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SERMON for NOVEMBER 1, 2020
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BE COMFORTED
Text: I John 3: 1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12
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“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5: 4
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“I am the resurrection and the life,” says the Lord. “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” [John 11: 25-26]
Be comforted by the promise of our resurrection lives in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Be comforted by the knowledge that God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. [cf. John 3:16]
Be comforted by the love that God has given us, that we should be called children of God, and what is what we are. [cf. I John 3: 1]
Be comforted and convinced by the truth that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, not things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [cf. Romans 8: 38]
God loves us, more than we can ever fully grasp and know. In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, it has always been God’s plan for us to be with Him forever. In God’s infinite wisdom, God created us with free will to make choices about our relationship with God and with one another. We can cultivate, nurture, and develop our relationship with the God of all creation, and we can do the opposite: we can let the relationship wither and die. We can turn to God – frequently and regularly, occasionally and sporadically, once in a blue moon, and we can turn away from and against God – deliberately and unconsciously – once and for all. Eternal separation from the love of God is a definition of hell that is held by many theologians.
God never wanted us to be eternally separated from him, so God sent his one and only Son to teach us anew about God’s love for us, to put us back on the right path, and to bless and equip us with the truth that sets us free – free from the fear of death, free from the fear of hell, free from the fear that life comes to an abrupt and permanent end when we die, free from thinking that life has no meaning and purpose.
In the Beatitudes and throughout the Lord’s teachings, and in His death and resurrection, Jesus proves God’s love for us, in that, while we were still sinners, Jesus Christ died for us – for you – for me – for all people. [Romans 5: 8] In God’s eyes, we are all worth it, because we are God’s children now, fearfully and wonderfully created in the image of God.
In this service as in every worship service, and especially on this All Saints’ Day, we gather to encourage one another and to build up each other with God’s love, with God’s truth, with God’s promises revealed and fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Beloved, we are God’s children now. Let us never forget that. Moreover, let us live as if we are God’s children now. Let us live as people so blessed with God’s everlasting love – that while we yet live here on this earth, our hearts and minds and spirits are filled to overflowing with God’s love – a love created to be shared with others – not kept all to ourselves.
For everything there is a season – a time to be born, and a time to die – and a time to be raised with the Lord victorious over death itself. For today, in our time together, let us give thanks to God – for the gift of eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Text: I John 3: 1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5: 4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I am the resurrection and the life,” says the Lord. “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” [John 11: 25-26]
Be comforted by the promise of our resurrection lives in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Be comforted by the knowledge that God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. [cf. John 3:16]
Be comforted by the love that God has given us, that we should be called children of God, and what is what we are. [cf. I John 3: 1]
Be comforted and convinced by the truth that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, not things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [cf. Romans 8: 38]
God loves us, more than we can ever fully grasp and know. In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, it has always been God’s plan for us to be with Him forever. In God’s infinite wisdom, God created us with free will to make choices about our relationship with God and with one another. We can cultivate, nurture, and develop our relationship with the God of all creation, and we can do the opposite: we can let the relationship wither and die. We can turn to God – frequently and regularly, occasionally and sporadically, once in a blue moon, and we can turn away from and against God – deliberately and unconsciously – once and for all. Eternal separation from the love of God is a definition of hell that is held by many theologians.
God never wanted us to be eternally separated from him, so God sent his one and only Son to teach us anew about God’s love for us, to put us back on the right path, and to bless and equip us with the truth that sets us free – free from the fear of death, free from the fear of hell, free from the fear that life comes to an abrupt and permanent end when we die, free from thinking that life has no meaning and purpose.
In the Beatitudes and throughout the Lord’s teachings, and in His death and resurrection, Jesus proves God’s love for us, in that, while we were still sinners, Jesus Christ died for us – for you – for me – for all people. [Romans 5: 8] In God’s eyes, we are all worth it, because we are God’s children now, fearfully and wonderfully created in the image of God.
In this service as in every worship service, and especially on this All Saints’ Day, we gather to encourage one another and to build up each other with God’s love, with God’s truth, with God’s promises revealed and fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Beloved, we are God’s children now. Let us never forget that. Moreover, let us live as if we are God’s children now. Let us live as people so blessed with God’s everlasting love – that while we yet live here on this earth, our hearts and minds and spirits are filled to overflowing with God’s love – a love created to be shared with others – not kept all to ourselves.
For everything there is a season – a time to be born, and a time to die – and a time to be raised with the Lord victorious over death itself. For today, in our time together, let us give thanks to God – for the gift of eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.