91福利社

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INTRODUCTION 鈥� DENZIL:

Good Morning and a very warm welcome to West Croydon Baptist Church.听 I鈥檓 the Revd Denzil Larbi.

Today, to mark All Souls and All Saints, we gather in a place where there is room for remembrance, room for grief, and room for hope.

For some of us, grief is something we know very personally. We carry the names and faces of people we have loved, people we once walked alongside, shared our lives, made us laugh, encouraged us, and left a mark on us that death simply cannot simply erase.

This morning, we are thinking particularly about grief and justice, and what our church and community has learnt about both, since the violent death of my precious cousin Elianne Andam, in September 2023.

Elianne was murdered here in Croydon - stabbed multiple times in an unprovoked attack.听 She was 15.

Elianne was a Christian and she occasionally worshipped here in this church. Her life, and the circumstances of her death, have left many people asking questions. Questions about grief. Questions about justice. Questions about how, as Christians, we respond when something happens that feels so deeply wrong.

How do we grieve when our hearts are broken? How do we seek justice without allowing anger and bitterness to consume us? And where do we turn when there are questions for which we do not yet have answers? These are not easy questions. And today is not about pretending that they are.

But we gather as people of faith, believing that even in the darkest places, God has not abandoned us.

The story of Elianne has touched our family, this church, the churches of Croydon, and many others in our wider community. 听And so, as we remember her today, we also want to hold before us the hope that has sustained those who loved her, the hope that God is faithful, that God sees, that God hears, and that ultimately, death does not have the final word.

If you are listening to this service today and you are carrying your own grief, perhaps a grief that nobody else can see, we want you to know that there is space for here for you too.听You might be grieving because of other senseless acts of violence and the unfairness of losing a loved one in tragic circumstances and we bring all that hurt and pain to God hoping for comfort and healing.

Let us remember. Let us bring our questions, our sorrow, and even our pain before God. And let us remind ourselves of the faithfulness of the God whom we worship.

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MUSIC: GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS 鈥� WEST CROYDON BAPTIST CHURCH

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PRAYER 鈥� DAVID:

Heavenly Father, you are a good God.

And even when the world around us is filled with pain, violence and things we cannot understand, we hold on to the truth that you are good.

There are times when life leaves us with questions we cannot answer. There are moments when grief is so deep that words seem too small. And there are times when the things that happen in our world leave us wondering where justice can be found.

Yet, Lord, today we come to you as we are.

We come with our memories.

We come with our questions.

We come with our tears.

We come with our hope.

Today, we remember those we have loved and lost, people whose lives mattered, people whose presence made a difference.

We remember with sorrow, but we also remember with gratitude.

Be close to those whose grief is still raw.

Be close to those who have learned to carry their grief quietly.

Be close to those who still have questions.

And, Lord, for everyone listening who is carrying their own loss today, would you meet them where they are?

Give comfort to the broken-hearted.

Give strength to those who feel weary.

Give peace where there is turmoil.

And when we cannot see the way ahead, remind us that you are still with us. Help us, in this service, to remember that grief is not the absence of faith. Sometimes grief is what love looks like when someone we love is no longer here. So, hold us, gracious God.

Heavenly Father, we pray听against the violence and abuse faced by听women in our country.听Protect听our women and girls, and bring an end to violence against them. Help听our men and boys, young and old, to treat women with dignity,听kindness and respect.听Change our hearts, change our communities, and make our country a safer place for every woman. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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SPEECH 鈥� DENZIL:

There are some kinds of grief that change you. 听When a life is taken suddenly and violently, grief can carry something else with it.

There can be anger, there can be confusion, there can be questions that return again and again.

Why did this happen? How did it happen? Where is the justice?

And perhaps one of the hardest things about grief is that we cannot simply tell ourselves to move on. Christian hope does not mean pretending that what happened was acceptable. It does not mean ignoring the pain or rushing past the questions.

The Christian hope is something deeper. It is the confidence that even when we cannot make sense of what has happened, God sees what we cannot see.

God hears the cries that others may never hear. God knows the pain that we cannot fully put into words. And God cares about justice. For those who believe in Jesus Christ, death is not the end of the story.

That is the hope that steadies us when everything else feels shaken. We grieve, but we do not have to grieve as people without hope.

And when we long for justice, we remember that the responsibility for ultimate justice does not rest on our shoulders alone.

