An Outline For A Believer's Funeral Sermon

Introduction: This is an outline for a message I’ve used a few times whenever I was asked to preach a funeral message. The text is often used and known as “the Rapture passage” and has words of comfort and encouragement for those still living after their believing loved one has gone to be with the Lord. Certainly, feel free to modify this as the Lord leads.

Full disclosure: Any similarity to any other message based on this text and/or concepts is accidental and not intentional. I have not knowingly borrowed or used anyone else’s words, excepting commentators, for this message.

Text:1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, King James Version (KJV): 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. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Thoughts:

1 There are hurting people:

--Some general remarks; this is one of the earliest or oldest letters in the New Testament. Paul wrote about several things in this letter.

--This topic was important or the Holy Spirit wouldn’t have led Paul to write about it. The words of this letter are just as relevant to us here today as they were to these believers long ago.

--Paul didn’t say “Stop grieving” or “Don’t begin to grieve” but he did say to not sorrow or grieve like those who had no hope. He had seen death personally and knew what it was about. Likely he had known some of this pain himself.

--And it’s okay to hurt. Someone we knew and loved, or at least were familiar with, is no longer living. The pain is real and to insist one “get over it” is unfair and unfeeling.

--But for believers, there is hope beyond the hurting!

2 There are hoping people

--Paul told these folks not to sorrow like those who have no hope. This means we have a hope!

--There is a time coming when saints, now absent from the body and present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:10) will be reunited with saints living when this takes place.

--“Prevent” is a word that has changed meaning from the 1600’s. The correct word should be “precede”, as Paul is teaching that the living saints won’t precede or go before the dead saints.

--The next hope, promise, actually, is that the Lord will descend with a shout and other things (see verse 16) and the dead in Christ will rise first! A Scottish preacher from yesteryear was asked about this and he explained it by saying: “The dead in Christ will be raised first because they have six feet further to go than those who are living!”

--We only have glimpses of Heaven and the new life with Jesus but that should be enough to keep our hopes alive. Dr. Vance Havner, in one of his books, wrote how booksellers would come with a prospectus, as he called it. He said the prospectus featured the book’s cover and a few sample pages, and to paraphrase, “the hope was that the crumbs would make you want the cake!”

--And with that hope, we can surely have happiness too.

3 There can be happy people

--It’s seldom if ever been easy to be a true follower of Jesus. Some have observed believers have experienced more persecution than prosperity, but that’s going to change one day.

--Imagine the happiness we’ll feel when we see Jesus for the first time! Then, we can look forward to being reunited with family and friends, plus meeting all the saints of old!

--John gave a few more hints of Heaven in the last chapters of Revelation. Oh, that’s going to be something to look forward to!

Conclusion: our loved one has completed his/her journey on this earth. We who are still living have more chances to do God’s Will and be the people He wants us to be. And then, when our earthly life is over, we’ll never hurt, we’ll have received our hope, and we’ll be happy in Jesus!

Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).