Five Factors to Consider When Ministering to the Dying - Adams, JOFMM Fall 2004

There are other factors that might be considered, but the five
mentioned here will provide a basic framework for them. The pastor
who follows these basic rules will find himself in a position to
be of maximum help. The five factors relate only to the dying person,
not to the family or friends who are caring for him.
1.Since you can’t be absolutely certain that a person will die during
his present illness – even though it may appear that he is, and the doctors say he will – it is wrong to speak to him as if it were certain. There are physicians who predicted the death of persons who later attended the funerals of these same physicians.
Nevertheless, it is proper to be open and honest about the possibility of death in the near future.
2.When speaking of dying (a topic that often must be opened up by the minister if the patient doesn’t do so), it is important to be clear, explicit and entirely open to the biblical facts. I Thessalonians
4 indicates that replacing uncertainties with biblical truths brings comfort. It is most helpful to speak to believers about heaven and the resurrection...