Sermon Tone Analysis

Those Mansions Above

We strain every nerve, we strive for the prize

Of our calling in Christ: a home in the skies:

The battles all fought, the victory won,

We have the reward—“Good servant, well done:”

“Come, enter thy home, these mansions above,

Rest in the haven of infinite love;

From sorrow and sin forever released,

Come sit with the guests at the heavenly feast.”

All stains washed away, in robes of pure white

We bask in His rays, we shine in His light;

The crown of rejoicing we evermore wear,

The glory of Christ eternally share.

Make me, O Father, more grateful for life,

More willing to bear the turmoil and strife,

More anxious to serve, more like Him to be

Who gave His own life a ransom for me.

That, bearing Christ’s image, e’en here below,

My word done in Him, His glory may show,

Till the summons I hear, in accents of love,

“Daughter, come higher, and serve Me above.”

What glories await the spirit set free

From fetters of earth, untrammelled to be!

The work begun here is continued above,

And all that blest life is service and love.

—Parish

II.

Committal at Graveside

We gather here to claim memories which are forever sacred as they are a gift of God.

We are supported by a faith stronger than death, sustained by the hope of a life that extends eternally beyond this place.

Within that confidence, we gather here to commit all that is mortal of our friend to this resting place, surrounded by the handiwork of God in nature, yet aware that we have a resting place not made with hands but by God Eternal.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of my life;

Of whom shall I be afraid (Ps.

27:1)?

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth (Ps.

121:1–2).

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth (Ps.

145:18).