Relationships and Community on Life After Death

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Life After Delivery?

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Job 3:1-26, Psalm 94:19, 1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 14:22-33

In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery? “The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to pre...

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Communism Had Nothing to Say about Death

Author

Source Unknown

Keywords

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 2:14-16, Isaiah 25:6-9, Ezekiel 37:1-10 , Psalm 49:12-15, John 11:25-26, 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

During the second world war, [the British statesman] Sir John Laurence attended what he describes as “a sort of Communist memorial service” to " Stanislavsky (the seminal Soviet Theatre pr...

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Author

R. C. Sproul

Keywords

The day of one's birth is a good day for the believer, but the day of death is the greatest day that a Christian can ever experience in this world because that is the day he goes home, the day he ...

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Where Are You Calling From?

Author

Randy Frazee

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13, Romans 6:11, John 5:24, Galatians 2:20, Ezekiel 37:

A businessman, while away on vacation, was reading his hometown newspaper. He was stunned to come across his own obituary. Shocked and angered, he immediately called the editor on the telephone. I’m c...

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Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

James 2:17, Hebrews 6:10, Ephesians 2:10, Galatians 6:9, Matthew 5:16

What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neig...

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Author

Ancient Christian Tomb Inscription

Keywords

No sorrowful tears, no beating of the breast For a safe repose has taken me. I dance Ring dances with the blessed saints In the beautiful fields of the righteous.

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Do You Know Who I Am?

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:18, Romans 8:18, Psalm 27:1, James 1:2-3, Isaiah 26:3

In a story circulated among an ancient monastic community, a vicious warlord intimidated whole villages, sending it’s entire population into the hills to hide in caves, waiting for the ruler to move o...

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Caring Christians

Author

Ralph Neighbor

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 3:18, 1 Peter 2:12, Matthew 5:16, Luke 6:32-35, Romans 5:8

Even if people reject the gospel, we still must love them. A good example of this was reported by Ralph Neighbour, pastor of Houston’s West Memorial Baptist Church (in Death And The Caring Community ...

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Author

Mal McKissock and Dianne McKissock

Keywords

After the adrenalin rush of the death and funeral, bereaved people often feel deserted and overwhelmed with loneliness.

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Surprising Peace in Times of Crisis: Sermon Illustration Tuesday

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

In his book, Running Scared , Pychologist Edward Welch illustrates how the fear of an event is often worse than the event itself. To demonstrate this, he provides two examples of people whose lives...

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The Meaning of Easter

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 1:3, Luke 24:1-12, Mark 16:1-8, Matthew 28:1-10, John 11:25-26, John 20:1-18, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 1 Corinthians 15:54-55

Here, then, is the message of Easter, or at least the beginning of that message. The resurrection of Jesus doesn’t mean, “It’s all right. We’re going to heaven now.” No, the life of heaven has been bo...

lectionary

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Charles Teixeira

Scripture

Mark 5:21-43, Mark 5:17-21, Leviticus 15:7

Intertwined Narratives Jesus’ encounters with Jairus’ daughter and the bleeding woman are sandwiched together with the intention that the two narratives would unlock and help to interpret the other....

liturgy

God–our Father, Lord and indwelling

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Psalm 133:1, 2 Corinthians 9:13-14, Matthew 28:19-20

God–our Father, Lord and indwelling Spirit of grace and power: Thank you for hearing us when we pray whether in songs of rejoicing or through tears of sorrow. Thank you for gifts–for the gifts of musi...

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The Gospel and the Other: Preaching in an Age of "Us vs. Them"

Author

Andrew DeCort

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:25-37

When conflict and division are driving both politics and media (including social media), the contrast between the way of the world and the way of Jesus stands out more than ever. How can pastors, task...

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Home: A Desire for Permanence

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 10:23, James 1:9-12, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Jeremiah 17:7-8, Colossians 2:6-7

Before Seattle resident Edith Macefield died at age eighty-six in 2008, she refused to sell her house to developers for the $1 million they had purportedly offered. Macefield wanted to die at home. Se...

