Memorial Service for Rowena Potts
On behalf of the family of Rowena Potts I wish to thank each one of you for being here today… and though today is a very difficult day the scriptures makes this promise:
Opening Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, we gather here today to remember the precious life of _Rowena Potts__ We also gather to say goodbye one last time and celebrate the life that she enjoyed here on earth and thank you for each precious moment and memory that we have had with her. Her life has touched so many in so many different ways. We pray that your peace and presence will be upon us during this time and we pray this in the name your Son, Amen.
Ps 46:1-3
God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling.
And the bible also says;
Rom 8:35-39
35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Eulogies:
It is at this time that I would ask all those that would like to share something from the life of _Rowena Potts__ to come forward and do so at this time.
Message
Introduction:
As we gather here this evening to remember the dear and precious life of __Rowena__ I know that many of you are dealing with mixed emotions. On the one hand, there are emotions of great sadness. Sadness not for __Rowena__ because _Rowena_ is in a far better place, but sadness because we have lost a dear loved one.
But on the other hand, there is great joy knowing that because of the relationship that __Rowena__ had with the Lord Jesus Christ that she has already been in His presence. For the scriptures say in:
2 Cor 5:6-8 “So we are always confident, knowing that while 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, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
And for the Christian there is no greater joy than to be in the presence of the One that loves them like no one else can.
So today is not a day of mourning but a day of celebration. It’s not a day of regret but truly a day of rejoicing. Today we come to remember the life of __Rowena__ and reminisce over all the special moments that we had with her.
You see__Rowena__ had a relationship that carried some wonderful promises found in John chapter 14:1-6. Let me read that portion of scripture to you.
John 14:1-6 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know." 5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
I. The First Promise to Christians is that We Don’t have to
Fear Death. Jesus said "Don’t let your hearts be troubled"
1) We are troubled when we don’t know what is going to happen when we die, but Jesus has taken the fear out of dying.
a) He has conquered the grave and death so there needs to be no fear in our eternal future.
Rev 1:17-18 "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.
b) Do you know what the good news is this evening? Death had no hold on Him nor does it have a hold on us.
i) Because Christ conquered death there should be no fear for the Christian because through Christ we also conquer death.
2) We are Troubled when we view death as an end instead of a beginning.
2 Cor 5:1 "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
a) _Rowena’s_ life is not over, as a matter of fact, it has just begun.
i) __Rowena__ has shed the temporary for the eternal, the tarnished for the spotless and the passing for the everlasting.
ii) Yes our earthly bodies die, however our heavenly bodies endure for all eternity.
II. The Second Promise is Jesus Prepares a Place for Believer’s in Heaven. What has He Prepared?
Rev 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
1) A place with no more sorrow or crying.
a) Heaven is a place where the hurts and disappointment of this world have no more sting.
b) Where the frustrations of life are replaced with unspeakable joys.
c) Where the pains of life are not permitted and the failures of life control us no longer.
2) A place with no more pain.
a) Heaven has no handicap parking places.
b) There are not pharmacies and prescriptions to fill.
c) Heaven doesn’t have hospitals, nursing homes, or rehabilitation centers.
d) The days of aches and pains for _Rowena_ are over, the trips to the doctors have ceased, and the all her pain has ended.
III. The Third Promise found in John 14 is that He Personally Receives Us.
John 14:1-6 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know." 5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
1) Now I want you to imagine this, the moment that _Rowena_ took her first breath in Heaven the Lord was right there to welcome her.
a) The first image she saw was the Lord Jesus Christ.
b) He was there with His arms wide open to receive her in to that great mansion that He has prepared for all His children.
c) And for _Rowena_ she experienced a love that we cannot even understand.
i) A love that forgives every failure that she had in her life.
ii) A love that mends the hurts only she knew.
iii) A love that understood every feeling that she had.
iv) It is an unconditional love that completely satisfies the longing of her soul.
VI. The Last Promise is that there is only One-way to Enter
Heaven.
1) Jesus said to Thomas "Thomas you say you don’t know the way to heaven but you do, I am the way, the truth, and the life."
a) More than anything _Rowena_ understood this. She understood that without a relationship with the Savior there was no hope of heaven.
b) She understood that Christ came to take away the sins of the world and that included hers.
c) She believed in the greatest promise given to all found in three simple verses:
John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
_Rowena’s_ life revolved around this promise and because of her relationship with the Savior, she is in a place that we can’t imagine and experiencing a love incomprehensible.
Conclusion:
I know its Rowena’s desire that each one of you have the same relationship she had with the Savior and many of you do. However, there might be some of you tonight that have never given thought to your eternal future, but this evenng you are asking yourself where would I go if I were to leave this world? And I would like to take just a moment to share with you some scriptures that explain the promise that Rowena had because I know Rowena would want me to.
Dear heavenly Father we once again thank you for the life of _Rowena _. We thank you for all the lives that he has touched and the memories that he has left. And now Father, we ask that you comfort the many family members and friends that have gathered here and help us to always remember the frailty of life. For it’s in your Sons precious name we pray, Amen.
