Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die.”
I want to encourage you, as we gather together this afternoon, to remember that God is our refuge and our strength. We are ever embraced in the arms of our everlasting Lord.
Let us pray…
Almighty God, Fountain of life, You are our refuge. You are our strength. You are also our help in times of trouble. Today is such a day that we need your help and strength.
Father in Heaven, it is from You whom we come, and unto You our spirits return. You are our dwelling place. So we place our trust in you. Lift our eyes from the shadows of this earth and help us to see the light of eternity in You today.
Therefore, enable us to put our trust in You; so that we might obtain mercy and comfort in this time of grief. Help us to find grace to help us in this time of need through Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Let’s listen to the 23rd Psalm
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. [2] He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. [3] He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
[4] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. [5] Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.
[6] Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
This Psalm assures us that God is there for us to guide and lead us through times of trouble and hardship.
He is a friends that stays close to us…providing for us…and loving us.
-And even when we face those troubling days with hurts that are all to painful and real.
-He promises that He is there for us, and all we need to do is run to Him for refuge and strength.
Listen to the comfort and encouragement from this poem by Edgar Guest…
“When sorrow comes, as come it must,
in God man, must place his trust.
There is no power of mortal speech
The anguish of his soul to reach.
No voice, however, sweet and low,
can comfort Him or ease the blow.
He cannot from his fellow men
take strength that will sustain him then.
With all that kindly hands will do,
and all that love may offer too,
He must believe throughout the test
that God has willed it for his best.
…No words which we have the power to say
can take the sting of grief away.
That power that marks the sparrow’s fall
Must comfort and sustain us all.
When sorrow comes, as come it must,
in God man must place his trust.
… And only he may stand serene
who has faith on which to lean.”
Friends…Jesus said, “come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
-I encourage you to do this…
-In your grief, God is there to run to.
-Hope and trust in God!
Let us pray…
Almighty God, it is You we hope in and run to today, in our time of trouble. Only you can lead us through this time of change. Therefore, let us know and understand Your enduring presence in our lives.
Bless this family and comfort their hearts as they lay their loved one to rest today. May Your peace and assurance envelope their lives today and always. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Take comfort from The Word today…
2 Corinthians 4:17-18, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, [18] while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
For as much as it pleased Almighty God in His mercy to take back unto Himself the soul of our beloved ______________________, we therefore commit his body to the ground…
-Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust…
-Fulfilling the saying in Ecclesiastes, which is written…”then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.”
We have a sure and certain hope that the spirit which has returned unto God who gave it, will be reunited with his resurrected body at the second coming of Christ, when the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.
-Then it shall be brought to pass that saying which is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
Let us pray one last time…
Thanks for his life…
Thanks for the family, and now for comfort…help…and peace!
We look forward to your return Lord…
We look forward to Your help in our time of need!
Jude 1:24-25, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, [25] to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
My prayer is that God would bless you all!
May His peace go with you today…
