The "Lord's Prayer" and Persistence in Prayer - Luke 11:1-13

The scripture verses which we are looking at for this past Sunday, July 24th, 2016 are found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 11, verses 1 to 13.  These are very familiar verses to us as this is one of three writings that contain the "Lord's Prayer".  As I have written before the other locations where the Lord's Prayer are found would be the Gospel of Matthew and also in the non-canonical writing known as The Didache or also called The Teaching of the Twelve.  Here are the verses as found in Luke:

Luke 11:1-13 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

11 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father,[a] hallowed be your name.

    Your kingdom come.[b]

3     Give us each day our daily bread.[c]

4     And forgive us our sins,

        for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

    And do not bring us to the time of trial.”[d]

5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for[e] a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit[f] to those who ask him!”

Footnotes:

a) Luke 11:2 Other ancient authorities read Our Father in heaven

b) Luke 11:2 A few ancient authorities read Your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us. Other ancient authorities add Your will be done, on earth as in heaven

c) Luke 11:3 Or our bread for tomorrow

d) Luke 11:4 Or us into temptation. Other ancient authorities add but rescue us from the evil one (or from evil)

e) Luke 11:11 Other ancient authorities add bread, will give a stone; or if your child asks for

f) Luke 11:13 Other ancient authorities read the Father give the Holy Spirit from heaven

The "Lord's Prayer is somewhat different as recorded in Matthew and The Didache.  Let's first look at Matthew's version:

Matthew 6:9-13 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

9 “Pray then in this way:

Our Father in heaven,

    hallowed be your name.

10     Your kingdom come.

    Your will be done,

        on earth as it is in heaven.

11     Give us this day our daily bread.[a]

12     And forgive us our debts,

        as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13     And do not bring us to the time of trial,[b]

        but rescue us from the evil one.[c]

Footnotes:

a) Matthew 6:11 Or our bread for tomorrow

b) Matthew 6:13 Or us into temptation

c) Matthew 6:13 Or from evil. Other ancient authorities add, in some form, For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen.

And now let's read the Lord's Prayer as found in the Didache: 

The Didache 8:3-11 (translation by JB Lightfoot)

8:3 Neither pray ye {as the hypocrites,} but as the Lord commanded in His Gospel, {thus pray ye.

8:4 Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name;

8:5 Thy kingdom come;

8:6 Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth;

8:7 give us this day our daily bread;

8:8 and forgive us our debt, as we also forgive our debtors;

8:9 and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one;}

8:10 for Thine is the power and the glory forever and ever.

8:11 Three times in the day pray ye so.

Perhaps the most interesting thing we can gather from a quick reading is that our current recitation of the Lord's Prayer is the most similar to the reading as it's found in the Didache.  It is only in the Didache that we find the Doxology of "for Thine is the power and the glory forever and ever".  There are manuscripts that have inserted a Doxology at the end of the prayer in the Gospel of Matthew but these manuscripts are not the oldest nor the best and it is almost assuredly an inclusion added by a scribe somewhere along the way.  Some scribe who was troubled by the absence of these words which were being recited in their daily prayers.  It's interesting that I have no knowledge of an inclusion in the verses found in Luke's Gospel even though his version is by far the most brief and seemingly wanting.

I have preached over the "Lord's Prayer" twice in the past and here is a link to a blog post with the transcript of the first sermon, given at Murray Christian Church:

Sermon over the Lord's Prayer

And here is the video of the second sermon over the Lord's Prayer, this sermon was given at New Life Baptist Chruch in Bellevue, NE.

The primary thing that I want to focus on from these two sermons is the word that is translated as 'daily'.  As I state in the transcript linked above:

Epiousios is a very, very interesting word. The only real problem is that we don't actually know what the word means. You see this word exists in exactly three places, it is only found in these three readings of the “Lord's Prayer”. And since for many, many years the Didache was lost, for much of Christian History we have only had two sources for this unknown word, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Now since we find this prayer in only Matthew and Luke, and not in Mark's Gospel, it is highly likely that it originated in that undiscovered but hypothesized Document known as 'Q' or 'The Source'. (added by Roy: Though it is entirely possible that it actually originated in the Didache if the Didache dates to the time of Christ as some scholars believe)

Just what does Epiousios mean and how did it come to be translated as daily. Well in the fourth century St. Jerome was commissioned by the Pope to translate the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin. This was the first translation of the Bible in its entirety into Latin. When Jerome came to Epiousios he was uncertain just what to do so in Luke he translated it one way as 'Daily' and in Matthew he translated it differently. In our modern Bibles only the translation from Luke the word 'Daily' remains and the meaning assigned by Jerome in Matthew has been largely forgotten.

If we break down the word Epiousios we find that 'epi' means 'above', 'beyond' or 'super', 'ousios' means substance, essence or necessity. We come up with the word that Jerome used when translating the Gospel of Matthew, 'Supersubstantial'. Above substantial, super essential, beyond necessity... these all give us a considerable different meaning than 'daily'.

Now we no longer have 'daily' bread but 'supersubstantial' bread, 'super essential' bread, bread that is 'beyond that what is necessary for mere survival'. When we consider that Christ used bread as a metaphor, we have, well the Eucharist, we have Communion, we have the bread of life, we have Christ himself...

