The Fourth Sunday of Advent - "Love" - and it's also "Christmas Eve"

The sermon from last Sunday hit upon the fourth candle of Advent, the 'Love' candle.  The crutch of the sermon was that no matter who you are, no matter what you are, God loves you and wants a relationship with you. I also stressed that we as Christians have taken upon ourselves the responsibility to be agents of God's love to this wanting world.  Let us never shirk this calling and obligation.

The sermon is a short one as we had a lot going on during the worship service, so since it's short please take a few minutes and listen.  Thank you.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Love,
Roy

John 3:16  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

2 John 4-6  NRSV
4 I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. 5 But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must walk in it. 

John 13:35  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Romans 12:9-21  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.[a] 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;[b] do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;[c] for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[a] 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem[b] on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

January 2018 Newsletter Article

I've updated the blog today with my Newsletter Article for the January 2018 Newsletter.

Be a blessing to someone today!
Pastor Roy

Pastor's Ponderings:

Well, it won't be long now, a new year is looming before us and will be here in just a few short days.  Another year has passed for each of us, we look back over the past year and we think of those that are no longer here with us, we lift each of them up in our prayers and though we mourn their passing from us we celebrate their birth into God's Kingdom.  As I sit and write this we have just concluded another funeral here at Woodlawn.  Just today we laid to rest on this very, very cold day one of our very best souls, Doris Hanks.  Doris will be greatly missed and even though it's been a number of years since she has been able to be an active part of our Church many, many remember when she was very involved with the functions of the congregation.

Funerals and funeral lunches are one of the ministries that we provide here at Woodlawn. Recently we hosted the funeral for Jeremy Caldeira. Jeremy wasn't a member here (though his mother had a loose affiliation with the Church having come to Bible Study and Sunday Night Group several years ago), but none-the-less, when asked we opened our doors to the family in their hour of need.  Later, I heard from one of our members that a member of the community had thanked them for our being so open and willing to bless others.  I thank you all for being the church in Lake City that doesn't shy away from opening our doors to any and all that are suffering.  You all are truly a blessing!  Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who worked on either or both of these funerals!  You are the saints among us!

A big thank you to Clyde for cleaning up the sidewalks and parking before Sunday service this past week!  Often Clyde doesn't get the recognition that he deserves as he's always here working hard on keeping this old Church building and grounds going, THANK YOU CLYDE!  

Our new sign is up along the Hi-Way, our thanks to Clyde and to Jesse Gorden for getting the sign erected.  Also, we all need to thank Scott Gorden for sandblasting, welding, and repainting the sign's bracket as a donation to the Church. The new sign with “Disciples of Christ & American Baptist” looks great and again a big thank you to all three of these fine men for getting it ready and installed!

The Chapel will be completely finished on January 9th when the organ is set up and ready to play.  Make sure you thank Bill Hungate and Clyde Westcott for all the labor they put into that project.  If you're yet to take a peek inside the Chapel, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, take a look!  It looks fantastic!

Once the Chapel is all ready to go we will be starting to use it for a worship service during the week.  We still have a couple of final details to work out with this service but we're hoping to kick off these services in January.  Keep your ears open for more information coming VERY soon!  (also pray that the weather in January is cooperative with trying to launch this new ministry)

Gail and I do want to thank each and everyone here at Woodlawn for your generous Christmas gifts.  We were overwhelmed!  Thank you all SO MUCH!  We are so very, very blessed that God led us here to Lake City and to Woodlawn.  Praise God for His guidance and praise God for all of you!

2017 was a wild ride for all of us, not the least of which was the merging of the First Baptist Church with Woodlawn.  What an incredible blessing that has become, if you haven't been up to worship for a while, come on in and join us.  There's a new energy and a new sense of devotion and joy that has developed.  Especially this last week's service was just a wonderful experience, don't miss out, JOIN US!

For those that are physically unable to join us, we have started “live streaming” the worship on Facebook.  If you'd like to try and view the service this way and don't understand the internet or Facebook but you have an internet connection and a computer, let me know and I or one of the other members can help explain it to you and get you set up so you can watch the service “live” on Sunday mornings.  You can also watch the sermons later in the week on my blog at: www.thepathtothepulpit.blogspot.com

With that I need to wrap this up so Brittanie can finish off this newsletter, please remember!

