Memento Mori - Remember, You Will Die

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises.6 The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.7 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.8 All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.10 Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us.11 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.Ecclesiastes 1:1-11THINKING ABOUT DEATH 18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.Proverbs 4:18-1915 In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? Ecclesiastes 7:15-17Ecclesiastes is filled with what we might call true lies. Given the perspective “God does not matter,” it is true that all is vanity. Since that perspective is wrong, it is not true that all is vanity. Yet Solomon makes us think through this wrong perspective thoroughly through Ecclesiastes.David GuzikThe Book of Ecclesiastes is a sermon concerning the emptiness of all things without Christ. He who reads it and does not see the Cross in its conclusion has missed its true meaning.Charles SpurgeonMemento Mori: “remember, you will die” or “remember, you are mortal”CD PICTURE*Day by day remind yourself that you are going to die.BenedictPICTURE OF BENEDICT*“What you are, we used to be. What we are, you will be.”In context, Benedict was essentially saying, “Don’t waste your life on triviality. Remember what matters. Life is fleeting and precious. Don’t squander it. Keep your death before your eyes. Hold eternity in your heart.”John Mark ComerFor the unbeliever, death is avoided for the sake of life. For the Christian, death is the lens through which we view our life and the door through which we finally enter real life.TOMBSTONE PICTURE*What Will YOUR Dash Be?10 Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us.11 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things[e] yet to be among those who come after.Ecclesiastes 1:10-1113 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’Luke 12:13-19THINKING ABOUT DEATH SAVES US FROM THE ILLUSION OF CONTROL13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.James 4:13-1620 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’Luke 12:20THINKING ABOUT DEATH SAVES US FROM THE ILLUSION OF TIME21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”Luke 12:21THINKING ABOUT DEATH SAVES US FROM THE ILLUSION OF VALUE“Creatures are not born with desires ...