‘I am the resurrection and the life’, says the Lord. ‘Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’
Merciful Father and Lord of all life, we praise you that we are made in your image and reflect your truth and light.
We thank you for the life of His Royal Highness Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, for the love he received from you and showed among us.
Above all, we rejoice at your gracious promise to all your servants, living and departed, that we shall rise again at the coming of Christ.
And we ask that in due time we may share with your servant Philip that clearer vision promised to us in the same Christ our Lord; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.
Amen
Gracious God,
We praise you for the light of new life made possible through Jesus.
We praise you for the light of new life that shone on the first witnesses of resurrection.
We praise you for the light of new life that continues to shine in our hearts today.
Amen
Eternal God, our heavenly Father,
we bless your holy name for all that you have given us in and through the life of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
We give you thanks: for his long and full life; for his strength of character;
and for his devotion and service to family, nation and Commonwealth.
We praise you for: his generosity; the many contributions he made to our national life;
and the encouragement he gave to so many, especially to the young.
God grant to the living, grace; to the departed, rest;
to the Church, the Queen, the Commonwealth, and all humankind, peace and concord;
and to us and all his servants, life everlasting;
Amen
For Christians do not grieve like those who have no hope. We grieve but do not despair.
“So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our
inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction
is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we
look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be
seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)
We know our bodies are wasting away but our citizenship is in heaven - this is the hope that Queen has and so do we. For more on this click the image above.