We no longer have feed us for we are hungry, but feed us for we hunger. We hunger for that relationship with God that comes through the celebration of the Lord's Supper, through the ceremonial celebration of communion. This point is particularly poignant to you all as members of the Disciples of Christ Church. The DOC places such great emphasis on the celebration of communion that it is celebrated not once a month as most Christian denominations do but weekly, as you all well know.

It is important that we remember that when Christ taught this prayer to his Disciples, he almost certainly did not teach it to them in Greek. Rather he almost certainly taught it to them in Aramaic. We are left wondering what word or words did he use here that forced the writer of 'Q' to have to create a new word in Greek in order to try and grasp the depth of the meaning. It would seem unlikely that it was a word as mundane as daily. A word which can be rendered by at least 20 different ancient Greek words none of which is epiousios.

So, we find that rather than suddenly focusing at one point in this prayer on our earthly needs, when the remainder of the prayer is about spiritual or global needs, we discover that 'epiousios' leads us to a very large place indeed.  No longer are we focused on that small meager portion in front of us, just enough to survive until tomorrow... but, now we have that abundance, that thing that allows us to survive forever.  To survive eternally... PRAISE be to GOD!

Before we leave this section of the scripture look back to the first verse, but let's look at it as it's translated in the New King James Version: "Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples".  Here in the NKJV the word 'also' is in the line found in the NRSV "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.".  Reading this one has to wonder, did this prayer originate from John the Baptist?  Was this a prayer taught by John to his disciples... we'll never know but the language seems to leave that possibility open.  It's of no real matter to us today, we have received the teaching from Christ.

In verse Five of the Eleventh Chapter of Luke, we shift suddenly from how to pray to a parable about a friend in need.  Here we have a story about a man reaching out for help, he has had a friend come to visit him suddenly, and at a late hour, and he has no food to offer him.  So, this man has gone to another friend asking for three loaves of bread to place before his unexpected house guest.  Initially, the second friend is reluctant to assist because the hour is late and he and his family have already retired for the night.  But in verse eight the friend relents and rises to assist his 'persistent' friend.  We read in the scripture; "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs." Which we read to show the fruitfulness of the man's persistence in asking for aid.  This determination and unwillingness to accept an outcome has often been heralded as a model for us to utilize in our own prayer life.  It seems we need to pester God with at least some of our petitions before we can expect the prayed for outcomes.

But, there's another way to translate this word, and that's "shamelessness".  Now, the impetus behind the action is not the persistence of the man asking but rather the "shamelessness" of the man being asked.  This correlates with the entire 'hospitality' mindset of the culture at the time of Jesus.  We've addressed this high regard for hospitality as well as honor in several recent sermons and here it continues in Luke's eleventh chapter.

God does not answer our prayers because we've bugged him to death but because of his absolute hospitality and perfect honor. God extends His perfect hospitality to us because that is what He is... He is perfect.  Let us not forget, though (as I pointed out in the sermon the other day), hospitality is a two-way street.  We are offered hospitality, but we must also accept it graciously and thankfully.  God is our 'Heavenly Host'... you've all heard this phrase before, He is our perfect and eternal host.  Let us be gracious and appreciative for all that our loving Host provides.

Now, we've come to verses nine through thirteen.  Here we are told to "ask, and it will be given to you", "for everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds", and "if your child asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion?", and finally "how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!".  Ask and search... and you will receive and find... part of our problem as humans is though that we ask and hunt for that scorpion rather than the egg.  Out of our imperfect, impatient, and all too often arrogant nature we see the scorpion as the desired outcome.  Should we be surprised when God doesn't see fit to give us that scorpion?  No, rather He is a good God, a perfect parent... He'll let us wait until we understand that playing with the scorpion was a decidedly bad idea.  Of course, there are those among us who seem to not learn this until we're quite long in the tooth.

It has often been said that there are three answers to our prayers, yes, no and wait... very often the answer is in fact wait.  Not an answer us impatient and impractical humans particularly care for...

And it's very well worth noticing what is said in verse thirteen; "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!".  We can expect that when we ask God for selfish things such as "PLEASE GOD... just let me win the Powerball... that the answer may well be... no...", but if we ask God for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we can rest assured that the answer is an immediate and resounding... YES!

I'll end this blog post with the prayer I used at Murray Christian Church.

Remember to be a blessing to someone today!

In His grace and love,

Roy

God above, Father, Abba

Holy, Sacred and Revered Lord.

We pledge our hands, our feet, our hearts and our spirits

to you Oh Lord, to fashion this world as you

would desire.

Let us ever be your emissaries of Love,

Charity, Grace and Forgiveness in this world.

Let us follow the model that you have given us, of Jesus who is the Christ, as we pursue your perfect example of grace and love to this broken world.

Allow us Oh Lord to come into communion and relationship with you. Give us the strength of body, mind, and spirit that we require to serve you.

We pray for your protection from those that would oppose and harm us, and from our own sinful and selfish egos.

