Pastor's Sermon Posted for April 29th. Pastor's Sermon Posted
Pastor Watt's Sermon for April 29th, 2007, The Fourth Sunday of Easter has been posted on his sermon website.
You can read the whole sermon by clicking here.
Listen to this sermon here.

The text is:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:9-17 (ESV)

From the Sermon:

What’s the comfort that John brings to God’s people with this vision? Think about it for yourself. When was your last funeral? Who do you miss that has passed from you into death? John is describing what’s going on right now with all those who died in faith in the work of Jesus. If you want to know what it’s like after death all you have to do is read here. We say that we just don’t know what it’s like for those who have died, and in a really big way that’s true except for this passage here. Right here in this text John is telling us what Bill, Philip, Freddy, Bertha, Rudy, Leona, and Marcella are doing. He’s telling us what all those other loved ones of yours are doing too.

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Did you hear it? Jesus the Good Shepherd had taken away all their struggle and pain. He’s wiped every tear from their eyes. He is now supplying them with everything they need, just as he did for them before death, just as he will do for all eternity and just as he is doing for you and me now. Right now all those loved ones of ours who have died in the faith wouldn’t come back to us for anything. They have Jesus. They have everything they need. That’s the real joy and comfort that St. John is giving us today. Those who die with faith in Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins, have passed through death into eternal life.

Labels: Sermon, Worship

  ¶ 4/27/2007 02:43:00 PM