Listening Guide for the 51 Funeral Sermons in I Am the Resurrection and the Life on MP3 audio CD by scholia.net publishing 2005 I Am the Resurrection and the Life was published in 1901 and has 51 funeral sermons, which were written for and preached in funerals in the latter 1800s. The occasion for this book's original purpose is stated in the Preface written by W. H. T. Dau...... for a number of years individual pastors of the English Synod of Missouri have been urged to publish such sermons as homiletical aids to such pastors as, for want of time or proper equipment, have felt embarrassed when called upon, often on very short notice, to conduct a burial in the English language. Among the many reasons why scholia.net publishing has made the audio recording of I Am the Resurrection and the Life available are to provide... practical materials for men studying to become pastors (seminarians, field workers, vicars). a resource to the pastor to help him prepare and deliver a Christian funeral sermon. a learning opportunity and guide for the laity in order to evaluate and judge sermons. A Few Suggestions: Suggestion #1 It is recommended that you listen to each sermon twice, the first time devotionally and the second time critically. This is very important since it will help you to train your ears in determining whether or not a sermon is Christian or not. The Gospel is this and nothing else: that in Jesus Christ there is forgiveness of sins, in Him alone and nowhere else in the world, but also truly in Him. A sermon that did not say that, a sermon in which this real Gospel was not mentioned would not be a Christian sermon. Hermann Sasse, The Lonely Way II, 1943 First, listen to the sermon devotionally. This means that you are hearing without analyzing or noting. It might be beneficial to listen to the sermon with your eyes closed. Do not have the funeral sermon checklist in sight for this reading. Listen to the sermon from beginning to end without pausing or stopping, just as if you were one of the family members, hearing the message for your loved one's funeral. When you finish, note your overall, general impression. This ought not be too specific. Was what you heard generally comforting, disturbing, emotional, joyful, annoying, etc? Right away, after noting your overall, general impressions, listen to the sermon again, this time doing so critically. Keep the funeral sermon checklist at hand and fill it out as you listen. Suggestion #2 You might find it beneficial, at least for the first few sermons, to read through the funeral sermon checklist before listening to the particular sermon for the second time. Also a review of the definition of terms will be particularly helpful for filling out the checklist. Suggestion #3 Consider skipping around on the list of sermons. For example, listen to a sermon for the elderly, then a sermon for a child, then middle-aged, etc.
A Few Definitions: Law The Law of God is the holy will of God which tells us what we are to do and not to do what we are to say and not to say what we are to think and not to think. Jesus catechized regarding His Law: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). God's Law requires absolution perfection 100% of the time no exceptions, no small print, no ifs, ands or buts. Each human being is, by nature, sinful and unclean, and thus, being apart from God, is lost and condemned. Each one of us has sinned against God in thought, word and deed, As such, the Law always accuses the old sinful nature in man both the Christian and the non-christian. This will continue until the faithful departs this life and is with the Lord in Paradise, at which instant, the Law will no longer accuse the Christian. In this life, the Law provides no comfort to the conscience and prepares the soul for the Gospel. Gospel The Gospel or Good News is that God the Father sent His Son into this world to be the Savior from sin the world's Mediator and Redeemer. Jesus is the Christ Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus, Who is true God and true man, fulfilled the Law perfectly on our behalf and shed His holy Blood for us beginning at His Circumcision on the 8 th day and concluding with the spear thrust following His death by crucifixion. When Jesus suffered on the cross, He atoned for and paid the penalty for every sin of every human being from Adam to the last person born in this world, as well as for the sinfulness of the same. Jesus the Messiah has conquered Satan on our behalf and satisfied the holy wrath of God against all sin. In His Resurrection, Jesus has defeated death. In His Ascension, Jesus has gone to prepare for us in Heaven and is with His own, always, even to the end when Judgment Day comes. The Gospel is all about the forgiveness of sins. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous (Romans 5:19). Active Obedience of Christ As the perfect, sinless High Priest, Jesus took upon Himself all the requirements of the Law and fulfilled God's Law perfectly on behalf of all. Passive Obedience of Christ Again, as the perfect High Priest, Jesus allowed or suffered Himself to be the Sacrifice on Whom and in Whom the Divine punishment on account of all sin upon Himself was placed and He perfectly endured the pangs and woes of all people. He is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Means of Grace These are the God-given and Divinely-instituted ways for the blessings of forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation that Christ Jesus earned in His Active and Passive Obedience to be offered and given to the individual. The Holy Spirit works by means of His Word in Baptism, Absolution, the preaching of the Gospel and the Lord's Supper to bestow these blessings to the individual, thus creating and sustaining faith in the Good News. Faith The Holy Spirit grants the gift of faith and is a blessed, Divine work accomplished through the means of grace according to God's Word. So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ (Romans 10:17). Good Works Only Christians are able to do good works, which are also know as fruits of faith; that is, deeds done in faith, according to the Law of God, for the welfare of our neighbor and to the glory of God. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10).
