This past weekend, I went to Kingwood, West Virginia for a funeral service for my wife's grandmother Sally Phipps. This would be John Ervin's mother or better known to me as "Grandma Sally". I had the privilege of taking part in the service by giving a eulogy and reading Scripture. The Pastor who officiated the service was very gracious to share the service with me which he didn't have to do. He certainly was capable of handling the service and did a tremendous job of preaching the gospel. He spoke of the comforts that come from God's Word during our time of grieving. A couple of thoughts that he emphasized were:
- the comfort of knowing that we have a Sovereign God who is over and in all things. Reminding us that Grandma Sally's passing was not outside of our Heavenly Father's particular love and care for our family.
- the comfort of the gospel. The good news of Jesus' saving work on the cross brings hope to us in our time of grieving. We do grieve the loss, but not as if there is no hope. Our hope is in Christ whose death and resurrection guarantees life everlasting for those who trust and rest in Him.
And he ended the service by quoting the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism which says, "What is thy only comfort in life and death?"
And the answer: "That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him".
As you can tell, it was a beautiful service and I was blessed to be along side of Pastor Mike Argabrite of Grace Chapel Baptist Church. All of the people of this church were such a blessing as they served our family a funeral dinner and encouraged us with their love and grace. Once again, it was a beautiful display of the body of Christ caring for its own! So, whether in Warren, Ohio with my home church or 4 hours away in Kingwood, West Virginia, God displays His love and kindness through His people. Praise the Lord!
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing Jerry. I am putting the finishing touches on my sermon on "Joy" this week, and the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism with its answer is the perfect concluding thought.
Praying for you and your family!
The Lord just keeps amazing me! I was actually praying for your folks and you, Jen and your family, then came in to check "mail" and found your post! Our church has had a number of people leave us to go before our King...the most recent funeral being this past Monday. What a blessing when our Pastor said the wife of the deceased let him look through her husband's Bible to get an idea of what to preach about for the funeral!! Oh, how I long to be so faithful! So it sounds like "Grandma Sally" will have plenty of company before the throne of Our Lord! Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!
Karen Ward
The first question of the Heidelberg is my favorite summarization of the Gospel...it shows the warmth and grace of God to deliver us from the misery of our sin and make us His children. Our sincere condolences to your family. We really love your family and are glad to be in Classical Conversations together.
Shawn Vitu
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