To be a blessing to someone today!
Pastor Roy

Funeral Service for Doris Hanks - December 27th, 2017

Today we laid to rest one of Woodlawn's longtime Saints, Doris Hanks.  It was a sad day but also a glorious day as we now know that Doris is reunited with her Lord and that Doris no longer suffers from the infirmities that plagued her final days.

Praise God for her life and her witness!

Below please find the manuscript of the service.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Love,
Roy

Order of Service – Funeral for Doris Hanks

Prelude:  

Music:  On Eagle's Wings  – Erin Blair

Procession: 
All please rise.

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 

Please be seated.

Greeting:
Holy God, gathered together we praise your blessed name.
We praise you today for your servant Doris Jean Hanks
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

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 goodbye to Doris, 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 Doris' 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 goodbyes, remind us that we are not alone, for You are with us...  In Jesus’ all-gracious and all-loving name we pray, Amen. 

Music:  How Great Thou Art – Erin Blair

Reading from the Old Testament:
Psalm 23  King James Version (KJV)
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Reading from the New Testament:
2 Corinthians 4:16-5:9  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
4:16 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.
5:1 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.

Music:  The Old Rugged Cross – Erin Blair

Message:  Pastor Roy Karlen – Woodlawn Christian Church
Doris Jean Hanks passed quietly from this world and into the Kingdom of our Lord on the afternoon of December 20, 2017.  She was born on August 26, 1926, in Manson, Iowa to Arthur and Blanche Sommerfeld. She first attended 'Country School' but later attended and in 1944 graduated from Lake City High School, here in Lake City, IA.  Doris was Baptized at the “First Baptist Church” in Rockwell City but later while still, a teenager transferred her church membership here to Woodlawn.  On February 2, 1947, Doris married Herbert Keith Hanks before this very altar...  Doris is survived by her sons Bill (wife Sheri) and Duane (wife Linda), by six grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

When I asked the family the other day to give me words that described Doris, they told me, determined, religious, hardworking, family oriented, and they told me how much she enjoyed her close friendships.

Doris' religion was always very important to her and she shared with others the importance of having a genuine relationship with God.  Janelle Nesbitt told me how whenever the children from the youth group stopped in to visit Doris at Shady Oaks, that Doris would always emphasize to them how important learning about God was and how they needed to continue to have a close relationship with God.  Often when I would visit her she would tell me how very much she wished she could come up to be at church... today Doris got her wish, she gets to be back in this Sanctuary... this church building... that she loved so much, one last time.  She truly loved her Lord, and she loved this old church building, and she loved her church family.  Doris was long a devoted and dedicated member here at Woodlawn, one of those that Jim Bruce would number among the Saints of Woodlawn.

Doris was a hard-worker, she was a farm wife and mother.  She had a huge garden and shared her produce with many other members of her family and her friends. After the boys were older, Doris started to work in town.  She enjoyed working at the Lake City Library, Farley’s Clothing Store and Ben Franklin.  Doris liked to be around people and she kept working until she was 75 years of age.

Doris was very family-oriented, not just to her close family but to her extended family as well.  Bill and Duane told how for many years they would travel every Christmas morning to go to Rockwell City for the Sommerfeld Family Reunion. Doris loved to have a lot of family around especially on the holidays.

The family talked about how important her and Keith's close friendships were to them.  They talked about how their closest friends were almost like second families and how they all worked together out on their farms.  Doris and Keith were especially close to Dale & Bonnie Stoffregan, Jack & Barb Carich, and Gordon and Jean Dooley.  The family talked about all the wonderful times that the families had together, please ask them to tell you more about these stories later at the luncheon.

Later in life, Doris would regularly go for coffee at Sparky's and it was there that she became close friends with Donna Jenkins.  Doris was responsible for Donna becoming a Christian, for Donna joining Woodlawn Christian Church, and I suspect what made Doris the happiest of all... Doris was responsible for Donna being baptized here at Woodlawn and declaring Christ as her Lord and Savior.  I remember telling Doris that Donna had passed and how sad Doris was to hear of Donna's sudden passing.  Doris wondered then how long it would be before she too would go to see her dearly beloved God.  She was very surprised that Donna had passed before she had, but she was very pleased to know that her dear friend was in Heaven.

