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Category: Death (Page 7 of 10)

Mourning With Those Who Mourn

October 22, 2012 / / 0 Comments

We were so honored yesterday at Central to host the 30th annual Rose Memorial Service for BSA Home Care and Hospice. The worship service and ceremony intends to remember loved ones who have died in the past year and to remind those who are grieving that we still remember, too, and mourn with them even today.

Yesterday was only the second time for our church familly to host this powerfully moving event — the only other time was in October 1996. And I’m proud to say that our volunteers here mobilized and organized to give everyone in attendance a marvelous experience. Kevin Schaffer led the congregational singing and performed a majestic solo rendition of The Lord’s Prayer. Our women’s ministry set up the tables and chairs and cooked and served all the food. Our decorators and ushers and sound booth guys made certain that everything was in the right place at the right time. And I think I probably stayed within five or six minutes of Davlyn’s mandated seven minute limit on the homily.

The service and ceremony were absolutely beautiful. Candles were lit for the family members and friends who have passed away. Their memories were celebrated and  preserved. God was praised. Tears were shed and hugs were shared as families reconnected with the nurses who had provided such tender care during such trying times. Encouraging words from our Savior were read and affirmed. Pricilla Miller blessed everybody in the room as she “sang” in sign language the compelling “I Will Rise.”

What a wonderful opportunity for all of us here at Central to join our community in grieving. What a chance for us to be truly incarnational, to really reflect the glory of our Lord in mourning with others, in being one with others in their distress. As we provided voice for the songs and shoulders to cry on, the Spirit of God used our church family yesterday to support and encourage the people of Amarillo. To inspire.

One woman told me the service was beautiful, and then added, “And that’s coming from a Presbyterian!” Another woman said, “The Church of Christ came through for us today!” I say we should give God the glory. Our people are to be thanked for jumping at the chance to serve. But our God is to be eternally praised for the glorious blessings we all shared together.

Peace,

Allan

The Crown

March 19, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Scripture tells us Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem. The Gospel of Mark describes this last journey for our Lord as Jesus “being on the way.” He was heading to Jerusalem with purpose, with great determination. Jesus was on a mission and nothing was going to stop him.

When he arrives near the holy city, he is greeted by cheering crowds. They praise him. They submit to him, throwing their cloaks in the path before him. They applaud him because of his miracles and his powerful teachings. They want to crown him their king. They’ve been praying for this King for generations, for centuries. They had heard the prophesies. They had told the stories. Luke says “the people thought that the Kingdom of God was going to appear at once.” They want to crown Jesus their king.

The crowds are cheering. But Jesus is crying. Isn’t that interesting? What a crazy contrast. What an unexpected bit of information.  The people are cheering and praising and exalting Jesus. But he’s crying.

Jesus willingly rode into Jerusalem to be crowned. With a crown of thorns. A crown of suffering and pain, anguish and shame. This crown of thorns is a strong statement about the kingship of Jesus. This crown represents a whole new way of experiencing the world. This crown represents an entirely different way of seeing success. It shows us a new way to view time and history and reality. This crown is powerful.

The King who wore this crown loved his enemies. His righteousness was greater than that of the Pharisees. He was rich, but he became poor in order to save the world. And as he’s dying on the cross — suffering, suffocating, gasping for his last breath — he uses his final ounces of energy to intercede for his killers, “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing.”

This crown of thorns is not a detour on the way to the Kingdom of God. It’s not an inconvenient hurdle, not even a necessary obstacle that has to be overcome to get to the Kingdom of God. This crown IS the Kingdom of God! This crown and everything it represents IS the Kingdom of God come on earth just as it is in heaven! It is an eternal statement about the kingship of Jesus and it communicates to us very clearly what God’s Kingdom is all about.