Oh Lord guide us steadfastly down your path of Forgiveness, Grace, Charity and Love onto this world.

For yours alone, Oh Lord is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory, until the very end of all time.

Amen

Ramblings by Pastor Roy

Photo by Brenda Stough

This past Sunday, I was on vacation and Ryan Daisy filled the pulpit for us.  I want to thank Ryan for doing so, he is a dynamic speaker and honestly, it's a risk for me to let him get the folks used to a polished and talented speaker.  But, I do thank him sincerely for it allowed me to be in Omaha and work on getting the store moved to Lake City.

As a result of not having done a sermon on Sunday, I'm left without having to prepare a video and blog post.  This I will confess is a relief to some extent.  I have taken this opportunity to start writing my blog post for next week and using that preparation as part of my sermon prep.  I've been wanting to do this for a while but have been rooted in the cycle of being a week behind, hopefully, I can keep ahead now.  On the 31st of this month, Ryan will be subbing for me again as that is the day we have to have everything out of the bay in Omaha.  I don't want to pay an additional month's rent just for a few days of moving things.

I will take this opportunity though to share some of my thinking (wandering mind) this last day or so...

Often we hear it said that one shouldn't collect 'things' but collect 'moments', this is sometimes used as a suggestion to travel more and live more modestly.  I'll confess, I'm not a great traveler, I've seen some sights in my life, not as many as many or even most perhaps, but enough to satisfy me.  There are a couple of things I'd like to see yet in this life, but if I never get to see them I won't die thinking that I missed out on something.  I do like 'things' but the things I like (other than artwork, of course, we have some nice artwork) are generally pretty modest and simple.

I do strongly believe we should focus on collecting 'moments' in our lives.  Yesterday, I got up and walked all the way across the driveway to get to work, when I got there the kids who are attending the Robotics Clinic sponsored by the Calhoun County Extension Service were already there.  I no sooner got in the door than I was greeted by cheerful and excited cries of "Pastor Roy".  Most of the kids attending the clinic are members of the youth group here in town, the look in their eyes, the smiles, the hugs and the joy... those are moments that I collect.

Whatever else comes ahead in life it really is no matter, for what matters is the impact I can have in these young lives.  It's an honor and a privilege to be able to work with youth and I should be so lucky and blessed as to have a positive impact on any of these children.  May God guide them as they grow into loving and caring adults.

Be a blessing to someone today!!

In Christ,

Roy

Sermon Over the Good Samaritan: Distinctions Without Divisions

I am on vacation this week and Ryan Daisy will be subbing for me tomorrow.  This week has been focused upon getting the Gallery ready for closing and it's been very busy.  I apologize that I haven't had time to post the video of last Sunday's sermon until now.  Honestly, I wanted to add some additional dialogue but haven't had the time to do so... so, here it is all on its own.

Remember to... be a blessing to someone today!

In His Grace,

Roy

Transcript of Funeral for Vera Mae Doty - July 11, 2016

Order of Service – Funeral for Vera Mae Doty

Prelude:  Evelyn Johnson

Procession: Softly & Tenderly

Call to Worship:

O God, who brought us to birth,

and in whose arms we die,

in our grief and shock

contain and comfort us;

embrace us with your love,

give us hope in our confusion

and grace to let go into new life;

through Jesus Christ.  Amen 

Greeting:

Holy God, gathered together we praise your blessed name.

We praise you today for your servant Vera Mae Doty,

and for all that you did through her.

Meet us here in our sadness and mourning,

and fill our hearts with praise and thanksgiving,

for the sake of the One who loves us all... Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

Special Music: “In the Bulb There Is a Flower” - soloist Steffani Rash

Opening Prayer:

God who creates and re-creates us,

God who laughs with us and weeps with us,

God who walks with us each step of the way, carrying us when our strength fails,

we gather today with hearts breaking with grief, with voices crying out words of lament.

And so we ask that you would move in and around us today.

As we gather to remember and say good bye to Vera Mae,

be the shoulder we can cry on, the arm we can lean on,

help us to see through the veil of tears that there is hope for life continuing.

Gracious God, as mysterious and wondrous as you are,

you are also a compassionate God,

as attentive as a hen with her chicks,

as tender as a mother with a newborn child,

as watchful as a shepherd with the sheep,

as protective as a father’s warm embrace.

and so we come into your presence to grieve Vera's death,

asking that your Holy Spirit would be here to ease our pain.

As we give thanks for all that she added to the lives of those around her,

as we release our tears and sorrow,

as we say our good-byes, remind us that we are not alone, for You are with us...

In Jesus’ all gracious name we pray, Amen. 

Hymn:   Amazing Grace  No. 546 All

Reading from the Old Testament:

Psalm 139: 1-18

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

    you discern my thoughts from far away.

3 You search out my path and my lying down,

    and are acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before a word is on my tongue,

    O Lord, you know it completely.

5 You hem me in, behind and before,

    and lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

    it is so high that I cannot attain it.

7 Where can I go from your spirit?

    Or where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;

    if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning

    and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

10 even there your hand shall lead me,

    and your right hand shall hold me fast.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

    and the light around me become night,”

12 even the darkness is not dark to you;

    the night is as bright as the day,

    for darkness is as light to you.

