The text that I have chosen for Bernice’s funeral comes from John 11:17-27.

¹⁷Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. ²⁰ So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Here ends our text.

Frank, Lynnda, Penny, Rosey, family and friends of Bernice, one need not look any further to the front of the sanctuary to see why we are here today. Today we come together to grieve the loss of a mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. As we look towards the altar, we see before us the body of Bernice, and that is all that we see, just a body. What is missing is the soul of Bernice. Some may wonder what happened to the soul. Bernice had no question what would happen to her at the point of death because she had the assurance that she was a baptized child of God. Because she was a baptized child of God, she knew that when her Lord called her name, she would be with Christ forever. For those of us gathered here today, we can be sure of that fact as well.

As we look at our text for today, we see Jesus enter Bethany to find that His close friend Lazarus has died and has been buried. When Jesus meets up with Martha, she tells Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Poor, poor Martha. If only she knew what she was saying, then maybe she would have chosen her words more carefully. All she wanted was to have her brother alive with her again. Isn’t that what we want today, to have Bernice and all of our loved ones with us again? We have exactly what we want, just not how we want it.

To get this answer, we look to the words of Jesus to Martha: “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” For Martha, it was her faith in Jesus that caused her to call for Jesus in her hour of bereavement. For those of us gathered here today, it is our faith in Jesus that we turn to in our hour of bereavement. It is that same faith that Bernice clung to all the days of her life, even unto the end.

If there was one thing that she valued more than her family, it was her faith. In all of my visits with her when I would bring her the body and blood of her Lord, she would always confess her sins. She knew who and what she was. She knew that she was a damned sinner, just like everyone else she knew, without any favor with God. But she also knew that on account of Jesus Christ and His life, death, and resurrection, she was forgiven of all her sins.

The faith that Bernice had is what brought Bernice comfort in her final days. She had no doubt what would happen to her when she breathed her last breath on Tuesday. She knew that because of Jesus, her eternal salvation was secure. Notice what I said. She knew that because of Jesus, not herself. She knew that she could never earn her salvation because she was a sinner. There was nothing that she could ever do to save herself, regardless of how hard she tried. She knew that. She knew the only answer must be Jesus.

God provided the means of salvation for Bernice and God provides that means of salvation for you as well. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross was the best thing that could ever happen for Bernice, and she would be the first person to tell you that. As Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. And because He rose again, so also will Bernice, and so will we.

Jesus does not just foretell a resurrection of the end times. He is the Resurrection. This sacred truth was on Bernice’s lips throughout her lifetime. She received the Resurrection and the Life in the very body and blood of Jesus in her Lord’s Supper. There she received the forgiveness of her sins and the strengthening of faith.

Bernice was first resurrected in the waters of her baptism. Last Tuesday she was raised forever from this world of pain and sorrow. And on the last day, when all of the graves are opened, she and all those who are asleep shall rise to be reunited with their bodies to live forever in the presence of God.

While it is natural for us to mourn, we do not grieve as those who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who fall asleep in Jesus. For the Lamb has been sacrificed. Christ Jesus died to atone for your sins, as well, and He was raised again for you so that you may be with our Lord forever. In His innocent suffering and death, Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world – for Bernice, for you and for me.

Our heavenly Father assures eternal life to all those who believe. Bernice was one who was counted in that rank. For you, her family, that was her wish for you, that you would remain faithful to God, just as He promises to remain faithful to you. For all of us gathered today, that is the desire of God our heavenly Father: [that] “all people [would] be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” That truth is only found in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us on Good Friday, only to take it up again on Easter Sunday where He rose victoriously over sin and death, once and for all, so that we would be triumphant over sin and death and have everlasting life in Him.

Do not doubt the promise that God has made to you through Jesus Christ. When God makes a promise, He keeps that promise. He promised to send forth a Savior to redeem this sinful and fallen world, and He did. That Savior promised to Martha at the death of Lazarus that all who believe in Him will never die. That is a promise that Bernice believed in and clung to until her dying breath. And now, that promise has been fulfilled for Bernice, as she enjoys the eternal riches in heaven, won for her by Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text that I have chosen for Don’s funeral comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

¹³ But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁵ For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Here ends our text.

