11-23-2018

Good Morning All,

           1 Thessalonians 4:16; “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”

    Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.”  That is a pretty good guess to me.  I heard someone once thought it would be Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.  One thought it would be Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.  One thought about John Williams’ “Theme for Star Wars”.  I think I like the “Fanfare for the Common Man.”  We were discussing what the trumpet of God would play that would announce Christ’s return.  The Lord will descend, a cry of command, the voice of an archangel, the trumpet and then, then we have the resurrection.  We have the final, wonderful, victorious resurrection.

   We, as Christians, should never fear Christ’s return.  It signals the ultimate victory for us as believers in Christ and his promise.  It will mark a time of great joy.  It will mark a time of joy that has never been seen here on this earth.  We will be victorious and we will be transformed.  Those who are still alive when Christ returns, and there will be a last generation.  You and I may be part of that last generation or we may not; but we will be part of the resurrection and what a wonderful, joyous time it will be.  I cannot wait to see and to hug and to laugh with all my family and friends who have already gone on to rest in the Lord.  All those people, many of whom the ravages of death weighed heavily upon, will be there, whole and healthy.  All will be perfect.  All will be grand.

    It is when I think about the resurrection that I think of the parents who had to bury a child in their life.  I think of the pain they felt.  Then I remember Paul’s words, “I do not consider the present suffering to compare to the future glory.”  The pain they feel will not begin to compare to the joy and the incredible reunion that will occur.  It will be fantastic.  It is what we should look forward to, what we should long for and pray for.  It will be the end of the devil’s nightmarish reign on earth.  It will be the end of the destruction of creation.  It will be the restoration of everything to the state of perfection and completeness.  It will be amazing.

   So we wait.  We wait for Christ to return but as we wait, we long for, we dream of, we hope for the day when Christ shall return; with the cry, the voice of the archangel and the trumpet, the wonderful, glorious trumpet.  It will sound and we will win.  Christ will return.  Pray for it, long for it, hope for it but above all know that when it comes, there will be joy beyond all measure for us as God’s dear children.  Celebrate that Christ will return and restore creation and us as well to all perfection and joy.

Father of all wonder, we hope in you.  We long for Christ’s return.  Help us to hold onto the certainty of your love, your mercy and your promise that victory is ours.  Guide those who are lost or confused to come to see that all hope rest in you and that all victory will come from your glorious hand.  We wait; we wait for the sound of the trumpet.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen and returning Lord and Savior, we pray.  amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret