Funeral Service
Welcome and Words of Comfort
• As family and friends, we have been drawn together by the life, and now the death, of …………………...
• ………...... was born ………… and lived a full life until he died on ……………. this year at the age of …….
• He married ……… and they had three boys, ………………… and they in turn are responsible for ……… grandchildren
• …….. and the family would like to thank you all for coming to celebrate ………… life and pay your last respects and to show them your love and support at this time
• ………… was a man of faith, so last ………….night one of God’s saints died.
• God’s word tells us in the book of Psalms (116:15) that, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."
• What we see revealed here is that God is intimately involved in ………. life.
• Not only was ………. a precious saint in God’s eyes, but he was also someone who was precious to his family and friends. He has enriched all of our lives as a result of his touching those of us gathered here today.
• We grieve that loss and God shares in our grief.
• But this is not the end for ……… as God has a plan to overcome all grief and death.
• God, who ultimately is the Father of every human being, that’s why He labels himself “Father”, is not going to allow “death” to be the final end for humanity. God is about life not death.
• We will talk more of that later, but right now we need to hear about ………. life and what he meant to his family and to do that we have ………….
Obituaries
Message of Comfort and Encouragement
• We mentioned earlier God is not going to allow death to be the final end for humanity.
• God has big plans for humanity and they center on life not death
• Right from the start God stated His purpose when He said, “Let us make man in our image!”
• So we have to view everything including this life with all of its trials and troubles as part of that process.
• This life is simply a preparation ground for the life to come.
• We don’t need the Bible to tell us death is an enemy, yet it does so and calls it the final enemy.
• But we have a God who has opened the door to life after death.
• A number of years ago we visited the city of Candy in Sri Lanka where there is a shrine to Budda. The central focus of this shrine is a tooth of Budda and the pilgrims come to worship this relic.
• Of course the implication of this part of Budda’s remains is that he is still dead and in the grave.
• By contrast, in the city of Jerusalem, there is an empty tomb, which at one stage held a battered and crucified human body.
• The remarkable thing about an empty tomb means this person has defied and conquered death.
• It is only Christianity that has the story of the empty grave and the implication of that fact is someone had passed from death back to life. He also had 500 eyewitnesses who could testify to this fact.
• Of course we are talking about Jesus Christ who not only died for yours and my sins so we would be reconciled to God, but he also demonstrated that God has the power to give life back to the dead.
• We have a forerunner who has walked this path before us and came out the other side, the One who made this remarkable statement, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies - John 11:25-26
• But Jesus is not talking about a resurrection to another decaying physical life, but to a new dynamic spiritual life in the same dimension in which God Himself lives, eternity.
• Notice the wording the apostle Paul uses to compare these two dimensions.
• 1 Cor 15:42-44 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is 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 physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.
• Not only does God offer us the gift of grace by forgiving our sins, He also promises us life after death.
• And He has gone to a lot of preparation so that we can join Him in that new life after death.
• John 14:1-3 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.
• Just over week ago, ………. fell asleep for the last time. When he did, the greatest arms in the universe slipped under him, gently lifted him up and carried him to that place God has prepared for him.
• Right now, ………. is checking out the furniture of his new home in heaven, a place that God Himself has prepared in preparation for this day.
• Jesus Christ Himself is there to welcome ………….. and as he is one of God’s faithful servants, he will hear those reassuring words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; You have fought a good fight, you have finished the course, you have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for you a crown of righteousness. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ (Matthew 25:21, 2 Timothy 4:7-8)
But God has not forgotten those who are left behind as He is intimately involved in their lives as well.
• The last few years have not been easy for ……… and ……… He suffered a massive stroke in 2011 that left him with limited mobility, which meant he has spent the last eight years in care, bedridden.
• …….. has been a tower of strength during those eight years, living close by so she could be close to support …….. through those long years.
• Those many years of loving and faithful marriage came to a close last ……..
• And just as Jesus promised His despondent disciples 2000 years that He would not leave them as orphans as He was about to leave for heaven, that same Holy Spirit, the One Jesus calls the “Comforter” is active today providing comfort and support for those who are suffering.
• The words of the 23rd Psalm still ring true today, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
• This promise equally applied to …….. as he faced his impending death as well as to his family as they cope with life in the shadow of death.
• This comfort is not just a nice platitude to be used at a funeral service to reassure the loved ones but is something that is real and tangible and is very reassuring for those facing the sufferings associated with this life.
• Christians over the last 2000 years can testify to this comfort and support in their time of need.
• By the way this is the second time this year the ……. family has had to arrange a funeral for a loved one.
• So God is here right now grieving with us through His Spirit and providing comfort to ………. loved ones.
But the promise of a Comforter is not the last of the promises God gives to His grieving people.
• He promises us that one-day, at the resurrection of the dead we will be reunited with our loved ones.
• Life's separations are tough, especially when someone we love slips away.
• God grieves with us and gives us His Holy Spirit to comfort us.
• But He also holds out the hope that one day in the future we will see our loved ones again
• The apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13. We do not want you to grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.
• Notice He doesn’t say not to grieve because we do.
• But we grieve with a special hope.
• He goes on to say 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
• Here is the hope. At a future time ………. family and loved ones will see him again.
• The book of Revelation speaks about this new life where we will dwell with the One who has conquered death
• Revelation 21:3-4 They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
• The staff here at this funeral home won’t want to hear this, but they will be out of business along with nursing homes, hospitals, doctor’s surgeries and cemeteries.
• This is the future God has prepared for us, a life where there is no longer suffering and death, a life without end.
• The sorrow and grief we are experiencing today are very real aspects of this life, but God is not going to allow death to be the end of the story.
• He has gone to extreme measures and at great price to Himself great to make sure life and not death is the future for humanity.
Let’s Pray
Special Thanks
• Before we finish, we need to make special mention of those of you assisted ……. and ……. over those long eight years of ……… disability.
• A special thanks to ……… and ……….., the staff at ……….. and Dr ………. who provided the friendship and medical support ……… needed.
• There may be others but those are the ones I know about, so thank you very much for your support.
