FUNERAL SERVICE

A funeral service helps the family to say goodbye to the departed and to find closure. It is an opportunity to bear witness to the Christian faith and hope. The departed has stepped out of time and gone to stand before God. So shall we all. We honor the memory of the departed. I always mention faith in Christ Jesus, repentance, confessing Jesus as Lord, and baptism into Christ. And I say that we leave behind what we have, and take with us what we are. R.D.Ice



For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
John 3:16-17 (NKJV)

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She [Martha] said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."
John 11:25-27 (NKJV)

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
Job 19:25-27 (NKJV)

Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness' sake, O Lord." Psalms 25:6-7 (NKJV)

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39 (NKJV)



HE CARETH
[writer unknown]

What can it mean? Is it aught to Him
That the nights are long and the days are dim?
Can He be touched by the griefs I bear,
Which sadden the heart and whiten the hair?
Around His throne are eternal calms,
And strong, glad music of happy psalms,
And bliss unruffled by any strife;
How can He care for my little life?

And yet I want Him to care for me
While I live in this world where the sorrows be;
When the lights die down from the path I take,
When strength is feeble and friends forsake;
When love and music, that once did bless,
Have left me to silence and loneliness.
And my life song changes to sobbing prayers,
Then my heart cries out for a God who cares.

When shadows hang o'er me the whole day long,
And my spirit is bowed with shame and wrong'
When I am not good, and the deeper shade,
Of conscious sin makes my heart afraid,
And the busy world has too much to do
To stay in its course to help me through,
And I long for a Savior - can it be
That the God of the universe cares for me?

Oh, wonderful story of deathless love!
Each child is dear to that Heart above;
He fights for me when I can not fight,
He comforts me in the gloom of night;
He lifts the burden, for He is strong,
He stills the sigh and awakens the song;
The sorrow that bowed me down He bears,
And loves and pardons because He cares.

Let all who are sad take heart again;
We are not alone in our hours of pain;
Our Father stoops from His throne above
To soothe and quiet us with His love.


THE DAYS OF OUR YEARS

"The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." Ps 90:10.

Death visits all ages. Uncertainty part of the tragedy imposed by sin.

1. LIFE FILLED WITH LABOR AND SORROW.
a) hardships. everybody. tuff love.
b) labor develops character.
c) Suffering mellows personality.

2. COMFORT TO KNOW THIS LIFE TEMPORARY
a) brief - preparation.
b) "heart of wisdom."
c) cooperate with God.

3. THE BEGINNING OF ETERNAL LIFE.
a) we leave what we have - we take what we are.
b) Jesus is Coming Again!
c) no more tears!


Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake. 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.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord .Forever.
Psalms 23:1-6 (NKJV)


TRADITIONAL WORDS AT THE GRAVESIDE
Almighty God, our Father who art in heaven, in thy hands are the living and the dead, and with thee do live the spirits of those who depart in the Lord. With thee are the souls of the faithful, who have been delivered from the burden of their flesh. Into thy hands, O Lord, we commend thy servant Virgil, our dear brother, O faithful Creator and most merciful Savior, beseeching that he might always be precious in thy sight. We pray thee, by the blood of Jesus, that immaculate Lamb who was slain to take away the sins of the world; that, whatsoever defilements he may have contracted in the midst of this earthly life, having been purged and done away with, he may be presented pure and without spot before thee; through the merits of Jesus Christ thine only Son, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

PRAYER
Almighty God, through the death of Christ Jesus on the cross, You have overcome death for us. Through His burial and resurrection from the dead You have made the grave a holy place. You sent Christ Jesus so that the world might be saved.

In Jesus, who rose from the dead, our hope dawned of being raised to life at the end of the world. Our great sadness of death gives way to the bright promise of eternal life. Lord, because of You, life is changed, but not ended. When this body of our earthly dwelling lies in death, we hope for an everlasting dwelling with You in heaven.

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might; heaven and earth are full of Your glory. We come to You, Father, with praise and thanksgiving, through Your Son Jesus Christ.

Remember us who are gathered here today to honor this one who has departed life. You know how firmly we believe in You, O God. Comfort our hearts, wrap Your arms of love around us. Be merciful in judging us.

We commit this body to the dust of earth. We know the spirit has returned to You, O God. We wait in hope for the Coming of our Lord Jesus.

A reading from the Gospel of John 11:25f
Our Lord Jesus said: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? She [Martha] said to Him, Yes Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.

Closing Prayer
Thank You, O Lord, for the gift of memory. Help us to hold in our minds the days of our departed brother, both the good and also the bad, since they are all part of life. Wrap Your arms of love around each of us and draw us close to Yourself. Help each one of us with our journey of faith as we walk into the future. As our Lord Jesus arose from the dead, alive forevermore, please give us new bodies and new life in the Great Resurrection at the End of the World. Thank You O Lord, in Jesus' Name. Amen.