Donna, Gail, family and friends of Don, funerals and grief go together. Sadness and bereavement are normal when a loved one dies; but there is a significant difference in the type of grief evidenced at funerals.

On the one hand, there are many funerals where the sorrow of the bereaved is inconsolable, where widows or widowers and children of the deceased weep and lament without hope. Nothing anyone says or does can dispel their grief. On the other hand, at Christian funerals, the bereaved also experience great sadness, but mixed with their sadness is their Christian hope, which enables them to dry their tears and even smile in the midst of their sorrow.

St. Paul speaks of this significant difference in grieving when he writes in the words of our text, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” The apostle goes on to say that believers in Christ, by contrast, grieve with hope! This hope is expressed in the closing words of the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in . . . the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”

Today, as we come together in a time of grief, we remember a father, a friend who is no longer with us. To say that we are saddened is an understatement. We know that death is that unnatural natural, a result of man’s sin. As we see a loved one advance in age, see their health begin to deteriorate, we begin to try to mentally prepare ourselves for that day that our Lord calls our loved one home, but it doesn’t make it any easier when it happens. There is no way that we can truly prepare ourselves for the moment of death, but there is One who does and has prepared us for death: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our Lord came into a sin-broken world in order to make things right once again with God. Because of Don’s sin and the sin of the entire world, our Lord took on human flesh so that He could live the perfect life that Don and we could not. Our Lord went to the cross, taking Don’s sins and ours with Him so that we would not have to bear them. Our Lord died the death that was meant for Don and us and in turn, gave to us the gift of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

We grieve with hope because we do not have to fear death. There is probably nothing in life that people fear more than death. This fear is demonstrated in the fact that we avoid the noun death and the verb die. In medical circles, a patient doesn’t die; instead, he or she “expires.” In daily conversation, we often employ the euphemism “passed away” rather than say that a person has died. But for us believers in Christ, we need not fear death. In fact, we embrace death when it comes because we know that death is not the end, but rather, it is eternal life in heaven with God our heavenly Father. That is the joy that Don now experiences. He is enjoying that everlasting life where there is no sickness and no pain. He is enjoying that everlasting life with those who have departed this life in the faith, including his wife Elsie and his son Donald.

We turn to the words of Jesus for our comfort at death: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” For those who trust and believe in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and life, death is but the door into heaven. By His death and triumphant resurrection, Jesus has made complete payment for all sins, including that of Don. And so now our departed brother rests from his labors in the fullness of heaven.

St. Paul uses the wonderful language of those who have “fallen asleep.” What a wonderful experience sleep is, especially if one is tired after a long day of work. That is what happened to Don early Sunday morning – he fell asleep in Jesus. I’m sure that in the last days of Don’s life when he knew that his life was coming to an end, he did not fear death because he knew what was in store for him – he knew he was going to receive the crown of life. Don had great faith in the words of David: “Even 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.” When St. Paul refers to death as a sleep, he is saying in a very powerful way that you and I who believe in Jesus do not have to be afraid of death any more than we are afraid of falling asleep at the end of the day.

Today, we grieve with hope because we can look forward to eternal life. This was something that Don was very sure of for a very long time. He knew that on account of what Christ had done for him and not what he had done, that he had been granted that gift of the forgiveness of sins and that he would receive everlasting life. I know Don believed that because he spoke so fondly of what Jesus had done for him. For you, his children, he wants you to know that as well. Because of Jesus Christ and His life, death, and resurrection, all of your sins, past, present, and future have been forgiven. They have been atoned for and you have been declared not guilty.

We who believe in Jesus Christ do not grieve without hope because Christ our Lord gives us hope because He gives us everlasting life. And what a glorious day that will be for us when God our heavenly Father calls us to Him, just as He did for Don on Sunday. As St. Paul says, “…and so we will always be with the Lord.” In these coming days of grief and sorrow, know that you will always have at your side a Lord who cares for you. This is His promise to you: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Know that the Lord’s care for you gives you power by God’s grace to wait for that great reunion of the saints when Christ comes in glory.

I leave you with these words of the psalmist David: “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” As you grieve, grieve as those with hope, because that is exactly what you have. Trust in God, grateful for the earthly life that he has granted to Don and the many memories we have. Rejoice in knowing that now he lays safely in the arms of Jesus, who is our good shepherd. Amen.

