Prelude: Amazing Grace
Opening Song: The Old Rugged Cross
Welcome
I can think of four reasons for us to gather today.
First, we’re going to remember Sheryll and celebrate who God created her to be.
Second, it’s a time for us to begin the process of saying good-bye.
Third, we want to give God the glory for the gift of His Son Jesus as we seek the comfort which He alone can give us.
And, fourthly, it’s a time for us to look at our own lives. Each of us will die one day. A funeral service forces us to ask some of the tough questions which often don’t get asked. Questions like,
• “Am I ready to die?”
• “Where will I go when my life is over?”
Scripture Reading
? Read Romans 8:1, 26-28
Psalm 34:17-18 says: “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Lamentations 3
19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
20 My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Song: How Great Thou Art
Obituary
Ecclesiastes 3:1 -8
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
I wrote down two thoughts after reflecting on this passage.
1. No matter what happens, we can trust God’s timing.
This list is made up of opposites. Fourteen are positive and fourteen are negative. The fact that Solomon utilized extreme opposites and began his list with birth and death is highly significant. Solomon intended to affirm that all our activities, both constructive and destructive, and all His responses to people, objects, and events happen in His timing.
Illus. Verse 4 tells us there’s a time to weep and a time to laugh. I shared that with the family as we gathered to share memories. As you think of Sheryll, sometimes you’ll weep, and other times you’ll laugh at a funny memory. Don’t feel bad if you cry and don’t feel guilty if you laugh. It’s all part of the rhythm of life.
Positive events are paralleled with negative ones to reflect reality. Life is not all beauty and happiness; there is also pain and loss. Life certainly includes laughter and joy, but there is also a heavy side to life.
Solomon does not mince words, does he? Neither does he ease his way into this harsh truth. Every person and every creature that comes into existence also passes away. We step onto the stage of life and are physically present for a time and then our bodies give way. In a similar vein, Psalm 90 says, “The days of our life are 70 years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong.”
2. Since our time on earth is limited, let’s make the most of the time we have left.
In this ever-changing world, God alone can give meaning to life; He alone does not change. He directs the jumbled events that seem to have no rhyme or reason.
I found a note in her Bible case which reads like this: “The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you.”
Sheryll believed in Christ. She lived for Christ, she died in Christ, and she has now gained Christ forever. If you know Jesus through the new birth, you win either way.
There’s a time to be born and there’s a time to be reborn.
If you want to live out Sheryll’s legacy, make sure to repent and believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross for forgiveness of sins. Follow the plan laid out by Him. He died in your place as your sin substitute, He was buried and He rose on the third day, showing His power over death, the devil, and our own depravity.
Billy Graham was once asked what he was most surprised by in life. He answered, “It’s brevity.” God has been teaching me four things lately about life.
• It is fast
• It is fragile
• It is futile apart from Christ
• It is final
Several years ago, a man purchased ad space on a highway billboard and put up these words: “Enjoy life now: There is no afterlife.” After this sign came down, two area churches got together and put up their own message on this same billboard: “Life is short. Eternity is not.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts.” That means you and I are made for another place. Until we put Christ first, we will be restless and unsettled. If you don’t know Jesus yet through the new birth, listen to 2 Corinthians 6:2: “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”
I’m told there’s a tombstone in Indiana with these words:
Pause, Stranger, when you pass me by,
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, so you will be,
So prepare for death and follow me.
An unknown passerby scratched this reply:
To follow you I’m not content,
Until I know which way you went.
Which way will you go when you die? We know which way Sheryll went because she fully trusted in the Lord who is the only way, the only truth, and the only life.
Listen to the words of Jesus found in John 11:25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
We will miss Sheryll, but she’s not really missing…because we know where she is. She has not really passed away…she’s passed into glory. We’re here to remember her life and her death…but she has not really died because she still lives.
Many of us think this is the land of the living, and that when we die, we go to the land of the dead. We have it backwards. This is the land of the dying. When our life here is over, we are transferred to the place of the living. Either to a place called heaven or to a place called hell. Sheryll has not died; she’s just changed her address!
1. No matter what happens, we can trust God’s timing.
2. Since our time on earth is limited, let’s make the most of the time we have left.
Sheryll loved Numbers 6:24-26. She had it written out in her own handwriting, and it was placed right next to her open Bible on the kitchen table.
24 The LORD bless you and keep you;
25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Underneath this verse she had also written out a few of the lyrics to one of her favorite songs called “The Blessing.”
May His presence be upon you and before you and behind you and beside you and all around you and within you. He is for you.
Let’s listen to this song now as we close, remembering how God blessed Sheryll, how she blessed others, and how we can now live out her legacy by being a blessing to those around us, leaving people better than we found them. Her heart was for every member of her family to put their faith in Christ so His favor would be upon them, and also upon the generations to come.
Closing Song: “The Blessing.”
Closing Prayer