13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

    Wonderful are your works;

that I know very well.

15     My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.

In your book were written

    all the days that were formed for me,

    when none of them as yet existed.

17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!

    How vast is the sum of them!

18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;

    I come to the end—I am still with you.

Reading from the New Testament:

1 Peter 1:3-9

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

Hymn:    Great Is Thy Faithfulness  No. 86 All

Message:  Pastor Roy Karlen – Woodlawn Christian Church

Vera Mae Cole was born on August 1, 1925 in Des Moines, Iowa to Frank and Josie Cole.  On June 24, 1946 Vera married Herbert D. Doty at Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, she passed from this world into the Kingdom of her Lord on Wednesday, July 6th, 2016 at approximately 1:45 pm.  Vera is survived by her husband Herb, her children Steve, Susan, David, and Dennis; as well as by 11 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

Vera is also fondly remembered by Jean Eberhard who was a French Foreign exchange student who lived with the Doty family for a year.  To this day Jean calls Vera and Herb, mom and dad.  Jean was especially close to Vera Mae and wanted to travel back to Lake City for the funeral but was prevented from doing so due to health concerns.  He wished to share the following correspondence sent to Susan with Herb and the rest of the family at this time:

“Whenever you can dear Susan, whisper to my exceptional AFS mother's ear that 4,300 miles away from Lake City, Jean and his family (Anne-Marie, Laurent and Thomas) are in deep sorrow.  Tell her that wherever we go I always tell people how proud I am to have shared the life of the Doty's family.  I miss her and wish I could be there with all of you for her last journey.  Take care of dad. Love. Jean”

Vera Mae was always very, very proud of Lake City.  Her children said she at times seemed to think that the world stopped at the edge of town.  Susan remembered how when Jean was here as an exchange student how Vera made sure to take him up and show him the fountain in the town square.  She was so proud of it and wanted Jean to see how beautiful it was and is.  Later when the family went to France to see Jean and were taken to see some of the unbelievably impressive fountains found in Europe, they asked (I assume in Vera's absence) how he could be so accommodating and admire the comparatively modest fountain in Lake City, Jean told them that he knew it was important to Vera and that was all that mattered.  Vera Mae was proud of Lake City, and indeed she had a right to be.

As I said Vera Mae was very fond of Jean and they had a wonderful relationship, the children expressed to me that perhaps she was even more fond of Jean than she was of her own children.  Though I am certain that could not be the case.  The entire Doty family became very close to Jean during his stay with them that year and Susan and Steve relayed how much the entire family cried when taking Jean to the airport.  The family had planned to stop and eat at a restaurant on the way home but they discovered that they were all too upset to stop and eat.  Everyone that is except for Dennis who wondered why everyone was so worked up, “we'll see Jean again” he told them.  It seems Dennis was right and Susan commented that if they'd have all known how many times they would see Jean that they'd have gone out to eat that day.

The family (in David's absence) relayed to me how David was always the favorite.  And how even long after he'd gotten too big for Vera's lap he wanted to sit on his mother's lap.  In reality, do we ever get so big or so old that we don't want to sit and be comforted once again by our loving mother.  I remember my grandfather telling me when he was closing in on the century mark that he wished just one more time he could lay his head on his mother's lap and feel her stroke his hair.  I'm sure today David, as big as he is... would love to be able to sit with his mother one more time.

Vera's father Frank passed away when she was only three, and her mother passed away during Vera's Junior year in High School.  At that time she went to live with her grandmother Mary Holm.  During High School Vera was selected as Lake City's very first Homecoming Queen.  I have to say Herb that I saw Vera's High School graduation picture last night at the visitation, she was a beautiful young woman... Herb, you did very well my friend.  After High School graduation Vera received training at Buena Vista University to teach country school.  Vera taught at Lake Creek School #4 for several years before she and Herb were married on  June 24, 1946.  You'll have to press Herb for more details on the proposal but it seems that Vera Mae more or less pressed the point.  At any length it apparently was a match made in heaven for Herb and Vera celebrated shortly before her passing their 70th wedding anniversary.  What an incredible testimony to all of us, as I said Herb you did very... well.

Herb was enlisted in the Army at the time of their marriage and for the first year of their union they lived in Battle Creek, Michigan were Herb was stationed at Fort Custer working as an orderly and caring for wounded soldiers still recovering from World War II.  While they were in Michigan Vera Mae worked at the cosmetic counter at a local dime store.

Once back home in Lake City, Vera worked for many, many years at the Hardware store as it passed through several different ownership's.

In visiting with Herb and the family it seemed like Vera was involved in an impossible number of organizations here in Lake City and then to top it off she was involved in even more groups down in Arizona where she and Herb spent a total of 18 winters.  Just a partial list and I do mean partial as I wasn't able to keep up with writing them down and the family confessed to not being able to immediately recalling all of the activities:

Central School, AFS or foreign student exchange program, the Hospital board, the Hospital auxiliary, Red Hat club, Music Boosters, Village Square Theater, the snack bar at the Hospital, Meals on Wheels, a number of other activities and groups at the school, songbirds in Arizona, and many, many more.  Marj Burley shared with me last night that if there was a board or a committee then Vera was on it.  

