Last Sunday morning. Up early, 4 AM, can’t sleep. What’s a pastor to do, especially one that isn’t preaching on that particular day? Write a sermon, of course. In this case, a Thanksgiving Eve sermon. It’s done, ten days prior to the event. This was done – the world would surmise – “despite” circumstances. But the world would be wrong…
About 30 hours earlier, in the room next to the one in which I sat, my father-in-law breathed his last. Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, took him home to heaven. No more tears. No more pain. No more sorrow. No more sadness. To steal from the great Christmas hymn: For this loved one, “No more let sins and sorrows grow Nor thorns infest the ground.” (Christian Worship, #353:3 “Joy to the World”) “No more!” our dear Savior declared. (See Revelation 21:1-6) Now, for this man, loved by many here on earth and loved above all by his Savior, everything is new and everything is forever blessed!
Have there been tears? Enough to resolve WI’s drought issues or to green over the Sonoran desert. Has there been emotional, even physical, pain? If you’ve been through this, you know. The gut punch, the feeling of trying to catch one’s breath, the occasional callous outbursts of “It is what it is.”
So why, in the midst of all this, in the early morning darkness of Appleton, WI, in a 3rd floor apartment of an assisted living facility, a mere day after the passing of a loved one, would I pull out my EHV study Bible and my laptop and write a Thanksgiving sermon?
Why not? This was done, Christians understand, “because of” circumstances. This was done because while this is a time of grief and sadness for us who remain, this is also a time of joy and thanksgiving. Job’s words come to mind: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be blessed.” (Job 1:21) The psalmist declares: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.” (Psalm 116:15 NIV)
There are many Psalms that speak of praising God and giving thanks to him. Psalm 100 (the sermon text for Thanksgiving Eve) is the only one with the superscription/heading, “A psalm for giving thanks.” Here’s an excerpt of what came to mind as I wrote:
The funeral service is tomorrow (Thursday). Here’s the text my father-in-law chose for the service:
Another reason to give thanks – a chance to hear a faithful confession of God-given, Spirit-inspired faith. Blessed “early” Thanksgiving to you.
In Christ Jesus,
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand
About 30 hours earlier, in the room next to the one in which I sat, my father-in-law breathed his last. Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, took him home to heaven. No more tears. No more pain. No more sorrow. No more sadness. To steal from the great Christmas hymn: For this loved one, “No more let sins and sorrows grow Nor thorns infest the ground.” (Christian Worship, #353:3 “Joy to the World”) “No more!” our dear Savior declared. (See Revelation 21:1-6) Now, for this man, loved by many here on earth and loved above all by his Savior, everything is new and everything is forever blessed!
Have there been tears? Enough to resolve WI’s drought issues or to green over the Sonoran desert. Has there been emotional, even physical, pain? If you’ve been through this, you know. The gut punch, the feeling of trying to catch one’s breath, the occasional callous outbursts of “It is what it is.”
So why, in the midst of all this, in the early morning darkness of Appleton, WI, in a 3rd floor apartment of an assisted living facility, a mere day after the passing of a loved one, would I pull out my EHV study Bible and my laptop and write a Thanksgiving sermon?
Why not? This was done, Christians understand, “because of” circumstances. This was done because while this is a time of grief and sadness for us who remain, this is also a time of joy and thanksgiving. Job’s words come to mind: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be blessed.” (Job 1:21) The psalmist declares: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.” (Psalm 116:15 NIV)
There are many Psalms that speak of praising God and giving thanks to him. Psalm 100 (the sermon text for Thanksgiving Eve) is the only one with the superscription/heading, “A psalm for giving thanks.” Here’s an excerpt of what came to mind as I wrote:
- Verse 3b says, “We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Here’s something for which to praise God. We are his people! We didn’t start out that way. “At one time you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. At one time you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy.” (1 Peter 2:10) Consider this: there is only one reason we are able to “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courtyards with praise” (v. 4) today and every day – – and for all eternity. It’s because Christ Jesus entered the Most Holy Place at the cost of his own blood. “He entered once into the Most Holy Place and obtained eternal redemption, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood.” (Hebrews 9:12) Our sins paid for by that precious blood. Heaven opened wide by Christ and his precious blood, backed by the unshakable message and power of the empty tomb. He lives and so will we!
The funeral service is tomorrow (Thursday). Here’s the text my father-in-law chose for the service:
- “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart.” (Philippians 1:3-7a)
Another reason to give thanks – a chance to hear a faithful confession of God-given, Spirit-inspired faith. Blessed “early” Thanksgiving to you.
In Christ Jesus,
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand
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