Funeral Sermon
Zach Terry
John 12:24
INTRODUCTION: I am a Pastor. It is part of my calling to help people through these times and join them as the lay their loved ones to rest.
But in spite of all of that experience, death never feels normal.
We always have peculiar feeling when we come to the house of mourning. There is a sense in which the death of any person who bears God's image is a tragedy, no matter their age.
When Jesus came to the funeral of his friend Lazarus, ''Jesus wept''. Jesus knew better than anyone that Lazarus would soon be resuscitated and ultimately resurrected, but nevertheless, the death of his friend caused our Lord to weep.
The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:26 that death is an enemy that will one day be destroyed.
Yet there is also a certain soberness that comes from times like this - Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived said, Ecclesiastes 7:2 (ESV) 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.
As we have heard through each one who is spoken, we carry PRECIOUS MEMORIES as we walk through DEATH'S VALLEY. There is both the sorrow of loss, but for the Christian there is also a marvelous anticipation.
If there be any here that does not understand that paradox, let me try to explain.
Our Lord said in John 12:24 (ESV)
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Jesus here takes a simple illustration from the agrarian culture of first century Judea and applies it to life and death.
A grain of wheat, the STAPLE food of his followers, something they couldn't imagine living without. Something as vital to their life as the departed was to yours. It was the most fruitful when it fell to the ground and died. Then an only then was it transformed into something really miraculous that literally ...
Zach Terry
John 12:24
INTRODUCTION: I am a Pastor. It is part of my calling to help people through these times and join them as the lay their loved ones to rest.
But in spite of all of that experience, death never feels normal.
We always have peculiar feeling when we come to the house of mourning. There is a sense in which the death of any person who bears God's image is a tragedy, no matter their age.
When Jesus came to the funeral of his friend Lazarus, ''Jesus wept''. Jesus knew better than anyone that Lazarus would soon be resuscitated and ultimately resurrected, but nevertheless, the death of his friend caused our Lord to weep.
The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:26 that death is an enemy that will one day be destroyed.
Yet there is also a certain soberness that comes from times like this - Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived said, Ecclesiastes 7:2 (ESV) 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.
As we have heard through each one who is spoken, we carry PRECIOUS MEMORIES as we walk through DEATH'S VALLEY. There is both the sorrow of loss, but for the Christian there is also a marvelous anticipation.
If there be any here that does not understand that paradox, let me try to explain.
Our Lord said in John 12:24 (ESV)
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Jesus here takes a simple illustration from the agrarian culture of first century Judea and applies it to life and death.
A grain of wheat, the STAPLE food of his followers, something they couldn't imagine living without. Something as vital to their life as the departed was to yours. It was the most fruitful when it fell to the ground and died. Then an only then was it transformed into something really miraculous that literally ...
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