LESSONS ABOUT DEATH

Text- Genesis 3:1-7

Genesis 3:1-7 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"   2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,   3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"   4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.   5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."   6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.   7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (NIV)

Introduction

It has been said that the difference between school and life is:

    In school, we are given a lesson and then we're given a test.
    In life, we are given a test that teaches us a lesson.

On Tuesday morning, January 27, 1986, seven astronauts on the space shuttle Challenger tragically died when their space craft suddenly exploded only a minute after it had taken off from Cape Canaveral.

What lessens can we learn from this accident?

    1) A lesson on commitment.
    2) A lesson on dedication.
    3) A lesson on courage.
    4) A lesson on sacrifice.
    5) A lesson on patriotism.

As I watched the broadcasts throughout the week, as I am sure many of you did also, there was one lesson that stuck out most of all in my own mind that this tragic event reaffirmed and reminded me of and that is a lesson on death.

This morning I would like us to look at four lessons we can learn about death through this terrible tragedy that occurred.