FUNERAL: Chris Sapp

Welcome & Pray

Today is a difficult day, a day that we hurt over the passing of this 23 year old man, who should still be with us.

And we are sad that he is not.

Sapp family - we love you. We are here for you. We can’t lessen your pain, but we can HUG you and CRY with you through it.

This precious family needs to know what 2 ladies in Scripture - Mary and Martha - needed to know, that Jesus was NEAR and that Jesus CARES.

We know this because of the shortest verse in all the Scriptures: “Jesus wept.” Jesus wept because Jesus CARED about this family whose loved one had died....and He CARES about THIS FAMILY too - in the middle of the most difficult day of your lives.

So, let’s go to PRAYER to THE ONE who weeps with people He loves and then we will watch a video from TobyMac along with a slideshow of Chris.

Video: Bobbi wanted to share this video.

Group Share

ME

________________

Nobody likes funerals. But the author of Ecclesiastes says...

Ecclesiastes 7:2 (NCV)

It is better to go to a funeral than to a party. We all must die, and everyone living should think about this.

This is the moment that every one of us thinks about the reality of eternity. We all know, that this day is coming for us. Problem is, many of us pretend it isn’t. The older you get and the more funerals you attend, the more you realize, ONE day will be MY day.

Chris is not here and his eternal destination is set, so we aren’t here to talk him into heaven. Instead…

We gather to remember his life.

We gather to comfort his family and comfort one another.

And…we gather to be confronted with this reality we all hate - death will find us too. So this eternity thing is more importantly than any other issue you face today.

Jesus spoke of this reality often. For example:

Mark 8:34–35 (NIV)

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

What in the world is all that about? They didn’t know for sure and this call to sacrifice their lives for Jesus wouldn’t be appreciated UNTIL…they heard about Jesus sacrificing His life for their lives…or OUR lives.

Most of you know why Jesus died - to pay for our sins. Yet many of us act like sin is no big deal, that God will just overlook them. But NOTHING could be further from the truth.

The CROSS communicates 2 things: 1) Our sin is serious. 2) Our God is gracious.

Our Sin is Serious.

We can try to cover the guilt of our sexual relationships outside of marriage.

We can try to dilute the lies, gossip, lust, cheating, and theft with alcohol and other drugs.

But maybe, just maybe…the reason why you FEEL GUILTY when you are by yourself…is because you ARE GUILTY.

I often talk with folks who don’t understand that they really ARE guilty. So I ask them a few questions that I want to ask you: How many lies? Stolen? Adultery?

Our sin is SO SERIOUS, that Jesus DIED to pay for us!

Our God is Gracious.

Jesus was brutalized and crucified to in order to TAKE OUR SIN and give us HIS RIGHTNESS! We can be fully forgiven!

And…we can KNOW the God who made us while we live on earth. That’s the kind of King who is worth living for! That’s also the kind of King worth dying for - dying to our sins, and giving our lives.

And the ultimate payoff is that we get to live with Him forever when we die or when He returns (which isn’t long from now).

Jesus continues by asking what might be the 2 greatest questions you are ever going to hear:

Mark 8:36-37 (NIV)

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Let me ask it this way - how much would you be willing to give up your eyes for? You couldn’t pay me enough for that - my sight is too valuable. BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR SOUL - the part that won’t get buried when you die?

Finally, Jesus fires this warning shot across our bows.

Mark 8:38 (NIV)

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

If you’re ashamed of Jesus, then don’t be surprised when He is ashamed of you.

No one in this room, including me, is going to make it to heaven because our good outweighs our bad, or because God is loving and won’t send anyone to hell, or because we prayed a prayer, read the Bible, or went to church.

Here’s the REAL QUESTION you need to answer: Are you a FOLLOWER of Jesus?

IF not, I pray that God will use this awful day of mourning for this precious family for our ourselves, that you might have ETERNAL LIFE by bowing your knee before the Lord Jesus and surrendering your life to Him.

When I was 16...

In a few moments, we are going to the cemetery, but I want to remind you of this one truth: Jesus of Nazareth died and was buried, but He ain’t there no more!

My boys back in the day: “Jesus died on the tross!” And then what? “Jesus tame back alive!”

That is the good news in a nutshell:

Jesus died so we could die to our sin and be forgiven.

Jesus arose so we can live this new life and one day be resurrected from the dead - as He was.

Jesus will return to judge all people. Those who follow Jesus will live with Him forever. And those who don’t follow Jesus…will be judged to hell forever.

PRAY

_____________

Cemetery

This is the place that reminds of the reality of eternity.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 (NIV)

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape

But this reality of the separation that death brings between those who love…doesn’t have to be forever.

My story of Grandaddy dying and dream about the return of Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

For some this is the place where we say “goodbye”.

For others it’s the place we say, “See you later.”

And it all depends on what you do with Jesus. What are YOU going to do with the TRUTH that He has given you today? If you want to talk - so do I.

We are going to PRAY - give some hugs to the family,

but in about 10 minutes we are going to ask that everyone disperse while the family has these last few moments with the body of Chris.

PRAY