What Happens The Moment We Die?

2 Corinthians 5:1–10

An older gentleman was once asked, “Do you believe in the hereafter?” And he said, “Most certainly. I often find myself walking into a room asking, ‘What am I hereafter?’”

As I get older, I can relate to that.

I want to talk to you today about the hereafter. What happens after we die?

If you're new to our church, we typically preach in sermon series, usually working our way through a book of the Bible. But over the next few weeks, we're going to talk about this topic of Heaven. Is it real? How do we know? And how can we be certain that we will go there when we die?

As we think about the topic of the afterlife, a recent Pew Research poll revealed that 70 percent of Americans believe that an afterlife is definitely or probably true. That's seven out of ten Americans who believe there is something beyond death. And 86 percent of Americans believe that every person has a soul or spirit that lives on after death.

Now, we know Hollywood believes that. Look at some of the movies we've seen over the years: Ghost, The Sixth Sense, What Dreams May Come. We see it portrayed in Hollywood; a belief in, or at least a desire for, some kind of hereafter.

And if we're not careful, we'll let popular culture define for us what happens after death and answer the question of whether it's true. But we can go to God's Word, God's holy, inspired Word, the Word affirmed by the Lord Jesus Christ, and we can find answers to our questions about life, death, Heaven, and how we can be certain that we will go there.

And so what I want to do today is take you to the New Testament book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 5. We're going to look at verses 1 through 10 as we answer this question:

What happens the moment we die?

Now, you say, “Boy, I'm a guest today, and this is depressing.”

I get it.

But recent studies have shown that one out of one people die. So I know people get uncomfortable when we talk about death. It's not something we really want to talk about, but we need to talk about it.

Just a few weeks ago, I received a package in the mail that my wife had sent me. I thought, “Oh, wow! I wasn’t expecting something.” And so I opened this gift, and it was a how-to-plan-your-funeral book.

So I don't know if she's trying to tell me something, or if it's just because we've been talking about the importance of estate planning and spelling out your wishes and things of that nature. So I'm grateful for the tool.

But we often feel uncomfortable talking about this subject. And yet I believe today you will find a source of encouragement if you've trusted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

The apostle Paul is writing to Christians in the first-century city of Corinth. This is the second letter we have that he sent them, and among other things, he's wanting to give them some assurances about Heaven and help them make sense of the suffering that we often endure in these physical bodies.

So listen to how he assures them.

I'm reading from the English Standard Version. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 5:1–10

2 Corinthians 5:1–10 ESV

1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

May God bless the reading of His holy Word.

I think Paul would give us three assurances here as he answers our question, What happens the moment we die?

1. OUR FUTURE WITH CHRIST IS CERTAIN

The first assurance that has helped me this week as I've studied this passage is this:

Our future with Christ is certain.

If you've trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of your sin, then your future with Christ is certain. No matter what happens to you down here, you don't have to worry about your future. It has been solved and settled by the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

Now, did you notice in verse 1 how Paul describes our human bodies?

He writes, “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed…”

He's likening the human body to a tent.

Paul was a tentmaker by trade. He would go into a city, work with his hands, make tents, sell them, and use that income to support his ministry. So Paul was well acquainted with tents.

Any of you ever gone camping in a tent?

When I was little, my parents took us camping a few times at a lake. We would fish, cook, and spend the night in tents. And as a kid, that was exciting. That was fun.

But you don't want to stay there. You don't want a tent to be your permanent home.

Tents are fine for temporary use, but tents are not like home. I think it was the comedian Jim Gaffigan who said, “There's no such thing as a happy camper. The happiest people are the people leaving the campground.”

And Paul is saying our physical bodies are like a tent. We live in this body, but this tent is going to get old. It's going to get worn. It's going to become frayed. It's going to become frail. And eventually, it's going to be destroyed. Eventually, it's no longer going to function.

And I tell you, some of us know what that feels like.

The older you get, the more acquainted you become with your body being like a tent that's wearing out.

Paul is jumping into his argument from chapter 4, verse 16, where he said, “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”

You ever felt that?

Some of you used to get out of bed with no second thought. Now you negotiate with your knees. “Okay, we're gonna do this, and we're gonna do it one step at a time.”

When you were young, you wondered why your grandfather got out of his recliner and made a sound. And now you hear a sound and think, “Where did that come from?” And you realize: That was you.

No warning. It just happens.

You look in the mirror and say, “This tent is wearing out.”

I met a friend I hadn't seen in a long time, and he said, “Ricky, you haven't changed a bit.”

And I said, “Yeah, other than being older, fatter, and balder, I really haven't changed that much.”

