In many ways we stand exactly where Abraham stood 4000 years ago. The people of God still die one by one. I still do funerals every year for people I know and love. Like Abraham, we too have not received the fulfillment of everything God has promised for us. And the point of Genesis 23 is still true today. We die, but the promises of God live on after us.
Text: Genesis 23Our Heavenly Father leads us along the pathway of complete trust in him. Slowly but surely we discover that the things we thought we couldn’t live without don’t matter as much as we thought they did. Even the dearest and sweetest things of life take second place to the pleasure of knowing God. In the end we discover that he has emptied our hands of everything and then filled them with himself.
Text: Genesis 22God calls us to follow in his steps. The world may not reward you for showing mercy. Show it anyway. Your friends may take advantage of you. Have mercy anyway. You may be scorned and mocked as a softie. Better that you be thought too soft than to have a hard heart.
Text: Matthew 5:7“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” This is one of the strangest statements in the Bible. It is a paradox and a mystery. “Blessed are those who mourn,” said Jesus. Happy are the sad! What do these strange words mean? Who are the mourners, why are they sad, and how are they comforted?
Text: Matthew 5:4The signs are everywhere. Time rushes toward its appointed climax. The first rays of dawn streak the eastern sky. The countdown has begun. In heaven, the sound of trumpets and a King prepares to leave his palace. On earth, his children pray with new excitement and new understanding of the words he taught them so long ago … “Thy Kingdom Come.”
Text: Luke 21:25-29You need a Lamb! It must meet all the requirements laid out by God in Exodus 12. The lamb must die. And you must apply the blood to the doorposts of your heart. That is, you must trust in the blood for the forgiveness of your sins. Where will you find such a lamb? Look to the Cross! Gaze upon the blooding form of the Son of God! Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Jesus is the Lamb you need. He is God’s Lamb for your sin.
Text: Exodus 12; John 1:29This is the first promise given after the Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. It is also the first gospel sermon ever preached on the face of the earth. Theologians call it the protoevangelium–or first gospel. These words spoken by God contain the first promise of redemption in the Bible. Everything else in the Bible flows from these words in Genesis 3:15. As the acorn contains the mighty oak, so these words contain the entire plan of salvation.
Text: Genesis 3:15It is an ancient question. Job 14:14 asks, “If a man dies, will he live again?” At every funeral that question is asked in one way or another. Is there life after death? If so, what happens when we die? How can we be sure? And most importantly, how can we be ready when the moment comes? What about heaven? What about hell? Are these real places or are they merely symbols that point to the universal longing for immorality? Can we still believe in heaven and hell?
Text: VariousOur only reliable source of information regarding the spirit world is the Bible. Outside of the Bible, we have no sure knowledge of angels or demons. That must be the touchstone of truth for the Christian. But that fact shouldn’t discourage you since the Bible has a great deal to say about angels and demons. In fact they are mentioned in 34 different books of the Bible in over 300 different places.
Text: VariousGod has answered your deepest questions with the simplicity of an empty tomb. I declare to you that Jesus Christ is alive! My friend, what will you say to that? What difference does it make to you? Will you give him your heart and your life? Will you trust him as your Lord and Savior?
Text: Various