Saturday, August 8, 2015

A Funeral



Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

    A friend asked if I would preside at his funeral.

    Then he asked if I would do it before he died so he could hear it.

    While I have not answered yet, it caused me to think a lot about my funeral.

    Sooooooo I've decided what you can hear in the next section will suffice when everyone returns from the cemetery but me.

@#$%



@#$%

    Looking for some excuse at my expense why she doesn't worship Jesus who died for her salvation, a woman said she doesn't worship on the corner of Lincoln and Main because I talk too much about myself in messages.

    I know she's lying; because I only talk about myself as a bad example or with self-deprecating humor to empathize with shared humanity.

    Of course, she may be one of those religious idolaters who's looking for a poser pretending to be better than others and not willing to be so transparent and vulnerable and...authentic.

    Or she just may really not like me in a personal kinda way - It happens! - and can't reconcile that with the love that Jesus taught/demands; sooooooo she makes up stuff to...

    Don't know.

    Don't...

    Yeah, even this KD will feed her charges of narcissism.

    Buuuuuuut unless you're as shallow as she is, you know I just use personal examples/illustrations/instances/inspirations/indigestions/whatevers to make points that I pray will help folks get closer to Him.

    Besides, as Phillips Brooks used to say, "Preaching...[gospeling]...is truth through personality."

    Really, nobody cares what Cyril of Jerusalem said...or even John Calvin or Karl Barth; though Luther had some juicy tidbits in Table Talk and today's televangelists make good script for SNL.

    People who need Jesus as Lord and Savior want to know what you know Jesus can do for everyone because He's done it for you!

    It's personal.

    It's a personal relationship with the Almighty God made personal by a personal relationship with Him by grace through faith in Jesus.

    Buuuuuuut if you wanna be like most religious churchgoers with an impersonal and inefficacious...just chalk me up to narcissism, blow me off, and...

    Yeeeeeet remember this.

    Someday everybody is gonna return from the cemetery but you.

    It's gonna be very personal.

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

@#$%


6 comments:

Laura said...

I'll take your bad example over a poser pretending to be better than others any day, my friend.

Eric said...

BOB: "One day, everybody will return to the church for green beans and ham
except you." You said that about 20 years ago. Don't you have a "banned from
the funeral" list like my Mom did. You gotta work on that. Actually it could
be kind of funny. Personally, I'm banning liberal, Commie, Democrats, those
that don't like beer, and all people who process any affection for Pitt.
(except you.) I'm telling you--work on a banned list. Could be a great and
funny sermon. Love you brother.

Paul said...

Whew, that’s high level of planning/worry. But undoubtedly wise. Thank you for including me! I do think that you want Leslie “front and center” on these kind of plans, and I look forward to pre-deceasing you so I can welcome you to heaven rather than the other way around!

James said...

I went to a local funeral home to learn about preneed arrangements. They are paid for with very expensive insurance. A policy paid up in 3 years would add 44% to the already astronomical cost. Longer terms of pay off had lower monthly premiums but added much more to the total cost

Preneed is a good idea, but I don't know how I will pay for it.

BTW if you have not checked the cost lately, it's shocking

Dr. Robert R. Kopp said...

Burn me and dump me in the Missouri!

James said...

Now there's a plan!