Encourage One Another (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

the sermon for this evening is based on first thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13 to 18. the sermon is entitled encourage one another grace mercy and peace from god our father and our lord and savior jesus christ amen but we do not want you to be uninformed brothers about those who are asleep that you may not grieve that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope you know saint paul here uh in thessalonica addresses the the roving and common concern for those who had already died the people were wondering and even grieving that those who had already died well would never see the light of day that is the return of the lord as if they missed the bus because they had already died and this brought great grief to those who were well mourning the death of a loved one and here saint paul imparts to them the most comforting word that in the midst of all this as we would see it as pagan thought concerning the finality of death saint paul delivers the life giving word saint paul gives the source of every blessing that even unto death there is christ his merit his work his sacrifice the comfort given in the outpouring of jesus's death and resurrection it always reminds me of of course lazarus right dead in the grave oh lord only if you had been here earlier the sisters had said and who is this jesus right he is the resurrection and the life and those who believe in him surely of course assurance will have life eternal life in his name that even unto death we hear the words of christ lazarus come out and there he came out rising from the dead this is our true hope i think in terms of what the people in thessalonica were facing was this idea of of grief right grieving with hope versus grieving without hope because without hope no hope at all what is death death is the end there is nothing else that is grieving with no hope and to live in this grief would what bring great terror the floodgates would open with sadness and suffering that without hope there's only only the looming reality of the opposite of hope and that is despair i mean even most famous philosophers would say that death is the end of everything yes to the human eye and for what and so it was for the people in thessalonica that they were wondering what would happen to those that had already died because it seemed to them that death was the end the eye test would prove it they've missed it they've already died so endful it was that they would miss out on the lord's return and this brought great grief to them grief that was rooted in the sentiment of it's over it's over and there's nothing else no hope no peace no comfort or death is death and well there's no way around it from the human standpoint well this is the common reaction that is grieving without hope because well in death is there hope and this is the encouragement of saint paul as he addresses the people that they ought not to grieve without hope that there is hope verse 14 for since we believe that jesus died and rose again even so through jesus god will bring with him those who have fallen asleep he gives them the true source of hope in the midst of despair now this is our word of encouragement for the evening the words of christ the work of christ his promise his hope for us that in his death and resurrection our savior has won the battle and the victory is ours even in death speaking of death we know what the lord said to the thief on the cross so today you will be with me in paradise another word of encouragement from our lord's mouth this is to our anticipation that even in these perilous times where the world is on edge surrounded by bar graphs and pie charts and line graphs predictions the numbers are rising the fear of death is real for many people and this is a reality of course in the fragility of our human flesh but do it all through it all there is hope through all things there is hope in christ the text reminds us that death is not the end but rather when we are connected to christ and his death and resurrection in the water and the word of holy baptism as dwayne is here there we know that eternal life is robed with us there in verse 17 we know that in our baptism we will always be with the lord yesterday today and tomorrow because the sacrifice at calvary the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world death where is your victory or death where is your sting because it is our lord who has rescued you and has given you hope hope is not found in man hope is found in our savior the one who died for you the big death so that not only would he reign victorious for you in the resurrection but that in his ascension he promised that he would return the same way he had left and thus so we will always be with the lord words of encouragement words that wipe away every moment of despair words that wipe away every doubt and worry and anxiety that washes away the teary eyes from tear and defeat knowing full well that our great encouragement is not resting on vapid platitudes or empty promises but rather in the encouragement of christ who has overcome all things who has overcome the world and the grave and your sin our savior who has uprooted sin death in the power of the devil by his very work for you this is your encouragement this is your hope no matter what is happening circumstances all these things your hope stays the same because your hope is christ because we know as we sang i know that my redeemer lives death is not the end of everything because we're always ready right we're always ready because our hope is in the alpha and the omega the first and the last we're not wondering whether he will return but we know in faith that he will and the tombs will shake as a soul and body reunite as we together both have died both that those who have died and those who are living will celebrate together the voice of the archangel and the trumpet sound from god emanating throughout caught up we will be in his almighty fortress eternally with him this is yours this is your hope this is your encouragement the landscape has been restored all by the blood of the lamb and thus as we confess to the end of time time and time again our faith in the apostles creed remember those words third article i believe in the holy spirit the holy christian church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins what's the next part there the resurrection of the body that's you that's me we're confessing the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting that indeed on the last day he will raise me in all the dead and give eternal life to all believers in christ this is most certainly true this is what we are confessing these are the words that we encourage others with words of christ who reverses the curse giving you the greatest hope the hope that is unwavering the hope that restores you the hope that this world cannot give indeed the lord is our hopefulness and in him we are already there as we wait for the final culmination but until then you live in hope just as the word says to us this day we will always be with the lord we will always be with the lord all those who have preceded us and who have died we will always be with the lord and also for you we will always be with the lord why because neither life nor death nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor power nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of christ and the love of god in christ jesus this is your hope and it doesn't change because this hope is christ the greatest encouraging word that points to what will come amen may the peace of god which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in christ jesus amen please rise as you are able as we continue with him 805.

Channel: Faith Lutheran Church

Views: 12

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: worship service, christian, lutheran, church, moorpark, pentecost, sunday

Id: o-mPfbv9XLs

Length: 12min 50sec (770 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 12 2020