When a Child Is Taken - Part II

Last week a child in our church tragically died. This is the second sermon I preached to encourage the family and our church. In 1 Thess. 4:13, Paul didn't want Christians to sorrow as others who have no hope, and that's my hope for my congregation, and especially the parents. In the previous sermon, we didn't get to talk much about grief because the parents received their children back. This sermon looks at an account with David, and he didn't receive his child back. This makes the account very instructive for us regarding grief. When David lost his child in 2 Samuel 12:15-23 he grieved as one with hope as he looked forward to seeing his son again. In 2 Samuel 18:33-19:8 David grieves as one with no hope.

Lesson 1: People ____________differently.
Lesson 2: We must grieve ________ ________.
Lesson 3: Believing parents are reunited with _________________ _______________ they've lost.
Lesson 4: The hope we have in Christ ______________ __________.
Family Worship Guide
Memory Verse: Job 19:25
Day 1: Read 2Sam. 12:15-21; Eccl.3:4; Rom.12:15 How did David grieve? How do other people grieve? Can you describe times you grieved differently at different times in your life, and/or saw others grieving differently than you? How should we respond to people grieving?
Day 2: Read 1Thess.4:13 cf. Eph.2:12; 2Cor.4:8-9; John 10:10; 2Sam.18:33-19:8 Who grieves without hope? What is the danger of grieving without hope? What does it mean to despair, or be destroyed? Besides David in 2 Samuel 18, can you think of someone else in scripture who grieved without hope? Why the dramatic change in David's grief?
Day 3: Read Job 19:25-27,1Cor.15:51-54 Where does our hope come from?