A Few Considerations: Parenthetical Scripture References Within the fifty-one sermons in the 1901 book there are often Scripture references within parentheses; for example (Acts 20:28). These verses of God's holy Word were likely included as references to the pastors who would be using the sermons in this book. Thus, it may be that the parenthetical Bible references were not included in the oral proclamation of the sermon. In the CD audio recording the references have been included. While this may be a bit distracting for the devotional hearing, it was deemed appropriate for the critical hearing and any subsequent study. Authors of the Sermons I Am the Resurrection and the Life does not list the names of those men who wrote and delivered the sermons. Such a lack of knowledge is actually beneficial when critically evaluating and judging the sermon. Judging the Sermons While one might readily take on the task of critically analyzing these sermons, one might also hesitate in rendering a judgment on them. The Scriptural basis for making such a judgment comes from the words of Jesus, during His Sermon on the Mount. Specifically, our Lord warned: Beware of false prophets (Matthew 7:15). The hearers of that sermon were commanded to beware of those who do not bring properly preach and apply God's Word. In one of his Church Postil sermons, Martin Luther stated: Therefore, be ye aroused by this passage of Scripture to hew to pieces and thrust through everything that is not in harmony with the Gospel, for it belongs to the sheep to judge, and not to the preachers. You have the authority and power to judge everything that is preached; that and nothing less.... We could not beware if we had not the power to judge, but were obliged to accept everything they said and preached. C.F.W. Walther declared in his sermon, The Judgment of the Sheep Over Their Shepherds: Table of Contents:... when Christ calls upon his hearers to beware of false prophets and know the true from the false prophets by their fruits, he seats all hearers on the throne of judgment, gives the balances of truth into their hands, and commands them to judge their teacher confidently.... In divine things no one is excluded from the duty of judging because all of Christ s sheep are judges: The learned and unlearned, man and wife, hired man and hired girl, young and old. Each has his own soul, his own life, his own salvation at stake. For Infants and Very Young Children. (1-3 Years.) Sermon # 1 2 Samuel 12:23 Sermon # 2 Jeremiah 31:3 Sermon # 3 Jeremiah 31:3 Sermon # 4 Matthew 6:10 Sermon # 5 Mark 10:14 For Children. (3-13 Years.) Sermon # 6 Psalm 73:23-24 Sermon # 7 Psalm 116:15 Sermon # 8 John 8:51 Sermon # 9 2 Timothy 4:18 For Confirmed Youths. (13-17 Years.) For Boys Sermon # 10 Job 1:21 Sermon # 11 John 11:25-26 Sermon # 12 2 Timothy 4:18
