Good evening, we've come together this evening to
praise God, to be a witness of our Christian faith, and
to celebrate and honor the life of ________________.
Scripture: Psalm 23: A Psalm of David.
"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me
beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides
me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I 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 have anointed my head with oil; My cup
overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all
the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the
LORD forever."
Prayer:
John 14:1-6 says; "'Do not let your heart be troubled;
believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's
house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I
would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again
and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you
may be also. And you know the way where I am going.'
Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where You
are going, how do we know the way?' Jesus said to
him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one
comes to the Father but through Me.'"
When Jesus said this He knew in a few hours He
would be hanging on a cross for you and me, so He
prepared His disciples to face the future without fear.
He told His disciples, "Do not let your hearts be
troubled ", we can also apply this to our own hearts
and lives today.
As Christians, we're exposed to troubles, sorrow and
suffering sometimes on a daily basis.
This scripture teaches us is that while we can't prevent
the losses in our life, we are able to find the strength in
the Lord to get us through them.
When Jesus suggested to us that we "trust in God; and
trust also in Christ." He was actually saying, "You have
trusted God, now it's time to trust in Me!"
Jesus reveals something amazing to us in verse 2. "In
My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were
not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a
place for you."
This is one of the greatest truths found in the Bible, it's
saying that God is someplace very real. And those
(dwelling places??), that actually translates to
"mansions". So, what Jesus is teaching us is that in
God's house, which is in an actual place called heaven,
there are many mansions.
That gives me great comfort, that I can know for sure
that Jesus has already prepared a mansion in heaven
for ____________ and for all those who love Him.
It puts my heart as ease to know that one day I'm going
to my Father's house He built for me, and I pray you
have that great comfort as well.
My Father's house is where I'm always accepted and
loved. My Father's house is where I am not a guest,
but where I'm a resident. That's home!!
How can you and I know for certain there's a place
called heaven? Because God says there is, and for me
that settles it.
The second great truth we learn from this passage is
that Jesus will come back.
Stop and think about that for a moment. Jesus isn't just
going to just write out some instructions for us or give
us a heavenly GPS to find our own way to home; but
He's going to come back and take us by the hand and
personally lead us to our Father's house.
The Apostle Paul explained this truth when he wrote in
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18: "For the Lord Himself will
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the
dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and
remain will be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall
always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one
another with these words."
____________ died in the Lord, knowing Christ as her
personal Lord and Savior, so that means when Christ
comes again on that great resurrection morning,
_______ will have a head start on those who are living
in Christ, because "the dead in Christ will rise first."
Another great truth from this passage in John 14 is that
we will be with the Lord Jesus Christ forever. To me,
that's what makes heaven so wonderful.
When our lives are focused upon Christ, we can be
sure that one day, we will walk in glory with Him.
Oh, we grieve the death of a loved one but the death of
a Christian is a wonderful thing! For the battle is over
and Christ has won the victory over death for us.
___________ is no longer subject to time, as we know
it, and the next thing she will see is her Savior's face. A
person doesn't go to heaven to find Christ, they go to
Christ to find heaven!
This scripture in John is the greatest promise of hope
that Jesus ever made.
When we focus our lives on Jesus, we will walk hand in
hand with Him in victory. Jesus takes care of your past,
your present, and He has already prepared your future.
I am thankful that I can count ______________ as my
personal friend. As ____________ pastor these past 2
years, I have known her as a kind, gentle, not so soft
spoken woman who was at peace and very much
content with her life.
The other day, when we realized the __________ was
close to death, I went and prayed with her and she was
patting my hand and I leaned in and told her to hold the
door for me when she get's to heaven.
She looked at me and smiled and kissed me on the
cheek. I believe she was telling me, "Steve, you're my
pastor, but you're also my friend!"
She would always make you feel at good and bless
your heart with her warm smile and friendship.
________ wasn't wealthy, but she gave her family and
friends something much more precious that wealth.
She gave her unconditional love and devotion freely
and was always concerned for others.
She became the protector and guide for her friend
_____ at the nursing home because _____ couldn't
see very well and could hear less then she could see.
You always knew that if _________ said she would do
something, she would. She was always good for what
she promised. Now, God has completed His promises
to _________.
____________ reassured me, before God called her,
that she was secure in the hands of our wise and
merciful God.
I pray that each of you here are resting assured in the
knowledge that you're going home one day to your
mansion just as _________ was.
May our God of mercy and peace help us today to
continue to find our comfort and strength in Him. And
may God bless the memory of ______________, who
loves God and will dwell with Him eternally.
