Memorial Service – veteran
Greetings and opening prayer – thank the people for all their prayers. Cards and gifts in memory of ______.
Favorite Scripture John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Songs:
1. Way maker
2. I Can Only Imagine
Obituary – See it read it
Scriptures:
Psalm 34:1-10
1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Psalm 34:17-19:
17 For I am about to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
18 I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin.
19 Many are those who are my vigorous enemies;
those who hate me without reason are numerous.
Psalm 34:22:
22 Come quickly to help me,
O Lord my Savior.
Song:
Great is They faithfulness
Special Memories of Tom
Message: Military Veteran, Lover of Jesus - funeral message – John 3:16
By Robert Leroe and adapted and changed for this memorial service by Michael McCartney
2 Corinthians 5:1-10:
Our Heavenly Dwelling
5 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), 2 Co 5:1–10.
Observation: Paul compares our earthly bodies to tents, (temporary – flawed – not everlasting) – tents are a familiar image for soldiers who yearn for homecoming while on the battlefield. They long for the day to come home from the battle!
________________________________________
Funeral message for a Military Veteran, follower of Jesus – John 3:16
John 3:16-21
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Jn 3:16–21.
Unknown people of significance (the soldiers of many wars for our country) are the real heroes for many kings, kingdoms and presidents. The sacrifice of the nobodies is critical to the victorious wins in battles, their selfless sacrifice of their lives, their precious time, their loyal hearts, and the courage to face their fears on the battlefield of life and death have bestowed on us more than we could ever imagine. Really the freedom we enjoy today is because countless lives were sacrificed for us.
The Kingdom of God applauds these mighty men and women of faith – David himself at the end of his reign makes sure the historians of Israel remember and write about his mighty men! He highlights 37 of them out of his 600 in 2 Samuel 23 and 1 Chronicles 11. The men who fought beside him and stayed loyal to him to expand the nation of Israel and lead him eventually home to the Heavenly Promised land.
My mind thinks of Tom – His service to this country – his pride in serving and his love for God and this country!
Romans 12:1: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual (reasonable) act of worship.” (Why because it makes sense to serve God this way!)
The movie Band of Brothers has a quote “They depended on each other. And the world depended on them.”
Can anything be more ironic than the lives of our nation’s military? They love America, so they spend long years in foreign lands far from their shores. They revere freedom, yet they sacrifice their own so that others may be free. They defend their own right to live as individuals yet yield their individuality in that cause. Perhaps, most paradoxically of all, they value life, yet so bravely they ready themselves to die in the service of their country.
Tom Brokaw was not exaggerating when he called those who served during WWII The Greatest Generation. Like so many, Tom quietly served his country, looked for his battle buddies, and managed to survive the untold horrors of the war. He returned to being a bona-fide hero.
In the Bible, God is often referred to as the “Lord of Hosts”. This word “hosts” means “armies”. God is our heavenly Commander. Jesus had an encounter with a soldier, a Roman Centurion, who asked Him to heal a servant, and Jesus said He’d not seen such faith in all Israel. I’d like to think that soldiers are especially capable of trusting their chain-of-command. I’ve seen foxhole faith that fades with time, but I’ve also seen a lasting trust in God that prevails throughout the years, in times of great strife and in times of peace.
Those who spend time in military service have an uncomfortable life—at times we begin to think that being miserable is part of the mission. Field duty is usually an ordeal: Eating C-Rations/MREs, cleaning weapons, guard duty, braving the harsh elements, long hours, and living in a tent. The Apostle Paul never served in the military, but as a tentmaker he knew what it was like to live a nomadic life under harsh conditions. In II Corinthians 5 he writes:
“We know that when this tent we live in is taken down and folded up, when we die and leave these finite bodies, we will have wonderful new resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not fashioned by human hands—and we will never have to relocate our ‘tents’ again. Our new homes will be ours forevermore.” (paraphrase)
For troops on deployment, a tent is frequently “home sweet home”. It’s all part of military duty, but no one lives permanently in a tent. It may SEEM like it at times, but the truth of the matter is that at the end of every field exercise soldiers return to their barracks or quarters.
That is exactly the word-picture Paul is presenting. Paul is saying that our bodies are very like tents. They provide a place to live, but only for a brief portion of our existence. Like the canvas of a tent, our flesh is just a temporary structure. Paul’s idea of death is breaking down a tent and folding it up, in preparation for moving into a permanent facility. At the end of life, we can add these words to our obituary: “TO BE CONTINUED”. There’s more to come. Tom’s life is continuing in his new home heaven – there is more to come in Tom’s story.
