Posts Tagged ‘funerals’
My Father’s Hands
by Fanning Yater Tant (1908-1988) written in the 1970s Not God. I am thinking of my own natural father, Jefferson Davis Tant. It is June 4, 1941. A few scores of us are gathered in the old auditorium of the Central Church of Christ, Cleburne, Texas. My father’s body lies in the casket before us.…
Read MoreThe Lunch Lady
by Matthew W. Bassford One of the best-attended funerals I’ve ever preached was for a school lunch lady. Her name was Marlene Norris. She was a faithful member of the church in Joliet, with which I was working at the time, along with her husband and three of her children. As is the custom in…
Read MoreWhat Do You See in a Casket?
by Jarrod M. Jacobs After the loss of our sister Goldie last week, as I looked at her body in the casket (James 2:26), the question that I used in the title came to my mind. All people must face the reality of death. There is not a day that goes by that someone on…
Read MoreThe family doesn’t want the brethren involved in a sister’s funeral. What should we do?
Question: Good day, We had a sister in Christ who passed on. She was the mother and the only faithful Christian in her family. Her eldest son has strayed away from his promise to God. We tried to win him back but with no success. Now that his mother has passed on, he does not…
Read MoreShould a church pay for a member’s cremation or ask if his house is in order?
Question: On two separate occasions, the church paid for a member’s cremation. One member was asked if he had his house in order. Is this proper? Answer: The church is only involved in helping members with major disasters, such as a famine in the region (I Corinthians 8 and 9), or, in the longer-term, widows…
Read MoreWould it be wrong for me to skip my mother’s funeral?
Question: I am having difficulties getting along with my sister, especially regarding our mom and her care. We just recently lost our father. My sister has been difficult in the past and is more controlling now. I now realize that it is best for my sanity if I take breaks away from her. I don’t…
Read MoreShould I apologize for leaving a funeral early?
Question: Good afternoon Brother Hamilton and all the saints in La Vista. I have a question that I hope doesn’t sound immature or petty. A very close, dear childhood friend of mine died recently and his funeral was today in a denominational church. Presiding over the ceremony was a self-proclaimed “apostle and bishop” and there…
Read MoreShould I participate in my parents’ Hindu burial ceremonies?
Question: Dear Sir, I am from Malaysia. I and my whole family accepted Christ as our personal savior. We submitted ourselves to him and in due time we will be having our water baptism by our local church pastor. But my parents have not accepted Christ as they are Hindu. My parent both are quite…
Read MoreConversions from a Funeral Sermon
by Etim Abidiak via For a Better Understanding, Vol. 50, No. 5, September / October 2012 Four weeks ago, I preached at the funeral of a late brother who served the Nigeria Police and was of the rank of Inspector. His name was Mbre Jack. His funeral was attended by many policemen and women such as…
Read MoreWhy are flowers sent at funerals?
Question: The Apostle Paul mentioned our bodies, like seeds, will die, and then the raised spirit sprouts like a flower from the dead seed. Which scripture is this? I thought that was a beautiful explanation. Is this why flowers are sent when death occurs? Answer: I believe you are thinking of: “But someone will say,…
Read MoreIs it right to say “Rest in Peace” in regard to a known sinner?
Question: I would like to ask a question regarding a statement left by many of my friends, as well as my Christian brothers and sisters in Christ. The statement is “Rest in Peace” to Whitney Houston. I know according to the Bible that no one is in Heaven yet. We all go to Hades either…
Read MoreThe Funeral Service of Shunn Hamilton
by Tommy Thornhill Around noontime, Thursday, March 16, 2006, a man’s life was taken from him in a moment of time. As he and a couple of his friends were on their way to lunch, their vehicle came over a hill and collided with another vehicle that was in the roadway. Shunn Hamilton was thrown…
Read MoreHow do you handle attending a funeral where the practices are unscriptural?
Question: This past weekend I attended my grandmother’s funeral, but I have a question. My family is very unscriptural in most of their ways, but while I was there they had a woman preach or eulogize the funeral I am wondering if I am in sin by attending it and staying for the services? I was…
Read MoreWhat is God’s view pertaining to cremation?
Question: What is God’s view pertaining to cremation? Answer: When a person dies, his spirit leaves his body. In speaking of his death, Peter said, “knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me” (II Peter 1:14). Peter saw his body as a tent in which his…
Read MoreReflections on a Funeral Service
by Wayne S. Walker Several years ago I had the unpleasant task of attending and participating in the funeral service of a relative. It was not difficult from the standpoint that the deceased was an evil person, for such was not the case. Rather, the distressing aspect was due simply to the sorrow of loss…
Read MoreLesson from a Funeral
by Harry R. Osborne via Guardian of Truth XXXVIII: 21, p. 10, November 3, 1994 Have you been to a funeral lately? None of us enjoys funerals, but the reflection demanded by such occasions is good for us. The Bible speaks of the need to learn the lessons that are taught by facing death’s reality. Notice the…
Read MoreShould the church building be used for weddings or funerals?
Question: A good friend of mine told me about your web site and that your material has been a wonderful resource for him. You have a wonderful article answering the question: “Is it scriptural to have recorded music (not vocal) in a wedding ceremony that is held in the church building?“ In that article you…
Read MoreFuneral Service for Viola Richardson
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton We are gathered here today to remember the life of Viola Richardson. Viola L. Richardson, 79, of Pickrell died on Friday afternoon, May 18, 2007, at St. Elizabeth’s Regional Medical Center in Lincoln. She was born on August 9, 1927, in Indianola, Oklahoma, and spent her childhood in Oklahoma and Texas,…
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