"So today we gather to share our love and our stories with one another. We come to hear the voice of the Good Shepard reflected in the voice of family and friends. We cry together and we laugh together and we know that in both we are embraced in the arms of our loving God."
Taken from one of George Reed's many funeral sermons that make up Funeral Seermons that Proclaim and Celebrate, Reed teaches that the passing of a loved one should not be seen as the end of a life, but rather the beginning of a new chapter in which the deceased has been reborn with God in heaven. Throughout his book, he encourages his audience to remember their late relatives and friends through their memories, of all the good times spent together. He reminds us of how the deceased's actions display God's presence in the world. Their life, though beautiful like a rainbow, similarly cannot last forever, but the memories of that rainbow lives on in our memories long after its passing. "We will miss the physical presence of NAME but we know that the joy of this rainbow will continue in the presence of God for all eternity and that someday we will again enjoy the fullness of that blessing."
No matter who your loved one is, or how you want them to be remembered, Reed has offered the guidelines on how to honor them perfectly, using sermons such as:
- "Comfort My People" (Isiah 40:1-8)
- "Many Rooms" (John 14:1-4, 18-19, 25-27)
- "God's Fullness Within Us" (Ephesians 3:14-21)
Throughout this time of grief and mourning, Reed encourages us to remember peaceful memories of our loved ones with whom we will be reunited in heaven.