Joe Fiume's Ashes Service

Service Message

Good morning everyone. My name is George, I’m Karen’s pastor. And on behalf of Karen, I’d like to quickly welcome everyone.

Today we continue to honor the life of Joe though this service. I’m sure just being here, remembering Joe, remembering he’s not longer with us, makes our heart heavy. However, at the same time, we know Joe lived with a hope that does not allow our sorrow to last. Because right now, he’s not in sorrow, he’s in the presence of supernatural and eternal joy. Therefore, while our hearts miss him, we also celebrate with him. That though a few years ago he passed from life to death, what we really know is... he passed from death to life in the greatest way.

I, personally, did not know Joe, but I hear about him all the time. For over a year, I’ve been meeting with his father-in-law Art every Thursday. And in his mind, it goes Jesus, then Joe. I don’t think I’ve ever had a conversation with Art that didn’t eventually make its way to how Joe radically impacted his (or someone else’s) life.

I’ve heard the stories of how Joe was - at one time - a man you did not want to meet. He was a man who had been in prison. He was a man imprisoned to darkness. Then, one day, he heard the gospel. He heard...

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

He heard the good news that - regardless of His past - God was inviting him into eternal love. And on that day, he put His faith in Jesus, the One who died on the cross for his sin. And if I recall the story correctly, he responded to an altar call - a time when people come to the front of the church for prayer and to show they want Jesus to change their lives. And at that moment, “a thousand pounds fell off his shoulders.”

The chains of sin, death, and darkness no longer had a grip on him. Jesus had freed him. And from that moment, he began to see himself in a way that the apostle Paul saw himself. In Ephesians 3, Paul called himself a “prisoner of the Lord Jesus.” From the stories I hear, Joe saw himself the same way. His life now belonged to Jesus. And Art often reminds the people of our church, “Joe only had one message, he always told me: You gotta put your faith in Jesus.”

And Joe’s life continues to impact others. I’m sure all of you know this. His life impacts you, even today. It continues to impact lives at our church in Glastonbury; and again, we didn’t get the privilege of knowing him.

And his life continues to have great impact because... he gave his life to preach the greatest message. The message that never returns void, but always accomplishes the thing that God purposed it for. He preached the good news of Jesus Christ.

And today, if Joe were to come speak to us today, I’m confident he’d say this: I was right about Jesus. I told you so. You gotta put your faith in Jesus.

And then he’d beg and plead with you to do so today. To not wait another moment, because tomorrow isn’t promised...

You know, in the Bible, Jesus tells a story of a man who died without Jesus and suddenly ended up eternally separated from God. Jesus paints this symbolic picture of a great chasm between where he was at and those who were in heaven - in paradise. And this man shouts across the chasm, “Please! Send someone back to my family to tell them I was wrong! I don’t want them ending up in this place of torment. Tell them to believe!” And the heavenly reply was, “They already have that message. If they won’t believe now, not even someone coming back from the dead will help.”

And in honor of Joe, I’d like to close by laying before you his favorite message: You gotta put your faith in Jesus.

You don’t need him to come back and tell you he was right, even though I’m confident he is. What you need to do is put your eyes on Jesus. To put your faith in Him as Lord and Savior. To turn away from sin and live your life for Jesus in the same way Joe did.

I’m gonna pray to close our time of remembering, celebrating, and honoring the life of Joe. And if today, you want to respond to Joe’s favorite message (the message about how Jesus saves sinners), then when I get to that part of the prayer, feel free to pray along in the privacy of your heart. Jesus hears you, even if no one else does.

Don’t let anything stop you. Don’t wait a moment longer. Nothing you’ve done can keep you away from Jesus. Joe is proof of that. Joe is proof that you can out-sin God’s love and grace.

Let’s pray...

Father, today we honor the life of Joe. We thank you for his life. We thank you for his love. We know his life was a gift from You, because the Bible tells us all good gifts come from you. He was a good gift. Thank you for Joe.

But most of all, we thank you that his life points us to your Son, Jesus. We thank you that how you changed his life is a picture of how you desire (and want to) change all of our lives. More than that, it is proof that you are ABLE to change any life!

So, today, God we remember the words of Joe about your son. We remember, “All we gotta do is put our faith in Jesus.” And today, some of us may need to do that for the first time. To turn away from our sin and put our faith in Jesus - just like Joe did.

And TODAY, as we pray, if you’d like to do that, maybe repeat the following, “God, I’m sorry. Forgive me for my sin. And today, I put my faith in Jesus. Please save me. Change me. Make me new as you made Joe new. And help me to live for you in the same way Joe did.”

In Jesus name we pray, amen.

Thank you everyone. Thank you for remembering, celebrating, and honoring Joe’s life with us today. God bless you all.