Memorial Service Dion Edward Hodge

Introduction: On behalf of the The Way church Family we offer you our heart felt sympathy to the Hodge & Clement Family…to the expanded family members and friends.

Family, please remember Lean Hard on God’s Love. Know that He and this church family is here to see you through Amen Church? There you go you heard first hand in the church.

Lets Us Pray-Almighty God, in your great love you crafted us by your hand and breathed life into us by your Spirit. Although we became a rebellious people, you did not abandon us to our sin. In your tender mercy you sent your Son to restore in us your image. In obedience to your will he gave up his life for us, bearing in his body our sins on the cross. By your mighty power you raised him from the grave and exalted him to the throne of glory. Rejoicing in his victory and trusting in your promise to make alive all who turn to Christ, we commend you for your mercy and Praise your creativeness of Dion Edward Hodges. And we ask that you place your mighty hand on the hodges and clement family. Crown their heads with wisdom and knowledge that produces a spiritual understanding to your will and your way. Bless us o Lord in your mighty name we pray Amen.

We have come here today to remember before God Dion Edward Hodge:

✶ To give thanks for his impactful life;

✶ To commend to God for what He has given us through Dion’s time here on this earth.

✶ and lastly To comfort one another in our grief. Look to your left and then to your right. We are here for each other.

One of the amazing gifts that impresses me most about the God we serve, is His uniqueness and detail to the creation of mankind. According to the Scriptures, humans are not an evolutionary accident but a special creation. We were purposefully produced by God to fulfill a preordained role in His world. We have peculiar qualities that somehow reflect the nature of God Himself that sets us apart and above all other created things. So we come today to admire and celebrate the uniqueness that God created inside of Dion Edward Hodge.

Today’s New Testament scripture comes from the book of Revelation. It should have sparked a reminder to the members here at The Way. Some months back in one my sermons I invited everyone to an appointment for when we get to heaven to meet every month on the 2nd Tuesday @2pm under the tree of life. Prayerfully we can see each other and Dion will be under that tree waiting on us.

Our Old testament scripture comes from the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon the writer mentioned there is a time for everything down here on earth. This is one of those occasions where the end on this side of life for Dion has expired and he now rest waiting to see us again on the other side.

The bible is one of the most read books and one of the best sellers of all time. Reports stated tat during the pandemic Bible apps and hard copies almost double in the number of purchases. It’s truly the book made for me. The bible itself is a book that begins with creation and ends with an eternal promise. Everything in life is made to end one day. A favorite show has its final episode, or a favorite character dies. Even in our personal lives, I use to could jump, but now not so anymore. You maybe surprised but I used to own a pick for my hair. But sadly all things must come to an end and usually not the way we predicted it.God is our Anchor in times like these. Storms in life are inevitable, because they are interwoven into the fabric of life, but our anchor is immovable and unchanging. It holds us solidly to the rock of Christ.

Genesis and Revelation’s are the bookends to a book that holds all the things that we need for life and Godliness. It teaches us how to love, how to speak the truth, how to forgive and definitely how to treat one another. If this book is so popular why are people so mean to one another. We working on that

Genesis 1:1 says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. I believe in God, the father Almighty maker of heaven and earth. These words are only the beginning of a book of beginnings, a prologue to a prologue. Genesis gives more than an account of creation, it describes other beginnings, humanities fall into sin and the start of God's elaborate rescue mission for all people. It tells what happened first in many important respects (creation, sin, judgment, languages, racism, marriages, but at the center of Genesis lies God sovereign call to Abram and Sarai one of the greatest beginnings of all.

In Revelations, chapter 22. At the end it says this “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone add these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book and if anyone takes away from the words of this book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life from the holy series, and from the things which are written in this book. Everything that God has placed in this book has happened or will happen. It gives us everything, even today at this moment, we are here at this memorial service. There is hope in this Bible there is joy in this Bible there’s love in this Bible, why because God said I wrote knowing the Clement and Hodges family would need more peace more understanding as the questions arise as the days go on. As Deon‘s absences becomes more and more evident in their daily lives. This void will need to be filled with substances that withstand all the unnecessary noise. We need what is between Genesis and revelations. Just as we will see the dash on the tomb stones of our loved ones and the impact that they made in our lives, we need to realize the dash between Genesis and revelations gives us so much more substance and foundation and strength to be able to overcome the days that are ahead. The bible says go ahead and celebrate the creative Joy of Dion. The beautiful mind and craftiness that he was able to do with his hands. His giftedness was surely from our almighty God. The memories his family would love to know that brings smiles to there faces and warmth to their hearts. We are here to say that Our God is Alive and He is able and that we praise Him and thank Him for Dion, We thank him for Dion’s heart, We thank him for Dion’s amazing gift of creativity. Dion could make a Picasso out of spray cans, He could make statue of liberty from bricks and motor. That’s the Dion we praise the Lord for today. We who are still here lets set our calendar to one day meet under that tree of life in the New Garden of Eve that has no end date. Don’t let this side of life be the end but rather let it be means to a greater eternal places that means more than we can ever imagine.

When we pause to remember the life of Deon, we are forced to reflect on our own lives. What are our goals? What is really worthwhile and important? Jesus, in the mist of a crowd of followers, turned to one man and said “follow me” . But the man said Lord, let me first go and bury my father. Jesus told him, let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:59-60)

Jesus, is not telling us to neglect the burial of our loved ones, but he’s teaching us what is more important? to preach the kingdom of God. Jesus, himself wept at Lazarus grave, but it motivated him to action? We should not focus too long on death, but we should allow it to inspire us to preach life, life found only through Jesus Chris our Lord, who said I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. (John 14:6)

John Wesley, once said

“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can”

This is what Dion wants to say to us today”Death is nothing at all, it does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was. I am I, and you are you, and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. Call me by the old familiar name. Speak with me in the easy way which you always used to. Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of Solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. there is absolute in an unbroken continuity. What is the death but a negligible accident? Why should I be out of your mine because I am out of side? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well “written by Henry Scott Holland.”

Let us Pray; Lord, help us to know what is most important in this life, and to live for you alone. Comfort our grieving hearts, and bless and sustain our memories of Dion, let is find comfort in know that death has not won this battle and that Dion is still in our hearts our mind and surely in our thoughts. Father you said in your word to Fear, not, for I am with you, you said do you not be dismayed, for I am your God. You said I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will hold you with a righteous right hand. And that would be enough. This we do pray in your precious Son’s name all those said AMEN