For Confirmed Youths. (13-17 Years.) For Girls. For Young Men. (17-25 Years.) Sermon # 13 Isaiah 57:1-2 Sermon # 14 Luke 8:52 Sermon # 15 Luke 12:37 Sermon # 16 Romans 8:18 Sermon # 17 Philippians 3:20-21 Sermon # 18 1 Peter 4:12-13 For Young Women. (17-25 Years.) For Young Married Men. Sermon # 19 Matthew 25:10 Sermon # 20 Luke 1:48 Sermon # 21 John 20:15-16 Sermon # 22 Psalm 66:16 Sermon # 23 John 16:16 Sermon # 24 Hebrews 4:9, 11 For Young Married Women. Sermon # 25 Ruth 1:16-17 Sermon # 26 Job 19:25-27 Sermon # 27 Philippians 1:21 For Middle Aged Men. Sermon # 28 Psalm 16:6 Sermon # 29 Matthew 25:21 Sermon # 30 2 Corinthians 12:3-4 For Middle Aged Women. Sermon # 31 Acts 21:14 Sermon # 32 1 Corinthians 42-43 Sermon # 33 Philippians 1:21 Sermon # 34 Hebrews 13:14 Sermon # 35 Revelation 14:13 For Elderly Men and Women. For Extraordinary Occasions. Sermon # 36 Genesis 25:8 Sermon # 37 Psalm 4:8 Sermon # 38 Psalm 71:9 Sermon # 39 Isaiah 53:5 Sermon # 40 1 Corinthians 13:13 Sermon # 41 Colossians 1:9-10 Sermon # 42 2 Timothy 4:7-8 Sermon # 43 2 Timothy 4:7-8 Sermon # 44 Hebrews 9:27 Sermon # 45 Revelation 2:10 Sermon # 46 Job 7:16 Is the desire to die a pious desire? Sermon # 47 Psalm 46:10 A young man killed by a falling tree. Sermon # 48 Isaiah 55:8-9 The sudden death of a four-month old child. Sermon # 49 Isaiah 57:2 The sudden death of a man. Sermon # 50 Jeremiah 22:29 Fire is cried out in school. Two girls killed. A false alarm. Sermon # 51 Hosea 6:1 The death of a faithful woman.
Checklist to evaluate funeral sermon # : Yes No # 1. According to the definition given, was the Law preached... at all in the sermon? to show us our sin? as the basis for the deceased's hope for heaven? as able to be the basis for the hearer's salvation? # 2. Was the truth of the Gospel preached; specifically, that... the Son of God came to be our Redeemer? Jesus is the God-man, our Mediator? Jesus fulfilled the Law of God perfectly in our stead? (active obedience) Jesus suffered the cost & paid the penalty for all sins? (passive obedience) Jesus conquered the devil and atoned for the sins of all? Jesus died our death on the cross? Jesus rose again from the dead, defeating death? Jesus ascended into heaven? # 3. Were the means of God's grace proclaimed, specifically, that... Baptism grants forgiveness of sin, eternal life and salvation? Absolution is announced to the hearer? the Word of the forgiveness of all sins is declared? the Lord's Supper strengthens faith and grants the blessings of Christ? # 4. To whom or to what was the hearer referred for hope,... to the life, love, good works and death of the deceased? to the life, love, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ? # 5. Was the deceased mentioned... at all during the sermon? passively, as the recipient of God's gracious blessings in Christ? (Gospel) actively, as the doer of good deeds? (Law) # 6. Was the overall message one of... manageable Law and/or conditional Gospel in order to be saved? emotional appeal or motivational living for the hope of heaven? salvation by the grace of God through faith in the person and work of Jesus the Christ as revealed in the Word of God? # 7. Was the sermon text preached? Note 1: If in # 2 above, you had no check-marks in the yes column, then either you did not hear correctly, or this was not a Christian sermon. Note 2: If you have a majority of yes check-marks in columns # 2 and # 3, then it is likely that you heard a Christian sermon that had applications to you personally, particularly that you are forgiven of all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. What is your judgment concerning this sermon? Does this evaluation differ from your first hearing? If so, why?