Why because he embraced Jesus – he believed in the verse John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The question for each us today is ask ourselves – Do I believe? Tome especially now seeing what He is seeing and experiencing would want you to believe in Jesus and surrender your heart to Him.
Our Lord Jesus assured His disciples that this eternal structure was in the process of being built. In John’s Gospel, chapter 14, He offers these comforting words: “In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.” There’s plenty of room; in the meantime, Jesus is preparing us and getting our room ready. But we have to do our part Believe on Jesus and accept Him as our Lord and Savior!
When soldiers are on maneuvers, what do they talk about? They talk about how they can’t wait to get back home; how glad they’ll be to get back to the “real world”. The misery and hardships troops endure make homecoming all the sweeter. Our problem is that we often think the tent we’re living in is the real world, it’s not. What we are experiencing is but a shadow of reality. We hope to move from the shadowlands of life someday to encounter Reality is all its fullness.
God offers the confident assurance that when our earthly existence is over, we will leave our tents and dwell forever in our permanent home. This life is the only life we’ve known, but there’s another life coming. Death is merely a transition in life, like getting orders for a new assignment. We who remain are left with sorrow, but we find comfort in the certainty of reunion and rest. We who remain, grieve--but with hope. To be absent from the body--this temporary tent--is to be at home with the Lord.
_________ I believe would want you to make the step and follow the Lord like he did – why the reward of home – heaven – is closer than most of us think and it’s a great place to spend eternity and serve the Lord.
May God’s promises be the measure of our hope and expectations. May we too choose to be a living sacrifice for Jesus and His kingdom so that we too can experience what ______ is experiencing!
Prayer: God Almighty, we close this brief service with hope in Your promise and faith in Your ability to transform us. We are not overwhelmed by the loss of ____ or are we drowning in hopelessness knowing one day we will see _____ in Heaven. Nonetheless, we seek Your strength in the coming days as we struggle to deal with what has happened, and we know you will walk with us through our time of grief. We trust you even though we don’t understand fully You’re timing or purpose. We know you love us, and we thank You for the gift of life and the promise of life eternal through Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus, in Whose Name we pray, Amen.
Worship Song:
Amazing Grace
Closing prayer and announcements:
Announcements:
For the postlude music we will play Heaven Song, Phil Wickham. Before we close.
I just think that's such a nice reminder and send off that he's in a better place.
You are invited to the internment service at Abe Lincoln National Cemetery at 2:30? Anyone is welcome to come if they'd like, after lunch. We need to leave the church by 1:30. The Army will be there to do Honors. It should be very nice. Hopefully we will have a nice warm day.
Postlude Song: Heaven Phil Wickman
Internment Service: Burial service ______________:
We have come together today to commit ___________ ashes and to commit his
remains back to the earth and remember his being and spirit are in
Heaven.
Scripture readings:
Psalm 23:
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet
waters,
3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's
sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you
are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You
anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I
will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Nahum 1:7: The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares
for those who trust in him...
2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us
in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are
in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are
comforted by God.
Pray for comfort for the family.
Revelation 1:17-18
17 “… Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore
…”
John 14:19: “Because I live, You shall live also.”
Revelation 14:13, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from
henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and
their works do follow them.”
I Corinthians 15:51-55
“Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be
changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that
is written: DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY. O death where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
Tom is not here. He stands in the presence of the Lord, the same Jesus
who said to the dying man on a cross “…TODAY YOU SHALL BE WITH
ME IN PARADISE.”
The ashes that are in this container before us are but the earthly
tabernacle, the house in which dad lived among us for a time. Tenderly
and reverently, we commit that house to the grave, to God who gave it,
waiting for the day when both the spirit and the body shall again be united
at the coming of the Lord.
Committal:
So today we come together here at this burial site of a recognition of dads
life and to commit _________– beloved Father, family member, friend and Grandfather unto Almighty God.
Prayer: Lord, we commend the soul of our father, grandfather, into your
hands oh Lord. Lord, we commit his body to the ground; earth to earth,
ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the promise of
your Resurrection unto eternal life to those who have believed in your
saving power. We know that through you Lord Jesus we are saved. We
know you are coming again in your glorious majesty to judge the world and
to hold us all accountable for our lives. We pray for your wisdom Lord to
live our lives in a worthy way.
We also pray for your comfort and love on this family as they grieve the loss
of ___________.
Amen.
