Sermons
A Cloud Of Faithful Saints
A CLOUD OF FAITHFUL SAINTS
Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / May 28, 2017
Tomorrow our nation celebrates MEMORIAL DAY.
This holiday originated as DECORATION DAY following The Civil War in 1868.
It is a day set aside for remembering people who died while serving in our country’s armed forces.
It would be good if all who can would take time tomorrow to attend a Memorial Day parade.
It would also be a good thing to visit a cemetery and pause to pay our respects to some who have served.
While today is not actually Memorial Day, I want us to pause on this Sunday before Memorial Day
to reflect and remember some who have died as faithful Christians, serving the Lord and His Church.
Hebrews chapter 11 contains an enumeration of saints of old who died while serving Jehovah God.
It mentions Abel … Enoch (who was taken up so that he should not see death/vs.5) … Noah … Abraham & Sarah …
Isaac … Jacob … Joseph … Moses … Rahab … Gideon … Barak … Samson … Jepthah … David … Samuel and the prophets …And a host of anonymous saints who served (and suffered) for the cause of God/vss.33f.
Heb.11:4 says of Abel - - by faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
While we might note a line of demarcation between Heb.11 and Heb.12, the train of thought presented by the author
(likely to be Paul) flows seamlessly from one chapter to the next. Chapter and verse notations are a relatively new innovation to our Bibles, providing a convenience to expedite our searching of the Scriptures. In the 12th century,
Stephen Langton first added chapter divisions (to the Latin Vulgate). In 1551 Robert Estienne added verse divisions.
Chapter eleven flows into Heb.12:1f. The author concludes - - Therefore, since we have
so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so
easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…
Many commentators think that the language used by Paul in the above text borrows from the events of the Colosseum.
Imagine a stadium filled with a “cloud of witnesses” - - a throng of people waving white fabric cheering the participants.
(Think of the PSU football “white-outs”).
It is good and right that we should pause to recognize those who have labored for the cause of Christ in times past.
Our reflections and remembrances are by no means the final say on the lives of those who have passed on.
Their lives have fallen into the hands of The Righteous Judge (2Tim.4:8), as will ours when we depart this life.
“Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.” / Washington Irving
In the interest of time I want to reflect on a few (eight - - as Peter uses the term in 1Pet.3:20).
In Heb.12:32, Paul writes, And what more shall I say, for time will fail me if I tell of…
I have chosen these eight, with no intentions of slighting the others.
We must be mature about this. In Hebrews 11, Paul mentions sixteen by name.
I suppose we could fault Paul for mentioning some without mentioning others.
He says nothing of Job or Jonah; nothing of Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, or Daniel; nothing of Hezekiah;
Nothing of Rebekah or Rachel; nothing of Aaron or Miriam; nothing of Ruth or Esther; nothing of Ezra or Nehemiah.
The writer’s goal was not to be exhaustive, but rather simply encouraging. This is my goal this morning.
LULA MICKHOLTZICK / 1999
Lula was the wife to Tony, Sr … mother to Tony, Jr … grandmother to seven …
dear friend and sister-in-Christ to Helen Cates (Doris Cope’s mother).
She was so very thankful and appreciative! She was a great encourager. An eager match-maker.
“She spoke the truth in love” - - her candor was a breathe of fresh air.
Her favorite Scripture says it all - - Eph.4:32 / be kind to one another,
tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you.
BILL WILSON / 2006
Bill held a high position with a company, but he had a servant’s heart.
For many years at the Opera House, Bill would come early on Sunday mornings and set up chairs by himself.
He was a wonderful husband to Gloria, his high school sweetheart.
He was very giving - - I complimented him on a tie one day and he offered to take it off and give it to me.
He, too, was a straight-shooter - - he wouldn’t hesitate to give you his frank assessment.
He spoke many encouraging words to me over the years that I knew him.
BOB WALKER / 2010
Bob was a neighbor (a couple of streets removed) when Jeannie and I lived in NW Warren.
When he first visited church, he nervously sat in his car and then decided to go back home.
What a joy it was to study with him and baptize him into Christ Jesus. He loved the church very much.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a newcomer become integrated into church life so quickly and so fully.
He was a craftsman - - many of us have OH birdhouses and Christmas ornaments made and painted by Bob.
Our church building remains adorned with a few of his painting (Mail-pouch chewing tobacco in Men’s Restroom).
He enjoyed golfing with the brethren. He was fun to be around - - a practical joker.
He loved young people and did lots to encourage them.
RICK NOBLE / 2014
I remember when he first called asking for a ride to church.
Rick had a witty sense of humor. He was smart - - a tech wizard of sorts and a really good photographer.
