The Elephant in the Room

The Big Sleep 

Isaiah 51:17 (ESV): 17 Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem. . .” 

Matthew 24:42 (ESV): 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 

1 Thessalonians 5:6 (ESV): 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 

Our Jordan Crossing 

Joshua 5:10–12 (ESV): 10 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. 

When Joy and Sadness Work Together 

Ezra 3:10–13 (ESV): 10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away. 

Psalm 23:4 (KJV 1900): 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 

Navigating The New Normal 

It Takes One to Know One

Really, How Do We Teach This? 

Three Main Keys to Our Transition 

1. Trust the process 
2. Pastor care 
3. Spiritual Grow grown-ups 

Key # 1: Trust the Process 

Matthew 5:4 (ESV): 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

You can’t receive God’s comfort if you’re still holding onto what you lost 

Luke 5:38 (ESV): 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 

Isaiah 43:19 (ESV): 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? . . . . 

 . . .“Behold, I am making all things new.” . . . 

Key # 2: Pastoral Care 

John 10:2–4 (ESV): 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 

Key # 3: Spiritual Grown-Ups 

Galatians 6:1–2 (ESV): 1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.