FUNERAL TALK

OPEN – Have everyone stand.

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord.

He that believes in me, though he was dead, shall live again.

And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

We know that our Redeemer lives.

And that He shall stand at the last days upon the earth.

And though our bodies will be destroyed, we will see God.

Jesus, we will see for ourselves and our eyes will behold him, and not as a stranger.

For none of us lives by ourselves… and no man dies by himself.

For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord.

Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.

For the Spirit says they are able to rest from all their labors.

The Lord be with you NAME and with your Spirit.

LET US PRAY

O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered, accept our prayers on behalf of NAME and grant him an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of the saints …through Jesus Christ your Son and our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, AMEN.

REMEMBERENCE – you may be seated.

Read obituary here.

Tell stories of their life.

SERMON

There are so many things that can be said at the passing of a loved one. There are many stories to be told of the good times …and the bad. There are some memories to be cherished and some that we wish to forget. King Solomon tells us that there is a time for all these things in Ecclesiastes 3…

² A time to be born and a time to die.
      A time to plant and a time to harvest.
 ³ A time to kill and a time to heal.
      A time to tear down and a time to build up.
 ⁴ A time to cry and a time to laugh.
      A time to grieve and a time to dance.
 ⁵ A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
      A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
 ⁶ A time to search and a time to quit searching.
      A time to keep and a time to throw away.
 ⁷ A time to tear and a time to mend.
      A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
 ⁸ A time to love and a time to hate.
      A time for war and a time for peace.

Today, as family and friends of NAME, you may be in any one of those times of life, but I want to encourage you that above all this is a time for 2 things.

First, this is a TIME TO LOVE: a time to remember the love that you had for NAME during his life. This is a time to love each other. To be together as family and pursue relationship with each other. To comfort one another. To keep no record of wrongs and forgive. A time to be patient, kind and encouraging. A time to love those closest to you and cherish every moment that you have with them, because one of the things that life teaches us regularly is that “Our time is short.” This is a TIME TO LOVE and not despair.

Despair can overwhelm you, so second this must become a TIME FOR HOPE: a time to place our hope that Jesus, in the midst of despair, went to the grave and conquered all sin and death so that we might have life. This is a time to both place our HOPE in Jesus and his resurrection… and to HOPE in the future that we all can have after our days on earth are over. A time to pursue the hope that comes from Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” Hope that Jesus can turn death into dancing… that he can change darkness to light …that he alone has the power to bring us all together again one day in the fullness of his heavenly Kingdom.

Add personal to the deceased here.

SCRIPTURE – I’d like to read the following Scripture filled with the hope and love of Jesus.

Revelation 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.[a] 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

While we are hurting from our loss here, we know that  NAME’s faith has paved a way for him to be free and rejoicing in Heaven where all loss, grief and pain are no longer to be found!

One old book I was reading yesterday, says is this way…

“Give rest, O Jesus, to your servant with your saints… where sorrow and pain are no more, but a life everlasting.

You only are immortal, the creator of all mankind; and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and unto the earth shall we return. For you spoke when you created us, saying, “Dust you are, and to dust will you return.” All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song “Hallelujah!”

Give rest, O Jesus, to your servant with your saints… where sorrow and pain are no more, but a life everlasting.”

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend  NAME. Acknowledge him, we pray, as a sheep of your fold, a lamb of your flock, a sinner of your redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of heaven. AMEN.

For those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus, we are hopeful that the fullness of God’s presence is where  NAME now resides… He is now in the arms of love NO barrier in between him and God… and someday, we will join him in an eternal dance of joy before our loving and gracious Father.

FAMILY WORDS - At this time, we’d like to give a chance for any family or friends to share with us.

Closing MEDITATION (bow heads)

All that the Father gives me will come to me.

And him that comes to me I will in no way cast out.

He that raised up Jesus from the dead will also give life you our mortal bodies by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore my heart is glad and my spirit rejoices.

My flesh will also rest in this hope.

You shall show me the path of life.

In your presence Lord is the fullness of joy

And at your right hand there is pleasure forever.

In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through Jesus Christ, we commend to the Almighty God our brother  NAME.

And we commit his body to its resting place: earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

The Lord bless him and keep him, the Lord make his face shine upon him and be gracious to him, the Lord lift up his countenance upon him and give him peace.

PRAYER