Sunday Worship Service for those who have passed on

Prelude
Call to Worship 2 Peter 1:3
Hymn JBC #240 Jesus Christ is risen today
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC #510 When we walk the Lord
Offering
Remembering those who have passed on
Scripture Lamentations 3:22~33
Prayer
Sermon “The Lord’s great love never ceases”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 601 Sing the wondrous love of Jesus
Doxology JBC # 672
Benediction
Postlude
Welcome & Announcements

　Today, we are offering Sunday worship as a memorial service for those who have passed on.
　In front of you are photographs of those who have passed away from our church. Earlier, I read out their names.
Those include members of our church, family members of church members, and even those who were not members of the church but with whose passing the church or pastor was involved, and for whom we held a funeral service at the church.
　Among those with whom I had direct contact, there were some who were aware that their death was approaching and were preparing for it.
　On the other hand, there were some who were unexpectedly called to heaven suddenly.
Death will inevitably come to us all. No one knows when or how death will come. Because we don't know it, death causes us anxiety.

And, losing a loved one brings us great sadness.
In addition to the sadness of losing a loved one, there are other painful events in our lives that cause us suffering, sadness, and sometimes even despair.
　How should we deal with such sadness, or even despair? Let us listen to a passage from the Old Testament book of ‘Lamentations’, which is today's Bible reading.
Lamentations conveys the words of lamentation (weeping) of Jeremiah, a prophet (a person who received words from God and conveyed them to the people).
Jeremiah's prophetic words are recorded in the Book of ‘Jeremiah’, which precedes Lamentations.

In this Lamentations, Jeremiah mourns a single death. It was the death of his own country. His country (the Kingdom of Judah) was destroyed by the neighboring empire (the Babylonian Empire).
Why was his country destroyed? I believe that Jeremiah felt great doubt, sorrow, and suffering about this.
The Book of Jeremiah begins with an account of how Jeremiah was first called by God and appointed as a prophet.

Let us read Jeremiah 1:4-5.

4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

This story takes place in what is now Israel, around the 7th to 6th centuries BC.
At that time, Israel was divided into Northern Israel and Southern Judah, and Northern Israel had already been destroyed by the Assyrian Empire.
Even when God told Jeremiah, “I chose you as a prophet before you were born,” Jeremiah hesitated to respond to God's call, saying, “I am only a young man. I do not know how to speak.”
However, God encouraged Jeremiah by saying, “Do not say that you are too young.”

God also said to Jeremiah, let me read from Jeremiah 1:9.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.

God promised Jeremiah, “I will give you the words to speak to the people, so you need not worry.”
　And Jeremiah, as a prophet, continued to convey God's words to the people of Israel, calling on them to “believe in God, turn away from sin, and return to God.”
Was the prophet Jeremiah successful in his work as a prophet?
As I mentioned earlier, his country (the Kingdom of Judah) was eventually destroyed, the temple was demolished, and many of the Jewish people were taken captive to the Babylonian Empire, which had conquered them.
Witnessing the destruction of his country, Jeremiah must have felt disappointed, thinking that his work as a prophet had failed.
Jeremiah must have been in great pain and sorrow. His lamentations were recorded in the Book of Lamentations.

　I think everyone experiences sadness in their lives. I think everyone experiences suffering in their lives. There is no such thing as a life without sadness or suffering.
The cause of Jeremiah's sorrow and suffering was that “even though he worked hard to convey God's words to the people of his country (Israel), many people did not listen to his words, and in the end, the country was destroyed.”
Jeremiah seemed to have lost hope in himself. “Everything I've done has been in vain. Was there any meaning to my life and work?” he must have thought.
Jeremiah certainly reached his own limits.
　This can be understood from the first half of verse 18, which precedes today's passage.
So I say, “My splendor (*in Japanese “the power to live”) is gone

Jeremiah says, “My power to live is gone.” This means that it is no longer possible to live by his own strength.
　However, when Jeremiah realized that “it is enough, impossible, I can do nothing on my own,” an important truth was revealed to him.
That is the message of today's Bible passage: “The Lord's mercy never ceases,” (NIV: “the Lord’s great love we are not consumed”), and “The Lord's compassions never fail.”
　Jeremiah clearly recognized his own powerlessness, weakness, and helplessness, saying, “My splendor (strength) is gone.”
　However, the mercy (love) of the Lord God is unending and never ceases, and the compassion of the Lord God will never run out for us. This was clearly shown to Jeremiah when he realized his own powerlessness.
　The message conveyed throughout the Bible is that “even though the Israelites, God's chosen people, continued to disobey Him, God never gave up on His love for them.”