Vera loved to read to her children and grandchildren.  She apparently was a big fan of cabbage patch kids and got them for all her grandchildren.

I heard a great many stories about Vera from her family and I simply don't have time to relay them all to you this morning, but that's just as well... for you really should hear them from the family themselves.  Of all the stories the family told one thing was abundantly clear.  Vera loved her Lord and she loved this Church.  Vera first came to Woodlawn as a child in the company of John and Kerri Lee who were long-time and active members here.  On June 10th, 1934, Vera was baptized right here in this baptistery, which has changed very little since then, by Reverend Weakland.  She was for many, many years a leader for the Christian Women here at Woodlawn.  She taught Vacation Bible School and Sunday School and helped with the youth group.

Vera had a great love for her Lord, even though she certainly faced many difficulties in her life not the least of which was the death of both her parents while still a child, Vera stayed faithful to her God.  Jim Bruce told me that the one word he thought of to describe Vera Mae was resilient, she never gave up.  Vera's children mentioned sacrifice and service as descriptions for Vera Mae, she sacrificed for and served not only her family, but her Church, and the Lake City Community.  As I said earlier, she loved this little town and she was very proud of it.

Vera loved her family, she loved her Church, she loved her Community and she loved helping and serving others.  As I said earlier, Herb and Vera Mae were married for 70 years, she loved Herb and I know first hand how much Herb loved her.  I have watched him console her and comfort her fears and tears while she was in the memory unit at Shady Oaks, and on Wednesday morning it broke my heart to sit with him while he held her hand and stroked her arm.  She knew he was there, and she knew just how much he loved her.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

13 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast,[a] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly,[b] but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Today we gather to celebrate the life of and mourn the passing of Vera Mae Doty.  Though each of her family, friends and loved ones here today feel the heavy weight of sorrow in their hearts... each of us are at the same time filled with an over-whelming sense of joy and celebration for Vera's entry into Heaven.  On July 6th Vera Mae passed from this world but was born anew in the Kingdom of the Lord she loved and served so tirelessly.  Praise be to God!

The one thing that I have yet to mention is how many funerals and other occasions Vera Mae sang for here in this Sanctuary.  She along with Evelyn Johnson and Muriel Pierce sang for literally countless events.  Today, we are singing more hymns than I normally include for a funeral but we do so as a tribute to the wonderful ministry that Vera provided to this Church and it's members, along with her dear friends, Muriel and Evelyn.  Each of the hymns sung as a congregation this morning was selected by Evelyn in Vera's honor.  As we lift up our voices and sing, perhaps if we strain our ears... just maybe, just maybe... in some corner of this sanctuary... maybe... we'll yet hear a distant echo of Vera's voice singing right along.

Let us join together now and sing from the page that you were given as you entered the sanctuary.  Let us sing in Vera's memory... “Beyond the Sunset”, please let us sing all of the verses.

Hymn:  Beyond the Sunset  (Insert)

Closing Prayer:

Following the interment at Lake City Cemetery, the family invites you all to join them in further celebration of Vera's life and a time of shared remembrances and closure, by gathering with them for lunch in the Church's fellowship hall. For those who do not wish to attend the graveside service, please feel free to remain behind and wait here at the Church.  Let us allow this prayer to serve as grace for our meal.

Let us pray:

O God, our Strength and our Redeemer, Giver of life, and Conqueror of death, we open our hearts to you just as we are.  We celebrate your gift of life freely given, but are grieved by a sense of loss in the face of death.  The love which binds us to one another leaves us aching as ties are broken.  Accept our tears as emblems of devotion, and transform them into waters of life to nourish us in the days ahead.

We trust you.  We love you.  We know in Christ that your love is everlasting.  Nothing can separate any of us from your abiding care.  With you is eternal life.

With confidence we now entrust Vera Mae to your unfailing love and overflowing goodness.  Through the power that raised Christ from the dead to live eternally with you, lift up this, your servant, to life fulfilled beyond our imagining.  We give you but your own, enfold her in your everlasting arms, hold her for she is your child.

Now strengthen us, through the gift of your Spirit, to face into the future with confidence that you stand with us.  Grant that the changes of life may leave us stronger as we journey through life.

Reassured of your abiding presence, help us to knit more firmly the ties that bind us one to another.  Renewed by your love, help us to love in ever larger circles so as to embrace your people everywhere till at last we are all united eternally through Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Benediction:

Exit Hymn:  Abide With Me No. 636 All

Committal Service

Selfishly, we as mortals wish to hold on to Vera. It brings great pain to let her go. Living in the resurrection hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the trust of a loving God and in the promise of eternal life, we now commit her body to its place of rest. We will continue to mourn Vera, but now her laughter will warm the kingdom of God. We will continue to love Vera, but God will now take care of her. We will continue to carry Vera in our thoughts, but she will be kept safe in God's hands. Receive her in the arms of your mercy, O God, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of all your saints.