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The Complexity of Our Tears

Author

Steven Garber

Keywords

Scripture

John 11:null

One day I was teaching on Capitol Hill and at the end of the afternoon one of my colleagues asked me if I knew a particular woman. I said that I did and he told me that she had been found murdered in ...

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The Story of Amazing Grace

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

John Newton authored one of the most beloved hymns for English-speaking black Christians in the world, yet he spent his early life transporting African slaves to the New World. He was born in 1725, w...

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Staying Alive

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:30–31, Lamentations 3:22–23, 1 Kings 19:11–13, James 5:10–11, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Psalm 92:12–14

An Irish Catholic priest, returning to his old parish in the warmth of spring, was delighted to spot an elderly man he had long known. “Pat!” he called out cheerfully. “You’re still with us—I’m glad t...

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Author

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Keywords

Grief

People in mourning have to come to grips with death before they can live again. Mourning can go on for years and years. It doesn’t end after a year; that’s a false fantasy. It usually ends when people...

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A Short History of Christian’s Fighting for Justice

Author

Justin Giboney

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Exodus 3:7–10, Isaiah 58:6–7, Luke 4:18–19, Romans 13:1–4, Psalm 72:12–14

There are also many historical examples of Christians faithfully using political means to fight for justice and righteousness. William Wilberforce: Politician and Abolitionist William Wilber...

liturgy

Psalm 23, The Message translation

Author

Eugene Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 23:null

Leader: God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. People: You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. Leader: True to your word, you let me catch my breath and se...

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Rejoice for the Ship Returning

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

In a time where leader after leader's calls end in disgrace, it is helpful to remember that finishing, not starting, is what is most important. The following story illustrates this well: Two ship...

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Prayer Service for Peace in Israel and Palestine

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:1-5, Psalm 86:1, Psalm 22:1-2, Psalm 28:7, Psalm 65:5

Prayer Service for Peace in Israel and Palestine This service is designed as an evening, outdoor prayer vigil using handheld candles. Feel free to modify the order of worship as needed, including...

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The Rule of Heaven

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

The Kingdom of God

Scripture

Matthew 13:31-32, Matthew 5:5, Romans 14:17, Mark 1:15, Matthew 12:28, Luke 11:20, Matthew 4:17

The phrase “kingdom of heaven,” which we find frequently in Matthew’s Gospel where the others have “kingdom of God,” does not refer to a place, called “heaven,” where God’s people will go after death....

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Not Until After My Death

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 45:1-15, Matthew 18:21-35, Ephesians 4:32, Romans 5:10, Mark 11:25, Colossians 3:13, Matthew 5:44

Frederick William I was a king of Prussia in the early 18th century. Personality-wise, he was described as exacting, frugal and austere. He was known to beat his children when they disappointed him. H...

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Love and Loss in Queen Victoria

The marriage of Queen Victoria and Albert (otherwise known as Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel — quite a mouthful!) was one for the ages. Their love and devotion to each other was remarkable, ...

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For Whom the Bell Tolls

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

While lying in bed due to a serious illness, the poet and pastor John Donne heard over and over again the funeral bells at his church, which would ring to announce the death of someone in the parish. ...

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“Divorce? Never, But Murder, Often”

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Song of Solomon 8:6-7, Ephesians 4:2-3, Colossians 3:13-14, Proverbs 17:9, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

The British actress Sybil Thorndike was married to Sir Lewis Casson another prolific actor. Their marriage was rather tumultuous at times, and after his death, she was once asked, “Did you ever think ...

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An Atheist Pines for Eternity

Author

Theodore Dalrymple

Keywords

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 3:11, Isaiah 55:1-3, Job 14:13-14, John 4:13-14, Romans 1:20-21, Psalm 42:1-2

In an article entitled, What the New Atheists Don’t See , the British author Theodore Dalrymple shares his honest struggles with atheism. The subtitle of his article is fascinating, “To regret re...

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The Journey of Reconciliation is Grounded in the Practice of Lament

Author

Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice

Keywords

The first language of the church in a deeply broken world is not strategy, but prayer. The journey of reconciliation is grounded in a call to see and encounter the rupture of this world so truthfully ...

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