Invocation
Gently sustain us, O Lord, through this day of sorrow and loss. In our time together, may we honor (NAME) . May we sense your Spirit with us. May your Spirit bring to our hearts your merciful and compassionate comfort. Amen.
Welcome
On behalf of the (NAME) family, thank each of you for coming here today. This afternoon as we gather together to remember (NAME), I’m going to invite you to remember (NAME) with your own memories. I invite you to remember a time when you and (NAME) shared laughter. I invite you to remember a time when you and (NAME) shared a meaningful moment. I invite you to remember…
Announcements
The family asked me to invite everyone to a luncheon in the cafeteria following the service.
Opening Prayer - Looking Forward
Lord God, here we are gathered, although we really would rather not be here. We would rather be almost anywhere else. It is difficult to be here because it means, in a way, that death is real now for us. But here we are, Lord. Our friend and loved one has died. Here we are, Lord, to weep and mourn. Let your Spirit be with us as we remember and celebrate. Lord, nourish and strengthen us through your rich, full love and grace.
Eternal God, we pray we will be able to see beyond this earthly life to the joys and wonders of life eternal. Help us learn, understand and firmly believe Your promises of life eternal. Speak to us in our needs at this moment. Empower us to look forward always with confidence.
(Prayer continues with Confession)
God of the rainbow, you made a covenant with all human life, promising life and hope. God of pathways, you show us how we should walk. Yet, Lord God, we tend to take you far too much for granted. Often we forget our connection to all human beings and assume we are the center of it all. We tend to wander from your pathways and forget that you are the covenant God of hope and life. Forgive us and lead us back into the arms of your mercy and grace. Amen.
Assurance
God is always merciful and full of amazing love. God will never forget us and will never take us for granted. God will forgive us through that amazing grace. God’s guidance will always be coming to our lives, and God’s amazing promise of eternal life is trustworthy and true.
Romans 8: 31-39
If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Will you join me is the Lord ’s Prayer.
NAME
Died (DATE)
OBIT INFO
(NAME) was a very special man. He was a very caring and loving husband, father and doting grandfather. He gave life to all through his drawings. He also will continue giving life through organ donation. He was a gifted and talented artist and cartoonist who will be sorely missed.
His family was his greatest achievement.
(THIS PARTICULAR OBIT CONTAINED THE NAME OF THE DECEASED CAT AS ONE WHO PRECEDED HIM IN DEATH… UNIQUE!)
I can’t remember ever seeing a cat as part of an obituary. Now I didn’t know (NAME), but I wish I had. It’s clear this was a man with a very kind heart. And the mention of Ozzie reminds me of a story.
Originally this was A Dog Story, but in honor of (NAME), we’re going to change it to a “pet” story.
A man and his pet were walking along a road. The man was just enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying and the pet had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them. After a while they came to a high white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.
When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother of pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the pet walked toward the gate, and as he got closer he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close enough he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"’
"This is heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in and I’ll have some ice water brought right up." The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my pet come in too?" the traveler asked.
"I’m sorry sir, but we don’t accept pets."
The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going. After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed.
There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me," he called to the reader. "Do you have
any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there’s a pump over there." The man pointed to a place that couldn’t be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the pet.
"There should be a bowl by the pump."
They went through the gate and, sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the bowl and
took a long drink himself. When they were full, he and the pet walked back toward the man, who was standing by then, waiting for them. "What do you call this place?" he asked.
"This is heaven," was the answer.
"Well, that’s confusing," he said, "the man down the road said that was heaven too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? That’s hell."
"Doesn’t it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No. I can see how you might think so, but you see, that gate, the one that looked like good… just fool’s gold and the pearly gates, … paste, fake you know…. Not real. Here, we’re just happy that they screen out all those who’ll leave their pets behind."
