Lean On God
Sermon
Best Funeral Meditations
for a non--Christian
Joe Barone
CALL TO WORSHIP
"Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor" (Psalm 29:1--2).
INVOCATION
Gracious God, we seek your presence and we need your comfort here today. As we come to you in grief and in sorrow, we acknowledge that you are God, the One above all other gods, the only one who can bring us peace today. Amen.
OBITUARY
OLD TESTAMENT LESSON
Psalm 23 and Isaiah 40:3--11
NEW TESTAMENT LESSON
Luke 4:16--21
THE LORD'S PRAYER
BRIEF MESSAGE
"Lean On God"
This chapter from Isaiah begins "The Book of the Consolation of Israel." After Israel had spent a long time away from God, God now brings God's comfort to God's people.
This Scripture holds up the reality of life. "All people are grass," Isaiah says. "Their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers and the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows upon it...."
But the story doesn't end there. "The grass withers and the flower fades," Isaiah says, "but the word of our God will stand forever."
God is eternal. God walks with us and cares for us, this great passage says. Even in Christ's first words in Luke, we can see God's hope that those who are struggling with poverty, illness, and oppression might be set free.
There is almost always grief when we come to the graveside, but there is hope, too. The hope is that God is here to hold us up. The hope is that God is like a shepherd who will lead us and help us find our way.
Because God is faithful, the path will be made more level, and the glory of the Lord will be revealed.
"Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken," Isaiah says.
I know that our friend ____________ was not a religious person, really, and he wouldn't want me to claim for him what he would not claim for himself.
But I also know that God is the God of all peoples, that God is a God of caring and of love, that God is the God who gently cradles us as would a loving mother. And so today, even in the grief we feel, we can lean on God.
Lift up your voice and do not fear, Isaiah tells the nations, and that's what I hear him telling me today.
Let us pray: Caring and Loving God, we thank you for the life of our friend ____________, and for all our memories of him. We thank you also for the words God gives us through Isaiah. Help us hear those words and look to you for courage in the days to come. You and you alone are God, and you and you alone are worthy of our adoration. May we go forth from this place praising you. Amen.
PRAYER OF COMMITTAL
Gracious God, as we commit our friend ____________ to you, we remember these words from the Psalms: "I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens" (Psalm 89:1--2).
CLOSING PRAYER
Creator, Redeemer, Bringer of All Hope, we thank you for the friends and family who have gathered in this place today. We thank you for your love and for your faithfulness to us. We thank you for the strength you give us and for the courage you provide us. Walk with us and touch us with your peace in all the days to come. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
BENEDICTION
"Lord, [we leave this place reminded that] you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God" (Psalm 90:1--2).
Joe Barone is pastor of The First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Carrollton, Missouri.
Joe Barone
CALL TO WORSHIP
"Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor" (Psalm 29:1--2).
INVOCATION
Gracious God, we seek your presence and we need your comfort here today. As we come to you in grief and in sorrow, we acknowledge that you are God, the One above all other gods, the only one who can bring us peace today. Amen.
OBITUARY
OLD TESTAMENT LESSON
Psalm 23 and Isaiah 40:3--11
NEW TESTAMENT LESSON
Luke 4:16--21
THE LORD'S PRAYER
BRIEF MESSAGE
"Lean On God"
This chapter from Isaiah begins "The Book of the Consolation of Israel." After Israel had spent a long time away from God, God now brings God's comfort to God's people.
This Scripture holds up the reality of life. "All people are grass," Isaiah says. "Their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers and the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows upon it...."
But the story doesn't end there. "The grass withers and the flower fades," Isaiah says, "but the word of our God will stand forever."
God is eternal. God walks with us and cares for us, this great passage says. Even in Christ's first words in Luke, we can see God's hope that those who are struggling with poverty, illness, and oppression might be set free.
There is almost always grief when we come to the graveside, but there is hope, too. The hope is that God is here to hold us up. The hope is that God is like a shepherd who will lead us and help us find our way.
Because God is faithful, the path will be made more level, and the glory of the Lord will be revealed.
"Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken," Isaiah says.
I know that our friend ____________ was not a religious person, really, and he wouldn't want me to claim for him what he would not claim for himself.
But I also know that God is the God of all peoples, that God is a God of caring and of love, that God is the God who gently cradles us as would a loving mother. And so today, even in the grief we feel, we can lean on God.
Lift up your voice and do not fear, Isaiah tells the nations, and that's what I hear him telling me today.
Let us pray: Caring and Loving God, we thank you for the life of our friend ____________, and for all our memories of him. We thank you also for the words God gives us through Isaiah. Help us hear those words and look to you for courage in the days to come. You and you alone are God, and you and you alone are worthy of our adoration. May we go forth from this place praising you. Amen.
PRAYER OF COMMITTAL
Gracious God, as we commit our friend ____________ to you, we remember these words from the Psalms: "I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens" (Psalm 89:1--2).
CLOSING PRAYER
Creator, Redeemer, Bringer of All Hope, we thank you for the friends and family who have gathered in this place today. We thank you for your love and for your faithfulness to us. We thank you for the strength you give us and for the courage you provide us. Walk with us and touch us with your peace in all the days to come. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
BENEDICTION
"Lord, [we leave this place reminded that] you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God" (Psalm 90:1--2).
Joe Barone is pastor of The First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Carrollton, Missouri.
