Note: This meditation / outline was done after the church had gone through a period when four people who were central to the life of the church died within ten days. The impact was strong and this message was the beginning of our healing process. At the end I asked people to write down their questions and we dealt with those questions on the following week.

"What Shall We Say To These Things?"

Romans 8:31 with Romans 8:35-39 & John 10: 22-28

Our theme today is, "What shall we say to these things?" It's a question right form the pen of the Apostle Paul about faith and tough times. We are in the midst of one of those times now.

So many of us have been impacted with the issues of illness, death and dying lately - and if we look over the last year or so, there has been much grief in the lives of the people of this fellowship. Paul's words are very much on my mind ... "What shaft we say to these things?"

A part of the answer is the rest of the verse in Romans 8:31. "What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

And here is the basic, essential foundation of how we as people of faith deal with the sometimes difficult facts of our mortal existence - our mortality. We have a radically different view of the world and life than people do who do not have an active faith. St. Paul wrote,
"... we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope." (I Thess. 4:13) It is important to note that Paul does not say Christian people do not have grief. We do grieve when we "lose" someone we love. That grief is not, however, a toxic grief which has no consolation. We are comforted and strengthened by our faith which says that we as Christians do not have to say "Goodbye" to those who journey ahead of us in faith. It is, for us, "Farewell."

Our hope is established on that phrase from Paul: "If God is for us - who can be against us?" This tells us three things:

1. There is God!

2. God is for us!

3. Nothing has the power to defeat us
    (We can be hurt - but not defeated)

Two core tenets from the scripture:

1. Romans: The love of God in Christ.

The key here is Paul’s affirmation than even death can not separate us from the love of Christ.

2. John: The life of God in Christ.

When we embrace Christ, we are embraced by Christ and he gives us the gift of the very life of God. Life which can never perish.

Three key concepts from our hymns:

1. "How Great Thou Art" The Greatness of God

No matter what may happen, we are surrounded by the wonder and greatness of God.

2. "The Church's One Foundation" The Foundation of the Church

The Church is God’s new society on this earth. As we journey together, we have that "…mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won." We are bound together with our loved ones who have gone on ahead of us in faith and in the Body of Christ, we are yet in communion with them!

3. "Blest Be The Tie That Binds" The Fellowship of Faith

Nowhere is it more evident that we have a great gift in the fellowship of faith than in times when we are hit with the pain of grief and loss. The fellowship of faith is that body of people who share our sorrows and multiply our joy.