19 July 2025 Caroline Welti Memorial Service

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — John 14:1-3
• Hymn — O God Beyond All Praising
• Scripture Reading — Psalm 20:1, Job 14:1-2, Job 1:21, Matthew 11:28, Isaiah 51:12, John 13:7
• Prayer of Invocation
• Hymn — Jesus, Lover of My Soul
• Sermon
• Hymn — O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26
• Hymn — Holy, Holy, Holy

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Sermon Title: Christ with Us in the Dark Night of the Soul

Scripture: Matthew 27:45-50

I. The Cross Gives Us Permission to Be Honest About Our Darkness

A. Christ did not minimize suffering — at Gethsemane he wept and sweat blood, and at Golgotha he cried out in anguish B. His cry, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" shows he understands the depths of human grief and abandonment C. The cross teaches us we can be honest about miseries in a fallen world where loved ones are suddenly taken from us

II. God Sees Us Even When We Cannot See Him

A. Psalm 139:11-12 — even the darkness is not dark to God; the night is bright as the day B. The common saying that "God will not give us more than we can handle" is corrected by Scripture — the psalmist is overwhelmed, covered by darkness

1. If we could handle everything ourselves, we would have no need for Christ, no need for the great physician, no need for one another
2. God gives us what we cannot handle so that we learn utter dependence on him in whom we live, move, and have our being C. Though we cannot see God in our dark night, our comfort is that God still sees us — as a father watching his child from another room D. Christ on the cross, bearing the wrath of God, could no longer sense his Father's pleasure — yet the Father was with him and saw him (John 16:32)

III. Christ Receives Tormented Souls Through the Hands of His Saints

A. Deuteronomy 29:29 — secret things belong to God; what is revealed belongs to us B. God has revealed himself as one who meets us in the dark night of the soul C. Christ became a tormented soul so that tormented souls might find rest in him D. Mark 4:24 — it was not the sick themselves but their loved ones who brought them to Jesus

1. Storm the throne of grace on behalf of those suffering in darkness who cannot pray for themselves
2. If you cannot lift your voice, go to a saint and ask them to plead your cause — this is itself an act of faith
3. Martin Luther, after burying his daughter, took comfort that the saints were praying on his behalf when he lacked the strength

IV. The Two Cries of Christ — Anguish and Victory

A. The first cry: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" — a cry of darkness and abandonment B. The final cry: "It is finished!" (John 19:30) — a cry of light and victory C. Both cries reverberate into this room of sadness — Christ identifies with our grief and declares victory over it D. 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 — afflicted but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, struck down but not destroyed E. Christ's promise: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

1. Run and flee to the one who alone understands the depths of darkness
2. Though you may die, yet you shall ever live with the suffering servant King who is raised victorious over sin, Satan, and death