O l d
T e s t a m e n t The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was though an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. — Wisdom 3:1-3
To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under the sun:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal...
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance...
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to loose and a time to seek...
a time to rend and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace. — Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk in the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me.You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. — Psalm 23
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? When the evil advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. — Psalm 27
The Lord is there to rescue all who are discouraged and have given up hope.
— Psalm 34:18
As the deer longs for running water, so longs my soul for you, O God. My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God; when shall I come to appear before the presence of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long they say to me, "Where is your God now?" Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? Why are you so upset within me? Put your trust in God; for I will yet give thanks to God, who is the help of my countenance. — Psalm 42
God is our hope and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be moved,and though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters of the sea rage and swell, and though the mountains shake at the tempest of the same. — Psalm 46
You have kept record of my days of wandering. You have stored my tears in your bottle and counted each of them. — Psalm 56:8
O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water. So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory. For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise. So I will bless you all my life, in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul shall be filled as with a banquet, my mouth shall praise you with joy. You have been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice. My soul clings to you; your right hands holds me fast.
— Psalm 63
Be true to your name, Lord God! Show your great kindness and rescue me. — Psalm 109:21
I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees. Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. — Psalm 119:48-50
May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. — Psalm 119:76
I raise my eyes toward the mountains. From where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. God will not allow your foot to slip; your guardian does not sleep. Truly, the guardian of Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The Lord is your guardian. By day the sun cannot harm you, nor the moon by night. The Lord will guard you from all evil, will always guard your life. The Lord will guard your coming and going both now and forever. — Psalm 121
Lord, listen to my prayer: turn your ear to my appeal. You are faithful, you are just; give answer. Do not call your servant to judgment for no one is just in your sight. I remember the days that are past: I ponder all your works. I muse on what your hand has wrought and to you I stretch out my hands. Like a parched land my soul thirsts for you. Lord, make haste and give me answer: for my spirit fails within me. In the Morning let me know your love for I put my trust in you. Teach me to do your will for you, O Lord, are my God. Let your good spirit guide me in ways that are level and smooth.
— Psalm 143
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples. On this mountain the Lord will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; the Lord will destroy death forever.
— Isaiah 25:6a-7
N e w
T e s t a m e n t And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; character, hope. All this happens because God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with love. — Romans 5:2-5
In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. All our thoughts are known to God…as the Spirit prays for God’s people. — Romans 8:26-28a
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. — Romans 8:28b
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Romans 8:38-39
When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. — Romans 12:15
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we died for the Lord; so then, whether we live or died, we are the Lord’s. For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. — Romans 14:7-9
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. — II Corinthians 1:3-5
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. — II Corinthians 4:16-18
We know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.
— II Corinthians 5:1
It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. — Galatians 2:20
Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. — Philippians 4:6-7
Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable,
if there is any excellence and
if there is any praise, think about these things.
Keep on doing the things that you have learned...and the God of peace will be with you. — Philippians 4:8,9
My friends, we want you to understand how it will be for those followers who have already died. Then you won’t grieve over them and be like people who don’t have any hope. We believe that Jesus died and was raised to life. We also believe that when God brings Jesus back again, he will bring with him all who had faith in Jesus before they died…Encourage each other with these words. — I Thessalonians 4:13-14,18
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. — II Thessalonians 2:16-17
We have a great high priest, who has gone into heaven, and he is Jesus the Son of God. That is why we must hold on to what we have said about him. Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness and we will find help. — Hebrews 4:15-16
Draw near to God and God will draw near to you. — James 4:8a
Cast all your anxiety on God because God cares for you. — I Peter 5:7
I heard a voice from heaven say: "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, let them find rest from their labors, for their good works accompany them."
— Revelation 14:13
God will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away. — Revelation 21:4
G o s p e l s Blessed are those who mourn, they will be comforted. — Matthew 5:4
I tell you not to worry about your life…Look at the birds in the sky! They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren't you worth more than birds…God will surely do even more for you! Why do you have such little faith?…Put God’s work first and do what He wants. Then other things will be yours as well. Don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today. — Matthew 6:25-26, 30b, 33b-34
Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you…Would any of you give your hungry child a stone, if the child asked for some bread? Would you give your child a snake if the child asked for a fish? As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask. — Matthew 7:7, 9-11
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. — Matthew 11:28-30
On entering the tomb the women saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, "Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him."
— Mark 16:4-6
Don’t judge others, and God won’t judge you. Don’t be hard on others, and God won’t be hard on you. Forgive others, and God will forgive you. If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return. It will be packed down, shaken together and spilling over into your lap. The way you treat others is the way you will be treated. — Luke 6:37-38
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival home. The master will gird himself, have the servants recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.
— Luke 12:36-38
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise them up on the last day.
—John 6:40
Jesus said to the crowd: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven: whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
— John 6:51-52
I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. — John 10:10
Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming in to the world."
—John 11:22-27
Jesus said to his disciples, “Don’t be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I wouldn't tell you this, unless it was true. I am a going there to prepare a place for each of you…I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” — John 14:1-2,6
The Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you. I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn't like the peace that this world can give. So, don’t be worried or afraid. — John 14:26-27
I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. — John 16:33