The text that I have chosen for Loren’s funeral is Isaiah 49:13-16.

¹³ Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. ¹⁴ But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” ¹⁵ “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. ¹⁶ Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

Here ends our text.

Kathy, Bev, and Diana, Monday was a day that had been at times long coming, while at times seemed sudden. Regardless of whether it was sudden or long coming, it doesn’t make today any easier. The fact of the matter is that we are gathered to mourn the loss of a father, a brother, a grandfather, a great-grandfather and a friend.

At age 82, it is safe to say that Loren lived a long and good life. However, that wasn’t always the case. To bury a spouse is something that can be expected, but to bury a child is the most of unnatural things to do. Loren had to do this not once, but four times.

All of this can be devastating to a person. It can take a toll on a person, both physically and mentally. The prophet Isaiah experienced hardships and difficulties in his life. He brought good news to the people of God’s promise of salvation while at other times, he was the bearer of bad news and judgment from God to the people. As we look at our text, we see how distraught Israel was in thinking that God had forsaken and forgotten them. The reason why Israel felt this way was because of the many grievous sins they had committed. But throughout the many and various sins the people of Israel committed, God never forgot them. God could never forget them because Israel was His chosen people.

Just as God did not forget Israel, so did God not forget Loren. In all of his adversity, he still had a promise from God. In His Baptism, God placed His name on Loren and made him His beloved child. He forgave him all of his sins and granted to him the gift of everlasting life. This was a promise that God made to Loren and it was a promise that God kept, just as He keeps every promise He makes to His people.

Death comes upon us all because of our sinful condition. We all are mortal, meaning that one day, we too, will die. The reason is because we inherited our sinful, mortal condition from our first parents, Adam and Eve. Not only do we have that original sin, we also are guilty of that sin that we ourselves commit.

Even in our wretchedness of sin, God did not abandon us. God saw fit to send to us a Savior in the person of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been redeemed; our sins have been forgiven. All are wiped clean by our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered on the cross for the sins of all people, including Loren. Jesus died. Death came to Him as a member of the human race, though He was without sin. His resurrection from the grave is our comfort and our hope in all aspects of our Christian life and especially at this time.

The words that Isaiah records from God are words that indeed bring comfort to us because they are a promise to us: “Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” Focus your eyes and look closer into our Lord’s hands. On the palms of our Lord’s hands something is engraved. The Lord says, “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” Inscribed in the two palms of the hands of the Lord God Almighty, you are there! St. Paul writes, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” From eternity you have been in the mind of God and inscribed in the palms of His hands and that is where Loren has been.

God is not a God of “cheap grace,” easy forgiveness. The payment for our sins cost Him the life of His Son—our Savior. But by Christ’s death and resurrection, we are forgiven people. God declares us righteous—made right again in His eyes—through Christ’s atoning work for us. We cannot save ourselves. Christ did save us. And He wants the assurance and peace and comfort and hope of that forgiveness to be a living reality in our daily lives. God says: “I have redeemed you . . . you are Mine.”

Loren believed that. He was baptized and knew he was a forgiven child of God. And that’s what he has right now: life with God. Three words sum up Loren’s state right now. These three words are “with the Lord.” That’s what life eternal is: being in the presence of the eternal God who is love. That is joyful bliss beyond all description.

As you grieve today and in the days to come, rejoice in the fact that your Lord has called Loren home to be with Him and the children that God saw fit to call unto Him. Amen.

The text that I have chosen for Norma’s memorial service is 1 Corinthians 15:12-26.

¹² Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Here ends our text.

Sharon, Douglas, Paul, Linda, Kari, Peggy, and Bryce, friends of Norma, we are here because our sister in the faith has died. Friday, her family and friends faced the loss of Norma from their midst. Now we are here together. Each of us bears a sadness. Each of us feels an emptiness that comes when someone near and dear to us is suddenly gone. While some may seek comfort in the hope that time heals all wounds, as Christians we turn to the Word of God, where we find comfort and joy as God’s people.

