{"id":4766,"date":"2026-11-01T13:47:48","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T21:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hopelcs.ca\/church\/?p=4766"},"modified":"2026-11-02T13:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T21:52:14","slug":"1-we-grieve-with-hope_______series-until-we-see-him-1-thessalonians-413-18-matthew-51-12-november-01-2026-all-saints-day-hope-lutheran-port-coquitlam-pasto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hopelcs.ca\/church\/1-we-grieve-with-hope_______series-until-we-see-him-1-thessalonians-413-18-matthew-51-12-november-01-2026-all-saints-day-hope-lutheran-port-coquitlam-pasto\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201c1 \u2013 We grieve with Hope\u201d, Series: Until we see Him”\/ 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 5:1-12 \/ November 01, 2026 – All Saints Day \/ Hope Lutheran, Port Coquitlam \/ Pastor Lucas Albrecht"},"content":{"rendered":"

Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matt. 5:1\u201312
\n<\/strong>Theme: \u201cWe grieve with Hope\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

____________________________ <\/strong><\/p>\n

Introduction – <\/strong>Here\u2019s a thought to start our All Saints Day sermon, a day in which we remember both the reality of death and the Hope of life: Our hope is not that death hurts less than we thought. Our hope is that Jesus is stronger than death.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was a Thursday morning years ago, and we were going to Jay\u2019s appointment with Dr. Meyers, who would assess her breast cancer condition to schedule the surgery. If you have ever driven or walked to a waiting room like that, you understand the feeling. However, that morning she had also taken a pharmacy pregnancy test, and it came back positive. A baby was on the way. If you have been met by good news amid a hard situation, you know the feeling as well.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, both were running side by side. In the same appointment, we would learn the next steps in the cancer treatment, and the doctor would learn that her patient had just discovered she was pregnant.<\/p>\n

On the way to the hospital, walking on a cold October morning in Saskatchewan, we didn\u2019t talk much. But I remember Jay, living with all the mixed emotions of that moment, expressing words that reshaped the way I faced all the unknowns that were coming our way. Perhaps not exactly like this, but she said: If Jesus Himself was willing to give His life for me on His Cross, I am ready to do whatever is needed for the life of this baby.[2]<\/strong><\/a> <\/em>What I heard in those words was: hat is, I know this is going to be tough, but I trust the one who went through the toughest moment of all to give me life and hope.<\/em><\/p>\n

As you heard my story, you might have been reminded of a similar moment in your life. Lots of uncertainty and plenty of unknowns coming your way. That morning, we were faced with the possibility that our family could suffer loss. Perhaps not one, but two. Some of you are here today carrying the grief of someone you have already lost. Those are not the same experience. But as Christians, we need the same thing: we need what God has promised to our life. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The most important thing that challenging times reveal is where strength, peace and a sense of direction in the middle of uncertainty come from. What God has revealed to us about death, dying, and the last things bring effective comfort, strength, and hope in times of darkness. They come from the Hope we have in Christ.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because our hope is not that death hurts less than we thought. Our hope is that Jesus is stronger than death.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul speaks of this hope when he writes to the Thessalonians. He is writing to a church dealing with questions concerning what happens to Christians who die before Jesus returns. What would happen to them when Jesus returned? Had they missed something? Would they be left behind?<\/p>\n

The answer Paul gives to their questions, and their grief, doesn\u2019t in the form of a command to stop grieving. He does not say, \u201cYou should know better than to cry.\u201d He tells them that they do not need to grieve like those who have no hope<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Notice the difference. He does not say, \u201cDo not grieve.\u201d He says, \u201cYour grief is not without hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

We need that distinction. Sometimes we hear comforting words that may sound good but are not connected to the Biblical hope we have. People usually mean well. They are trying to find something to say when words are difficult. But words such as becoming a star or an angel don\u2019t match Scripture\u2019s teaching.[3]<\/a> More importantly, Christian hope rests on something more concrete and definite than a comforting picture or a human wish.<\/p>\n

Paul shows us that it is okay to grieve. <\/strong>We are not forbidden from crying, facing our insecurities and having our moments of darkness. Not because we like them, but because they are interwoven in our broken human experience. But then he goes on to ground our hope in Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection. <\/strong>Jesus died and rose again. And those who belong to Him will not be forgotten or left behind. When Jesus returns, the dead in Christ will rise. Death will not keep their bodies in the grave. His promise is that \u201cwe will always be with the Lord.\u201d Jesus was willing to give his life for us. We are called to commit our way to Him and trust that he will take care of things, as Psalm 37:5 lets us know.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And who are the ones who will be with the Lord mentioned by Paul? That also clarifies what happens in life. They are those whose lives were lived in faith in Jesus. Lives washed clean in the blood of the Lamb(Rrev. 7) and whose salvation was not earned but received as a precious gift<\/strong>. No condemnation, no hell, but blessed eternal life in Him.<\/p>\n

These are the \u201cblessed\u201d Jesus names in Matthew 5. Not people who are blessed because they own things, because they go places, because they are healed from an illness, or because they have more than enough. All of these can be present, but a \u201cblessed\u201d person is one who is connected to the fount of every blessing, Jesus, and to the fruit that His blessings generate in his or her life.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And that is where Jesus\u2019 words in the Gospel also sustain us today: \u201cBlessed are those who mourn.\u201d Not because mourning is a good feeling. Not because losing someone we love brings a joyful sensation. But because His promise is for the person who is mourning: \u201cThey shall be comforted.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

But we can\u2019t skim over why<\/em> Paul is teaching the Thessalonians these things. It is not just about knowledge and apologetics. It is about encouragement: \u201cEncourage one another with these words.\u201d Here\u2019s why this is encouragement:<\/p>\n