We are called to seek what is right. We are called to care about one another. We are called to speak for those who are hurting and to stand against what is wrong.

But there is also a point where we must place what we cannot carry into the hands of God. Because God is the true Judge. And one day, every life will stand before him. That truth does not make today's pain disappear. It does not take away the empty places left by those we have lost. But it can give us somewhere to put our pain.

You do not have to hide your tears. You do not have to pretend that you are stronger than you are. Bring your grief to God. Bring your questions to God. Bring your longing for justice to God. And allow him to meet you there. Because even in the darkest valley, we are not alone. God is with us.

And for those who trust in Christ, there remains a hope beyond death, a hope that cannot be taken away.

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MUSIC: FOREVER YOURS 鈥� JAKE AND MATES

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DENZIL:

Our first reading today is from 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4 and is read for us by Michaela.

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READING 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 鈥� MICHEALA

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

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DENZIL:

I鈥檓 encouraged by Pauls words鈥� and I hope those of you who are grieving find comfort in them too. As a family we also find comfort talking about Elianne and doing things to honour her memory. A year after her death a mural remembering Elianne was unveiled in Croydon.听 When the community gathered for the unveiling impromptu songs were sung and prayers recited. Here鈥檚 our cousin Gideon.

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REFLECTION: GIDEON - ELIANNE鈥橲 COUSIN

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MUSIC: AMAZING GRACE 鈥� WEST CROYDON BAPTIST CHURCH

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DENZIL:

Our second reading today is from John 11, beginning at verse 21. It鈥檚 read by Gideon.

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READING John 11:21鈥�29 鈥� GIDEON听

Martha said to Jesus, 鈥淟ord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.鈥� Jesus said to her, 鈥淵our brother will rise again.鈥� Martha said to him, 鈥淚 know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.鈥� Jesus said to her, 鈥淚 am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?鈥� She said to him, 鈥淵es, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.鈥� When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, 鈥淭he Teacher is here and is calling for you.鈥� And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.

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MUSIC: WILL YOUR ANCHOR HOLD 鈥� WEST CROYDON BAPTIST CHURCH

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SERMON 鈥� DENZIL:

Friends, I want to share something very simple with you today. I want to begin with a question: what difference does Jesus make when someone you love dies?

Because when somebody dies, it hurts. It doesn't matter whether you are a Christian or not, grief is painful. We miss them. We remember the things they used to say, their laugh, their voice, the little things that made them who they were. And sometimes you just wish you could have one more conversation with them.

Being a Christian doesn't mean that you don't grieve. It doesn't mean you don't cry. It doesn't mean that because you have faith, somehow the pain disappears. No, we grieve. We feel the loss. We feel the emptiness. But as Christians, we don't grieve without hope. And for me, that has become very real through the death of Elianne.

Elianne was my family. She wasn't just somebody we knew; she was somebody we loved deeply. She was our daughter, our cousin, our family, our friend. And on the 27th of September 2023, everything changed.

I experienced something I had never experienced before. For the first time in my life, I experienced what I would describe as true depression. The grief was heavy, and at times it was crippling. There were moments when I honestly didn't know how I was going to get through it.

Perhaps some of you listening today know something of that feeling. You've lost somebody, and you wake up in the morning and, for a moment, you forget. Then you remember. And that pain comes back. You carry on with your day, and something reminds you of them, and suddenly you are right back there again. That is the reality of grief.

Over these last three years, I've learned something. People often say that time is a healer. But I don't think time, by itself, has been the healer for me. What has helped me is spending time in God's Word. Going back to His promises, reading them again, and again, and reminding myself that God is still God, Jesus is still Lord, and there is still hope beyond death. I see that same hope in my family.

And of course, we've been helped by people. The community of Croydon has stood with us. We've had incredible leaders around us and amazing churches praying for us, supporting us and encouraging us. We will always be grateful for that.

But if you ask me what has truly got my family through this dark time, I would say it is God. It is the hope that He has given us. Because we know that Elianne trusted in the Lord. She loved the Lord. She served the Lord. And knowing that has brought us a hope that the world cannot give us.

Paul says something very important in 1 Thessalonians. He says, 鈥淲e do not want you to grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.鈥� Notice that Paul doesn't say, 鈥淒on't grieve.鈥� He doesn't tell Christians to stop crying or to pretend that everything is fine. He understands that death hurts. What he says is that we should not grieve without hope.

