Words of Grace & Greeting: Friends, we have gathered here to praise God and to witness to our faith as we celebrate the life of “Jeremy Michael Rader”. We come together in grief, acknowledging our human loss. May God grant us grace, that in pain we may find comfort, in sorrow hope, in death resurrection.
In Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 the writer tells us this:
1. The writer tells us in Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 it’s:
• 2It is better to go to a house of mourning (Funeral) than to go to a house of feasting (Partys) , for death is the destiny of every man; (Everyone dies) the living should take this to heart. 3Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
• 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, (Wise person thinks about death.) but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
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2. Why would the Bible say that it is good to be here? We are not here because Jeremy died but we are here because he lived.
• I say that because this is a time for us to remember the life that God gave Jeremy
• It is a time to share our memories and encourage and lean on each other.
• It is a time to grieve, for us not for Jeremy because Jeremy is more alive today than any of us.
3. It Good to be here because As long as we can remember Jeremy He will always be in our hearts.
• Helen Steiner Rice, in her poem “Love Always Remembers,’ It goes like this; May tender memories soften your grief, May fond recollections bring you relief, And may you find comfort and peace in the thought Of the joy that knowing your loved one brought. For time and space can never divide Or keep your loved one from your side WHEN memory paints in colors true The happy hours that belong to you
• It’s true that death can separate our loved from us in a physical sense, but they can still be with us forever in our hearts and in our minds. I am sure that each of you have many precious memories of Jeremy
• God has given us the gift of memory, so that we can keep our loved one always close....
• I remember playing basketball with Jeremy, I remember running in the woods, I remember Jeremy calling Juanita my lady, I remember for some reason he wanting to go to church with me, I remember how he like to dress up, I remember him being proud of being a marine, I remember the evening he passed the storm the rainbow the storm opening his doors and he’s gone
4. It’s good for us to be here because he would want his family here
• His family being the love of his life and closest friend Rebecca, two sons Shane and Cain, mother Penny, his father Me and my wife Juanita, his family and a host of friends. Sister aunt and uncle
• Remember he told the nurse, “Take care of my family I have a wonderful family”
• Remember Jesus had a family John 11:17-44 His disciples and his close friends Mary Martha and Lazarus
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5. Jesus had heard that a family member was sick and that he died
• He and his disciples (Family) left and went to the town of Bethany where Lazarus had lived and found out that not only was he dead but that he had been buried for four days.
• Jesus arrived 4 days after Lazarus’s death, each of these sisters ran out to Him at different times and said exactly the same thing: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
• If he’d been there Lazarus could have been healed and he wouldn’t have died.
• When someone dies - we say why God? “Lord if You would been here Lazurus wouldn’t died
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6. Notice Jesus had no profound words what do you say when someone goes?
• The Bible only tells us what Jesus DID.“He wept.”
• Jesus wept, today a mother weeps, sons weep, friends and family weep
• And those standing nearby said, “See how much He loved him.
• If you feel like crying today, it’s ok. If it was OK for Jesus to cry, it’s OK for you to cry.
7. What brought Jesus to Bethany? What brings us to Edenton today?
• What had brought Jesus to Bethany, his love for his friend or family .
• Love is what has brought us here today. love for Jeremy
• Jesus knew that one day, we all will die and He took this opportunity to show the people in Bethany and us that death is not final.
• Remember he told Martha, He told her that her brother would rise again and then
• “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
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8. Do you believe this family and friends ?
• This is what Jeremy believed after the good pastor shared with him the good news of Jesus
• Jeremy told me I believe, I am ready, I am saved, I am going to heaven family.
• Remember this: God gave us a precious gift Jeremy Michael Rader it time we give Jeremy back to God and say thank you God for the gift of this precious treasure