One thing that we all share in common with Norma is our sinful condition. Each and every one of us is a sinner. St. Paul says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That is not something that any of us want to hear or even acknowledge. However, it makes it none the less true. That statement is an all-true reminder of who we are. That statement means that we are separated from God and His glory. It means that we are separated from His righteousness. That is the result of our sin. That was the result of Norma’s sin. Fortunately for Norma and for us, that is not the condition in which we find ourselves today – eternally separated from God.

Because of all of this, we sit here today, mourning the death of one of God’s beloved children. One question that we ask ourselves is this: is death final? Is this all that there is for Norma or for any of us? How do we handle the possibility of death? Some people believe we can overcome its intrusion, that surely the medical advancements of today postpone death; but every medical doctor admits that 100 percent of their patients eventually die. Others believe life is a matter of sheer will. Still others ignore the possibility of death or shrug their shoulders and say, “It’s fate.” No human answer is satisfactory.

The answer that we have is this one from Romans: “For the wages of sin is death.” Death is inevitable. Death is the ultimate result of our sin and there is no way to get around it, at least not from anything that you and I could ever do. God saw it fit to redeem His creation from the Fall into sin. He sent to His creation the means of salvation from the effects of sin and death. He sent to us His Son Jesus. Because of Jesus, we have life. Because of Jesus, Norma has life.

In our text, St. Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians, who grew up disbelieving in the physical resurrection of the dead. For them, death was the final statement in any person’s life. Paul responded with the Good News of the Gospel. First, that God’s Son took the sins of the world upon Himself and died to pay that terrible debt. But death was not the last word in Jesus’ life. Second, God raised Jesus from the dead as acknowledgment of His Son’s payment. Because Jesus was raised, His death for our sins was accepted. Jesus was raised for our justification, that is, we are made right with God through Jesus’ payment.

What Paul is proclaiming is truth. Our faith, which hears these words and accepts them, is not useless; it holds solid comfort. We are not still in our sins, stuck in the dead-end direction of damnation. Those who die in the hope of their Lord are not lost. They live in Him.

Today, we celebrate the fact that our sister in Christ now enjoys the full joys of heaven. Norma clung to the promises found in God’s Word. It was God’s Word that called Norma to receive the gift of life in the promises of her Baptism. She confirmed her belief in Christ as a young woman. She bore witness to her faith in Christ by worshiping the Lord. She heard and responded to the promise our Lord made in His Last Supper, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus was the living bread in her life, and in Jesus she knew she had eternal life. God worked grace in Norma’s life through the Word, and by the power of the Spirit Norma received the gift of life in Jesus’ name. Norma believed her sins were fully paid for on the cross and that her dear Lord won for her eternal life by grace through faith. This was Norma’s witness, what she believed. And this was her hope that he shared with you her children.

For us, we are left in this world grieving at the loss of a mother and of a friend. We do not grieve as those without hope. We do not have to wonder if Christ has been raised from the dead. We do not have to wonder if there is a resurrection of the dead. The fact that Jesus is risen from the dead declares that He did, in fact, die. He has paid the price for your sins and for Norma by His suffering and death—and He has been raised from the dead for our justification. You need not ever wonder if God the Father has accepted the sacrifice of Jesus for you. You know that the Father is well-pleased with His Son, for He has raised Jesus from the dead. And if the Father is well-pleased with His Son’s Passion and death, then you can be certain that forgiveness is yours—because Jesus is risen from the dead. While we mourn today, we look to that joy that we have forever because of Christ, a joy in knowing that we will be with those who have died in the faith, but more importantly, a joy where we will be with Him. Sharon, Douglas, Paul, Linda, Kari, Peggy, and Bryce, look to Jesus, for He alone can give victory, a victory that He has granted to Norma and a victory that He grants to you as well. Amen.

The text I have chosen for Dorothy’s funeral is Isaiah 61:10

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Here ends our text.

Maxine, Carol, and David, family and friends, it is the season of Christmas, a time of rejoicing and celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Instead, we gather today in mourning, or at least, that’s what you might think.

As hard as it might be, this is precisely the right time that we should be rejoicing and celebrating, not only for the birth of our Savior, but also for Dorothy as well. We rejoice and celebrate because our sister in Christ is now with Christ. She has left the valley of the shadow of death and she now rests in the everlasting light and life of Jesus Christ.

