Sermon Central
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Grief With A Hope Series
Contributed by Bobby Stults on Sep 23, 2010 (message contributor)
Summary: Our grief is not that of the world, but it is a grief that is sheltered in the grace, mercy and love of God thru the person of Jesus Christ, and although we hurt and are stung by death in this world, our hope is in Christ who promises eternity in Heaven w
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Sermon Brief
Date Written: September 23, 2010
Date Preached: September 23, 2010
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: Funeral Service for Mary Jo Frazier
Sermon Title: We grieve, but Our Grief has a Hope!
Sermon Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout , with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Introduction:
Today we are all here hurting and mourning the loss of a wonderful person and loved member of her family. To her family, she was mawmaw… to others she was a wonderful lady who loved her sports and loved to play bridge and loved the Lord!
Today we come together to grieve the death of Mrs. Mary Jo Frazier. Today there is great pain in our midst. Today there is emotional suffering; physical anguish and our hearts are wounded to the point where we think that things will NEVER be good again.
It is always difficult to lose a loved one, but the manner of Mrs Mary JO’s death was a great shock to her family and the shock of losing a loved one is devastating on the heart and soul for all of us!
We are going to miss this wonderful lady… this special lady! I don’t know how many 84 yr old RABID LSU and Saint fans are out there… but Mrs Mary Jo was one of them! She loved her college football! And this past February when the Saints won it all she was floating on a cloud for days.
There are many things we will miss about her… I loved her sweet demeanor, and I love the fact that she was an avid golf fan! She was also an avid card player… playing bridge almost up to the day she died! I spoke to her children last night and I heard stories about them remembering being picked up off the couch and carried to the car after a marathon bridge card night at a friend’s house! She will be missed!
But as much as we will miss her, the reality is that death comes to ALL of us… it is a foe we all are going to have to face someday, and it is something all of us struggle with and will ultimately deal with…
And even though death brings about feelings of anger and frustration and a feeling of extreme unfairness… the simple fact remains that we will ALL come to the point where we face death!
When we do, we will come face to face with anger and depression. Our emotions will run roughshod over our minds… and it is always a difficult time when we finally come to the realization that death is a real and final thing we have to deal with!
And long after the funeral and all our family and friends have gone, we will have to face death alone… and for many of us in that moment there is great fear because we don’t know if we can do it! In that moment we will also face the most difficult grief we will ever have to deal with…
But this morning I want to share with you that even though it seems to us that death has won the victory here, I am here to tell you that this victory is merely temporary for death over Mrs Mary Jo…
Why can I say this? How can I know this? Well I can say this because I know that Mrs Mary Jo had accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior! How can I say this… well I know and Mrs Mary Jo Frazier knew that God has promised in His word, that those who die shall NOT be forsaken, but they shall be redeemed in glory… AMEN!
The Apostle Paul wrote that… “…for me to live is Christ but for me to die is gain…” He understood that our life here on this world was to be dedicated to Christ but that our life after this life was something that all believers should actually look forward to because it was something so much more than this life!