Jeremiah's words tell us that even though we continue to disobey God and are sinners, God will never completely abandon us.
　Even if it seems like the country has fallen and there is no hope left, and even if you feel like you cannot survive on your own, it is actually at times like these that a new beginning awaits.
　Christian churches hold weekly worship services. The focus of worship is Jesus Christ and the words of Jesus Christ, namely the words of the Bible.
　The words of the Bible convey to us the hope that “the Lord's love never ceases, it is new every morning,” just as it is written in today's passage.
If we open our hearts, humble ourselves before the Lord God (acknowledging our own powerlessness), and face God's Word, then each time we do so, the words of the Bible will come to us with new resonance and power.
On the cross, Jesus Christ gave His life for us, and even now He continues to say to us, “I love you. I will never give up on you.”

The Lord's endless mercy (love) and compassion are revealed to us through the words of the Bible. Therefore, we continue to listen to the words of the Bible and continue to worship centered on the words of the Bible.
　In the Bible, there is a story about Jesus Christ multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish through prayer and feeding thousands of people, leaving them all full. The great work of the miracle by Christ.
　In this way, Christ continues to satisfy our spiritual, mental, and emotional hunger and thirst through the power of His Word, giving us the strength to live.
　Even when our own strength fails us, when we surrender everything to God, we come to believe in the truth that “God's love never fails and never ceases.”
　We sincerely wish to give thanks for the endless love of God, which we can always receive through His Word and worship.

Let's read verses 27-28 of today's passage.

27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.
28 Let him sit alone in silence,
for the Lord has laid it on him.

　　A yoke is a tool placed around the necks of cows and horses for agricultural work (plowing fields). When yoked, cows and horses are unable to move freely.
　From this, we can see that the yoke is a metaphor for the burdens, hardships, and sufferings that we bear in our lives.
In everyone's life, there may be times when they are burdened with a heavy load, as if a yoke were placed around their neck. At such times, “let him sit alone in silence” does not mean “do nothing” or “just endure.”
It means, “Give up your own power and entrust yourself to the Lord. Return to God.”

Jesus Christ said the following.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28～30)

　　I think we all have to bear various kinds of “yokes” in our lives.
To us, Jesus says, “Come to me and take my (Christ's) yoke upon you, and you will find rest.”
　Why is Jesus' yoke “easy to bear”? It is because Jesus bears that yoke with us.
　Even the burdens we feel as if we are carrying it alone, in fact Jesus is with us and carries them with us.
Let us live our lives believing in Jesus Christ, who bears our burdens with us.
　The departed souls we remember today must have each had their own burdens, sorrows, and hardships in their lives.
　When you remember that suffering and sadness, some of your close friends and family members may still feel pain in their hearts and a wrenching pain in their chests.
However, we can believe that Jesus was with those who had passed away, sharing in their suffering and sorrow, and bearing their burdens with them.

And Jesus bears our burdens with us today too. Even if we cannot bear them on our own, we can live by entrusting them to Jesus, who bears them with us.
　Living involves pain and sadness.
However, the Bible tells us that sorrow eventually leads us to know God, whose love never ends, and guides us to God.
No matter how much sorrow or suffering we experience, nothing can prevent us from worshipping God, praying, and praising Him (praising God, not humans).
In today's worship service, as we remember those who have passed away, let us reaffirm our belief that we are being kept alive each morning by the Lord's mercy, love, and compassion, and let us rejoice and give thanks for this, and resolve to walk forward in the days ahead.