10/16/2022
Hatch is two days late with this weeks blog post. He sends his apologies. Well, not really, I don’t think he cares that he’s late, but I do. So I apologize on his behalf. It’s been a tough week here at Journey. We have hosted three funerals in 7 days and we honored each life and grieved with each family.
Saying good bye to a loved one is one of life's most difficult seasons and pastors have a unique opportunity to serve people in their darkest days. So we did our best to serve.
Life is short.
Cherish every day.
While I was in college, I took a job at a funeral home for nearly two years. I went to school during the day and worked at the funeral home at night. My job mostly consisted of hosting the families during the services of their loved ones. It was a tough learning curve but it taught me some personal skills on how to care for grieving families. It was intensive training that I probably wouldn’t gone through any other way.
But I still find death and funerals the hardest part of ministry.
I love the way Jesus went to funerals though! He stopped one funeral procession and raised the dead out of his casket.
Then he showed up four days late for Lazarus’ funeral and then called him out of the grave. Four days later!
Jesus can raise the dead.
And that brings us to the greatest hope for mankind. The resurrection of the dead.
Jesus is coming back soon and all of the dead in Christ will be raised.
That is the hope of humanity.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.
14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
