First, the significance of the funeral:
Funeral is to remember the old friend, comfort the bereaved, remind the general bereaved to be alert to death, make him miss the end of life and believe in the etiquette of the savior.
Second, the purpose of the funeral:
Church funerals have five purposes:
1. Glory to the true God-at the funeral, we thanked and praised God for the dead, because he was the God who gave life, grace and revived people.
2. Comfort family and relatives and friends-through the contents of the funeral, let relatives get comfort and strength in grief and mourning.
3. Encourage people who attend funerals-let family and friends have a correct understanding of life and death. Let the gospel enter people's hearts again.
4. Guide unbelievers and their relatives and friends-make them know the true God, receive the gospel, imitate their predecessors, repent and turn to the Lord.
5. Give full play to the function of fellowship-make the participants share joys and sorrows with the families of the deceased, and give full play to the love of fellowship in the Lord.
If we know these five purposes, we should do the following seven things when holding a funeral:
1. Funeral must tell people the true meaning of death.
2. Funeral must make people understand God's love, God's practices and God's concern for people.
3. The funeral must tell everyone's value in the eyes of God.
The funeral must acknowledge the sadness brought by death, instead of covering up the inner sadness with the beauty of appearance.
5. Funeral must witness that Christian faith is a kind of strength.
6. Funeral must remind people of their past friendship with the deceased.
7. Funeral must make participants make new decisions about God.
Don't forget, the center of Christian funeral is God. So people (including the dead) should not be held high at funerals. We often see that at funerals, God becomes an ornament centered on the dead. This is not a Christian funeral.
Third, when the funeral comes.
1. If a relative dies, believers should immediately contact the head of the church or the patriarch or preacher, and they will take the initiative to go to the funeral home to help handle the funeral and comfort the survivors.
2. After discussing the funeral date with the church, print the "obituary" (or obituary, obituary) and send it to friends and relatives. The "funeral etiquette table" shall be handled according to the guidance and arrangement of the church. (See section 10 for an example of obituary, and see the appendix on the back page of the hymn for the ceremony table).
Write "rest in peace", "in mourning" and "in mourning" in white on the door of the funeral home. It is not appropriate to write secular terms such as "avoiding the middle", "strictness", "kindness" and "keeping the system".
According to the fate of God, everyone will die, and the hope of Christians lies in eternal life. Therefore, when I am sad for my loss, don't be sad enough to hurt my body and mind, but don't laugh at the funeral home either.
Funeral should be solemn and serious, there is no need for extravagance and waste.
6. Funeral should not be co-organized with secular, so as not to be mixed with secular heresy.
7. Do not follow the secular, choose a day to mourn; Still superstitious about feng shui, choose a place to see the location of burial.
8. When a believer who lives near the mourning hall dies, a funeral can be held in the mourning hall, but the coffin cannot be carried into the venue of the mourning hall.
9. It is up to the family members to decide whether they want the church to handle the funeral for the unbelievers who have died at home or the unbelievers who have died at home. If you consult the church to help with the funeral, you must follow the church's methods and rules. However, when an unbeliever or a criminal rescuer dies and requests the church to handle the funeral, the flag with the word "save" or the union flag shall not be used.
10. When the church holds a funeral for the family of the deceased, all expenses shall be borne by the family of the deceased.
1 1. Christians died, and the true god recalled to heaven to rest in peace. There is no taboo of "being afraid of offending evil spirits". If a neighbor who doesn't believe in God asks to hang red cloth or stick red cloth to show his identification (so that relatives and friends who are in mourning will not go to the wrong place and lose their homes), it is important to give in and be good neighbors. Maybe in the future, they can be witnesses and lead them back to the truth.
12. Pay special attention when printing funeral etiquette table. The words "true jesus church" should be printed on the first line of the first page to glorify the name of the Lord; The second line is printed with "the funeral of brother (or sister) of the deceased spirit cell XX", and the date, time and place are printed below. Page 2: Procedures and staff of printing instrument section. When printing poems on the third page, the words "hymns" should be printed on it. What poems should be printed below? What's the topic? When printing "Resume of Old Friends", don't forget to record the process of believers and the summary of grace.
