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Your Memorial Introduction: There are many great memorials at Washington, D.C., such as the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Memorial, and the Vietnam Wall. Europe has numerous cemeteries dedicated to those soldiers who died fighting Nazi Germany. The Great Taj Mahal in India was built in 1653 to show the Emperor's love for his wife who died giving birth to their child. Tula, Russia has numerous structures remembering the soldiers of World War II. As Christians we think of the Lord's Supper, the rainbow, and other memorials given in the Bible. But what about your memorial? Definition: Memorial -- something designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, etc. as a monument or holiday. Something serving as a remembrance. I) Your Works Will Serve As Your Memorial A) People will remember u s for the works that we perform just as we remember others for their works 1. Hebrews 11 is a chapter dedicated to remembering the works of faith of those in the Old Testament. a. Abel for offering a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, Hebrews 11.4. b. Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, and others are memtioned for their works. c. Jezebel is remembered for her works of iniquity. Idolatry, ruthlessness in killing Naboth, her lack of love for the truth in persecuting Elijah and killing the prophets of God. 2. Just as we remember others from earlier days in our lives. a. We remember our parents and their example b. We remember preachers we grew up hearing, or elders, or members who have now gone on to await the Day of Judgment. B) What works are we leaving behind? 1. Will people talk about our sacrifices in serving God? 2. Will they talk about our love for the truth and how we tirelessly labored in spreading the Gospel, in helping the poor, in doing whatever needed to be done? 3. What will others say about us at our funeral? Revelations 14.13; Acts 9.39 II) Our Children Will Serve As Our Memorial A) They will be a reflection of us, Proverbs 20.7; 22.6 1. Heard it said that there goes "me and my shadow." Or you will never be dead as long as your children are alive. 2. Many times we do things that remind us of our parents. B) Our children will remember us 1 Our greatest single area of influence in our lives will be upon our children. They are the ones who live around us for 18 years. They see our getting up, our going to bed, and everything in between, Deut. 4.9 2. We read of certain men in the Bible in relation to their children a. David's family problems b. Eli's problems with his sons 3. This reflection will show the good and the bad in us III) Our Name (Reputation) Will Serve As Our Memorial A) All of us have some type of reputation 1..The Bible stresses the value of a "good name." Proverbs 22.1; Ecclesiastes 7.1 2. A good name is not by accident a. Many of us have inherited a good name. A name hat those before us honored. Ex. Connie Adams father told him, "I was not able to give you much in the sense of riches, but I gave you a good name. Please take care of it." b. We must then prove that we are honorable, honest, trustworthy, reliable, etc. c. Others will either accept or reject us because of our reputation. d. We then hand that name on to our children B) Men of good reputation 1. David is known as a man after God's own heart, 1 Samuel 13.14; 16.7; Acts 13.22 2. Daniel was known for having the spirit of God, Daniel 5.14 3. One of the greatest compliments I heard anyone pay by Dad was after his death, "Everyone around here knows that he was a good man." C) Will you leave behind the name of Christian? 1. Will people be able to say that you lived as a Christian? 1 Peter 4.15-16 2. The name of "Christian" is describing who you are-- a follower of Christ. a. One who is a Christian has believed in Jesus, turned from their sins, become a part of His body through baptism, lived faithfully to His word. b. The name "Christian" is the only name that will matter on the Day of Judgment. Conclusion: Most memorials are built after someone has passed away, or after some event has occurred. Most are built by someone other than those directly involved. But we are building our memorial now. What kind of a memorial will you leave behind? |