When visiting with Doris at Shady Oaks, I would often visit with her about the cats on the calendar that she had beside her chair.  Doris truly enjoyed cats and she liked to hear about my wife's cats.  I often wished our cats were a bit more outgoing and docile, as I would have loved to have brought one of them out to visit Doris.  I think she would have enjoyed that.

The family shared with me some of Doris' writings about her life.  They are a treasure of memories and wonderful stories.  She wrote about childhood memories of seeing Gypsies that camped near their home while passing through the area, about how the women would buy eggs, cream, and other provisions from Doris' mother.  She wondered how much was stolen at night while all the local families slept.  

She wrote about during the War seeing trucks carrying German prisoners of war through the area.  Later she learned that they were being transported to camps near Colorado, Storm Lake, and Algona, IA.  There were stories about the rationing during the war, stories about coming to town for groceries on the weekend.  About how they'd give their lists to the grocer who would make up boxes with their purchases and then line the boxes up for everyone to pick up when they were ready to leave town and head for home.  

Stories about going to Country School without electricity and the kerosene lamps that they used instead.  Stories of her father trying to get them to school with a horse and wagon even though there was a blizzard going on, about how ultimately, the horses wore out in the heavy snow and her Dad proclaiming “this is crazy” and them turning around and going back home. 

She told about being ill a lot as a youth and staying with her grandparents where she seemed to do better.  There was a store about deciding that her grandmother wouldn't mind if she walked the quarter mile down the road to visit a friend of hers, without of course first telling her grandmother... she told about how she realized just how wrong she was about that “grandma not caring” part once her grandmother found her.  

So many great old stories that you all should read for yourselves, they were wonderful to read and I confess that as I read them I could hear Doris' voice in my mind.

As I said earlier, church was very important to Doris, but I must confide in you all that only a few times did she attend my monthly worship services out at Shady Oaks.  You see, I go out to Shady Oaks on Monday mornings, and that just so happened to be the time when Doris would go and get her hair done.  Her hair was also very important to her... I suspect the few times when Doris did make it to my Monday services was when her appointment had been canceled or moved for one reason or another.

Yesterday, Sheri brought one of Doris' Bibles to me to look through.  Doris had noted several scripture verses and I'd like to consider a couple of them with you now.

1 Corinthians 15:51-58  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
51 Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Doris had no fear of death, for she knew with all her heart and soul that it isn't an end at all, rather a beginning.  The taking on of the imperishable, the changing that comes with the twinkle of an eye... the step into eternity and into the very presence of God Himself.  God bless Doris for her unshakable faith in her God.

Doris was always a tireless servant of her Lord, it is a small wonder that the following was a verse that she contemplated:

Ephesians 4:25-32  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not make room for the devil. 28 Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

As self-proclaimed Christians, Doris knew that we all... each of us... has an obligation to God and to one another.  The Kingdom of God is not furthered if we allow conflict to divide us, we are called by Christ to forgive as he has forgiven us... we are called to love just as he has loved us.

Just this past Sunday, I used Doris... her devotion, and her great love of her God as an illustration for my sermon.  Love is undoubtedly the most important thing that we need to remember when serving our Lord, for he himself told us that “Loving God, and loving one another” are paramount in our relationship to God and each other.  Upon our love for our God and our love for one another hang everything else in our Lord's creation.

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, 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.
Doris lived a life of love, love of her friends, love of her family, and love of her Lord Jesus Christ.

Losing a loved one just before Christmas... at this most joyful time of the Christian year, is always difficult, but let me share with you all now a poem that I first saw nearly seven years ago:

My First Christmas in Heaven: by Wanda Bencke
I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below,
With tiny lights, like heaven’s stars, reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away that tear.
For I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.
I hear the many Christmas songs, that people hold so dear,
But the sounds of music can’t compare, with the Christmas choir up here.
For I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring.
For it is beyond description, to hear an angel sing.
I can’t tell you of the splendor, or the peace here in this place.
Can you just imagine Christmas, with our Savior, face to face?
I’ll ask Him to light your spirit, as I tell Him of your love;
So then pray for one another, as you lift your eyes above.
Please let your heart be joyful, and let your spirit sing.
For I’m spending Christmas in Heaven, and I’m walking with the King!
I know how much you miss me; I see the pain inside your heart.
But I’m not so far away, we really aren’t apart.
So be happy for me, dear ones, you know I hold you dear,
And be glad I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.
I send you each a special gift from my heavenly home above.
I send you each a memory of my undying love.
After all “love” is the gift, more precious than pure gold.
It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.
Please love and keep each other as my Father said to do,
For I can’t count the blessings or the love He has for you.
So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear.
Remember I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year!

