The Seven Last Words of Christ: #7--"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

SERMON SERIES:  The Seven Last Words of Christ:  #7—“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
SERMON TEXT:     Luke 23:44-49
PREACHER:            Rev. Kim James
OCCASION:            April 9, 2017, at First UMC
 
 
INTRODUCTION
 
                A couple days ago, I noticed a Facebook post from one of my older cousins, who lives near Portland, Oregon.  There was a picture of Ken with his wife Linda, standing in their home.  They were all dressed up, like they were going out to celebrate.  And there was a brief note from Ken, saying, “It’s hard to believe we’ve been married 44 years.” 
                Seeing my cousin’s Facebook post got me to thinking about the odds of couples reaching their 50th anniversaries.  These days, people are living a lot longer, so that’s a positive factor.  But people get divorced a lot and usually marry later, if at all.  So those would be factors against reaching 50 years together.  I looked this up on the internet and found a demographer who had crunched some numbers.  Using 2015 U.S. statistics about marriage and mortality, he figured that, if two 21-year olds committed themselves to each other in marriage that year, they would have had a 35% chance of surviving to their 50th anniversary.
                The marital covenant is one kind of commitment.  Our commitment to God is another, and that’s what we’re talking about today.  During this season of Lent, we’ve been working our way through the Seven Last Words of Christ.  Today, we reach the final statement Jesus made while hanging on the cross.  Let’s take some time this morning to consider what Jesus might have meant when he said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”   

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