Some people accept this statement. Some people don’t fully understand the statement. And some people flat-out reject it. But, make no mistake: it IS the statement. It is the revelation. Jesus’ victory over sin and death was won in suffering and shame. He willingly, intentionally, determinedly wore the crown. And he is our Almighty King!

Peace,

Allan

Struggling Together

January 13, 2012 / / 3 Comments

I believe that open and honest struggling and wrestling with God is a sign of faith. I believe that even questioning God and arguing with God reflects a strong inner conviction in his power and goodness.

Think about it. To demand that God ought to act justly is based solely on our firm belief that God is just. If we don’t believe God is just, we won’t go to him when we see injustice; we’ll go somewhere else. What we believe about God — if we really believe it — is what leads to this kind of honest wrestling.

We believe in God’s omnipotence. There is only one God. He does not share his power with any other god. He made the whole world and everything in it. He is the sovereign ruler over all creation. So, every single thing that happens, good and bad, fair and unfair, happens because God either causes it or allows it. And that leads directly to the really hard questions: Why? Why, God do you allow these things to happen? Why, God, don’t you intervene?

We believe in God’s righteousness. God loves the world he created, he is concerned with what happens to his creatures in the world, and he’s certainly not wicked in the ways he deals with the world. But we’re faced with the reality of terrible cruelty and awful suffering in our world. And if God is omnipotent and righteous, that leads directly to these agonizing prayers: How long is this going to last? God, where are you?

The prophet Habakkuk doesn’t like God’s answers. He can’t stand what he and his people are having to endure. None of it makes sense to him. So he keeps arguing with God. He keeps coming back to God. He struggles and accuses and complains.

“O Lord from everlasting. My God. My Holy One.” ~Habakkuk 1:12

When God’s people in Scripture complain about their troubles, when they lament the injustices of life, when they seek answers to their questions about the evil in the world, they don’t write letters to the editor, they don’t hold court in the coffee shop, they don’t call the talk shows, and they don’t join a campaign. God’s people bring their doubts and their fears, their uncertainties and questions, their complaints and arguments straight to God.

And in the case of the Psalms and Habakkuk, they do so as part of their worship, in the presence of God, in the middle of the congregation.

We’re struggling together here at Central. We’re struggling with the Knebusches, the Newtons, the Pucketts; with Norma, Jack and Barbara, Christi, the Noyes family; and the list goes on and on. We’re struggling. Together. We’re questioning and complaining, trying to make sense out of things that just don’t add up with what we know and believe about our merciful Father. But we’re struggling in faith.

God bless us. God, please honor our faithful lament.

Allan

Madison Lives With The Lord

January 12, 2012 / / 2 Comments

“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”

Madison Knebusch passed away this morning in her bedroom, surrounded by her family, while being sung to by her friends, listening to words of comfort from the Scriptures, wrapped in the loving arms of her God, forgiven and made whole by the blood of her Savior.

Madison’s two-year battle with cancer is sad in many ways. It’s heart-breaking. But in countless other ways it is so marvelously beautiful. Breath-taking, inspiring, in the truly Gospel way it’s played out. The way the Body of Christ has come together to minister to the Knebusch family. The loving community that was experienced in hospital rooms and living rooms in the name and manner of our Christ. The burdens that were being shared. The great faith that has been shown by Levi and Shannon, not to mention Madison’s Holy Spirit strength that refused time and again to give in to the disease that was robbing from her everything we think it means to be really alive.

Realizing that Madison was more alive while she was battling cancer than I am right now. Or ever have been.

Madison never stopped thinking about others. Right up until Tuesday when her condition took that awful and irreversible turn, she was concerned about others, worried about others, ministering to others. Sending notes of encouragement to friends of her family who are dealing with their own illnesses. Asking questions about those at church she knew were hurting. Wondering aloud if her circumstances were taking away from the joy of others. Using her blog and her facebook page to record her innermost thoughts about God and his presence and his great promises and her unwavering belief and faith in his Word. Madison was truly alive, really living, that whole time. Thinking more about others, regarding the needs of others ahead of her own. At her sickest points, Madison was more alive than most of us ever have been because she was doing what she was made by her Creator to do. Serve. Sacrifice. Look like and think like and act like the Christ.

