Here’s a fun-filled talk about funeral planning issues presented to senior citizens in the Jolly Elders group at St. Paul’s Methodist Church. This speaking engagement was recorded on Tuesday, March 2, 2013.
This is the text of a few paragraphs from the talk:
As you can imagine, I’ve been to a lot of funerals. I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death, and I have feared no evil, for God was with me. The 23rd Psalm is very popular at religious funerals.
In Judaism, our prayers include the statement that God keeps faith with those who sleep in the dust. In John 14:2, Jesus says “In my father’s house are many mansions (or rooms, dwelling places depending on the translation): if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
Now, let’s think about this. When you have a guest in your home, what do you do? Maybe clean the bathroom, put out fresh sheets and clean towels, and tidy up the house.
Jesus is out there preparing a room for you in the next life. What kind of mess are you going to leave the people you love in this world when you go to that great heavenly reward?