A reading from the 3rd Chapter of Ecclesiastes:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

Believing in the Resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we now entrust Vera to the care of Almighty God and we ask Our Father to open the doors to his mansion and lead Vera Mae to the room made ready just for her. As we now commit her body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, we commend her spirit to its new home. Rest eternal grant her; and let light perpetual shine upon her.

God has blessed and enriched our lives in giving us Vera Mae to know and love here on this earth. Though our time together was not nearly enough, in committing her body to the earth, we give over to God the care of her spirit, and we acknowledge that we will one day reunite with her in God's Kingdom. The Lord bless her and keep her; the Lord make his face shine upon her and be gracious to her; the Lord look upon her with favor and give her peace.

Let us now pray together the prayer that our Lord and Savior taught us to pray....

This concludes our graveside service.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may His strong arms encircle you and uphold you in your hour of grief.  God's peace and strength to you all.

Amen

Funeral for Jeff Gorden, July 9th 2016 - Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, IA

Order of Service – Funeral for Jeff Gorden – July 2016

Prelude: Evelyn Johnson

Procession: You Should Be Here – Cole Swindel

Call to Worship:

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:35-39 (NRSV)

Greeting:
We have come together within the strengthening fellowship of friends and family:
to praise God for the life of Jeffrey Allen Gorden;
to share our grief with God and with one another;
to reaffirm our faith in God's unfailing goodness;
to hear again God's promise of resurrection;
and to commend Jeff to God's everlasting care.

Special Music:      Not a Day Goes By – Lone Star 

Opening Prayer:
Gracious God, your love endures forever.  Your faithfulness is unfailing and all your promises are true.  The movement of your Spirit is evident even in our darkest moments.  Attend to us now in our grief as we trust you will.  
Speak words of comfort to our hearts.  Open us up to receive your hope.
O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our brother Jeffrey.
We thank you for giving him to us, his family and friends,
to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage.
In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn.
Give us faith to see death as the gate of eternal life,
so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth,
until by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Hymn:        How Great Thou Art – No. All

A reading from the Old Testament:
Psalm 91
Assurance of God’s Protection
1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
    who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;
    my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
    and from the deadly pestilence;
4 he will cover you with his pinions,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
    or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
    or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
    the Most High your dwelling place,
10 no evil shall befall you,
    no scourge come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
    so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder,
    the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver;
    I will protect those who know my name.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them;
    I will be with them in trouble,
    I will rescue them and honor them.
16 With long life I will satisfy them,
    and show them my salvation.

A reading from the New Testament:
2 Corinthians 4:16-5:9 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Living by Faith 
16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling— 3 if indeed, when we have taken it off we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

Hymn: Shall We Gather at the River No.   All

Message:  Pastor Roy Karlen – Woodlawn Christian Church
Jeffrey Allen Gorden was born May 27, 1968, in Lake City, IA and passed away June 30th , 2016 at the age of 48.  Jeff was baptized here at Woodlawn Christian Church in this baptistry on April 13, 1980, by the Reverend Chris Nettles.  Right here he professed and publicly displayed his faith in his Lord Jesus Christ.

Jeff leaves behind 9 grandchildren along with another on their way, 5 children, Jobi, Tory, Caleb, Jessica and Zach, his brother Scott and sister Kim, and his parents Jesse and Jeannie.  Jeff has gone to join in heaven his son Trevor and his grandparents.

I never had the opportunity to meet Jeff, but if he was anything like his mom and dad he must have been a wonderful person.  To all the family gathered here today if you are fortunate enough to call Jesse & Jeannie your father and mother, grandfather and grandmother or even great-grandfather and great-grandmother, you are among those richly blessed.  Jesse and Jeannie are the very salt of our Lord's earth and God loves them as do I.

Later several of the family and friends will be invited forward to reflect upon and remember Jeff's life and so rather than my eulogizing Jeff I will instead bring to you a message from our mutual creator.  A message from our God.

On June 30th, Jeff and a co-worker were both killed in a terrible work related accident, at times like these we are left with the lingering question in our minds... “why”.  I have heard Jeff's parents Jess and Jeannie, along with many other members of the family, ask this very question over and over this last week and a half.  Why, why, why... why God?

Far, far greater minds than I, have attempted to tackle this simple but monumental question.... why God?  I approach this topic with no small amount of humility and an understanding of my insignificance in attempting to lend my voice among those who are or were giants among Theologians.

But, I come to this question of why, with my many years of studying not only scripture but studying about scripture, with my many years of individual study with my late mentor the Reverend Doctor Jesse Brown, a Duke professor of Old Testament Theology, a Dead Sea Scrolls Scholar, a man who was an intimate friend with the late Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. and a man who himself was an early voice in the Civil Rights Movement.  I add to this my own life experiences in my 56 years on this earth, and a relationship with my Lord that has often been extremely contentious, a relationship where I have never shied from asking why, and even for many years being angry with and denying God.  Through all of this, I have arrived at a relationship with my God where I am at peace with His being and perhaps more importantly at peace with my own being and my place in His Kingdom.  So much at peace with God that I felt His calling to become one of His advocates in this world.

