Lord, we find peace in the reality that you are unchangeable. In a world full of change and fear, we know Thou are stable and cannot change. The young soon grow old. The children soon become adults. Kings rise and fall. Nations become powerful and soon return to weakness. Economic bubbles are created by the greed of men and they soon burst. From boom to bust, from rich to poor, from heights of glory to dungeons of shame – Lord these are the cycles of man. Churches flourish and wane. The voices that filled the sanctuary become silent. The pulpits are empty and there is no water in the baptismal font. The new is always more exciting more than the old.

But the new soon becomes the old and men sit in confusion again wondering what happened. Lord, we are indeed comforted that You never change. Your character never changes. Your decrees never change. Your love for us never changes. Thou art from everlasting to everlasting the same. Thou art the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Lord, in the life we live by faith and hope, we are still scared. We are afraid of the unknown. We are afraid of sickness. We are afraid of growing old and being left alone. We are afraid of the Nursing Home. We are even afraid of death. Maybe worse, we are afraid of dying. Some die quickly. Like the dew of the morning, they appear with the early morning light and they are quickly gone. Some live for years declining so very slowly. The body wears away like metal against metal. It grinds on and on, but yet even then the day always comes when the sound and heat are no more.

Some live to a ripe old age, and some die young in the prime of life. Lord, none of us know how we shall die or when we shall die, but we do know that we shall die. Lord, we have not died before, and therefore the unknown scares us. We can’t relieve the fears of the unknown when it is a road we have never traveled.

Yet, we read of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was dead and now he lives. Lord, we are here today because we have the promise that because He lives, we shall live too. Death itself shall die. But lo, there breaks a more glorious day when the saints shall arise from the grave in holy array. When the King of glory passes by this way, we shall live and death shall ever be at bay. Our brothers in Christ who have died and now rest in the grave shall walk with us in body without any decay. What a glorious day that shall be, when our loved ones in Christ we shall see.

Our Father, we thank You for the covenant promises. In days when men do not know how to raise children, we thank You that we have the wisdom of Your word, the influence of the Church, and the promises You made at the baptism of our children. What our children learn and hear today will always be with them. It may take tragedy in their lives, it may take a collapse of the economy, it may take disappointment and despair to bring to light the seed of life that has been implanted in them. But for sure, they have heard the truth. They have heard the gospel. Lord, in the womb, in their early years, even in the days when they grow old, may the seed planted here blossom into a tall and healthy flower that reflects the glory of God. Lord keep Your promise to us and to our children.