Timeless Truths To Help Your Grief

Funeral Service for Stuart Morse

Kilpatrick Funeral Home / McClendon Baptist Church

Sermon by: Rick Crandall

March 13, 2006

Outline:

*Life can be extremely hard, but there are 3 eternal truths that can help you in the days ahead...

1. The 1st timeless truth is that God is good. (Ps 25:6-7, Ps 33:5, Ps 34:8, James 1:17)

2. The 2nd timeless truth is that God loves you. (John 3:16)

3. The 3rd timeless truth is that God will help you. (Matt 11:28-30)

Message:

*Family, we know that this is an extremely difficult time for you...

-Death is never easy, but these circumstances multiply your pain and sorrow.

*To lose someone so young, so unexpectedly... -To lose your son, your grandson, when you always thought that you would be the one to go first.

--All of these things multiply your pain and sorrow today.

*Life can be extremely hard, but there are three eternal truths that can help you in the days ahead...

1. The first truth is that God is good.

*When bad things happen like this, sometimes we are tempted to blame God. But the Bible tell us not to make that mistake, because God is Light and God is Love.

*In Psalm 25, David said, “Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses, For they have been from eternity past.

-Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;

-According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.”

*Psalm 33 says that “the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.”

*Psalm 34 urges us to “taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man who trusts in him.”

*In the New Testament, James tells us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights”. (James 1:17)

*So, when you think of the good times and the good things about Stuart, know that these came from God. And you do have a lot of good memories:

-That good baby, who grew into a sweet natured kid, who hardly ever gave you a minute’s trouble.

-Stuart giving Dot the name Mimi, because he couldn’t say Memaw.

-Trading toys with Crystal, and putting He-Man in the Barbie Jeep to go rescue Barbie.

-Those summer vacations at Lake Claiborne, and Stuart’s love for animals.

-Then there was Stuart’s love for baseball, and how he taught Jessica to play.

-His gift for singing, and his love for singing both at school and at church.

-Remember his big, bear hugs and his big, loving heart.

*These were some of the good things about Stuart’s life, and every bit of that good was a gift from God.

*I am not trying to say that Stuart lived a perfect life. He made some terrible choices. He hurt himself, and the people around him.

*But we must not be too quick to judge Stuart. In fact, we must not judge him at all. I don’t think we can begin to comprehend the pain he went through.

*There he was, a young man, with what seemed like a bright future before him. And then the pain comes: those terrible headaches that no one can understand or explain. Then to find out that you have a tumor right behind your eye!

-A tumor that was virtually impossible to get at.

-A tumor that gave you relentless pain every day.

-A tumor that stole the future you thought you had.

*What would you have done? *It’s hard to say, but the Bible says that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And many of us (including me) have made terrible choices under far less pressure.

*Our job is not to judge Stuart. Our job is to learn from his mistakes. I am sure that Stuart would want us to do that. Our job is to love each other, to pray for each other, and to keep leaning on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is merciful, kind and compassionate.

-He is the only One who ever lived a perfect life.

*God is good. But if that is true, then why is there so much evil in the world? It’s because Satan is real, and he is the father of all evil. The Bible says that he comes to steal, to kill and to destroy. We see his evil hand all around us, and today we are tasting some of his bitter fruit.

*But Jesus Christ came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free. One day God will wipe away all sickness, evil and pain. And all who receive Jesus Christ will live together in total perfection.

-No more sickness, no more pain...

-No sorrow, no sin, no shame...

-Face to face forever with Jesus Christ!