John S. Johnson Funeral

Welcome

On behalf of the family I would like to thank you all for coming to celebrate the life of John Johnson. We have gathered here to praise God and to witness to our faith as we celebrate her life. 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.

Prayer

Eternal God, we praise you for the great company of all those who have finished their course in faith and now rest from their labor. We praise you for those dear to us whom we name in our hearts before you. Especially we praise you for Bobbye, whom you have graciously received into your presence. To the family and friends gathered here, grant your peace. Let you light shine on them; and help us so to believe where we have not seen, that your presence may lead us through our years, and bring us at last with them into the joy of your home not made with hands but eternal in the heavens; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Song: God Is

Lesson

As a pastor I have a very strong love/hate relationship with funerals. There is sorrow for the loss of a loved one and a pain that is unexplainable until you have experienced that kind of loss. But within that sorrow and loss I am given the opportunity to speak with incredible families that light up as they speak about their loved one and share memories about their life and their family. Speaking to the Johnson’s about the life of John was a blessing for me. Watching them retell the stories of John brought a smile to my face and for those who knew John will understand why.

John was an interesting character! He loved music, movies, fishing, the outdoors, planes, cars, all things Disney, his job, his staff, and most of all his family. He loved life. When I say that he loved these things you have to understand that I don’t mean that these are the things he liked to do with his time. These are the things he had a passion for.

He would spend his time in the OR playing Name That Tune where they would name the song, the singer, the album, the year, and many other facts. He passed this love for music to his family and would have Liz listen to different radio stations on the way to school every day. They even listened to the opera stations. He told her that she did not have to like all the music that they listened to but that she needed to appreciate it.

There are very few movies that John did not see. The only one the family could think of was the Godfather, which surprised me a little. With his love of movies he also loved all things Disney. He watched the movies and took his family to the theme park multiple times. Even took a few family members, who will remain nameless, to the top of the Tower of Terror as they cried the whole way up.

He flew planes and built amazing cars with his son. Participated in Make-a-Wish foundation. He did so many incredible things with his life and we could spend all day recounting all of the the things he did in his life but all of these things are just metal. These are the things in life that are icing on the cake. The true character of John was found in the love he had for people.

John genuinely cared for people and treated them like family. He used everything at his disposal to bless and love those around him.

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 ESV

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 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 have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

John spent his entire life trying to show love to others. He treated his staff as if they were family and made sure that every single one of them were taken care of and provided for. During the Christmas season he would buy Christmas gifts for his staff and their entire family. He wanted to make sure that they had a good salary so that they could make a living and provide for their family. Many of them have said that working for him was the greatest time in their life.

John also made sure to take time for his family and to show them how much he loved them. He took the things he loved to do in life and passed those along to his kids so that they could be together. I am sure it was fun getting to do things like building cars and model airplanes, going on hikes and trips, but the greatest joy didn’t come from those things alone. It came from getting to do those things with his kids, grandkids, and the rest of his family. John figured out what Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians 13. Life is not about the stuff you have or the things you do. Life is about love and he loved every single one of you so very much.

Unfortunately, life is not alway easy nor is it always fair. We will experience hardship in life and John was no exception. He experienced struggles and the highs and lows in life. Two verses that were given to me by the family are found in Matthew 6:34 and Isaiah 41:13

Isaiah 41:13 ESV

For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

Matthew 6:34 ESV

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

John knew that the Lord was with him no matter the circumstances and while he battled with cancer he and Julie clung to Isaiah 41:13. When things where hard and when he struggled he knew that the Lord was His strength and foundation. He had a deep relationship with God and he made sure that his family went to church every Sunday. He knew that God loved him and that it was important to him that his family would also know that but it was also important to him that others would know the love of God. He didn’t do this by holding great speeches about his faith or through pushing his faith on others. He did so through the example he set. He did so by being the salt and light of the world. His actions spoke so much louder than any word ever could and he has shown each and every one of you the love of Jesus Christ through the love he had for you all. As you continue to celebrate the life of John Johnson I would encourage you to truly take time to celebrate. Take time to mourn but don’t forget to celebrate all the times you had with him. To his friends I encourage you to share the stories that you have with the family and let them know of all the great times you had with John. Share with them how much he meant to you. To the family I would also encourage you to take time to sit around and share stories with each other. Laugh about all of the crazy things you did together like the hike to Pikes Peak where toe nails were lost and the barrel roll at Disney running to get in line. Make sure that you share stories like these and laugh about all of the good memories you have. The loss of a loved one is a sorrowful thing but that doesn’t mean you can’t sit around and laugh together. Above all things I would encourage you to let John be an example for you. An example for what is important in life. That the greatest thing you can have in life is love. Love for other, love for your family, and a love of God. Let us pray.

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