If there was anyone who would want you to mourn less, it would be Dorothy. It’s not because she doesn’t want you to worry or care about her or to mourn her passing. The reason why she would not want you to mourn is because there is nothing to mourn. Dorothy knew that. She knew that her time on this earth would be limited. She knew that one day, she would die. For Dorothy, that day happened to be last Wednesday. But she also knew that when she died, this would not be the end of her life. She knew that because God had placed His name upon her, that because Jesus Christ came to live and to die for her, she would have eternal life. She knew what would happen when she drew her last breath on this earth. She knew that her loving Father would welcome her with open and waiting arms.

That is why we should not mourn but rejoice! We should rejoice because of the eternal life that Dorothy received! Yes, it will be hard to rejoice when right now it feels only natural to mourn, but like all things, this too shall pass. If there was one who knew sorrow and mourning, it was David. But even for all the sorrow and mourning David experienced, he was able to say, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!”

We have every reason to rejoice at death and now is one of the two best times to rejoice because of what we celebrated on Sunday, the birth of Jesus Christ. We can and should rejoice because God sent Jesus for us, He sent Jesus for Dorothy. Because of the birth of Jesus, we know that Jesus is our Immanuel, God with us. We know that God is for us and that God is in us, redeeming us, giving to us his gracious gift of forgiveness of sins, something that Dorothy received all those many years ago in her Baptism, something that she heard every Sunday in church. And in the last few years when she was at the Beehive and Pioneer Manor, she heard them pronounced for her also.

On account of the work of Jesus Christ, we know that when we breathe our last breath, there will be more to our life than the years we live on this earth. We know that we too will see the face of Christ and the heavenly room He has prepared for us. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we will have everlasting life. St. Paul reminds us, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

We are able to come together not as those who have no hope, but those who know the hope that we have received through Jesus Christ. We rejoice as Dorothy rejoices – not in our accomplishments but in what Jesus has accomplished for us. We have received the gift of salvation through His atoning sacrifice for us. When God speaks to us in this way, when He comes to give us a garment of salvation, a robe of righteousness, it is most certainly better for us to receive than to give. In fact, when God speaks pure words of grace and mercy to us, there is really nothing we can give. God’s grace is complete. It is absolute. It is perfect. It lacks nothing and consequently nothing can be added to it.

It is God working righteousness for us, not us working righteousness for God. Dorothy could never do anything for God than to simply receive from His bountiful goodness. There is nothing that any of us can do except to receive from God. God gives and we are merely capable of receiving, nothing more. For 90 years, Dorothy received from the Lord: she received His gift of God’s name. She received the gift of forgiveness. She received His gift of body and blood which was given and shed for the forgiveness of her sins. She received His gift of everlasting life for her. She was covered with the robe of righteousness, the righteousness that she desperately needed but could not earn. The robe of righteousness that she received was not something that could be bought, earned or achieved. The robe of righteousness was given to her by Jesus Christ, won for her by His death on the cross. That very robe of righteousness that she received is what Christ brings to you as well. God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

For you Maxine, Carol, and David, you will mourn today and in the days ahead. But the joy that you have is the ability to rejoice – rejoice in the faith that Dorothy had, the faith given to her in her Baptism, the faith that gave to her everlasting life. Rejoice because this dear sister in Christ is now with Christ. Rejoice, for one day, we too shall stand with Dorothy and all the saints who have gone before as we gaze upon Christ, our heavenly King. Amen.

The text I have chosen for Ray’s funeral is Isaiah 43:1-3a, 25.

¹But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. ²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. ³For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…. ²⁵“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Here ends our text.

Shirley and Sandy, gathered family and friends, hear the words that the prophet Isaiah speaks and listen to them very closely: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” These are words that God our heavenly Father spoke to the Israelites while they were captives in Babylon, carried away from their own land because of their sin. They had been far from faithful: they’d become rebellious runaways who wanted nothing to do with the Lord, who snatched everything He gave to them and used it for their own desires. They’d put their trust in other gods for protection, and the Lord had let them have their wish: He left it to those gods protect them.

