September 17, 2025

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

These past couple weeks we have seen, very literally in clear videos, a lot of death around us. Because of this, there has been a great amount of pain and grieving. If we view death from the world’s perspective, then the only proper response can be grief. This unrelieved grief then leads to the anger, hopelessness, and hate we see all around us. However, as believers, we know that our brothers and sisters who have experienced physical death are in no way lost or gone forever. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, all those who are in him are also with him. For the Christian, there is no fear in death. Death has no victory. Death has no sting for those in Christ.

When we understand that truth, then we also understand how to relieve the grief, anger, hopelessness, and hate we see all around us. People need Jesus. Death is an unavoidable certainty in this fallen world. But the pain, grief, and loss often accompanied by death is not something we have to be bound by. Our mission is to bring Jesus to all those around us. When we do this, death simply becomes a transition into greater life. It is not a loss; it is a victory.

Almighty God, we praise You because, through Jesus Christ, You have conquered the power of death. Let us not grieve for our brothers and sisters but celebrate the eternal life that our Savior has gifted them. And with that truth firmly in our minds, let us fight the power of death with the Good News of the Gospel for everyone around us. We want to see grief, hopelessness, anger, and hate conquered by Jesus.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Shane Cannon