Our Sermons

Bible Passage: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  November 26, 2023

This may be the most dangerous sermon theme a pastor could devise. I’m willing to bet that the overwhelming majority of you looked at the theme today and it brought pleasant thoughts to mind. Oh, blessed sleep! There are few things that people enjoy more than taking an afternoon nap or sleeping in on a Saturday morning. Oh, blessed sleep! But now is not the time or place for sleeping. I run the risk of talking about sleep and thinking about sleep during the sermon this morning–dangerous, I know–because sleeping is exactly the picture that Paul uses. And what a picture it is! All those wonderful thoughts that come to mind when we think about sleeping–the soothing rest, the peace, the refreshment we feel when we wake–Paul wants us to think those same happy thoughts when we think about death.

Today is the last Sunday of the Church Year. It’s a day of rejoicing. It a day that we celebrate our victory over death through Jesus. It’s a day that we look forward to the glories of heaven. What better way to celebrate than to look at these words from 1 Thessalonians! As you read these words, you can’t help but get excited. What a sound to comprehend as you hear the loud command, the voice of archangel, the trumpet call of God! As a Christian, as one whose name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, you can’t help but be excited about that day. What a day it will be!

But we don’t normally have those happy thoughts about death, do we? In fact, because none of us has ever died before, we’re full of questions about death and what happens after we die. And we’re not alone. For almost 2000 years now, people have been waiting for Christ to return. And for almost 2000 years, people have died waiting. What does it all mean? What’s going to happen when Christ finally does return if we’ve already died? The Christians in Thessalonica had the same questions. And that’s why Paul addresses those questions in his first letter to those Christians.

The Christians in Thessalonica had many questions concerning the end of their lives. They were eager for the second coming of the Lord, but they had some misconceptions about what would happen if they died before he came. So Paul encourages them. Notice how he addresses them. He calls them “brothers.” Paul shares a oneness, a unity with these Christians deeper than any human bond. They are brothers in the faith because Christ had become their brother. He tells them, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers…” Some people in this world like to think that “ignorance is bliss.”  What I don’t know can’t hurt me. And yet, that attitude seems to fade when the topic of death stares them in the face. Perhaps the greatest question man has failed to answer is what happens after death. People talk about white lights and traveling through a tunnel, but no one knows for sure what death is like. No one who has experienced it is able to tell us about it. And in an unbelieving world, that causes a great deal of fear and uncertainty. When tragedy strikes our nation, this ignorance turns into inconsolable grieving because there is no hope and there are no sure and certain answers.

Unfortunately for people, it’s what they don’t know that is going to hurt them the most. The ignorance of the Thessalonians was robbing them. It was robbing them of the peace that is theirs through Christ. They had watched their loved ones die in the faith and yet they were grieving like there was no tomorrow. They grieved like there was no hope. Granted, those who die apart from faith in Jesus really are without hope. They have nothing to look forward to but eternal suffering and punishment. But these Thessalonian Christians were not like them. They grieved out of their ignorance. And so Paul reminds them they have a reason to hope. And notice how he does that. He turns the whole discussion from the unknown to the known. 

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve in the same way as the others, who have no hope. Indeed, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then in the same way we also believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.”  Sleep is something that we know. There’s a reason we call it, “Oh, blessed sleep!” We can’t wait to get there. We don’t fear sleep in the least! Sleep doesn’t hurt us, it helps us. We need sleep to keep going in this life. So if death is like sleep, why do we fear it? Why would we dread it? Why would we grieve uncontrollably? Death is a reminder of sin. Sometimes, we forget what we know, don’t we? Sometimes, we forget that Jesus died for our sins and rose again to assure us that we too will rise on the Last Day. How can we forget? You all know the struggles that you face, the trials that God allowed you to endure. Ever asked God, “why?” Why do we have to suffer? Why does life have to be so cold and cruel? We may ask, “why,” but we know the answer already, don’t we? It’s because of sin. Sin is in the world. Sin ruined God’s perfect creation. The effects of sin are what break down our bodies and cause them to die. There is no greater evidence of sin than death. And the death of a loved one causes us to contemplate our own death, our own sinfulness and it may even lead us to fear death because we fear the punishment we deserve. 

That’s why Paul speaks to us today. He doesn’t want us to fear death, to grieve uncontrollably. Notice he doesn’t say that we shouldn’t grieve. Grieving is healthy. Grieving is a natural thing. Even our Savior was moved to tears at the death of his dear friend, Lazarus. However, Paul doesn’t want us to grieve uncontrollably. He doesn’t want us to grieve like the rest of the world. He doesn’t want us to grieve without hope. For the believer, physical death is but a sleep. Let me say that again, for the believer, physical death is a blessed sleep. It’s something we truly long for! Sleep is not a euphemism for death where the Christian is concerned. It is a literal explanation of it. Falling asleep in Jesus is a blessed sleep because it’s not permanent. It’s temporary. We will wake up to the blessed reality of heaven!

Fallen asleep in Jesus! Just think about what that means! Think of the comfort you have in those words! That’s what gives us the hope that we have. Without Jesus, there is no hope. Without Jesus’ death and resurrection, there is only fear and uncertainty. But we have Jesus! That’s why we can sing God’s praises at a funeral. That’s why we can sing hymns of joy. That’s why we celebrate the Last Sunday of the Church Year. The day that we fall asleep in Jesus is a day of victory! It’s the exact opposite of what the world sees. The world sees the day of death as a day of defeat. And we even find ourselves talking that way, don’t we? How many of us haven’t said something like, “John died yesterday…he lost his battle with cancer.” But death is not a defeat for the believer. Death is a victory! Death is a triumph for the believer. It’s a triumph because of Jesus. “We believe that Jesus died and rose again, then in the same way we also believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.” Because Jesus died and rose again, death no longer has mastery over us. Our death is but a blessed sleep, a temporary, glorious rest from which we will awake! The day that we fall asleep in Jesus is the day that we stop being part of the church fighting against the devil and his forces on earth and the day that we join the Church triumphant, the victorious Church in heaven.

And Paul gives us a brief glimpse of what the Last Day will be like. He writes: “In fact, we tell you this by the word of the Lord: We who are alive and left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not go on ahead of those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.” Even if we die before Jesus comes again, we have nothing to fear. Our bodies will be the first to rise and join our souls with the Lord. And what a day that will be!

“Therefore, encourage one another with these words.”  That’s how Paul closes out this section. That’s what we are doing today. What a great hope we have in our Savior Jesus Christ. What an encouragement we receive when we confess to each other and with each other, “we believe that Jesus died and rose again.”  We don’t have to fear death. Without being morbid, we can actually look forward to death in the same way we look forward to a good night’s sleep. Oh, Blessed Sleep! Truly blessed sleep is falling asleep in Jesus. It’s the beginning of an eternity of perfection and happiness. It’s the beginning of an eternity with our Lord. Oh, Blessed Sleep! I can’t wait! Amen.