But the Lord was not all about anger. Despite their rebelliousness, God was still faithful. He had created them, formed them as His people – and He had promised that the Savior of the nations would be born among them.

We are just like the Israelites of old. We have been far from faithful. We have become rebellious runaways who want nothing to do with God. Fortunately for us, God wants everything to do with us. In just a matter of days, we will celebrate the coming of the Savior of the nations for us, to redeem a people of sin. That is precisely what God did for Ray. All those many years ago, in His Baptism, all of his sins of past, present, and future were forgiven. Because of the saving work of Jesus Christ, Ray now rests from his labors in the eternal glories of heaven.

The words that Isaiah records for us are words of hope, just as they are words of hope to the ancient Israelites. They remind us that God has not left us forsaken in our sins. He has not left us without a means of salvation. He reminds us that He has redeemed us and called us by name. Just as everything looked grim and bleak for the Israelites, God gives to them hope. The hope that He promised to them was Jesus Christ. It was the saving work of Jesus that forgave them all of their sins. It was Jesus who redeemed them. Today, we give thanks that Jesus has forgiven Ray all of his sins. We give thanks that Jesus has redeemed Ray, “a lost and condemned person, purchased and won [him] from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil…. All this He does only out of father, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in [Ray].”

What great comfort in knowing that because of God’s divine goodness and mercy our sins are forgiven. It is reassuring to us to know that God forgives out of love for us and not something that we have done. I am sure that it can be said that Ray was a good man. He was a loving husband, a loving father. He was a great employee, a great friend. All the way around, it can be said that Ray was a great man. But even for how great a man Ray was, one fact remains: Ray was a sinner, just as you and I are. Ray was damned and condemned for his sins, yet he received the gift of everlasting life; not because of what he did but because of what Jesus Christ did for him. All of us are damned and condemned sinners, yet for those that God calls His beloved children, we stand before Him as holy and sinless because the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed us from our sins. When God looks upon His servant Ray, He doesn’t see a man damned and condemned but instead sees the holiness and righteousness that He has received from Jesus Christ and His life, death, and resurrection.

Isaiah records for us, “I have called you by name, you are mine.” Ray received the crown of life from Jesus Christ because God made it so. He stands in the company of the saints who have gone before him in the faith. He is reunited with his bride Ella, sharing together what would have been their 68^th anniversary.

The Lord has called Ray and He has called you by name. He has put His name on Ray and you. He has redeemed Ray and you. This was not without cost: He has paid a ransom for you. But the ransom was “not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.”

This was the comfort that Ray had all the days of his life. He was comforted in knowing that because of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, one day he would stand before his God in all holiness and righteousness. He cherished this fact, a fact that he heard each and every Sunday. Seated each week in nearly the same pew, he would hear the same thing: he was a sinner, but he was forgiven. He would hear the love of God for him. He would hear of the forgiveness granted to him by God through Jesus Christ. Why was it so important for Ray to hear this week in and week out? Why is it so important for you to hear it week in and week out, day in and day out? We need to be reminded of the love that God has for us in Christ Jesus, for Paul tells the Romans, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Ray knew who he was and he knew what had been done for him. This was not something that he took lightly, because he knew the cost of his redemption was not something that came lightly – it came at the cost of God’s one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

The psalmist David says, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Ray should have received everlasting hell and condemnation on account of his sins. Instead, he received the opposite of that; he received everlasting life. God has chosen not to remember his sins or the sins of any of His beloved children because of what Jesus has done. Our comfort lies in the same comfort that Ray had: the comfort of sins forgiven by Jesus Christ. Through Christ, we are able to believe the words of God through the prophet Isaiah, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Amen.

The text I have chosen for George’s funeral comes from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24.

¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰Do not despise prophecies, ²¹but test everything; hold fast what is good. ²²Abstain from every form of evil. ²³Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Here ends our text.

