Funeral Sermon - Jake Giesbrecht

Intro

Introduce myself

Did not have the honour to meet Jake

Did get to meet with the family and learn more about him

*Share time of looking at pictures together*

Let us turn our attention to Psalm 8.

Not a commonly used Psalm at a funeral, but a psalm that I believe fits Jake well

In fact, I was able to look at his personal Bible… it was highlighted and underlined!

More than that, it is full of hope for us all today; God’s Word holds truth we all need to hear

Read Psalm 8 “To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

Works of Your Hands (Psalm 8)

Psalm 8 is a praise psalm

Begins and ends with the declaration of praise, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

Not a lament psalm (as might be expected)

The Lord is still majestic; still worthy of our praise; still the awesome, Creator God

And this is the reason for praise in Psalm 8: God is the Creator of an awe-inspiring Creation

King David looks around him at the heavens, the moon and stars and is awestruck at “the work of God’s fingers”

Later in verse 6 the entire earth is described as “the work of God’s hands”

Jake was someone who truly appreciated the work of God’s hands, similar to David all those thousands of years ago

Share about his love of both work and outdoors.

All of us can know a bit about God by appreciating the value of work and beauty of nature

This draws us closer to God, where He reveals even more about who He is and what He has done

Mindful (Psalm 8)

And so King David is awestruck at the beauty and vastness of Creation; God is… BIG (majestic)

Despite the holiness and majesty of the Creator, he is mindful of us

Re-read Psalm 8:3-4 “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”

This doesn’t make sense! It should not be the case! God doesn’t need us, doesn’t require us, is so much… bigger (more majestic) than we are

And yet… he chooses to be mindful

“Mindful” means to remember; be aware; take into consideration

The promise that makes no sense in this Psalm is that the Creator of the Universe in mindful of you, and of me

Share about losing Selah and naming Silas Zachary (the Lord has remembered)

The Lord is mindful of you in the midst of your grief

He is not unaware, uncaring or distant. He is turned towards you, sharing your tears

He does not lift grief as if to escape it; He sits beside you and offers His shoulder to cry on and His peace that passes understanding

Today, of all days, God is mindful of you

Are You Ready?

The Lord was also mindful of Jake, even on that unexpected last day of His life

Tragedies and loss can lead us to question God; Where was He? Why did He allow this to happen?

Ask these questions, God can handle it

There may be no answers, but there are promises, starting with the mindfulness of God (that was always true)

Jake trusted that God was mindful of him, and he trusted in Jesus Christ as His Lord and Saviour

Talk about Jake holding kids/grandkids in hands; highlight importance of trust

Read Romans 10:9 “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Believe = trust

This trust made Jake ready to live, ready to die, and ready to live forevermore

He did not know that would be his last day, he did not know God would call him home, He did not know he would breathe his last… but because of his trust in Jesus, he was ready

Are you ready?

Re-read Romans 10:9 and pray