Realizing Madison is eternally alive right now. Forever. In the intense face-to-face presence of our God.

Madison’s eyes are open now. She’s made the trip. She’s on that other side. She sees everything so clearly now. She understands it all fully. Everything makes perfect sense to Madison right now. She’s there! She’s right where all of us so long to be. And she is so happy! Lord, come quickly! He has! Praise God, Madison today is an overcomer. She’s a conqueror. She’s an eternal daughter of our God and wearing the beautiful crown of a righteous princess. She’s there! Fully alive! Eternally alive!

Bonhoeffer wrote that “those who have died are in reality those who live and those living on earth are the dying. The cemetery is the place of life’s victory. Here lie those who live with the Lord.”

Hug your kids today. Kiss your spouse tonight. Call your parents. Express your love. Show your appreciation. And then get down on your knees and face and thank God for the wonderful people he’s put in your life.

Like Madison. And Levi and Shannon. And that whole Knebusch family.

While you’re down there, pray for the Knebusches. Pray for our merciful Father to bless them each with his grace and comfort and peace.

“On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine —
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;
he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.
In that day they will say,
‘Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation!'”

Lord, come quickly.

Allan

You Are There

January 11, 2012 / / 2 Comments

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O Lord.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.”
~Psalm 139

If I go to the Pediatrics Intensive Care Unit at BSA hospital in Amarillo where a precious 16-year-old child is dying of cancer…
you are there.

You are there.

You are there.

You are there.

Dear Father, please bless Madison with your gracious comfort and peace. Pour your mercies upon Levi and Shannon and their family. God, be there. Be faithful to your word, and be there.

Christian Response

May 3, 2011 / / 7 Comments

If you’re still interested in reading about and weighing in on the Christian response to the death of Osama bin Laden, allow me to link you up.

Corey Mullins, our Legacy missionary to Wollongong, Australia writes his reflections in his Mentalcourse blog here. In an email exchange yesterday, this faithful man of God considered the oxymoron, “Christian hatred.” Corey wonders why Christians look and act so much like the world and concludes it’s all about spiritual formation: “One hour on Sunday just isn’t enough to conform our thought patterns to Scripture. But, sadly, that’s all most of our people are getting.” Corey goes on to tell me about a friend of his in Korea whose church is open every morning from 7:00-8:00am for Bible reading and prayer. Many people — actually, Corey says “most” of the church’s members — come in on their ways to work to pray and meditate on the words of God. I wonder about us here at Legacy where, for almost two-and-a-half-years now, our elders and ministers open our prayer rooms every weekday morning from 7:00-8:00am. Quincy comes. And usually nobody else. Corey says most of these churches in Korea “are full of first generation Christians which may explain the difference. Maybe we’ve become lazy with our spirituality.”

David Smith, the preaching minister at the Missouri Street Church of Christ in Baytown, Texas, has compiled a list of 18 other preachers and ministers and theologians, mostly CofC, who have written articles about bin Laden’s death. The posts run the gamut of almost anything you can imagine as a Christian reaction to the death of this terrorist. The page with all the links is here. While you’re at it, go ahead and read Smith’s own personal angle here. Scroll down to his second post, Osama bin Laden Talks with God. Wow! How does he keep his job at Missouri Street writing like that?

Finally, my great friend Jim Gardner pointed me to a blog post by Kurt Willems, a former classmate of his at the Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. Kurt explores the things that “grieve the heart of God.” Click here.

This Sunday I am preaching from my favorite Bible verse, John 16:33. These are Jesus’ last words to his disciples before he gives himself up, before he dies on the cross as a sacrifice for every sinner in the history of our planet: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Peace,

Allan

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