Bulletins - Grace Lutheran

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we gather today with heavy hearts to honor the life of Leo. As we mourn his passing, we also find solace in the Gospel and the promises of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our focus today is not just on the life that Leo lived, but on the hope we have in Christ, which is beautifully expressed in 1 Corinthians 15:50-57:
1 Corinthians 15:50–57 ESV
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

These verses speak to the heart of our faith. They remind us that death is not the end, but a transformation. Where we go from this tent, this temporary body into the rest, and the arms of Christ. Through Jesus Christ, we have the promise of eternal life, where death is swallowed up in victory. This is the Gospel—the good news—that offers us hope and comfort today.
Unfortunately I only briefly got to know Leo, a few months last year and a little bit the year before. However as I read through his obituary and talked with Kathy it struck me all that Leo had done through his life. All of the accomplishment, the awards, his service in the military yet in all of this we find that at the end ask what in all of this really matters the most. Family of course, the legacy we leave, children, grand children, and even a loving spouse who faithfully staid by your side through it all. Even in this though we find some solace, but it too may seem a bit lacking for children grow up move away and have their own families, a spouse may pass before, leaving you to pick up the pieces and carry on. Only one thing stands out above it all and that is faith in Christ, to that we see the evidence of that faith in Leo.
Out of all the accomplishments in life only one stands far above the rest and it too we find is not of ourselves, it is faith in Jesus Christ who paid it all for us. The Apostle Paul writes that "the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." We know that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Jesus, by His death and resurrection, has conquered sin and death. This victory is not earned by our own deeds but is given to us as a gift of grace.
Even as Leo’s life, filled with accomplishments and love, is ultimately a testament to this grace. He knew that his true identity and worth were found not in his achievements, but in Christ alone. This is the message we must hold onto: our hope and our salvation are found in Jesus.
As we reflect today on Leo’s life, we are also faced with our own mortality, knowing that we too someday must come to the grave as well. As we reflect on our own lives. Are we have to ask ourselves where does our hope lay? Are they merely on the temporary things of this world, do we look to make a legacy to leave our children and grandchildren, or are we looking to the eternal promises of God? The Gospel calls us to trust in Christ, to live in the light of His resurrection, and to share this hope with others.
In John 11:25-26, Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die." These words offer us profound comfort. They remind us that our faith in Christ secures for us a future beyond this life, a future with Him in glory.
As we remember Leo, we especially remember the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The only lasting hope and strengthen. We are comforted by the knowledge that Leo is now in the presence of his Savior, enjoying the fullness of life that Jesus promised. We are also comforted by the fact we too can share in this promise by knowing Christ, by believing in Him, receiving that gift so freely given to us so that when that day comes when we too face eternity we know there is hope.
Today even as we mourn the loss of our brother in Christ we hold fast to the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Let us find comfort in His promise of eternal life and victory over death. And let us celebrate the Gospel, which assures us that we will one day be reunited with Leland and all our loved ones who have gone before us in faith. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
- - 1 Corinthians 15:50–57ESV

1 Corinthians 15:50–57ESV