I helped to officiate a funeral this weekend.  My role, besides giving the invocation and reading the obituary, was to share a few words at the graveside.

I shared the verse, Psalm 116:15.  It says,

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

I asked the question, “Why is it precious to God when a Christian passes through this life to the next?”  In an attempt to both encourage the family as well as faithfully bear witness to the gospel I answered this question as it relates to three different persons or groups of persons: the individual who passed away, the Christians affected by his death, and the non-Christians affected by his death.

So why is it precious to the Lord when his faithful pass?  Because its a homecoming, an encouragement, and a challenge.

1. Homecoming—for the deceased

→The deceased believer is at home with Jesus.  They were not made for this world with its sin, suffering, and shame.  They were made for God and now they are with him and enjoying him and worshipping in a more fully realized sense than ever before.

2. Encouragement—for the believing bereaved

→ This is not the end.  Your loved one is not lost and gone forever.  They are merely on the other side.  They are with God.  And one day we will be there with them.

3. Challenge—to the unbelieving bereaved

→ May this occasion be an opportunity for you to be challenged by considering the brevity of life, your need for a savior, and the invitation of the gospel.

Have you ever had some close to you pass away?  What words were shared with you that were helpful as you tried to endure the grieving process?

This past Sunday night I caved to the pressures of the calendar and preached a Valentine’s-Day-inspired sermon on love.  The quintessential biblical passage on love is, of course, I Cor. 13.  So that’s where we parked things for the evening.

I covered the entire chapter by dividing it into three sections, each relating to the theme of ‘What Love Makes.”

Here’s the sermon audio:

• (Go here for download link)

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And here’s a rough sketch of my outline:

Love is What Makes the Difference (I Cor. 13:1-3)

• In what we say
• In what we know and believe
• In what we give and are willing to sacrifice

Love is What Makes for Unity (I Cor. 13:4-7)

• Consider the 14 or so different ways that Paul describes what love is and what it is not, what it does and doesn’t do.
• I referred to this section as the perfect ingredients for the perfect recipe that makes for unity among the people of God.

Love is What Makes it to the End (I Cor. 13:8-13)

• Here Paul delineates between two phases of Christian existence: the here and the hereafter.
• Prophecies, tongues and knowledge—they will fade away and no longer be necessary.
• But not love—it will be around forever.

Everyone faces temptation (I Cor. 10:13).  Even Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11).  Here are a few germane to the role of a pastor.

1. Familiarity—loss of awe at holy and amazing things.
2. Identity amnesia—forgetting you are a person and have a life apart from the ministry vocation.
3. Missional confusion—losing sight of being an ambassadorial representative of Christ at all times.
4. Mediocrity.
5. Self-righteousness.
6. Fear of man.
7. Formalism—when public ministry overwhelms private devotion (no s).
8. Self-promotion.
9. Family neglect.
10. Numbing—TV, food, escapism, banal entertainment
11. Politicizing—politics aims at preserving positions; pastoral ministry isn’t concerned with position.
12. Bitterness—against obstructors.
13. Envy—looking over the fence at some other ministry.
14. Self-rule.
15. Loss of zeal.

I certainly find myself (unfortunately) relating to some of these.  Given my fallen, fleshly state I understand my vulnerability to all of them be it not for God’s daily grace of protection and provision in my life.

How about you?  Any of these a real and present danger in your life?  Any others that may not be on this list?

Credit Where Credit is Due:

• I copied this list from Pastor Sam Crabtree of Bethlehem Baptist Church.
• The material isn’t original with him, though.  It’s notes he took from a talk given by Paul Tripp.

Dr. Richard Mayhue contributed an excellent little chapter called “The Pastor’s Home”  in the book, Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry, edited by John MacArthur.

He writes that,

“Without the strength of my home, I would never have made it through twenty years of ministry.  My marriage and my family provide me a home where I can:

1. retreat—get away from the pressures
2. relax—enjoy a different environment
3. recharge—gain a new supply of energy
4. relate—enjoy my wife and children
5. rehabilitate—heal the wounds
6. reach out—to neighbors, friends, and flock
7. research—uninterrupted study/writing
8. raise a family—children and grandchildren
9. ripen—grow in God’s grace
10. rejoice—praise the Lord
11. reflect—quiet moments to contemplate
12. reinvest—in my grandchildren
13. regain perspective—in prayer and Scripture”

Mayhue closes this section by saying that,

“When I leave the fair haven nof my home for ministry, I depart in strength, not weakness.”

What a wonderful description and goal for all of us who minister.  Can you think of any other things that a godly, peaceful home can supply and accomplish in a pastor’s life?