Funeral Service For Bob...

Funeral Service for Bob ....

2nd Timothy 4:7-8

Good morning. My name is David Henderson and I am privileged to be Bob's pastor and have had the good fortune to have known he and Vivian for nearly 20 years. On behalf of the family I want to thank you of you for your presence here today and of course for your prayers. These two things mean so much to them.

Obituary for Robert

Robert ............, age 89, passed away on Oct. 9th. He is survived by son Stephen (Tina); 5 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. Bob is predeceased by his wife Vivian & children Phillip & Karen. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII. In lieu of flowers the family has requested that donations be made to Eagles Landing Baptist Church.

Prayer

Today we find ourselves in the valley of death that the Psalmist talked about…..it is a difficult place to be but it is also a place where we can experience the presence of God. I have discovered through the years that we are never really completely ready to lose someone who we are close to. I have stood here and helped with services for people who were very young, in the prime of their lives and as well for many who may have lived a long time and in neither case is the family ready. Nor do we understand God’s timing. So one of the questions we often ask at the time of losing a loved one is why? We cannot help it but we often ask why things happen as they do. Paul the apostle said And now we see thru a dark glass….it’s not clear but one day we will see face to face...he was saying it is not all clear now but one day it will be...there are things we do not understand right now but one day we will understand...that day according to Paul will be when we see Jesus Christ face to face. I look forward to that day. I know you do also.

The apostle Paul was a tentmaker. So it is not surprising that he compared our bodies to a tent. 2 Corinthians 5:1-6. “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down—when we die and leave these bodies—we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. [2] We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. [4] Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh.

Our family used to go camping when our children were much younger. One of the things I never seen is a lifetime warranty on a tent. They don’t exist. In Bob’s last years his tent/health began to decline. Vivian had gone to be with the Lord. Two of their children, Karen and Phillip had also gone to be with the Lord. He missed them. Sometimes we find ourselves in the place where as that old gospel song says…we are homesick for a place we’ve never been.

Paul said these bodies make us groan and sigh. These bodies make us groan and sigh. When we get sick. We groan and complain. When arthritis sets in we moan. When we step on the scales and they say we are gaining weight we moan! Our bodies are much like a tent; they rip and they tear, they wear out, they grow old and they don’t last as long as we would like for them to.

Fortunately the scripture reminds us of a place called heaven where if we know Christ as our Savior and Lord …..it is a place where..

* there will be no more sickness

* no more death no more funerals to attend

* we will never grow tired or weary

* no more hospitals

* no more need for doctors

* no more darkness

* no more tears

That is where Bob is today. Bob and I talked about His relationship with Christ on many occasions. I first met Bob and Vivian sometime in the mid 90’s when I served at First Baptist church here. I was fortunate to be the Bible teacher for the Fellowship class…we had as many as 90 people who attended. Bob and Vivian were in that group. Both of them were very faithful. That class had a reputation for (1) having a love for the Bible and the teaching of the Word and (2) also a love for people. If someone was absent on Sunday they always knew where they were. Bob and Vivian were a part of that group.

On many occasions we were able to talk about the Lord and pray together in their home. Both of them were very caring people and they would often offer encouragement to others in the class. For me it’s hard to talk about Bob without mentioning Vivian. They had a marriage of over 62 years. That is very rare today.