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I titled this How ready are you to talk at the funeral of a loved one? because I think it is important for each of us to be ready to lead the funeral of a loved one when asked. Here is an example from brinsea our lead bible.org programer who is developing NETBible study environment.

Brian recently conducted the funeral for his dad who died suddenly. I think he did a good job at talking about his dad and then sharing the gospel message where he talked about the Hope that his dad had in Christ. You can read it and listen to it at his site by clicking on the speaker icon here

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David Austin (forum founder & Exec Director of bible.org): helping Christians mature in the Lord) 1 Cor 15:58
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Nicely done. Thanks for sharing that, David. And thank you, Brian.

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Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!

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Thanks for sharing with us David.

Brian you did a great job.
Sorry to hear about your dad, but you will see him again.

We all need to be ready, we will all experience lost of a loved one and need to share the Good News when that time comes.

"preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction." 2 Tim 4:2

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"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." Lk 21:28

Since I also preached my father's funeral, I know the emotional challenges of that hour. The message was very well done and useful to our Lord. May God be with this family as they adjust to this temporary separation. Brian, you will learn to rejoice to an even greater degree as time continues to give you perspective.

John

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"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Gal 5:6b

Pastor John C. Blackburn

Hi there

wonderful to share when on a positive note. I am from an Afro Caribbean background and funerals are literally part of our every day life, an average would be 2 a month, especially if you are in the church. Everybody attends and it is a very big affair. The last one I attended 2 weeks ago was that of my friend's sister, she had been institutionalised for 30 years, her husband was a Pastor and over 500 people attended and there were no shortgage of words from any of her 5 children or family members, although I did think how many of us actually visited her when she sat alone in that mental institution and in fact after the burial how many of us would think of her life.

But what happens when you are asked to speak and the person (a) never knew the Lord and chose not to know the Lord and (b) when the person really was a nasty piece of work. One of the points that I am making is that we 'afro caribbeans' have a tendancy to 'tell the truth' and they make it plain - that 'if you did not live right we will not be singing your praises over your coffin.Yes we will be diplomatic and sympathetic to the family but we will not pretend that we believe the life that was lived is an example for us to follow'. We have become immune to this as a society, so offence is not taken. We are able to culturalise very quickly, but how do others feel about this method of apprach?

Thanks

maxine edgar

Hi Maxine!

Good to see you!

Now if only Cobra drops by!

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Sam

All Scripture references from the NASB unless otherwise indicated.

Maxine, some things are plain without explanation. I usually divide the funeral into 2-3 parts. There will be scripture and music, but i separate the eulogy or memories of the person from the sermon. If the person was a believer, I will also bring them into the sermon, but if they were not a believer, no one has to say that they rejected the gospel.

The family knows very well if their loved one rejcted their Savior. I can think of one particular lady who looked at me and told me that she knew her father was in hell. I simply restated the Gospel, expressed God's love to her, and encouraged her in her walk. We can only pray that someone who heard the message will believe and receive eternal life.

pastorjohn

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"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Gal 5:6b

Pastor John C. Blackburn