A Note from Pastor Brad
Dear Church,
I wanted to take a moment, briefly, to reiterate some of the things I stated during the pastoral prayer yesterday morning. We’ve recently seen an incredible amount of loss in our church family and neighboring communities. On Tuesday, there will be a private family service to memorialize the home-going of Rich Templin. On Thursday, there will be a public viewing and memorial service for Sean Beers. Furthermore, there will be a service held soon to memorialize the passing of Doreen Heim (details to be announced soon).
I won’t lie, it’s hard to come to grips with so much death. It’s never an easy thing to see a friend or loved one pass away. Those voids that they leave behind bring us face-to-face with the construct that is this life: its fragility, its futility, its fleetingness. For Christian and non-Christian alike, funerals have a sobering effect, reminding us what’s truly important. But where Christians and non-Christians diverge in seasons of grief is precisely what makes the Christian gospel so otherworldly and so powerful. That is, our grief is tinged with hope.
As we mourn the losses of these dear ones — and we are right to do so — we don’t do so as those without hope. We weep tears that are colored in the bright rays of resurrection light. We cry as those who know that death does not have the final word. In fact, in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, death has already been defeated (2 Tim. 1:10). Therefore, even in the face of it, the Christian can declare along with the apostle Paul, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” Death’s sting has been swallowed up in the victory of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:54–57). This is the message that the church (our church) is commissioned to give in these precise moments.
I hope you will pray for the memorial services this week, that the gospel might be wondrously declared and see, even through tears. Pray for your church family, too. Bring the hurts and cares and griefs of those in our body to the One — the only One — who can heal. Who can mend. Who can restore. Who can lift up our heads when we are despairing (Ps. 3:3–4). May these seasons of trouble and trial bring us nearer to the One who is never far away (Heb. 13:5).
Grace and peace 🙏
Pastor Brad
Here’s a resource from Pastor Brad for further reading on this theme: