I was invited to give a short message during a funeral service last week. Below is the message. I hope You will be enlightened too! TEXT : John 11:1-11:31 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of every person; the living should take this to heart.
3 reasons for this:
1
. this is a time for us to celebrate the life that God gave to us. We’re sad but we also want to remember ones life. 2. It’s a time for us to say good-bye . As hard as it is, this service will help us begin the process of letting go. 3. It’s a time for us to take a look at our own lives. We are all going to die someday. It’s a great time to ask some tough questions. Questions like, “Am I ready to die?” and “Where will I go when my life is over?” When it comes right down to it, this service is more for us who are living than for the person who has died. And so, we’re going to remember, we’re going to say good-bye, and we’re going to reflect on our own lives.
Some of you are searching for answers this afternoon. I want you to know that it’s OK to ask those questions. It’s natural to wonder why this had to happen.
TRUTH 1: THERE’S A TIME FOR EVERYTHING. You shouldn’t feel guilty for wondering if there was something that God could have done. God could have kept Patricia from dying. But, for some reason, He didn’t.
Ecclesiastes 3:2 reminds us that there is a Time to be born and a Time to die. While we don’t understand why Patricia died, we do know it was her time to die.
TRUTH #2: GOD IS WITH YOU IN YOUR SORROW AND HE FEELS IT. John 11:35 tells us what Jesus did - “he wept.”
TRUTH #3: WE MUST REFLECT ON OUR LIFE TODAY - Where Will You Go? I have a question for you today. Where will you go when it’s your time to die?
verses 25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies. Do you believe this?”
Determine today to put your faith and trust in Jesus as the Savior and Leader of your life. This is real stuff, isn’t it?
James 4:14 says, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
Proverbs 27:1 reminds us to not boast about tomorrow because we don’t know what a day will bring forth. Some people are always bragging about what they’re going to do and they never do anything. “One of these days I’m going to do this.” “I’ll tackle that later.” But, later may never come.
• Life is unpredictable. We don’t even know what will happen tonight, much less next week or next year. The truth is that no one can predict the future.
• Life is brief. Our lives are like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. The Greek word here is the word atmos, from which we get the word “atmosphere,” which is that invisible layer of water vapor that encircles our planet. Our lives are like a mist in the grand scheme of things.
a. Psalm 90:12 to number our days. The truth of the matter is that all of us are just one heartbeat away from eternity.
b. 1 Samuel 20:3, David said, “Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”
Our lives are like a vapor – here one minute and gone the next. Don’t put off this decision. Decide today to give your life to Jesus.
