FUNERAL THOUGHTS
TRADITIONAL
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)
"And as it is
appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was
offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He
will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."
Heb 9:27-28 (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)
Precious in the sight of
the Lord Is the death of His saints. Psalms 116:15 (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 Samantha, our dear sister,
O faithful Creator and most merciful Savior, beseeching that she 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 she may have contracted in the midst of this
earthly life, having been purged and done away with, she 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 sister, 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.
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