The Old Rugged Cross (M. Gilley)
• Friends we have gathered here today in this place to celebrate, remember, and praise God for the life of __________
• Though she may be gone from our daily life, she will never be removed from our thoughts and memories. Through wisdom known only to God, we were privileged to know her, and to have her in our lives for 69 years.
• We acknowledge this day that she has run her race, she has finished her course, and in doing so she left an indelible mark on our world, impacting and helping shape the lives of others, including her husband of more than 50 years, her 3 children, 6 grandchildren, 1 great grandchild, many nephews and nieces, and many other lives which are too numerous to count.
• We all have our memories of __________, mine, as few as they were clearly showed me two things; One – She Loved God, Two – She Loved Others, her life was an example of the greatest commandment lived out in real life.
We All Fall Down (Aerosmith)
• Today we say goodbye, at least for now, to this very special lady. And today, as we stop to remember __________ and all those things that made her unique, who made her who she was, and so special to us, from her love of the color purple, to her love of the Cubs and M&M’s.
• Her gifts were many, as you look around this room you can see several of the beautiful things she created. We all have our memories of __________ … God gives us these memories for a reason, to sustain us in times such as this.
• It is also during seasons of life such as this that we realize that life as we know it is uncertain. Scripture tells us that we’re not guaranteed tomorrow, or even the rest of today for that matter.
• But today we can find comfort that in the fact that Jesus has power over the grave, power over death!
I Still Miss You (Hawk Nelson)
• I’m always amazed how Scripture is so realistic. It contains words and actions, which express the whole range of human emotions, and in some ways the book of Psalms is a composite of the Bible.
• The 150th Psalm is a closing song of Praise. After 149 songs that speak of the human existence, of pain and joy, sorrow and celebration, the psalmist closes with a simple song of praise
• “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”
• And that is what I would say here today. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!”
• I am convinced that the emotions that we are experiencing today are shared with us by God. He loves us, His children and desires the very best for us,
• When we weep, He weeps with us, when we laugh about special times, He laughs with us – there isn’t any part of life that He is absent from.
• We read in John 11 of how Jesus came to the tomb of His friend Lazarus, and how He wept at the death of his friend, but that wasn’t the end of the story, we then read of how he brought him back to life… oh what a celebration that was
• Jesus even overcame death in His own resurrection… oh what a celebration for us. Jesus overcame death and because of Him, we too will as well!
• Today as we celebrate __________ life with us, and how she touched our lives, we can look forward to the day when death will be destroyed, but until that day comes… God is here!
• God is a God of love, one who brings comfort, who brings peace and understanding, but he is also God in all times, past, present and future… and through it all we see the recurring statement “let everything praise the Lord”
• This is a theme that __________ was well aware of, in her Bible, she highlighted a passage from Isaiah 42 – verse 10 says these words;
• “Sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord from the end of the earth! (NAS)
• In this life we sing the praises of God, praises for His blessings, praises for his goodness and love. __________ sang those praises, and she sings them still, today in the presence of God!
I Can Only Imagine (Mercy Me)
• To all the things __________ was to us, today we add one more word to that list- "NEW". In 2nd Corinthians 5:11 we read these words;
• "If any person be in Christ, they are a new creation; old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." (NAS)
• For today __________ has a lot of "NEW" things, including a perfect, a body free from pain, a body fashioned in the image and likeness of Jesus himself. A body she can use to enjoy all the splendors of that place called heaven – from a fallen world, raised up to a perfect eternity.
• My friends, this is a perfect picture of __________ because on the evening of Sunday September 29th the old things passed away and behold, all things indeed became new for her. We can only imagine,
• __________ no longer imagines it, she lives it!
• __________ knew that this world wasn’t the best of all places, but was the place to prepare for the best of all places… Jane made that preparation, have you?
• In all reality we are here today, not because __________ has passed away, but because __________ lived, and now has heard the words that all children of the King long to hear… “Well done good and faithful servant!”
I’ll Fly Away (Statler Brothers)