Why, why God... why do the innocent and the very young have to perish.  Why... just when someone seems to finally have their life in order do they suddenly have a terrible accident and pass away.  But, the why's don't stop at death, it can be why did the beautiful young girl have to have an accident and become disabled... why... why... why.  The why's simply.... never end...

Often when confronted with this difficult and frankly extremely uncomfortable question we ministers as well as nearly all lay people will just say something along the lines of “We don't understand God's ways” or worse yet “It is all part of God's plan”.  I'll be honest with you, I cringe when I hear these statements... it doesn't paint a very pretty picture of the God that I love with all of my being.

We don't understand God's ways... this I agree with but not in the fashion that most make this statement are implying.  We don't understand God because He is God... and He as God sees the big picture, the whole picture, and we're here living in a snapshot of our life at any given moment.  As we get older we hopefully gain understanding of the snapshots that have gone on ahead and can apply that knowledge to the moments to be photographed still ahead, but none the less, we live in a very finite time frame in this world.  God of course, is infinite, His being and understanding is obviously different than our own.

Let me try to share with you a little insight that I have gained from the snapshots of my life thus far.  We don't understand God's ways partly because God is entirely a being of Love, Grace, and Forgiveness.  We as imperfect, egotistical, envious and often angry humans have difficulty grasping even for a moment the depth of the love that God has for His children and His creation.  God loves each of us so very much and all that He desires is a relationship of mutual love with each of us.  But, He does not and will not force us to come to Him and love Him.  Rather, His desire is that we of our own free-will come to love Him.  God is always in pursuit of us, trust me He chased me, and chased me.  I tried my best not to love Him, but ultimately I found that I could not resist.  We are all granted this “free-will”, this liberating yet terrifying freedom which theologians have discussed for many, many centuries.  God gave us each free-will to decide for ourselves if we wished to love God... if we wished to have a relationship with Him.  This free-will though had to by virtue of it's fully being free-will... it had to spill out into every aspect of our lives.  We as autonomous beings and not biological robots can and do make thousands if not millions of decisions each and every day.

Most of the time these decisions are benign, but sometimes we make a very bad decision and it can prove disastrous for us as well as for others.  Back in November of 2014, near Humboldt, NE a young 16-year-old teen was killed in an automobile accident.  Now this young man was a good student, a popular youth in the community and he was a hard worker; working on a Dairy Farm even though he was a 'town kid'.  Early one morning on his way home from milking he either fell asleep or was just so groggy that he ran a stop sign and was struck by a semi and died at the scene.  He was active in the area youth group of the local Christian Church which is Pastored by my friend Howard Blecha.  The youth were all in shock and of course the question of why, why would God do this, kept springing up on their dialogues on Facebook.  I choose to address this concern for them in a post on my blog and once the teens in that area started to share the link it blew up to several thousand views within hours.  It didn't go truly viral, but rather almost all the views seemed to be coming from that general geographical area.

The gist of the blog post was that God does not venture to further his Kingdom by the death of a 16-year-old boy.  God did not kill that youngster.  Unfortunately, the young man made a decision to drive when he was simply too exhausted to drive safely.  A decision that not only impacted his life but the driver of the semi-tractor, along with an elderly driver whose pickup was struck by the wreckage, all of the EMT's, the medical staff, and ultimately the youth that knew the boy and questioned his death.

God, did not kill that boy... but what God did do, was to use the situation to direct my friend Howard and others to minister to the area youth.  To hopefully, expose to them the radical love that our Lord has for each of us.  To use Howard's loving and steadfast embrace to convey to them the strength and glory of God.  God also directed me to pen that blog post which apparently by the number of views and the number of shared links, must have meant something to some of the youth.  Though none of them posted comments on the blog, I did receive e-mails from a number of youth and subsequently corresponded with them.

In both the Gospel of Luke and Matthew, we read these words spoken by Jesus.

Luke 13:34 (NRSV)
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

This verse and others speak to God's allowing us free-will and to His dismay and disappointment when we fail to respond to his Love held out for us.  God wishes to cover us with His 'wings' just as it says here in Luke and Matthew as well, and as it says in Psalm 91 verses 3 & 4 which I read earlier:

3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
    and from the deadly pestilence;
4 he will cover you with his pinions,
    and under his wings you will find refuge

Unfortunately, as Luke and Matthew convey... we don't always respond to God's love.  We all too often make bad decisions and walk away.

But if we're attentive and tuned into our relationship with God, He will use us to further His Kingdom and minister to His children. All those ladies in the church kitchen that are busy preparing desserts for us for after the service, they've responded to God's call, Jim back there on the sound board is an advocate of God's love, Evelyn here on the organ has responded to God's call and came to minister to you all today, Keith Lampe is a true symbol of the love of God calling to his grieving children, God's love is in all those here who have turned out to support and hold this grieving family.

I shared a point with Jess and Jeannie the other night and I will emphasis it to you all today.  Our need to come to God in love and relationship out of our own free-will is such an extremely important element of our salvation that God has allowed all of the other bad decisions that arise out of free-will to enter into this world and our existence.  All of the evil that is allowed to be manifested in the hearts of man are a result of the absolute need for us to individually make our commitment to our all loving and all gracious God.  This is how important it is for us to love God of our own accord... think about that folks... this love for God is so vitally important.  Through all of what life throws at us because of our free-will and because of others free-will in turn... know that your God loves you.  

