Sermon Tone Analysis

Thank-you Abby for that wonderful and powerful song.

The song makes a statement, “my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”

This is a statement of faith, a statement of conviction by the author.

He is making clear this is where is life or his hope is anchored.

This isn’t some pie in the sky, philosophical truth that has no bearing on his life.

This is a truth that has tremendous practical implications.

Because his hope is built on the blood of Jesus: he will fully trust Jesus’ name, when darkness hides God’s face he will rest in God’s unchanging grace, when the storm rages he knows his anchor is secure in Jesus, when Jesus returns he is confident that he will be found with him.

When one places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ they have placed their hope in one who is able, willing and powerful enough to help in this life and also after this life in the next.

Jesus is sufficient for this life and for eternal life.

Margaret lived this life.

God gave her 92+ plus years on this earth.

God blessed her with 4 wonderful children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

God blessed her in many ways.

Those of you who are here today are testimony to that.

I want to take a few minutes this afternoon and share a word of encouragement with you.

A word of hope.

This is a hard day, yes we celebrate the life that your mom and grand-mom and great grand-mom had, but we also grieve over the fact that she is no longer with us.

There is a hole in each of your lives now, someone who has been there all along is no longer there.

So we are saddened and mourn over this loss.

Death hurts and is hard to come to terms with.

The grieving process is one that can take time to go through.

In the days ahead there will be memories and occasions that will refresh the wound in your heart.

Don’t be afraid of this for it is part of the grieving process.

Don’t be alarmed when in 6 months from now or a year from now you are suddenly over come with sadness and tears at a memory of your mom or grama or great-grama.

The words of hope and comfort I want to share with you today are thus not just for today but I trust also for those days in the future when tears flow a fresh and a new.

The passage I read before Abby sang was .

The first verse of that chapter reads:

This is Jesus speaking.

Jesus is God’s son, sent by God into our world in order to save us.

He is here speaking to His disciples, 12 men who worked with Him and followed Him.

Jesus is about to go to the cross, He is about to die.

In fact he is just hours away from His death.

He knows it is coming but the disciples do not, even though He has told them.

Jesus is thus reassuring them in the face of coming grief and fear.

There will be great cause for their hearts to trouble, but in the face of that trouble Jesus is telling them to trust or believe in Him.

Jesus is the one who calms our fears and comforts our hearts.

A few verse later in the same chapter of John Jesus says:

Jesus reiterates to the disciples that they need not be afraid.

He adds here that He is leaving them peace.

This peace is from Him and He distinguishes it from peace they might have received from the world.

How does the world define peace and how does this differ from the peace that Jesus offers?

The world would define peace as the absence of conflict or the absence or law and order, or the absence of trials and hardships.

Jesus’ peace is not the absence of something rather the presence of someone.

Jesus’ peace is not like the world’s peace because it can be obtained and experienced even in the midst of conflict or trials.

The peace that Jesus speaks of here, is received by the Spirit of God.

Jesus is telling the disciples that soon He will be leaving but in His absence God was sending the Holy Spirit.

It is the Spirit of God that would provide comfort and peace to the disciples souls in the days ahead.

The fact that they were not alone.

It was the reassurance of God’s presence with them.

A peace they would experience as they trusted and rested in Him.

The Apostle John writes of this peace one can have when he writes a letter to believers some years later.

John here says it is God’s love that casts out fear.

When we fear it is because we do not grasp the love that God has for us.

John is not speaking about our love for God rather His love for us.

John is not saying that we need to love God more in order to experience this peace.

He is saying we need to know and experience more of His love for us.

John describes this love a few verses earlier in the passage.

1 John 5:

John 14:

ps

John speaks powerfully and persuasively about God's love for us because it is true and because he has experienced this love.

The hope Abby sang about and the peace John talked about are found in God and His love for us.

God is true and His love for us is true and real.

We know this because the Bible speaks of it.

The Bible is the most historical reliable document anywhere in the world.

We know that the words in the Bible are true.

There is hope and peace available to each one of you today.

The Bible tells us it is found in Jesus!

Specifically in a relationships with Him.

We only experience the peace, hope and love of God as we surrender our lives to Him.

When we turn from doing life our way and surrender to His way.

When we receive His forgiveness for our sins through His death on the cross for us.

Margaret knew this peace, hope and love because she knew Jesus.

She not only found these things in this life but also in the next life.

Today she knows peace, hope and love like she has never know it before.

There is hope, great hope in Jesus Christ.

There is peace, lasting and enduring peace in Jesus Christ.

Know in the days, weeks and months ahead that you can turn to Jesus at any time.