13. If you want to attend the funeral, you have to let your relatives see you for the last time. If buried after the funeral, the funeral will be held at the same time.
14. If the funeral is held in a funeral home, the survivors should go to the morgue with the official (preacher or priest) 30 minutes before the funeral begins. After the signature of the survivor's representative, the body is taken out and sent to the back of the funeral ceremony for a simple funeral ceremony. At that time, survivors can look at their bodies and see them with their own eyes.
15. After the funeral, the survivors can stand at the exit first to pay tribute to the guests and friends who came out after paying their respects.
16. In the funeral ceremony, there is a "tribute to the bereaved" ceremony, which should be represented by a bereaved person to express gratitude to the church staff and relatives.
17. If the local government calls for unified cremation, Christians should respond to the government's call and change customs.
Fourth, the matters needing attention in the funeral
1. The layout of the funeral venue shall conform to the chart in the "Guide to Holy Work" of the Association.
2. On the day of the funeral, the church should send people to the funeral home or the ceremony venue to help set up the ceremony venue.
3. Funeral services that undertake funerals can be rented if they have a full set of equipment; Otherwise, the church will make a mourning flag with several white cloth poles to prepare for the ceremony venue and funeral arrangements. Organ and loudspeaker can be carried with you when necessary.
The portrait of an old friend can't be hung in the middle to make people salute, but should be hung on the left side of the ceremony venue. At funerals, statues can be hung on hearses.
During the funeral, don't read the condolences aloud.
6. Use less gongs and drums, and don't imitate the secular singing "crying tune".
7. The coffin should be placed behind the ceremony venue or in the corner of the funeral venue (or on the roadside).
8. At the time of burial, you can recite poems and know how to pray; In addition to singing 19 1 My Home is in Heaven or 302 Burial, you can also choose 185 to 202 Poems for Heaven as needed.
9. When attending the funeral, you should wear decent, dignified and simple clothes, and you can't talk and laugh at will. Be careful when you speak.
10. When believers want to send solatium to the bereaved, they can write "funeral" instead of "incense offering" and don't write a gift bag printed with lotus flowers.
1 1. If you want to send a wreath, don't write "offering wine", you can write "Rest in heaven", "My home is in heaven", "Honor to heaven", "Rest in death" and "Rest forever". Look up and write "Therefore, XX rests in peace", and write "XX respects (or comforts)" at the bottom left.
12. The funeral procession should be arranged in advance to maintain order and traffic. If the local elderly will attend, they should negotiate with the elderly association and arrange a funeral team.
13. The undertaker should wear a piece of cloth or paper marked with a cross.
14. Under normal circumstances, we are only allowed to send a wreath when a believer dies. For those with special difficulties, the church may give financial assistance as appropriate.
15. The congregation can be dissolved outside the city street or village, and it is not necessary to send them all to the cemetery; As for the burial place, people must be assigned to guide it, and it is not necessary to follow the secular practice and send the whole team back after burial (unbelievers have the saying that they will lead their souls home to set up a shrine).
16. When a neighbor dies, according to his custom, he will nail red cloth or paste red paper for us, and believers should refuse at that time; Tell them to believe that Jesus is blessed by the true God, and there are no taboos. If it has been hung up, take it off to show that after believing in the Lord, "Jesus has set us free."
17. When attending the secular funeral of unbelievers, you are not allowed to bow down, kowtow, burn incense or salute the remains or photos of the deceased, but you can stand with your head bowed in silent prayer and remember the virtue and affection of the deceased to show your grief. Even if you don't believe in the funeral of your loved ones, you should abide by the canon and be holy; If you can show Christian love, confidence, enthusiasm and tolerance to your relatives and friends on weekdays, your unbelieving relatives and friends will certainly understand.