God does not cause tragedy to happen... but what He can do and what He will do if we are attentive is to show to us in these times of darkness and dis-pare His love for us.  Good can come out of tragedy and even evil acts if we are determined to do good in the name of God.

God did not cause the accident that killed Jeff, human error resulting in a mechanical failure did, God did not wish for Jeff to die that morning...

But what God has done is to demonstrate to each of you His love for you all... He has reached out to you and brought you here to His house, where if you allow Him he will put His arm of comfort around you and bear you up in your time of grief.  Just as Christ grieved over the death of Lazarus, God grieves over the death of Jeff.

God has shown his concern for your grief, and unfailing love for each of you, by the hands of those ladies in the kitchen making preparations and don't forget Virgil Pettit working with them, few people are a greater demonstration of God's love and devotion than Virgil, God has shown his love to you through Jim Bruce who is here to run the sound system, He's shown His love for you and countless others through the years by the ministry of Evelyn behind the keyboard, her music has soothed the soul of uncountable grieving hearts, through Keith Lampe who we praise God for sending to this community, through all of you who have answered the call to be here today for this family in need in this darkened hour... and least of all He has not demonstrated his love for you but rather has emphatically and unwaveringly declared His love for each and everyone of you by calling me here to be His voice today.

As His advocate and voice, I declare to you all unequivocally........ God LOVES you.....

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Eulogies and Reflections:
At this time I would like to call forward Scott Gorden, Amber Hawkins, Mark Kutz, Brandon Childs and Kim Shugar to share some of their memories of Jeff with us.

Closing Prayer:
On June 30th, 2016 God expressed His love for Jeff by opening His arms and the Gates of Heaven to welcome him home.  On June 30th Jeff also was able to finally pick up his little boy Trevor and carrying him once again.  Praise God for the life of Jeffrey Allen Gorden.

The family invites you all to join them in further celebration of  Jeff's life and a time of shared remembrances and closure, by joining with them at a reception in the Church's fellowship hall immediately following the service of committal at the Lake City Cemetery.   

Let us pray:
O God, our Strength and our Redeemer, Giver of life, and Conqueror of death, we open our hearts to you just as we are.  We celebrate your gift of life freely given but are grieved by a sense of loss in the face of death.  The love which binds us to one another leaves us aching as ties are broken.  Accept our tears as emblems of devotion, and transform them into waters of life to nourish us in the days ahead.
We trust you.  We love you.  We know in Christ that your love is everlasting.  Nothing can separate any of us from your abiding care.  With you is eternal life.
With confidence, we now entrust Jeff to your unfailing love and overflowing goodness.  Through the power that raised Christ from the dead to live eternally with you, lift up this, your servant, to life fulfilled beyond our imagining.  We give you but your own, enfold him in your everlasting arms, hold him for he is your child.
Now strengthen us, through the gift of your Spirit, to face into the future with confidence that you stand with us.  Grant that the changes of life may leave us stronger as we journey through life.
Reassured of your abiding presence, help us to knit more firmly the ties that bind us one to another.  Renewed by your love, help us to love in ever larger circles so as to embrace your people everywhere till at last we are all united eternally through Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Benediction:

Exit Music: Save A Place For Me – Matthew West

Committal Service:
We selfishly want to hold on to Jeff. It brings great pain to let go. Living in the resurrection hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the trust of a loving God and in the promise of eternal life, we now commit his body to its place of rest. We will continue to mourn our loss, but his laughter will warm the kingdom of God. We will continue to love Jeff, but God will now take care of him. We will continue to carry Jeff in our thoughts, but he will be kept safe in God's hands. Receive him in the arms of your mercy, O God, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of all your saints.

Hear now a reading from the 103rd Psalm:
As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him.

Let us pray:
In sure and certain hope that, as Christ lived and was the first to rise from the dead, we too shall have new life and will join our heavenly Father along with all the saints in a new and better place. We therefore, commit our brother Jeff to the earth from which he was made, and lay to rest this mortal body that it might put on immortality. The Lord bless him and keep him; the Lord make his face shine upon him and be gracious to him; the Lord look upon him with favor and give him eternal peace.  Amen

Hear now a reading from the 1st Chapter of 2nd Corinthians:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.

Believing in the Resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we now entrust Jeff Gorden to the care of Almighty God and we ask Our Father to open the doors to his mansion and lead Jeff to the room made ready just for him. As we now commit his body to its final resting place; we commend his spirit to its new home. Rest eternal grant him, and let God's light perpetual shine upon him. Almighty God, as you once called our brother Jeff into this life, so now you have called him into life everlasting. 

Let us pray together the prayer that our Lord taught to us............

This concludes the graveside services.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and may His strong arms uphold you and comfort you in the days, weeks and years ahead.  Go in His peace.

Here is a link to the blog post which is mentioned in the message

Please, "Be a blessing to someone today"!  Pastor Roy