In today’s culture, to live in a small town all our life is truly a blessed, and more and more, a unique experience. Many people find themselves forced to move from one place to another to find work or other circumstances require relocation. But not so (NAME). (NAME) was raised here. Worked here. Built his life here, built his family here, and made many many friend here. How blessed are those who able to live and spend their life in a small town. This is where (NAME)lived. All his friends lived in a small town. He was educated in this small town. Taught to fear Jesus in this small town… daydreamed in this small town. Used to have a ball in this small town. It was good enough for (NAME).
Tribute to (NAME) - MUSIC AND VIDEO – SMALL TOWN
I didn’t know (NAME). But I’ve talked to many people about him. Not one single person had anything but kind, loving words to say about the wonderful man he was. Again and again, I have heard about his kindness, his humor. And of course, without fail, I was told of his gift of drawing cartoons… life pictures if you will, always with a touch of humor. Cartoons left on the chalkboard… now “whiteboards”…how these cartoons would bring a smile to the teachers, who then would have to be encouraged and in a little better mood to bring that encouragement and learning to the young people of their classes. How when (NAME) would finish a drywall job, it was not unusual to find an extra piece of drywall standing in a corner with a cartoon caricature depicting something about the home or the folks living there. I’m told (NAME) loved woodworking and could build just about anything. He was loved not only by his immediate family, but extended family as well….the boys have many friends and rumor has it that perhaps the (NAME) should have applied for a business license because at times their home looked like the “(NAME)Motel” with all the “stay over” friends. I think I would have liked (NAME), I’m sorry I didn’t have the opportunity to know him. But you folks Knew (NAME). I’m sure there are many great memories of (NAME) out there. Now is the time to share some of those memories.
Time of Sharing Memories
Msg.
We all have burdens.
Some of us overcome them and some of us are overcome by them.
We all know that life is full of questions.
Some of us find answers and some of us have questions that forever go unanswered.
We all have felt the sting of death.
Some die because of a diseased heart, others die from a cancer-ridden lung, and still others die from a diseased brain.
In God’s wise divine intervention, none of us can see very far ahead. The future is always unknown, and no one could have foreseen the kind of summons that brings us to this moment, on this day.
What is there to say, when death intrudes on life - especially a death that didn’t have to happen? What is there to say, when feelings of grief, guilt, anger and raw, aching pain become all mixed up and tangled together?
There’s no way to turn back the clock and make last Saturday’s events turn out differently. There’s no way to remake the events of past years, either. What was said has been said, and what’s done has been done. And so, we linger here, for a moment, while a loved one must be left behind. It’s a time to grieve, but as impossible as it seems, at some moment, at some time, God will help us find the courage to move on.
The question that may come most readily to mind is, "Why?" It’s only human to ask, but the question isn’t likely to lead to satisfaction. It’s a question without an answer, at least in this life.
Most, perhaps all of us in our own way since Saturday have been asking ourselves, what could we have done? What should we have done? Could we have done anything differently?
The reality my friends, is the only way that any of us could have stopped (NAME) from giving up his life, would have been to be there at that very moment to stop him. But it goes one even before that moment. We would have had to be with him not only then, but every waking moment of every single day. And that my friends, is impossible.
It wasn’t our fault. It wasn’t (NAME)’s fault…it was no one’s fault.
A more fruitful question to ask is "Where?" - more specifically "Where is God in all this?"
God did not cause the gun to discharge, tearing (NAME) from his loved ones. You won’t find God by going back to that place again and again, asking why it had to happen. God is not back there. He’s here with us. God is right in the midst of the heartache, confusion, the anger and pain.
This is the same God to which the psalmist could shout out harsh words of complaint because he knew God was there with him and could take it:
(Read the passage from Psalm 22.)
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it.
Notice how King David changes his tone. He begins by trusting God with his grief and anger and then moves on to prayers of confidence and strength. Yet he couldn’t have gotten to that point if he didn’t first trust God with his pain. And he never could have done that if he didn’t believe, strongly, that God was with him.
