1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,about those who have died,so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. 15For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.16For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Ecclesiastes 3:1,4 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:…4a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
Grief
Second in the Series, “Getting Through The Storm”
The reality of Christian grief
“to everything there is a season…”
The blessing of Christian grief
“Blessed are those who mourn”
The peculiarity of Christian grief
“so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.”
Key verse for the week: But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,about those who have died,so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13.
Questions for Conversation and Reflection
What do you grieve? What has provided you comfort and encouragement as you grieve?