Ann, Diann, Don, and Dan, here we are gathered again. It just seems like yesterday we were here in remembrance of your mother. It is hard to believe that it’s been seven months. Now we are gathered in remembrance of your father. As hard as it might be after losing both of your parents, we need to focus on the words of St. Paul: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Now you might be wondering how that is even possible. How is it possible to rejoice when you have buried both of your parents? How are you to give thanks at a time like this? It is very difficult on one hand, but very simple on the other. As long as we live in this world, it will be very difficult to rejoice always, especially at times like these. We would be hard pressed, even at the best times of our lives, to give thanks in all circumstances. Because of our sinful nature, it’s just not possible. We are selfish people, especially when it comes to our loved ones. We would do almost anything to have just another day with our loved ones, especially those who have died. However, that is our own selfish nature and not God’s desire. According to Psalm 139, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” We live the exact number of days according to God’s timetable – not one day more and not one day less, and for George, that last day came Friday.

As hard as it may be, now is indeed a good time to rejoice. We rejoice in the fact that George has died and is now with Christ. We rejoice in the fact that George was called to the waters of Holy Baptism where he was given the title, “child of God” and had God’s name placed upon him. We rejoice in knowing that through Holy Baptism, George received the forgiveness of his sins: past, present, and future. We rejoice in the fact that George received the crown of eternal life, won for him by Jesus Christ.

This wonderful gift of Jesus Christ was given to George and he was most grateful for it. This is what he treasured because it was a gift from God. And for this wonderful gift, George gave thanks. He gave thanks for the bountiful richness of life that God granted to him and to you his family. He gave thanks for the times when there was plenty and he gave thanks for the times when there was nothing. He took the words of St. Paul to heart: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

For George, there was never a time when he didn’t give thanks. Even in the last days of his life, he would thank the kitchen staff of Pioneer Manor for the food they served him, even if he couldn’t eat it. He did it not just because it was the nice and polite thing to do, but because it was what the Christian was to do.

Today, all of us gathered here today give thanks to God for George. Some may give thanks because he was a great person or he did great things. I don’t think any of us would question whether or not George was a good person, but that’s not the reason why we give thanks to God. We give thanks to God because God made George His beloved child through Jesus Christ. God made George a saint. Some may have some reservation calling a person a saint, but not us, because we know that George is indeed a saint; not because of the things George said or did in his earthly life. George wasn’t perfect, and neither are we. We know that George is a saint because he was a baptized believer in God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. George is a saint not because of what George did but because of what Christ did for George. Christ came into this world to live and to die for George’s sins. George knew that and rejoiced greatly at that fact. That was one thing that George tried to pass on to you, his children. If you learned nothing else from him, he wanted you to know the love that God has for you by sending Jesus to die for you.

What a wonderful thing to hear, time and time again! George heard it every Sunday when he came to church. He heard it every time he heard the pastor say, “I forgive you all of your sins.” If you want to know about rejoicing, there it is. What better thing can a person hear than that their sins have been forgiven!

If there was one thing George was fond of, it was time. He ate at certain times. He liked church to last only for as long as it needed to and not a second longer. He valued his time and if you overstayed your welcome, he would be quick to say, “Ok, thank you for coming.” I heard that a time or two from George myself when visiting him. During a recent visit to the hospital, I went to visit him. I walked in the room and walked over to him and said, “Hello George. It’s Pastor Tucher.” George was very quick to respond with, “Ok, thank you for coming.”

As we prepare to receive Jesus in the manger on Christmas morning, how fitting are George’s words today. Those words of George can just as easily be spoken to Jesus, thanking Jesus for coming into this world, for living and for dying for him and for his lovely bride, Hertha; for living and dying for you, his children; for living and dying for all of you. There was nothing that brought more joy to George than knowing that Christ has forgiven him all of his sins.

Paul concludes the text by saying, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God has sanctified George and now he is blameless, standing before God the Father, united with Hertha and all who have gone before him in the faith. God has been faithful to George in the promises He has made to him and God is faithful to the promises He has made to you as well. He has promised to George and to you forgiveness that comes through His Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text that I have chosen for Bill’s funeral comes from 2 Timothy 4:6-8.

⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Here ends our text.

Jeanne, Jerry, Mark, and Vicki, it has been a long couple of months, hasn’t it? Bill has been in and out of the hospital, dealing with hearts issues that eventually claimed his life. Through all of this, it must have been difficult to see a father, a grandfather and even a great-grandfather who was fairly healthy go into a downward health spiral. However, there was a silver lining to all of this: Bill died in the faith and is now with Christ.