Today we gather to celebrate the life of and mourn the passing of Doris Hanks.  Though each of her family, friends and loved ones here today feel the heavy weight of sorrow in their hearts... each of us is at the same time filled with an overwhelming sense of joy and celebration for Doris' entry into Heaven.  On December 20th, Doris passed from this world but was born anew in the Kingdom of the Lord she loved and served so tirelessly.  Praise be to God!

Eulogies: 
Poem by Sheri Hanks - "To My Mother-In-Law & Friend"
When I married your son,
I didn't know we would have fun.

We married and away we did go,
Then settled back home on a farm we had to mow.

I felt like we lived out in the sticks,
I had to learn that farmers weren't hicks.

I learned to garden (by the acre it seemed at the time),
I still make your pickles - the ones that use lime.

I had cooked a little, but not for the farm,
I learned lots from you - how to come to no harm.

Don't plug in the mixer before putting on the beaters.
Cook eggs on low - add a little water - for the eaters.

I remember a time when Keith said "men coming at noon",
It was 9:00 - what to do?  I was ready to swoon.

You grabbed the pressure cooker, and I peeled potatoes.
We had a full meal, dessert, and even tomatoes.

We had lots of laughter with the work over the years.
We also had sorrow and even some tears.

Your life changed, but you kept moving.
There were lots of friends for grooving.

With each new friend you met other friends,
And you had dancing at the end.

Then you went to Shady Oaks.
You lived with other older folks.

You said when you came - never fear,
You planned to stay another seven years.

We'll miss you - you loved family best,
And now may you in peace get rest.

Music:  In The Garden – Erin Blair

Closing Prayer:
Following the interment at Lake City Cemetery, the family invites you all to join them in further celebration of Doris' life and a time of shared remembrances and closure, by gathering with them for lunch in the Church's fellowship hall. Due to the brutally cold weather, for all those who do not wish to travel to the cemetery or for whom health concerns demand they remain behind, please feel free to wait for us in the Church's Fellowship Hall until we return from the graveside service.  The family very much wishes to continue to visit and reminisce with you all.  Also, due to the extreme weather, we will take the unusual measure of conducting a portion of the graveside readings here in the Sanctuary before departing.  Please do not feel that you must go to the graveside service to hear the final prayer as the weather is really quite severe.  Thank you.

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 Doris 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:  

Committal Service
(this first portion shall be read in the Sanctuary before departure)
And now we shall conduct a portion of our committal service prior to traveling to the cemetery.  

We have gathered here to praise God and to witness to our faith as we celebrate the life of Doris Hanks.  We come together in grief, acknowledging our human loss.  May God grant us grace, that in pain we may find comfort, in sorrow hope, in death resurrection.

O God, who gave us birth, you are ever more ready to hear than we are to pray.  You know our needs before we ask, and our desires in asking. Give to us now your grace, that as we shrink before the mystery of death, we may see the light of eternity.  Help us to live as those who are prepared to die.  And when our days here are accomplished, enable us to die as those who go forth to live, so that living or dying, our life may be in you.  AMEN

14th Chapter of the Gospel of John
Hear these words from Jesus:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and will take you to myself,
So that where I am, there you may be also.
And you know the way to the place where I am going.
I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
But you will see me;
Because I live, you also will live.
I have said these things to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you everything,
And remind you of all that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”  
(John 14:1 – 4, 18 – 19, 25 – 27)

(the reading below shall be done at the graveside)

Believing in the Resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we now entrust Doris to the care of Almighty God and we ask Our Father to open the doors to his mansion and lead Doris 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 Doris to know and love here on this earth. 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.

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

This concludes our graveside service.

Funeral for Jeremy Caldeira, 12-16-17

Order of Service – Funeral for 
Jeremy Caldeira - 12/16/17

Prelude:

Call to Worship:
Psalm 27
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and foes—
they shall stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
4 One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
8 “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”  Your face, Lord, do I seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me.
(a reading from the 27th Psalm)


Greeting:
We have come together within the strengthening fellowship of friends and family:
to remember the life of Jeremy;
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 Jeremy to God's everlasting care.