But Paul is saying, you need to recognize that the body is temporary.

But here's the Christian hope.

Verse 1: “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God…”

He's contrasting what we have now with what we will have one day when Christ gives us resurrection bodies.

Tent versus building.

The tent is temporary. The building is permanent. The tent is earthly. The building is heavenly. The tent is made by human hands. But the building we're waiting for is an act of God.

Our present bodies are temporary and frail because we live in a fallen world. Sin has affected every part of creation. But one day we will inherit a dwelling prepared by God, eternal in the heavens.

And Paul is so confident of it that he speaks of it as though it were already ours.

Why?

Because God has prepared it.

And how do we know this is not all there is? How do we know we were made for more? How do we know we shouldn't simply spend our lives tending graves?

Because God has given us a deposit. God has given us a guarantee. He has given us the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, and He lives in every believer.

The Holy Spirit is God's guarantee that what He has promised, He will fulfill.

The same Spirit who raised Jesus physically from the dead lives in you. And aren't you grateful?

Sometimes we sing that old hymn:

“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine!”

That's what the Holy Spirit is. A foretaste. A guarantee. A down payment of what is coming.

Now go back to verse 2. Paul writes, “For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling.”

He says we groan down here in this earthly tent.

Paul is familiar with that word groaning. He uses it here, and he uses it in Romans 8.

And he's not saying we despair of life. He's saying the sufferings of this world cause us to groan, and that groaning causes us to long for something better.

When our kids were young, they wanted hamsters. What a waste of money. But as long as they're happy, we give them hamsters.

And I always felt a little guilty because I'd watch those things run on that wheel. Run the wheel. Run the wheel. Run the wheel.

And we'd keep them in that little cage, but they wanted out.

Those hamsters instinctively knew there was a world bigger than the world inside that cage.

And that's why we groan.

We know this can't be all there is.

We know there has to be something better than this.

And Paul says we long to put on our heavenly dwelling.

We've read the last book of our Bible, where Jesus comes back, and there is no more pain, no more sorrow, no more crying, and no more death.

He who sits on the throne says, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

And we long for that day.

We join the apostle John when he hears Jesus say, “Surely I am coming soon.”

And John cries out: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

That's how we feel as Christians.

Paul continues in verse 4: “For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened…”

And then he clarifies: “…not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”

Paul is addressing a first-century idea that was circulating in Corinth—the idea that the greatest ambition of humanity is to die and be released from the body so that we can live forever as disembodied spirits.

That's an unbiblical concept.

Our goal is not to be less human in the next life than we are now.

Part of what it means to be human is to have a body.

And if all we have to look forward to is floating around somewhere as disembodied spirits, then we're missing something fundamental about the Christian hope.

Christ's death on the cross was not merely for the forgiveness of our sins. Ultimately, Christ came to redeem everything sin has tainted.

That's why we get a new body.

And we get new heavens and a new earth.

Because sin will not have the last word over God's good creation.

The blood of Christ cleanses it all.

We look forward, not to floating around as ghosts, but to being in redeemed, glorified bodies like Jesus had when He walked out of His tomb alive.

And so Paul is saying, we don't want to be naked as disembodied spirits. No. What we're longing for is to be further clothed.

And then he explains what he means: “…so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”

Mortal means subject to death and decay.

But one day, this mortal body will be swallowed up by life. We will have something new that will never again be touched by death. Just like Jesus.

And God is the One who has prepared us for this very thing.

Dear friend, you say, “Ricky, there are so many questions I have.”

Welcome to the club. I don't have all the answers.

But I believe Paul would have you know this morning:

Your future with Christ is secure and certain.

Don't let the devil steal that from you.

Jesus said He came that we might have life, and have it abundantly.

Your future is certain.

Sin, sickness, and sorrow will not have the last word over you.

2. OUR FUTURE WITH CHRIST GIVES US COURAGE

I think Paul would give us a second assurance.

Not only is our future with Christ certain, but our future with Christ gives us courage.

Notice how Paul begins verse 6. He begins with that little word:

“So.”

That so connects what he has said to what he's about to say. He's saying, based on the fact that your future with Christ is certain, you can have courage.

He says, “We are always of good courage.”

Courage doesn't mean your problems disappear. Courage doesn't mean your fears and anxieties and questions suddenly disappear.

Courage is standing up and living by faith in spite of all that because your confidence is in Christ, not in yourself.

And those two go hand in hand.

Because my future with Christ is certain, I can have courage today.

I don't have to worry about my eternal future. And I don't have to work for it. It's a gift of God's grace.

And that gives me courage to face my problems down here today.

