Summary: [ Intro music: "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming"] I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING: DON HAS FINALLY LOST IT. HE STARTS OUT OUR MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE WITH A CHRISTMAS HYMN – WHAT WAS HE THINKING? ACTUALLY, I WAS THINKING ABOUT REMEMBRANCE.

THIS SUNDAY, I WANTED TO TAKE A DIFFERENT LOOK AT MEMORIAL DAY. I WANTED TO REMEMBER THE WHOLE SALVATION STORY: FROM JESUS’ BIRTH & LIFE, TO HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION, AND HOW THAT ALL TIES IN TO THIS MEMORIAL DAY.

WE THINK OF EVENTS AS ISOLATED DATES ON THE CALENDAR – CHRISTMAS, HOLY WEEK, EASTER – BUT WE NEED TO REMEMBER THE WHOLE STORY – THAT THE MANGER LEADS TO THE CROSS – THEY ARE ONE AND THE SAME. WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT CHRISTMAS CELEBRATES THE BIRTH OF A CHILD WHO WAS BORN TO DIE, FOR US.

ON THIS DAY IN PARTICULAR, WE REMEMBERS JESUS’ WORDS: “GREATER LOVE THAN THIS, NO MAN HAS, THAN THAT HE LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS.”

ON THIS DAY, WE REMEMBER ALL THOSE WHO FOLLOWED IN HIS FOOTSTEPS, WHO GAVE THEIR “LAST FULL MEASURE OF DEVOTION,” SO THAT OTHERS MIGHT LIVE. WE REMEMBER ALL THOSE WHO, LIKE JESUS, GAVE THEIR LIVES IN SERVICE TO OTHERS, AND WHO LIVE TODAY IN JESUS. THIS IS OUR SPECIAL MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE.

MEMORIAL DAY STARTED IN THIS COUNTRY JUST AFTER THE CIVIL WAR. NO COMMUNITY WAS UNTOUCHED BY THAT TERRIBLE CONFLICT. AND SO, COMMUNITIES BEGAN OBSERVING A “DECORATION DAY”, WHEN FAMILIES WOULD DECORATE THE GRAVES OF THOSE LOST IN THAT CONFLICT, WITH FLOWERS, WREATHS, RIBBONS & FLAGS AND SO ON, ON WHATEVER DAY THAT LOCALITY CHOSE. IT DIDN’T BECOME A UNIFORM NATIONAL HOLIDAY UNTIL A HUNDRED YEARS LATER, BUT A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE WAS OBSERVED EVERYWHERE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

AND SO TODAY, WE CONTINUE THAT REMEMBRANCE OF THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR ALL FOR FRIENDS, FAMILY, COMMUNITY & COUNTRY. IN A VERY REAL SENSE, WE ARE ALL CHILDREN BORN TO DIE, BUT WE HAVE JESUS ASSURANCE, THAT THOUGH WE DIE, YET WE SHALL LIVE.

THOUGH OUR LOVED ONES ARE LOST TO US FOR A TIME, THEY ARE NEVER LOST TO JESUS. AND IT’S THROUGH JESUS’ TRIUMPH OVER DEATH, THAT WE ARE ASSURED THAT ALL SHALL MEET AGAIN, IN A LAND THAT KNOWS NO SORROW.

IN THE MEANTIME, WE SHOULD BE MINDFUL THAT WE ARE ALL LIVING MEMORIALS TO THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE – WE ARE HERE BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT.

FROM OUR SALVATION IN JESUS – WHO ALWAYS LED BY EXAMPLE – TO OUR EARTHLY FREEDOM BOUGHT WITH THE BLOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVED US MORE THAN LIFE, WE SHOULD BE EVER MINDFUL OF THIS:

ALL THAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN, HAS BEEN PAID FOR, BY SOMEONE ELSE.

GREATER LOVE THAN THIS, NO MAN HAS.

AMEN.