Joyce DeGeer Memorial Service

Intro

Welcome, my name is Ezra, and I’m one of the pastors here at Scholls… It’s my honor to welcome you to Joyce DeGeer’s Memorial Service

For those new to our building => restrooms, exits

Now: we’re here to remember Joyce as a woman of God

It is a time to weep and to rejoice, and to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15)

It is right to weep, because we know that death is an invader against the original design of creation: we don’t have to pretend that everything is OK with the loss of our sister. We have permission from God to grieve

Yet, because we know that Christ has defeated death, we don’t have to grieve without hope: if you belong to Christ, you know Joyce is with him. And so we also have cause to rejoice through our tears!

Prayer

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Songs: When We All Get to Heaven (542), Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus (350)

Open Mic for Sharing

Eulogy

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Message

Steve, Mark, Sarah—thank you for sharing those memories of Joyce with us. It seems she was a woman with a passion for Jesus from soon after trusting in him at age 16—a passion which drove her to share the gospel, to see God’s power in ocean waves, to love her family. A passion undimmed by the stroke that she endured 23 years ago, and all the resulting hardship over the past couple of decades.

I only had the pleasure of meeting her twice, but I don’t think I’ll forget the conversation we had the second time. In the course of talking, somehow the subject came up and she really wanted me to know how much Jesus loves me personally. Her face lit up, and she got excited, and although I only understood about half of what she said, I got the message: Jesus loves me.

At the end of her obituary it says about this sister, “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.”

But was she really blessed? Is it really accurate to say that she, who endured so much hardship, was blessed?

Long ago, God promised to bless a man named Abraham. He called Abraham to leave his home country and travel to a strange land—and promised that he would bless him by making his decedents into a great nation, through which all the families of the earth would be blessed. Abraham believed God and obeyed. But there was a problem: Abraham had no children.

For years, he lived as a nomad, protected by God, yet without the blessing of having his own children. Then, God came again, and promised Abraham that he would, indeed, have a son. Then, God brought Abraham outside, and said:

Genesis 15:5–6 ESV

And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Even in his lack of blessing, Abraham trusted God’s promise, and so was counted by God as righteous. But he was still childless, and now he and his wife were very old. So, they tried to gain a child through sinful means (you know the story). Yet God, in his mercy, did not reject them, but kept his promise to them. And so, finally, Sarah became pregnant, and gave birth to Isaac, the promised son. For Abraham and Sarah, it was a time of joy and blessing.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

Genesis 22:1-2 “…God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.””

What did Abraham do? He saddled a donkey, chopped wood, and took Isaac and a couple of servants, and set out for Moriah. God had asked Abraham to give up the center of his blessing, his only son. Wasn’t this the same God who promised to bless Abraham in the first place?

Abraham took Isaac and the wood up mount Moriah, built an altar, bound his son Isaac, laid him upon the altar, and picked up the knife to slaughter his son.

Then suddenly, God spoke:

Genesis 22:11-12 “Abraham, Abraham!” And Abraham said, “Here I am.” God said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

Why was Abraham willing to sacrifice his beloved, only son? Because his heart willed to obey and glorify God, no matter the cost; and because his faith had grown to the point where he considered that God would be faithful to his original promise to bless Abraham—even if that meant raising Isaac from the dead. Even if it meant that the promised blessing would come through a valley of confusion, pain, and death.

But that day, God provided a substitute—suddenly, there was a ram nearby with its horns caught in a thicket. Isaac and Abraham offered it up to God in worship.

But there is another Father in Scripture with a beloved, only Son. When Jesus was baptized, the Father declared from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And this beloved Son also walked the road to Mt. Moriah—that is, Jerusalem—in order to become a sacrifice.

But the difference is, this was not a test, as it had been with Abraham. The Father had sent the divine Son to become one of us, for us and for our salvation. He was to be sacrificed for us. He was to take the guilt and shame of our sins on himself. And so, he was offered up, like Isaac. But unlike Isaac, there was no substitute ram for Jesus. He was the substitute, the true lamb of God, the one who stood in our place to take away our sins. And so he was sacrificed, and the sins of his people—of all who would trust in him—removed forever!

And just as Abraham supposed that God might raise Isaac from the dead, so God did raise Jesus from the dead. And so the pattern for Jesus was this: darkness, suffering, and death, followed by infinite blessing. And this was the true hope and faith of Abraham all along: resurrection and the coming of God’s kingdom—where the infinite blessings of the beloved Son, the King, Jesus, are shared with all who trust in him.

But beloved, this is the pattern: that we first share in his sufferings, in this life, that we may reign with him in glory in the next, in the New Creation. That’s what Paul explains in Philippians 3:10-11. That is the pattern for the redeemed life: suffering first, then glory. Yet, even in our present suffering, the Lord is with us to comfort and sustain.

So then, was Joyce blessed? Are her husband and children right to rise and call her blessed? You know the answer, I think. But the blessing that she had in this life, through God’s presence with her, has now exploded into the incomprehensible blessedness of joy in God’s own presence.

The only question left is, do you know this Jesus, who takes away guilt? Who saves from condemnation and from hell by his free grace? Who walks compassionately with sinners and sufferers in this life? Who gives everlasting life and joy without cost to all his people? Who cleanse sinners off, and brings us into union with the infinite God?

Some day, you also will die and face this Jesus, or else you will face him when he returns as a conquering king, to defeat those who stubbornly remain God’s enemies, to finish the salvation of his people, and to make all things new. But if you have not yet believed, know this: he offers you mercy and salvation today.

And if you’re not a believer, and this message has gotten your attention, I would urge you, don’t leave today without talking to… [xyz]. There is nothing more important than know who this Jesus is, and acting on it.

[Prayer]

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Closing Song: Trust and Obey (349)

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Benediction

Reality now for Joyce:

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Yet, if you are a believer, Christ is also with you through the joys and sorrows of this world. And so, hear the benediction:

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.