Opening Song -- Family Enters
"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. "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. John 14.1-3
Purpose of Funerals
1. Honor a loved one
2. Comfort a family
3. Reconnect with priorities
4. To remember
a. We generally want to remember our past.
* Story-tellers of Indians, etc.
* Photo albums
* Monuments
b. We also want to be remembered -- we give pictures and gifts to be remembered.
Obituary
Prayer
Song #2
Eulogy
Funerals remind us of:
1. The Certainty of Death (Ecclesiastes 9:5)
2. The Shortness of life (James 4:14)
3. The Shortage of life (John 10:10) -- many challenges to overcome and endure -- Dan battled an aggressive dementia
4. The sovereignty of God and Reality of Eternity.
There is an old joke about a reprobate who died. His brother, who was connected to the underworld of crime, asked the preacher to say that his brother was like an angel. The preacher protested because the man had a bad reputation in the community. The brother tried to coerce the preacher and then tried to bribe him. "If you will just say it, I will give you $1000. You don't have to mean it, just say it!"
The preacher thought it over and in the service said, "The deceased man was a liar, a cheat, a thief, but compared to his brother he was like an angel."
No one here today has to be coerced into saying nice things about Dan.
I. Enjoyed Life
A. I started with an old joke today because Dan enjoyed joking and having fun.
1. He made up silly song lyrics to sing with his family -- to laugh and make others laugh
2. He enjoyed good jokes and being silly
3. "He liked to have fun and was fun."
B. That's not a bad thing -- at all -- John 10.10
1. Abundant life is a full life with God
2. God intended for us to enjoy life and get the most out of it
3. He provided the instruction book to guide us and his Spirit to help us
II. Perfectionist [Bible does say to be "perfect" as God is "perfect" . . . ]
[Jim told of a time when they were kids living in Shawnee after their mom married their step-father. Dan was about 12-13 and decided to borrow the Pontiac station wagon while the adults were at work. He drove down to the river and got it stuck in the sand. A friend was able to get him help and got it towed out. When their parents got home, Dan was outside, washing the car. They thought, "What a great kid!" Dan said he thought about letting them know what he had done but decided against it. -- Here is the perfectionist part -- before he took the car for his joy ride, he had placed a stick in front of a front tire. When he got back, he maneuvered the car until he got it back in exactly the same place it was before he left. His perfectionism saved him.
A. As a Machinist he had to work within precise measurements
1. Affected how he rebuilt car engines
2. Affected how he built a shed -- Jim told him that they did not have to be so precise in measurements -- "That's why they had trim."
B. He did his best in all things he was interested in
1. He was a Mr. Fix-it -- we all have gifts -- men who built the Tabernacle for God had skill with which to build
2. He was into real estate; appraisals; heating and air conditioning and experienced successes
3. He was honest and friendly -- helpful in sales
4. He liked getting the best he could -- Bernina Sewing Machine -- top line for Shirley
III. Loved and Served His Family
3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Philippians 2.3-7
A. Dan liked nearly everyone -- Never met a stranger
1. YOU are important to Dan and he would be grateful for your presence today
2. He did not have a critical spirit towards others -- WANTED to like people
a. As a recovering alcoholic, he helped others into recovery
b. It is one thing to love (action word, not an emotion)
c. It is another thing to like people --
B. Family was Important to Him
1. Shared OU ball games with brother and brothers in law -- as well as Denver Broncos/OKC Thunder
2. Grieved the loss of Tara
3. Loved to play with his grandkids -- he was the shark in the pool (Jaws Theme?)
4. Generous --
a. Even after Shirley bought Christmas gifts he would use his bonus check each year to buy something special for the family -- usually on Christmas Eve
b. Because of his wood-working he made gifts for everyone -- wishing wells and pens
1. Life is hard and full of challenges -- dementia not only affected Dan it affected his family -- Shirley devoted weeks and months to his care
2. We know that even in the hard times God is able to make things work out
3. Romans 8.26-28
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Prayer
Video
At Cemetery -- Psalm 23
