Conduct a unified After Life Campaign where people read the book, hear sermons, and study the After Life in their small group. For details, see http://www.pulpit-press.com/after-life/

Future campaignes in the works for:

Contact:

josh@joshhunt.com

575.650.4564

Facing the Fear of Death

There will come a time when the only thing you can think about is death. Perhaps when you are standing over her casket. It won’t matter whether you have the latest iPhone. It won’t matter what shape your bank account is in. It won’t matter whether you bought that car or not, or whether you have gained or lost a few pounds. All you will be able to think about is death.

Death. We push the thought out of our minds most of the time. At least, I do. It is not a happy thing to think about. It is so creepy I try to avoid it at all costs.

As a pastor, I do a lot of funerals and have to think about it more than most. As a pastor, it is my job to help prepare you for it. That is what this book is about.

I’ll never forget going to my first funeral service. I was just a six-year-old kid. Our neighbor, Mr. Knight had died and as a family we were doing our neighborly duty in attending the service. Yet even to this day, I remember the feeling of seeing a dead body for the first time. The man I once knew as being so friendly and loving and offering me those delicious orange colored, marshmallow-like Circus Peanuts was now lying down like a frozen statue in a wooden box. It was so disturbing. I felt I had to get out of there. I lied and told my Mom that I was sick and needed to go to the van—I think I would have said anything at that moment just to be able to leave. That was my first experience with coming face to face with the reality of death. Creepy, disturbing and totally freaked me out!

However, in my line of work, I’ve done more funerals than I would care to imagine. I’ve seen it all. Some families mourn and sob uncontrollably with grief as they say goodbye to their loved ones before the casket is closed. Others give them a kiss on the cheek, a pat on the shoulder, as if to say, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” We all process grief differently. With some, you can almost sense their fear and apprehension with death, as they don’t even want to be close to or touch the casket.

When I preached the series of sermons on which this book is based, we had a casket on the stage as I preached. It freaked some people out.

Isn’t it interesting how an inanimate object, like a wooden box, can make us feel so uncomfortable? My goal in writing this book is that your fear of the afterlife will melt away as you learn the truth of what awaits all of us when we are in right relationship with God.

The fact of the matter is, all of us will die.