These very words of Psalm 22 occur in one other place in the Bible. Jesus speaks them as he hangs on the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46).
Jesus probably learned these words as a boy, studying in the synagogue. In his time of trial, Jesus went back to the words he knew best. And even as he spoke the words of godforsakenness, he knew that God was with him.
Even as Jesus hung on the cross, he spoke to the thief hanging beside him who called on him for help. "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom," the thief had pleaded (Luke 23:42). Jesus responded "Today you will be with me in Paradise." No one can put a limit on God’s love and grace, and we can only trust and hope that (NAME) has come to know that forgiveness and that grace, in God’s embrace.
So the question becomes, Why ask "Why?" when you can ask "Where?" and know that the answer is, "Here. God is here." While we’ll never know what was in (NAME)’s mind, we do know, from the promises of Scripture that God was with him, even in his pain.
In Michigan and many parts of our country are forests that stretch as far as the eye can see. We know that fire can be devastating, but we have also learned fire actually can work some good. Fire transforms. It burns away the underbrush and allows the trees to flourish. While it causes horrible devastation in the short run, in the long run it can lead to new life.
There are pine trees for example that have a very special kind of cone. This opens up and releases its seed only when exposed to extreme heat, as in a forest fire. After the fire, new life begins.
The witness of our Christian faith in that death is this way. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul spoke of a seed, planted in the ground:
1 Co 15:35-38
35 But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
1 Co 15:42-44
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body
1 Co 15:50-58
50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
So stand fast. Hold on to the things in life that are good - such as those in this poem, which comes from the Pueblo Indians:
Hold on to what is good, even if it is a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe, even if it is a tree which stands alone.
Hold on to what you must do, even if it is a long way from here.
Hold on to life, even when it is easier letting go.
Hold on to my hand, even when I have gone away from you.
If (NAME) were standing here with here with us today, I am sure he would say he was wrong. He made a tragic decision, that his way was not an answer. Yet I know too, that we have a loving forgiving God and I know Jesus included (NAME) with all of us when He said
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Song - Go Rest High on That Mountain
When the times are at their toughest, believe with all confidence we can turn to Christ and know that he understands because he too experienced what we’re experiencing this afternoon.
In fact, when he was preparing the disciples for his eventual departure, he told them, “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn into joy…Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” ((NAME) 16:20,22).
Today we grieve for (NAME). At this very moment, the healing process has begun. May we remember, and may we always be thankful for, that of (NAME) that continues to live and grow in each of us.
Now, as we come to the end of the service, this celebration of (NAME)’s life, let us not be afraid to acknowledge how hard it is to say goodbye. Know that God understands and God too, grieves with us.
Song – It Ain’t Easy To Say Goodbye
Friends, it is now, at these very times Jesus extends His invitation to you and I and to all….
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Will you join me in prayer…
Eternal God, you have shared with us this gift of life. Before (NAME) was ours, he was yours. For all that he has given to us to make us what we are, for his life that in your love will never end, we give you thanks.
Draw those of us who remain in this life closer to one another, make us faithful to serve one another, and give us to know that peace and joy which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord in whom we pray….Amen.
My friends, I don’t know how many of you belong to a church or attend a church regularly. But today, you have been in church. Church is a place where we seek fellowship, comfort, encouragement, learning and experience joy in Jesus Christ. If you have a church, I challenge you to attend that church tomorrow morning. If you don’t have a church, I challenge you to find one and begin that search tomorrow morning. There is not reason to take this journey through our earthly life alone. Go to church. Find a church, join a church, and experience the joy and peace of growing closer to Jesus and belonging to a wonderful Christian family. You will never regret your decision. Your decision to follow Jesus Christ promises eternal rewards.
Let us stand for the benediction…
May the Lord bless us and keep us.
May the Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us.
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace. (Numbers 6:24-26) In the name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, this is our prayer…Amen.