Music:      “Beautiful Boy” John Lennon

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 Jeremy.
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.

Music:   The Old Rugged Cross

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.

A reading from the New Testament:
Romans 7:14-25 (NRSV) The Inner Conflict
14 For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. 15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17 But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.

Music: Sugar Ray – Someday

Message:  Pastor Roy Karlen – Woodlawn Christian Church
Later in the service, several of Jeremy's family and friends will be invited forward to reflect upon and remember Jeremy's life and so rather than my eulogizing Jeremy I will instead bring to you a message from our mutual creator.  A message from our God.

The other day there was a terrible accident and as we all know far too well, Jeremy was killed in a vehicle roll-over.  At times like these we are left with the lingering question in our minds... “why” why did it have to happen.  I am certain that many of Jeremy's friends and members of the family, have asked 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 58 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 young have to perish.  Why... just when someone seems to finally have gotten 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 was the infant born with fetal alcohol syndrome... why... why... why, why did it have to happen.  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 making these statements 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 an 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, and 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 his small car was struck by a semi... he died at the scene.  He had been very active in the area youth group of the local Christian Church which is Pastored by my friend Howard Blecha.  The local 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. 

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 many of those youths.  

In both the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of 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. God's love and ministry is in all those here who have turned out to support and hold up this grieving family.

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 is 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, 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 Jeremy, human error... those poor decisions that we humans all too often make caused the accident.  If we take nothing else away from this tragedy, let it be that no one gathered here repeats the errors that led up to Jeremy's unfortunate passing at far, far too early of an age. God did not wish for Jeremy to die that evening and God did not cause the accident...

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 Jeremy.

As one called to be God's advocate and at times like these God's voice I declare to you all... unequivocally... God LOVES you...

God wants a relationship with each of you, He calls to you to come to Him, place your weary and worried head upon His shoulder... pray to Him of your sorrows and He will grant you His peace.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

As the words of the Apostle Paul spoke to all of 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.

Finally, let us find comfort in these wonderful and well known words in the 23rd Psalm, these words that remind us that no matter where we go... our Lord is with us, and that no matter how rough the seas of life may be, that if we come to Him and cling to Him... those turbulent seas will become still waters.

Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Eulogies and Reflections:
At this time I would like to call forward Michael Anderson, Mary Skidmore, Donna Caldeira, and Justina Sheehan to share some of their memories of Jeremy.

Closing Prayer:
The family invites you all to join them in further celebration of  Jeremy'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.   Please allow this closing prayer to serve also as the blessing for that 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 Jeremy 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 child, to life fulfilled beyond our imagining.  We give you but your own, enfold him in your everlasting arms, hold him for he is yours.
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: You are my Sunshine

Committal Service:
We selfishly want to hold on to Jeremy. 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 Jeremy, but God will now take care of him. We will continue to carry Jeremy 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.

Hear now - Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
    and strengthens the powerless.
30 Even youths will faint and be weary,
    and the young will fall exhausted;
31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
    they shall walk and not faint. 

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 Jeremy 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 Jeremy to the care of Almighty God and we ask Our Father to lead Jeremy 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 Jeremy 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.

The 3rd Sunday of Advent, The Candle of Joy, December 17, 2017

Photo by Christian Begeman

The sermon given this last Sunday, December 17th, 2017, covered the third candle of Advent, the Candle of "Joy".  Joy is such an interesting concept.  In the sermon, I discussed how Joy, unlike happiness, can occur even within the darkest moments of our lives.  Christ himself describes himself as filled with joy prior to the betrayal and execution.  We can scarcely believe that he was happy at that time, after all, he did ask for the "cup to be removed from him".  But he was filled with joy... in the sermon I referenced two pieces of scripture discussing how the Apostle Paul when faced with hopeless suffering still proclaimed to the world "JOY".

The sermon isn't very long, I once again had to edit out portions of the sermon as we had some unexpected elements introduced into the worship service and it was the Sunday of our Annual Meeting.

Please take a few minutes and listen to the sermon.

God Bless!

Pastor Roy

Below is the scripture used in the sermon.  Remember to...

Be a blessing to someone today! 

Philippians 1:3-21 (NIV)
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[b] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body,whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Acts 16:20-31 (NIV)
20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-25
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise the words of prophets, 21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.
23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

25 Beloved, pray for us.