Given by Rev. Madison Shockley August 15, 2021

Everyone experiences loss. Bearing witness to death is difficult. It affects us. It reminds us that we are mortal. Just like the Thessalonians, we seek the answer to what happens after death. Paul wrote this letter to try to reassure them that their family and friends were in the Empire of God. They were in a land of love and justice that eluded them in life. The Greek myth of the after-life gave way to the Christian view of the after-life. Now that view is giving way to the secular view. Science explains it as an endless cycle of disintegration of matter into energy and energy reintegrating into matter. This view lack one key piece, what happens to our soul. Progressive Christianity acknowledges the science of our physical bodies while answering the question about our souls. Jesus’s death encourages us to live a life of purpose and love before our death. It is better to have a life of quality then just a quantity of days. Talking about death is important. Everyone should have a say in your own death. This allows everyone to be clear and not burden the family with questions on what we do and do not want when “death” catches us by surprise.
Video: