the believer who remains will one day meet again. There is a glad reunion day.
______ knew the Lord. He/she settled it at the Cross ______ yrs. ago.
To comfort your hearts and ease the pain of loss, I want to make 2 statements.
First Statement
1st - ______ did not die. God’s children do not die. Jesus said it Himself in John 11:26, "Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die". 2 Cor. 5:8 says, "absent from the body and present with the Lord". ______ did not die. He/she simply changed residents.
Like the old poem: I cannot think of them as dead Who walk with me no more Along the path of life I tread They have but gone before.
Yes, Gone to Glory! ______ simply changed residents from this world to the city of God. We are here only to bury the covering. ______ is not here. This here is only the covering. The important part, the soul, the being that made ______ went to be with the Lord. It is like when we receive a letter in the mail. We let the covering drop to the side and read and keep the letter inside that was important. God has left the outside here for awhile but has taken ______ to be with him.
We are told that when those who serve in the ranks of the Salvation Army die they are listed, not under the heading of "deaths" but under the heading "promotions". Promoted to Glory!
Even now ______ walks among the patriarchs of the Bible. He/she did not die. He/she simply fell asleep in Jesus.
Second Statement
2nd - This may be a shocker but if my Bible is right and if I understand anything of the glories of heaven, then I believe that it is safe to say that with only two exceptions ______ would not want to come back into this world of sin, pain, trial, and sorrow.
The two exceptions are 1. Maybe to ease your sorrow 2. Maybe to urge some loved one to turn to the Lord.
I was thinking ______ has already seen the angels for the first time. He/she has heard the angelic choirs, seen sights man has never seen, walked the streets of gold, talked to the people of the Bible. But best of all, he/she has seen Jesus.
Edward Guest lost his little daughter and wrote this poem.
IF THEY COULD WRITE
What glorious news they’s have to tell If only they could write today Those who have gone afar to dwell Where all the glorious spirits stay
In fancy then I set it down What ______ would pen for me "I’ve touched the hem of Jesus’ gown The way they did in Galilee
And thinking thus, I am content To bear the loneliness and wait Because I know her days are spent In the company of heaven’s great
Let me change the 2nd verse ---- "in fancy then I set it down what ______ would pen for me. I’ve touched the hem of Jesus’ gown the way they did in Galilee.
No --- I do not think that your loved one would want to come back to the world.
Why Did This Happen?
NOW FOR ANOTHER QUESTION WE NEED TO ASK TODAY?
Nature has its seasons but death has no season. It can come to anyone, at anytime, at any place.
Truly the Bible is seen to be true when it says "we know not what a day may bring forth" - Prov. 27:1
Why do our loved ones die? Can we know why? there are many unexplainable sorrows in life and we must simply trust our loving God who knows all things.
There is much we do not know and even if we did, we would still feel the sorrow and pain and loss. But God has reasons for all he allows and has a word of every heart and every heartache.
We do not know why a preacher’s wife dies on an operating table due to a mistake in blood type or why a little baby is taken before it draws its first breath.
I Cor. 13:12 says "For now we see through a glass darkly.
In Closing
Remember the Bible teaches us that:
- Death is not the end but the beginning
- Death is not a loss but a gain
- Death is not a defeat but a victory
Joseph Jennings when on the verge of that glorious world to which ______ has gone exclaimed "Beautiful! What a morning." His weeping wife, not seeing what he saw, said, "Shall I open the shutters to give you a better view?" "Oh", he said, "I have seen a great way beyond the shutters".
And we need to look beyond the shutters of this world today and see Jesus. Let us look to Him as our comfort and as our Savior. Take His hand. In Matt. 14:12 speaking of the death of John the Baptist, it says "And his disciples came and took up the body and buried it and went and told Jesus. Let us turn to Jesus this hour and tell Him. He cares.