We not only have the gospel of the sweet by-and-by. We've got the gospel of the nasty here and now.

Amen?

This is the same Paul who wasn't being Pollyanna-ish about the problems of his own life.

He had suffered. He had been beaten. He had been persecuted. He had been shipwrecked. He had been imprisoned.

And yet he says:

“So we are always of good courage.”

And whenever I ask you, “How are you doing?” you tell me, “One day at a time with Jesus.”

That's courage.

That's what Paul is talking about.

You know, I was thinking this week and I wrote myself a little note, and it blessed me. So I wrote it down and thought, “I'll share that with the church.”

Maybe it'll bless you like it blessed me.

When you know where you're going, you can face where you are.

You talk to that employee who's booked a three-week Caribbean cruise that's coming up this Saturday. They can handle Monday because they know where they're going.

You can handle where you are when you know where you're going.

You talk to that sailor who's been at sea for months, but he knows that in just a few days the ship is pulling into port. Shore leave is coming.

You can handle where you are when you know where you're going.

You talk to a pregnant woman. I dare you. She's counting down the days until her baby is born. But in the meantime, oh, in the meantime, there's discomfort, exhaustion, sleepless nights. But she can handle where she is because she knows what's coming. One day she's going to welcome that beloved baby into her arms.

Christian, I don't know where you are.

But I know where you're headed.

And you can handle where you are when you remember where you're going.

Keep your faith in Jesus Christ.

Christian, you can face Monday because Sunday's coming.

Christian, you can face groaning because one day groaning will give way to glory.

Christian, you can even face death itself because Jesus came to give you life and life more abundantly.

He is the resurrection and the life.

Jesus said that whoever believes in Him, though he dies, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in Him shall never die.

Our future with Christ gives us courage.

You say, “Pastor, you're making this sound so easy.”

Well, don't let me lie to you.

Living by faith is not easy.

Paul even declares in verse 7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Some skeptics and atheists will say, “All those Christians talking about faith, they're just believing in blind fairy tales.”

No, no.

That's not the biblical concept of faith.

Biblical faith is putting our confidence in the reality of God and the promises He has made.

And how do we know He keeps His promises?

Because Jesus said, “I'll die. I'll be crucified. But I'm going to walk out of My tomb alive three days later.”

And He did it.

Historically, physically, bodily, somatically, victoriously- Jesus walked out of that tomb alive.

First-century Christians saw Him, and many went to their deaths as martyrs because they would not stop preaching that Jesus was alive.

Jesus lives.

And that's why I have faith every day. I live by faith, not by sight. If Jesus can do that, I'm just going to trust Him. I'm just going to trust Him.

Faith isn't easy. But faith is trusting God that He is God and that He keeps His promises.

And then Paul gets even more direct.

Verse 8: “Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

I love the King James Version:

“To be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

So the question is:

What happens the moment we die?

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, to be absent from this physical body is to be immediately, personally, gloriously present with the Lord.

That's what makes Heaven Heaven.

I'm all about pearly gates and streets of gold. I'm all about meeting the saints of God that I've read about all my life in the Bible. I'm all about meeting loved ones who've gone on before me. I'm all about meeting godly Christians I've had the privilege of pastoring over the years, people whose funerals I've presided over.

But I'm going to tell you:

That pales in comparison to seeing my Savior face to face.

Being absent from this body means being present with the Lord.

This is not soul sleep. When the Bible talks about sleep in reference to death, it's a euphemism describing death. The body sleeps, but the believer is consciously and personally with the Lord.

That's what makes Heaven so sweet.

And did you notice what Paul said?

“At home with the Lord.”

You go home.

There's an old gospel song that says, “This world is not my home, I'm just a-passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”

And that's how it is.

I've stood at the bedside of too many people as they breathed their last. But I've seen Christian men and women face that moment with a peace that passes all understanding because they knew they were going home.

And we will see them again one day.

Home.

Now, Paul is not saying that we Christians ought to walk around despairing of life. “Oh, life is so terrible. I just want to die and go be with Jesus.”

That's not what he's saying.

This is the same apostle Paul who told the Christians at Philippi:

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Rome eventually did execute Paul. He was beheaded.

But while he was alive, he kept living for Christ.

To live is Christ.

And when death came:

To die is gain.

That's the tension we Christians live in.

We recognize the sufferings of this life. We know what glory awaits us in Heaven. But that doesn't mean we become so depressed that we give up.

It means that no matter what we go through, to live is to live for Christ.

And to die, when that day comes, is my gain because I get to be with Christ. That takes courage.

