Funerals

Funerals are for the dead

August 24, 2010

I disagree with the common saying, “Funerals are not for the dead, but for the living.” An important function of a funeral – a Christian one, at least – is the reverent disposition of the body. I think everyone deserves a funeral. God cares about the body, and we should too.

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Pour Mama down the Drain

July 10, 2010

It’s the logical continuation of a society that allows cremation, but I’m hard-pressed to think of anything more horrid than this: Undertakers in Belgium plan to eschew traditional burials and cremations and start dissolving corpses instead. The move is intended to tackle a lack of burial space and environmental concerns as 573lbs of carbon dioxide [...]

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The Pastor’s Prayer before a Funeral

May 15, 2010

O Lord, grant me a full awareness of the powerful reality of death. Help me in this hour to speak the right word concerning the pilgrimage of [NAME] and to bear witness to Your power over life and death, the severity of Your judgment, and the abundance of Your mercy in our crucified and risen [...]

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Thanksgiving Matins sermon

November 26, 2009

God made man from the earth. Our very first father, Adam, was made from the clay, but he came alive when God breathed into Adam the breath of life. And not only was Adam made from the earth, he depended on the earth for his life. The food that he had to eat came from [...]

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Trinity 23 sermon

November 15, 2009

Trinity 23 texts: Proverbs 8:11-22; Philippians 3:17-21; Matthew 22:15-22 Bianca Ehling was baptized at this Divine Service. It’s early in the week – just a day after Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem. The crowds hail Jesus as their king. All Jerusalem is abuzz. “Messiah has come!” It is time, the Pharisees decide, [...]

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Funeral Sermon: +Ralph Behrens

November 7, 2009

Texts: John 10:27-30; 1 John 3:1-2 I deviated somewhat from this manuscript in the actual sermon. Lola; Jackie, Julie, Jean; brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It would be difficult to overstate the influence of Ralph Behrens. His service at Immanuel impacted [...]

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Trinity 16 sermon

October 3, 2009

From Sept. 27, 2009 Gospel: Luke 7:11-17 The American religion tends to equate faith with success, prosperity, and health. If you lead a good life, good things will come to you. One slogan puts it this way: “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” The first part is true. But God’s [...]

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Do our people truly believe in resurrection?

April 11, 2009

It wasn’t until my late twenties, as a newly-minted pastor, that I had my first real encounters with common beliefs about death and afterlife among Christians. My vicarage was at a fairly large congregation, but no one died that year, and I had few family experiences of death at that point. The most significant death [...]

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The blood-drainers have gone way too far this time

August 18, 2008

When I lived in southern Illinois, I had bad experience after bad experience with the funeral homes. Some were worse than others, but the men running them were all obsessed with the title “Funeral Director.” It trumped all things religious, and since our Lutheran church didn’t exactly run a Baptist tissue-soaker, it often meant war. [...]

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The Shaw Experience

July 22, 2008

I just got back from visiting one of our members in her home; she is recovering from hip replacement surgery, and not able to come to church with regularity yet. I had the honor of officiating at her second husband’s funeral, and then his interment at Arlington National Cemetery, a year or two ago. Today [...]

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