A Christian View of Death

"Conflicted" is the word Liz used to describe her feelings this past week. Others in her ladies' class this morning agreed. Should we celebrate a life well lived or grieve the loss of one we loved? Is it even possible to do both at the same time?

My objective this morning was to give people "permission" to grieve. Lamenting, it seems, is now often viewed as a lack of faith. May we all learn to grieve, but not to grieve like those who have no hope.

I was touched this morning when Ben became a bit emotional talking about our church. Emotions can be the window into one's soul. It's great to have a Shepherd who is moved when speaking about those who have served well. It was also good to have our newest Shepherd, Gilbert, give our homily before the Lord's Supper. I know he had worked a long time to put all the images together to go with his thoughts. The NASA presentation had to be the most moving part of the entire service. To see how much those astronauts loved Paula Hall was touching.

Perseverance

I was as nervous as a boy preaching his first sermon this morning. I had been planning this lesson for more than a month but the thought of showing 8 minutes of football still made me wonder if it was really appropriate. However, I was confident that the entire presentation would connect with certain men who, perhaps, have always felt out of place at church. As someone told me afterward, "It may have made some uncomfortable; but it may be the first time others have ever felt comfortable at church!"

Didn't "T" do a great job! We are fortunate to have him and his family with us. Also, I was proud of Barry Duncan who did such a good job preparing us for the Lord's Supper.