3. OUR FUTURE WITH CHRIST GIVES US PURPOSE

I told you three assurances. I've given you two.

Let me give you the third one.

Not only is our future with Christ certain, and not only does our future with Christ give us courage, but our future with Christ gives us purpose.

Go to verse 9.

He uses that word again:

“So.”

He's building his argument.

Our future with Christ is certain, so that gives us courage, so that gives us purpose.

Here it is, verse 9: “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.”

Whether we're at home with the Lord or away from the Lord while we're still in this body, either way, we make it our aim—our ambition, our purpose, our goal in life—to please Him.

That becomes our number-one ambition.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism begins with the question:

“What is the chief end of man?”

The answer:

“To glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

You know what your life is about?

Glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.

Paul would say it this way:

“We make it our aim to please Him.”

That is the purpose of your life.

The purpose of your life is not to make more money. The purpose of your life is not to gain popularity. The purpose of your life is not to have a bigger house and nicer things.

There's nothing wrong with any of those things.

But if those things become your number-one ambition, you're staking everything on temporary things.

Your number-one ambition is to please the Lord.

And then everything else starts falling into place.

He has to be first in your life.

I'll tell you, in my personal life, the question “Will this please the Lord?” has a way of clarifying things for me.

There are a lot of dumb things I wouldn't have done if I had stopped and asked myself that question:

“Will this please the Lord?”

No, it won't please the Lord.

Then why are you going to do it?

Now, I'm not saying I'm the dumbest man in the world. But I pray every day that guy doesn’t die. (LOL)

And don't look at me like you don't know what I'm talking about.

We're all one step from stupid, right?

Thank you.

I thought it was just me for a moment.

But if I will stop and say:

“Lord, how can I please You today?”

Not myself. Not what other people think. Not what my politics tells me I ought to do.

But:

“Lord, how can I please You today?”

That has a way of clarifying things.

God, how can I please You in how I treat my spouse? God, how can we please You in raising these children? God, how can we please You in how we handle the finances You've entrusted to us? God, how can I please You with the time You've given me? With the talents and abilities You've given me? With the education and experiences You've given me? Lord, how can I please You even through the church as I serve You? Because You, my Savior, said You didn't come to be served but to serve and to give Your life as a ransom for many. So how can I please You as I serve?

Don't you see how that clarifies things?

And Paul gets even more clear.

Verse 10: “For we must all appear…”

Did you hear that?

All.

I went to seminary. I had to take two semesters of Greek and two semesters of Hebrew. That means I'm dangerous. I know just enough to be dangerous.

But I did discover this: The word “all,” get this, it means all. It means everybody.

Pastors. Deacons. Sunday school teachers. Moms. Dads. Husbands. Wives. Teenagers. Every believer.

We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

Paul calls it “the judgment seat of Christ.”

The Greek word is bēma. The Bema seat.

And the Corinthians knew exactly what Paul was picturing.

Even today in ancient Corinth, you can go and see the large open space of the Agora, the marketplace. And on the southern end of the Agora is a raised platform, the Bema.

The Bema was a prominent public platform associated with civic and judicial authority in Corinth. The Corinthians knew that the Bema was a place where people could be brought before an authority and evaluated.

And Paul says, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.”

You're going to keep this appointment. We all must appear before the Bema.

And who is the Judge? His name is Jesus.

You say, “Now, is this where we get judged for salvation? I sure hope the good in my life outweighs the bad in my life.”

No.

That matter is settled in time, not eternity.

Jesus said, “Whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The Bible says today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Hebrews says it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

You've got to get the matter of your soul—your salvation—right with God now, in this day of grace.

You say, “Then why are we there?”

For rewards.

Well, you may say, “I don't serve the Lord for rewards.” He's going to reward you anyway. He's going to reward you.

And what an amazing moment it will be to stand before the Lord Jesus and hear Him say: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come on. You’ve been faithful over a little, I'm going to entrust you with much…” (Matthew 25:21, 23)

The Bible speaks of crowns and rewards. And what are we going to do with those crowns?

We're going to give them back to Jesus because He alone is worthy to be praised (Revelation 4:10-11).

I don't know about you, but I want praise to offer Him.

I want rewards to offer Him back.

I want gratitude, demonstrated by the way I've lived my life down here, to bring glory to Him up there as I stand before Him.

Pastors. Deacons. Sunday school teachers. Moms. Dads. Husbands. Wives. Teenagers. Every believer. We must all appear.

If we've trusted Christ as our Savior, we will stand before Him at that judgment seat and give an account for what we've done in this body.

So maybe the most important question is not:

“What happens the moment we die?”

Maybe a greater question is:

“What do we do in the meantime?”