The words that St. Paul wrote, the words of our text for today, are words of comfort and assurance to you, the family, and to all of us gathered here today. When I visited with Bill Friday before his death, he was in a state of calm and relative painlessness. I think that after these last few months, Bill had realized that “the time of [his] departure [had] come.” As a baptized and redeemed believer, Bill knew of the certainty of death. He knew firsthand what Paul wrote to the Romans: “For the wages of sin is death.” He had seen sin in all of its evil gruesomeness. He had seen war and death in World War II. He had been captured by the Germans and made a POW. He saw death in the POW camps. He saw death at its worst when death claimed the life of his wife, Louise. He knew that death would even claim his own life because of his sin. But through all of this, Bill had hope, because he knew that death is not the end.

Paul continues, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Bill knew that death was merely the end of his earthly life. Because God placed His name upon Bill in the waters of Holy Baptism, he knew that he had the promise of everlasting life. There, in His Baptism, Bill received the “the free gift of eternal life.”

Death reminds us of life with Christ. As God’s beloved children, we have been redeemed by Christ and given new life with Him. That new life with Christ is what Bill looked forward to. He looked forward to that new life every Sunday when he came to church, to hear God’s Word and promises for Bill and for you. He looked forward to that new life when he came and received the body and blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of his sins. On Friday, Bill was welcomed into God’s heavenly kingdom where He received his crown of righteousness.

This crown of righteousness that Bill received was not by his own doing. It wasn’t because Bill was a perfect person. It wasn’t because of all the things that Bill did throughout his life. The crown of righteousness that Bill received was because of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. It was by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that Bill is with Christ, where sin and death have no dominion over him.

Looking at Bill’s life, he too can say the same thing that St. Paul did: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” There were times in Bill’s life where he did fight, even times where he fought for his life. Serving in World War II must have been difficult. The old saying, “war is hell” could not have been any more true for Bill. After being held in a POW camp for eight months, Bill probably experienced hell on earth. But he survived. He “finished the race.” Throughout everything, Bill “kept the faith.” Bill continued to look to the future. Because he could. Because he had hope – the hope of heaven and eternal life for Jesus’ sake.

There is one thing that is stake for every single person: life and death. Paul knew that more than anyone. He sought to put to death anyone who sought new life in Christ. It wasn’t until he came into contact with Christ that he realized that he was dead. He was dead because he did not Christ and the salvation that He brought. Upon his conversion, Paul sought to bring that saving message of Jesus Christ to anyone and everyone. Praise be to God that Bill knew that saving message. He knew that he was heaven-bound. He knew that it on account of Christ, He was forgiven. It wasn’t anything that Bill had or hadn’t done that makes him certain of eternal life. It’s all about who Christ is and what He’s done.

That same forgiveness, that same eternal life that Bill has is given by Christ to you as well. That’s what Paul means when he says, “not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem brought peace and goodwill, and His appearance on the cross won salvation for the world. The Lord still appears in His Word and His Sacraments; and where He is, there is forgiveness, life and salvation. That’s why Paul can look ahead, because heaven is his solely for the sake of Jesus. And because it was solely for the sake of Jesus, that crown of righteousness is certain.

That same reward that awaited Paul is the same reward that awaited Bill and it is the same reward that awaits you as well. The crown of righteousness that Bill has received is nothing short than the complete removal of his sins and the giving of righteousness won by Christ.

That same hope is yours, and it is just as certain because it is for the sake of Christ. We are always in the shadow of death in this sinful world, and we don’t know how much time we have left here. But we can say with confidence, “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day.” No matter what lies ahead, you always have more life to look forward to. That life is yours, not on account of your merit or worth and not on account of your actions. That life is yours on account of Christ and what He has done for you, the same thing that He did for Bill: was born into this sinful world to redeem it. The crown of righteousness belongs to Christ, who wore the crown of thorns for you. Risen again, He lives and reigns forever, and He shares that crown of righteousness with you. Eternal life is yours solely because Jesus died to make it so. Because of the cross, the Lord will rescue you from every evil deed and bring you safely into His heavenly kingdom. What Christ has done for Paul, what Christ has done for Bill, Christ also does for you. In Jesus’ name, amen.