And there is a big difference.

Christian hope doesn't mean that we don't feel the pain. It means that we know the pain is not the end of the story. Our hope isn't simply that things will somehow work out. Our hope is in Jesus. Jesus died, He was buried, and He rose again. And because He rose again, death does not have the final word for those who put their trust in Him.

That is why Paul could say, 鈥渢o live is Christ and to die is gain.鈥� In other words, whether I live or whether I die, I belong to Jesus. That is the hope of the Christian.

And so when I think about Elianne today, we don't ignore the tragedy of how her life ended. We don't pretend that what happened doesn't matter. It matters. Justice matters. Her life mattered.

There are still things I don't understand. There are things my family doesn't understand. There are questions that we may carry for a long time. But I've learned that I don't have to have every answer to know that God is faithful. I don't have to understand everything before I can trust Him. And I don't have to know exactly what tomorrow will bring to know that Jesus is still holding me.

Maybe you're listening today and you are carrying your own grief. Maybe your loss happened recently. Maybe it happened many years ago, but the pain is still there. Maybe people around you think you've moved on, but inside you are still struggling.

Can I encourage you with something? Bring that grief to God. Bring your questions to Him. Bring your anger to Him. Bring your tears to Him. You don't have to pretend with God. He already knows what is in your heart.

And when you don't have the strength to hold yourself up, allow God to hold you.

Because the Christian hope is not that we will never experience death. The Christian hope is that death will not have the final word. Jesus has conquered the grave, and because He lives, we have hope.

That is what has carried my family. Not because we are stronger than anybody else. Not because we've somehow worked out how to deal with grief. But because, again and again, God has reminded us of the hope we have in Jesus.

So let us grieve. Let us remember. Let us acknowledge the pain. But let us also grieve with hope, because Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again.

And for those who put their trust in Him, death is not the end.

There is hope beyond the grave. There is hope beyond the pain. There is hope beyond the tears.

And that hope has a name.

Jesus.

Amen.

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MUSIC: IT IS WELL 鈥� WEST CROYDON BAPTIST CHURCH

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PRAYERS 鈥� LIZ:

Gracious and loving God, we bring before you all those who are carrying deep pain and deep grief. Some grief is fresh. Some grief has been carried for years. And some wounds remain tender, even when the world around us has moved on.

Lord, teach us how to grieve, but teach us to grieve with hope. When our hearts are overwhelmed, hold us. When our minds are full of questions, give us peace.

When anger rises within us, help us to place it honestly before you. And when we long for justice, remind us that you are not indifferent to injustice.

You see. You know.

You hear the cries of those who are hurting. And you are the righteous Judge. Lord, we pray especially for those who have lost loved ones through violence, through tragedy, and through circumstances that should never have happened.

Be near to them.

Be their comfort when the nights are long.

Be their strength when memories come flooding back.

And give them people around them who will listen, who will care, and who will stay.

And in the midst of sorrow, help us to hold on to the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

The hope that death is not the end.

The hope that love is stronger than death.

The hope that one day every wrong will be brought into the light, every tear will be wiped away, and all things will finally be made new.

Until that day, teach us to live with courage.

Teach us to seek justice.

Teach us to show mercy.

Teach us to love one another.

And when we cannot carry the weight of what has happened, help us to place it into your hands. For you are faithful. You are near to the broken-hearted. And you are our hope, today and always. In the name of Jesus Christ.听 Amen.

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MUSIC: THE LORD鈥橲 PRAYER 鈥� AARON NEVILLE

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BLESSING 鈥� DENZIL:

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

May the Lord turn his face towards you, especially in those moments when life feels dark and the road ahead feels uncertain.

And may the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you and give you his peace.

The peace that does not mean that there will never be sorrow.

The peace that does not mean we will always have answers.

But the deep peace of knowing that, whatever we face, we do not face it alone.

May that peace hold you in your grief, strengthen you in your weakness, comfort you in your memories, and give you hope for tomorrow.

And may we know the peace of God, not only in this moment, but throughout our journey of faith, through every season of life, until the day we see him face to face.

Amen.

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MUSIC: BLINDED BY YOUR GRACE PT. 2 鈥� THE KINGDOM CHOIR

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