How do we live our lives for Him?

Our future is certain.

Our future with Christ gives us courage.

And our future changes how we live today.

It gives us purpose.

The bottom line today is very simple:

Our future with Christ should shape our life for Christ.

I've told our staff that I have a vision of this church equipping thousands of everyday disciples to live out an everyday faith.

What I mean by that is this: Sometimes we think a disciple is some special category of Christian.

No.

A disciple is simply a follower. A learner. One who is being transformed by Jesus every day and joining Him in His mission in the world.

I have a vision of seeing thousands of people through this church equipped to be everyday disciples living out an everyday faith.

Because I'm going to be honest with you, I don't need more religion in my life.

I don't want to simply check off a box that says, “I went to church. I sang the song. I prayed the prayer. I put money in the offering plate.”

I don't want that. I don't want it for me. And I don't want it for you.

You know what I do want?

I want an encounter with Jesus that changes me.

I want to be a better husband because my wife deserves that. I want to be a better father because my kids deserve that. I want to be a better neighbor because my community deserves that. I want to be a better pastor because you deserve that. I want to live for Jesus every day to please Him!

I don't have all this figured out. I need Jesus. And I need you in my life, helping me every day to live out my Christian faith. And I think you want that as well, or you wouldn't be here this morning.

So here's what I would challenge you to do as a follower of Jesus:

Don't become so enraptured with all of your questions and speculations about Heaven that you forget to live for Jesus on earth.

As one country preacher said, “Don't become so heavenly minded that you're no earthly good.”

Let your future with Christ change your life for Christ right now.

And I would also say to my fellow Christians: Don't let the struggles of this world beat you down so badly that you despair.

I'm not promising you an easy life.

I am promising you an amazing eternity.

So Christian, live with courage.

Live with purpose.

Live for Christ.

Because your future with Christ should shape your life for Christ.

Gospel Invitation

And then maybe there's somebody here who's never received Christ as Savior.

Dear friend, This is the day.

I make no apologies for challenging you today.

Heaven can't be earned. Heaven can't be bought.

Heaven is a free gift offered to you by God through His Son, Jesus Christ, who paid the price on the cross.

How do I know Heaven is real?

Because Jesus stepped out of Heaven and came into this world. He lived a perfect life where I've lived a sinful life.

And then He went to a cross and said, in effect, “I'll represent Ricky. I'll take the punishment he deserves for his sin.” He paid the price for my forgiveness. And three days later, He rose from the dead.

And I remember the day—July 12, 1980—when I repented of my sin and said, “God, I'm so sorry.”

And I put my faith in Jesus because I couldn't save myself.

That was the day I was born again.

Nobody could do that for me. I had to make that decision. And nobody can do it for you.

You have to make the decision.

“Will I turn from my sin and put my faith and trust in Jesus—and Jesus alone?”

Maybe you'll do that today.

It's as simple as ABC.

A — Admit

Admit that you're a sinner.

You know, the church and the Hell's Angels won't let you join until you admit you're bad.

Some of you will get that on the way home.

But the Bible says in Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Every one of us falls short.

We miss the mark.

And we have to admit:

“I'm a sinner, and I need a Savior because I can't save myself.”

Even if I could be perfect from this day forward, I still have all those sins in my past.

I need forgiveness.

B — Believe

Believe that Jesus is God's Son who came to save sinners through His death, burial, and resurrection.

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

C — Confess

Confess your sin.

Confess your faith in Him.

Romans 10:9 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Because a dead Savior can't save anybody.

But Jesus is alive.

Romans 10:13 ESV

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Will you do that today?

Will you confess:

“I am a sinner. Jesus, I put my faith in You. I trust You. I confess You as my Lord and my Savior.”

Prayer

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, in the stillness of this moment, I pray that Christians will be encouraged and comforted by the knowledge that these mortal, frail bodies will not have the last word over us.

Death, the last enemy, has been defeated through the resurrection of Jesus.

In the meantime, may our purpose be to please Him.

May we please the Lord as we seek to live for Him every day by faith.

Thank You for Your grace and mercy that forgives us even when we mess up.

Thank You that we don't lose our salvation.

Thank You that You love us with an everlasting love.

Father, I pray for Your courage for believers.

And I pray for anyone here who has never trusted Jesus Christ.

Draw them to Yourself today.

Help them to see that Heaven is not earned. It is received through faith in Jesus Christ.

May we leave this place today with this truth settled in our hearts:

Our future with Christ is certain.

Our future with Christ gives us courage.

Our future with Christ gives us purpose.

And may our future with Christ shape our life for Christ.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.