Sermon Extras

SERMON NOTES

Memento Mori: INTRO- Psalm 90

INTRO> Wow… here we are! I know that there are a lot of questions about where we are headed with this and even a since of, “Gosh… this isn’t going to be good!” lol Here is what I want to do, to dive right in. Today I am going to ask and answer a bunch of questions about the series, in order to introduce us and to see where we are going, then at the end.. lay a specific challenge at your feet. So here we go…. 

1. What does the phrase “Memento Mori” even mean? 

• This is pretty rad. First, The phrase is  literally the Latin translation of Genesis 3:19… “ By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”and history records that when a Roman gladiator or general would enter into the city after a mighty victory, in the cart with them was a slave or assistant. And as this general or gladiator saw all the people cheering for them and praising them, it is said that the slave would say over and over again out loud in the gerbils ear the cart, “Memento Mori: Remember you will die” Why? Simple, humility. 

B) Why do an entire sermon series about death? 

1. The Church calendar– Lent (lent prepares us for Easter by focusing on the cross) 
2. The past two years of COVID-19- For the first time in our generations we where confronted with death, literally on a daily basis. There were “death counters” on news stations. It became one of the most googled topic. We sat at home and watched the death of George Flloyd. It all came to a head with the tragic death of Kobe Bryant
3. Our shared experiences– our family was confronted face to face with death with the passing of Courtnee’s grandmother, GaGa. We are still walking through that journey with our kids. I found this truth- kids are really comfortable with asking questions and we are really uncomfortable answering them, lol .
4. How much the Bible talks about it– this is the main thing! It’s overwhelming how much the bible talks about death. Average, every 9 chapters. Die, death, dying, sleep 2,000+ verses. 
5. Everyone dies. I mean, this is it isn’t it? We are the only creatures that know they are going to die, philosophers and everything have spilled ink on all this. “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…” Hebrews 9:27

C) What is the goal of this series?

• That brings us to our text, Psalm 90! Which tells us is written by Moses. Here is what is interesting, most scholars believe this is one of the first things Moses ever wrote, which makes it one of the oldest portions of our bible, next to Job. And what is one of the oldest themes in all of that Bible?…The theme of Psalm 90 is God’s greatness and mans weakness.  Do you see the compare and contrast? in V1-2 God is everlasting… and then look at v10 “The years of our life… 
• v12 Then there is a change in the Psalm, it shifts to a prayer, “So…” then what does the great Moses ask? “teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” I love the way that the NLT puts it… “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”

Big Idea > The goal of this series is that by remembering our death we would renew our lives. 

“At least once daily, cast your mind ahead to the moment of death so that you can consider the events of each day in this light.” – Saint Josemaria Escriva 

APP> Think about it this way Leslie Weatherhead averaged out the average human life span, 79yrs to a 24hr day. One day= One life: He concluded that if your age is 15, the time is 10:25 a.m. If your age is 20, the time is 11:34. If your age is 25, the time is 12:42 p.m. If you’re 30, the time is 1:51. If you’re 35, the time is 3:00. If you’re 40 the time is 4:08. At age 45, the time is 5:15. If you’re 50, the time is 6:25. By age 55, the time is 7:24. If you’re 60, the time is 8:42. If you’re 65, the time is 9:51. And if you you’re 70 the time is 11 p.m.

• Maybe if I put it this way it would help… Regrets are the result of failing to remember our death. 

*ILL> Bronnie Wear is an Australian author who spent many years as a hospice caregiver, in 2012 she published a book entitled “The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying” inspired by her time in hospice care giving, the list is as follows: 

Top 5 regrets of the dying: 

#5) “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

#4) “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”

#3) “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.”

#2) “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.”

#1) “I wish that I had let myself be happier.”

APP> Do any of these strike close to home for you? If so, I believe that is the place that God is wanting to move in your life. 

As your pastor my desire for us all is to get to the place that the Apostle Paul was when he said, “ to live is Christ to die is gain” but how can we do that? How do we get there? 

“We have no reason to hide from the truth about death in all it’s ugliness. If death is not a problem, Jesus won’t be much of a solution. The more deeply we feel death’s sting, the more consciously we will feel the gospel’s healing power. The more carefully we number our days, the more joyfully we’ll hear that death’s days are numbered too. And the more we allow ourselves to grieve the separations death brings to out lives, the more fully we will long for the world in which “he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.” (52)

Application:

• Spend 10-15 minutes each day this week thinking about your own funeral. 
• Write your own obituary.