Kelly Alicia St. James-Sims Funeral

Procession

Psalm 91:9-15 New International Version 9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;

Opening Sentences

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

Invocation

Almighty God, help us amidst the trails and temptations of the moment to preserve within us that childlike faith and trust which entertains no doubt of thy love or care. So comfort and strengthen us now that neither sorrow or the shock of death shall have any dominion over us; we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Eulogy/Words of Comfort

“New Things”

Scripture: Isaiah 42:10“Sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord from the end of the earth! (NAS)

Friends we have gathered here today in this place to celebrate, remember, and praise God for the life of Kelly St. James-Sims

• Though she may be gone from our daily life, she will never be removed from our thoughts and memories. Through wisdom known only to God, we were privileged to know her, and to have her in our lives.

• We acknowledge this day that she has run her race, she has finished her course, and in doing so she left an indelible mark on our world, impacting and helping shape the lives of others, her children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, many counsins, and friends, and many other lives which are too numerous to count.

• We all have our memories of Kelly St. James-Sims, mine, as few as they were clearly showed me two things; One – She Loved God, Two – She Loved Others, her life was an example of the greatest commandment lived out in real life.

• Today we say goodbye, at least for now, to this very special lady. And today, as we stop to remember Kelly St. James-Sims and all those things that made her unique, who made her who she was, and so special to us.

• Her gifts were many, as you look around this room you can see several of the beautiful things she created. We all have our memories of Kelly St. James-Sims… God gives us these memories for a reason, to sustain us in times such as this.

• It is also during seasons of life such as this that we realize that life as we know it is uncertain. Scripture tells us that we’re not guaranteed tomorrow, or even the rest of today for that matter.

• But today we can find comfort that in the fact that Jesus has power over the grave, power over death!

• I’m always amazed how Scripture is so realistic. It contains words and actions, which express the whole range of human emotions, and in some ways the book of Psalms is a composite of the Bible.

• The 150th Psalm is a closing song of Praise. After 149 songs that speak of the human existence, of pain and joy, sorrow and celebration, the psalmist closes with a simple song of praise

• “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”

• And that is what I would say here today. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!”

• I am convinced that the emotions that we are experiencing today are shared with us by God. He loves us, His children and desires the very best for us,

• When we weep, He weeps with us, when we laugh about special times, He laughs with us – there isn’t any part of life that He is absent from.

• We read in John 11 of how Jesus came to the tomb of His friend Lazarus, and how He wept at the death of his friend, but that wasn’t the end of the story, we then read of how he brought him back to life… oh what a celebration that was

• Jesus even overcame death in His own resurrection… oh what a celebration for us. Jesus overcame death and because of Him, we too will as well!

• Today as we celebrate Kelly St. James-Sims life with us, and how she touched our lives, we can look forward to the day when death will be destroyed, but until that day comes… God is here!

• God is a God of love, one who brings comfort, who brings peace and understanding, but he is also God in all times, past, present and future… and through it all we see the recurring statement “let everything praise the Lord”

• This is a theme that Kelly St. James-Sims was well aware of, in her Bible, she highlighted a passage from Isaiah 42 – verse 10 says these words.

• “Sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord from the end of the earth! (NAS)

• In this life we sing the praises of God, praises for His blessings, praises for his goodness and love. Kelly St. James-Sims sang those praises, and she sings them still, today in the presence of God!

• To all the things Kelly St. James-Sims was to us, today we add one more word to that list- "NEW". In 2nd Corinthians 5:11 we read these words.

• "If any person be in Christ, they are a new creation; old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." (NAS)

For today Kelly St. James-Sims has a lot of "NEW" things, including, a body free from pain, a body fashioned in the image and likeness of Jesus himself. A body she can use to enjoy all the splendors of that place called heaven – from a fallen world, raised up to a perfect eternity.

• My friends, this is a perfect picture of Kelly St. James-Sims because on January 6, 2023 the old things passed away and behold, all things indeed became new for her. We can only imagine,

• Kelly St. James-Sims no longer imagines it, she lives it! In conclusion,

Cancer is so limited...

It cannot cripple love,

It cannot shatter hope,

It cannot corrode faith,

It cannot eat away peace,

It cannot destroy confidence,

It cannot kill friendship,

It cannot shut out memories,

It cannot silence courage,

It cannot invade the soul,

It cannot reduce eternal life,

It cannot quench the Spirit,

It cannot lessen the power of the resurrection.

Will we trust in the Lord for the help, strength, love, comfort that we need for the day. He hasn’t promised us tomorrow. Trust and Obey for there is no other way to find happiness in Jesus.

God has been good to me.

To tell in part demand new words.

His gracious power in so many ways

has blessed me through long years

of happy days. I have not eloquence

to voice his praise;

I can but say with grateful heart

“God has been good to me.

Prayer

O Thou, the God of all comfort and compassion, look upon these the bereaved, whose hearts are heavy with grief. Let now the ties that have been broken be bound by Thy love and their faith in Thee. Through this experience grant them the strength to offer themselves in dedication and service to Thee, it is now in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord we submit our petition. Amen.

Recessional

The services here are now concluded, let us now proceed to the cemetery where the interment will take place.