Rick had some disabilities that could have kept him down, but he didn’t let them.
He was always sporting bruises and cuts and he went through numerous pairs of glasses.
Many of us witnessed him getting out of balance and falling (often with a cup of coffee in hand).
But he kept on. Attending church was the highlight of his week.
His indomitable spirit was an inspiration to us all and we miss him.
When I would call him on Saturday evenings to confirm our plans for Sunday, I was met with, “Hi preacher!”.
VELMA HAMM / 2013
A keen mind and a memory like an elephant. Sharp as a tack. And what a great laugh.
Velma was my widow-visiting partner. I would pick her up and we’d go visit other widows.
She loved to have company and was given to hospitality. She loved being in worship.
She loved fellowship. Soon we hope to have a patio established in her honor.
The last song that she sang before she died was, “Let Me Live Close To Thee”.
GLORIA COOL / 2013
Sherry Alfred’s precious mother (also mother to Mark & Jeff).
So kind. So compassionate. So self-less. A profile in courage in her battles with cancer w/o always complaining.
Sometimes she would have to come to church in her slippers, because of the swelling from treatments.
She was a giver. A wonderful decorater (Songs Of Light & Thanksgiving Devo, etc.).
She was a woman of strong faith and determination and an inspiration to us all.
I loved my “lunch dates” with Gloria at Robby Lee’s. A piece of stained glass hangs in our foyer in her memory.
HELEN ROSSI / 2016
Helen lived to be 99. Over the last few decades of her life the only present she wanted on her birthday was the presence of her family in worship. Nothing brought a bigger smile to her face that being in worship with her family.
Helen was the salt of the earth. I once said that in a sermon with her present. She whispered to her son George,
(and a little pepper, too). So sweet. So humble. So unjaded and genuine. And so grateful! I never saw the pepper.
Ps.122:1 / I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go up to the house of the Lord.’
Who among us have ever called a taxi to get to church - - not once, but twice?
Helen was an avid reader. She was inquisitive and ever-learning. I remember fondly her “Yesssss!”
I will be forever grateful for Helen’s scores of letters (such beautiful penmanship and remarkable wisdom).
JACK SIMPSON / 2016
Jack Simpson was one of the dearest friends I’ve ever known. Jeannie & I enjoyed numerous meals with Jack & Janet.
He was a devoted son. A faithful husband. A beloved father.
Jack & Janet and Jeannie & I spent two weeks together in England in a 16th century cottage.
Jack and I often went to chicken church (St. John’s in Youngstown) on Wednesdays.
He was loved greatly by our church family. We miss his presence on the front row with his big glasses.
Jack had a zest for life. He was always eager to discover and explore new places and new ideas.
He encouraged me greatly. He’d often call on Monday or Tuesday and request a written copy of my Sunday sermon.
He read every newsletter and frequently told me how much he appreciated my weekly essays.
Jack was bitten by a dog when he was a child and had to undergo rabbies treatments.
This caused him to dislike and fear dogs, but he came to love my dog Siggy. “I love that dog.”
All of these are now gone from our midst.
Yet, as was said of Abel - - though they are dead, they still speak.
None of these were perfect. None of us are. But each of these taught us many good things in word and deed.
Today, we have paused to reflect on their godly lives.
We thank God for each one of them - - for their love for God and Christ and His church.
We are indebted to them for all that they have taught us and we hereby pledge ourselves to keep on
honoring them by implementing Christian ideals that we saw in them into our own lives.
Paul once wrote, be imitators of me; just as I also am of Christ (1Cor.11:1).
So as we reflect on this cloud of faithful saints this Sunday before memorial day, let us resolve:
I want to be like Lula … Bill … Bob … Rick … Gloria … Velma … Helen … and Jack.
May we all desire to be like them as they were like Christ.
Heavenly Father,
We come before you today, with grateful hearts. We thank you most of all for Your great love for us
and the gift of grace given to us through Your only begotten Son, our precious Savior and Lord.
We also want to express our thanksgiving to You for surrounding us with dear brothers and sisters.
We thank You for those all around us - - a cloud of faithful saints.
And we thank You for the many from days gone by who have now stepped into eternity.
We are very grateful for the positive influences and noteworthy examples of these beloved fellow Christians.
Bless us all as we continue to grow daily in our love for You and our church family.
May each one of us resolve to live good and godly lives so that others will reflect warmly on us when we are gone.
Give us the strength to determine to live lives that will give You glory and honor, forever and ever.
Help us to remember others with great fondest, and may their lives help us to continually fix our eyes on Jesus.
Through Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, we pray. Amen.
