In 2024 I attended some evangelical Christian funeral services; an unevangelical Christian funeral service; a Greek Orthodox funeral service; a secular funeral service.
There is no doubt that the blessings of our faith are most obvious at our funeral services.
In a previous blog I have written about planning for one’s own funeral, but now I want to address the subject of the funeral sermon.
The death of a believer is an opportunity to declare the Christian hope, however it is an opportunity that is to be handled sensitively.
It is easy to go too hard and declare the gospel in a severe and harsh way, that though faithful, is not helpful.
The preacher must be sensitive to the grief of the occasion and must not be seen to be an unfeeling opportunist!!!
Think therefore about engagement with the moment, is it a younger or older person who has died, what were the circumstances leading to the death, these will be important factors in determining your approach.
It may be more helpful to think about the sermon as an occasion for pre evangelism, remember for many, this may be the only time they have ever heard a Christian preacher, so be sensitive, keep it short, focus on Jesus in all his amazing attractiveness especially in the face of death. Talk about repentance and faith in terms that people can understand, communicate with your audience, rather than preaching at them!
This is easier said than done, make it a matter of prayer, hopefully people will come away wanting to know more rather than feeling browbeaten, having been helped rather than having had an endurable experience.
So here is my list:
- Have I prayed for a right attitude in preaching and right content?
- Have I entered into the occasion for those who are close to the deceased and those who are more distant?
- Is the sermon engaging with the range of those present?
- Does the sermon focus on the chosen text and show Jesus in all his hope filled compassion and triumph over death?
- Does the sermon go on too long?
- Have I shown how those who want to know more can get the ‘more’ information that they need?
- Have I put in the time in preparation which reflects the importance of the occasion?
Christian funeral services are a wonderful opportunity to bring hope to a hopeless world, as our congregations grow older, let’s get better at running such services.
One man in a country town came to Christ, because he used to attend all the funerals in town and decided to regularly attend the church which conducted the best funerals and he was eventually saved.
How do your funeral sermons rate?
David Cook.