Sermon Central
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Ann's Funeral 03/14/2015
Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Mar 15, 2015 (message contributor)
Summary: Ann was one of those people that you just enjoyed being around. She was always the same Ann whenever or wherever you saw her.
Ann 03/14/2015 funeral
On behalf of the family thank you for coming today….we are here pay our respects to Annie Lou Hutchins Smith ..a Mother, a Grandmother, an Aunt …a Sister, and a friend.
For me I never thought much about Ann being my Sister In Law…she always seemed like one of the sisters I never had and I certainly loved her like one.
Ann was one of those people that you just enjoyed being around. She was always the same Ann whenever or wherever you saw her. There was nothing phony or put on with Ann and that’s what I loved so much about her….she loved her family….she always had a kind word and a concern about things in their life.
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And if there is a need of a cook in Heaven…..the Lord has got some of the best as far as I’m concerned.
In my Mom, Dora and now Ann.
**Brenda and I met Edna and Ann for lunch one day at the Cracker Barrel in Jonesville because I had an erg for some Chicken Dumplings. Our order came and we began to eat and right in the middle of our meal Ann pushed her plate back and said “ Ronnie next time you want Chicken Dumplings come over to the house and I’ll fix you some.”
There was no doubt in my mind she could fixem better than Cracker Barrel …I always told her out of all the sisters including Brenda….she was the best cook and no one ever disagreed with me.
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But, the most important thing…Ann’s faith in the Lord Jesus was strong right up till she was taken home. But, when the Lord allows one of His own to go through bodily pain and suffering …there is always questions….
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Sometimes life in this old flesh is not easy …sometimes it’s just plain cruel isn’t it?..…
we all will go through heart breaks….we all will go through loss of a love ones….we will all go through pain and suffering …especially when our bodies give away to sickness and many times ….when that happens it’s like we are trapped inside our body and just waiting and longing to be healed.…..
***Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
**Paul wrote those words that are inspired by God while he was in a Roman prison.
***You know Folks; Ann was in prisoned by her own body in the last serval weeks she lived because of cancer. ….But for Ann and all who belong to Jesus….when we live for Christ .. to die is our gain.
How can the Bible make such a statement?.....how can dying be a gain?
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Listen to what the Apostol Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
***How could Paul have so much confident that when a child of God like Ann left her body that she would be present with the Lord? Because he says we walk by faith and not by site…Well…what is faith?
The Bible says in Heb-11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
**Evidence is something you bring into a court of law…..God has given us the evidence in His word that those who trust in Him have eternal life…..Annie Lou believed it!!….therefore for Annie …her case was closed on this Earth Thursday morning….her sins were forgiven and paid for by the Lord Jesus and eternal life has begun in the presents of God Himself.
Because she was sealed with the Holy Spirit….her name was written in the Lambs book of life and was escorted to the gates of Heaven Thursday morning.
She was signed sealed and delivered into the presents of our Saviour! ….
BIBLE SAYS
1 Corinthians 15: 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have the victory because of Jesus….we have forgiveness of sins because of Jesus….and we can thank God because …For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
