Saints Triumphant Prayer

Almighty God, in whose glorious presence live all who depart in the Lord and before whom all the souls of the faithful who are delivered of the burden of the flesh are in joy and contentment, we give You hearty thanks for Your loving-kindness to all Your servants who have finished their course in faith and now rest from their labors. After each name is read, the date that saint was called home to heaven and an accompanying Bible verse, there will be a ringing of a chime and a moment of silence to thank God for allowing these faithful servants to be among us at Epiphany for such a short time and becoming a blessing to our lives.
 
Name:  Marilyn Acklam            Called to heaven: February 19, 2013
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.             (Job 19:25-26)
 
Name:  Glenn Sherwood                        Called to heaven: May 10, 2013
For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.  If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.  (Romans 14:7-8)
 
Name:  Bob Kimberlain                         Called to heaven: October 7, 2013
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom… I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.  (Luke 23:42-43)
 
Name: Lynn Christopolis                       Called to heaven: October 10, 2013
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
 
           
Rejoicing in the faithful confession of those who have gone before us and are at peace, we give thanks to you Lord. We pray that Christ’s defeat of death by His sacrificial death and resurrection may bring true and lasting comfort and the hope of a joyful reunion at the heavenly feast to those who mourn. Heavenly Father, as we are strangers and pilgrims on earth, set our minds on things above, rejoicing in our citizenship in the heavenly Jerusalem. Open our lips that our mouths may confess the salvation for all won by Your only-begotten Son, who with You and the Holy Spirit are one God, now and forever. Amen.
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Max Lucado - False Doctrine

I love the way author Max Lucado writes. He is a great storyteller and a fantastic wordsmith. I have a number of Lucado's books on my shelves and receive his daily paragraph devotions. However, as popular as he is, as many books as he has sold, as many lives as he has touched with the Gospel, he still proclaims false doctrine. I still remember being told at the Seminary that you can generally tell a pastor's theology based on the kind of books he has on his shelves. Though our WELS pastors may have a few books by Lucado, Covey or even some fiction by Peretti, they had better have the majority of their books be sound, Lutheran, biblical doctrine. Martin Luther, The People's Bible commentaries, The Book of Concord, People's Bible Teachings, C.F.W. Walther, Francis Pieper, Werner Franzmann, etc. I mention this because of the devotion I received via email from Max Lucado on Friday, June 12 entitled "Saved by Faith." In the devotion he calls communion and bapti...
Read more

Jesus has prepared a place for you - A funeral sermon for Jim Hermann

Image
John 14:1-4 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  2  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  4  You know the way to the place where I am going.” “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Did you catch the difference between what I read just now and what I read in the Gospel lesson? The Gospel lesson was from the NIV. The second verse I read was from the King James Version. If you’re older than 50, that’s the version of the Bible that you heard in church and learned in catechism class. But, even if you’re older younger than 50, you know about the mansions. “The mansions of heaven” is a term Christians use pretty...
Read more

Water into blood and water into wine

Image
Here are some thoughts that didn’t make it into Sunday’s sermon. The Old Testament lesson for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany is the account of Moses turning the water of the Nile River into blood. The first of the ten plagues God used to get the Israelites out of Egypt. Exodus 7:14-24 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened. 17 This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not ...
Read more