I have written about death in this blog before. Go back to the February, 2010 entries. Today, I got this link from my parents. It's a 20-minute message that follows the reading of the Beatitudes. Jeffrey Thompson, a Georgia lawyer, talks about his "near-death experience," but his recounting of a surgery gone terribly wrong is more a near-paradise experience to me. His four takeaways? God loves you more than you ever could know. Commit yourself to be a better person. When you're in Christ, there is no sting in death. Share your Christian faith and promise with others.
Jan. 30 Sermon/Thompson from
Trinity UMC on
Vimeo.
39One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”
40But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
43And Jesus replied,
“I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
