Untitled Sermon

Jeremiah 29:11 NASB95

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Acts 4:36 NASB95

Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),

Welcome - Family & Friends

Bill’s Name

Celebrate/Remember/Touched/Special

I am

Serve with Bill at my first church

A huge honor for me

the short list of a handful of influential people in my life so this is extremely special

Thank you to Country Acres BC - WABC

Pastor Kelly and all the staff

Thank the family

Prayer

Thankful for Bill’s life

How Jesus will help us in this time of grief - How great Thou Art

Song - How Great Thou Art

Obituary

Video - from Trey

Song - Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus)

Introduction

Thank Trey for video

Celebration of Bill’s life - What a loss

When bill called me to lead the funeral

As I have reflected on Bill’s life his Godly character It reminded me of many of God’s attributes.

So today I would like to take a few minutes to look to God’s word for comfort to see God’s attributes in Bill’s life. And I believe most of you saw them too which is why you are here to honor his life today.

The Goodness of God

John 10:10

says Jesus “came that we may have life and have it abundantly.”

Truly Bill had a great life in Jesus

He was a hard worker

as we have read in the obituary he worked for 38 years at Johnson Control

Several times Bill went to extra classes and training in order to be better himself and advance

Bill tried to bring excellence to all he did

Not only was he a good worker He was good to work with according to many of His co-workers

Many testimonies have been given of how good Bill’s relationships were with his co-workers

As a huge honor Bill was recently awarded a “ Lifetime Achievement Award” from Johnson Control.

On this award Bill is quoted as saying many times,

“It’s ok if you disagree with me - I can’t force you to be RIGHT”

Bill was right most of the time. Haha

You can imagine Bill was great to work with

Bill was a good and faithful Deacon in church

I remember seeing him in a suit for the first time as he distributed the elements of The Lord’s Supper!

He looked different from the T-shirt he spent most of his time in. Haha!

He was faithful to take mission trips and serve the Lord however he could help

Bill was a servant of the Lord

Not to mention the amount of websites and Media teams he served on over the years

Bill was a computer guy back when most people didn’t know what a computer really was

I can’t imagine the amount of people he has helped with computer problems and needs over the years

Patience - comes to mind here

Have you ever help someone who knows nothing about computers.......

Bill was good at bowling too

so good infant he bowled Two perfect games.

12 strikes in a row twice

again exceptional

I know we would all say Bill’s life ended way too short but I also believe Jesus kept His promise that not only did Bill have a good life but it was an abundant one.

2nd we see how God Loves Us

We know God love us because Romans 5:8 says “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all of us are sinners and fall short of the glory of God”

Why did God need to demonstrate His love for us by dying for us?

Romans 6:23 says, The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

As sinners our only way to spend eternity with Christ is by confessing our sins and believing that Christ was raised

Romans 10:9-10

“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

Bill believed this.

Trey told me Both Bill and his father Fred had these verses called the Romans road glued in the front their Bibles.

This was Bill’s hope and a hope I know he wanted for everyone here today. That each one would know the Lord.

Bill demonstrated his love by the way he lived.

1 John 4:8 says, “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

Bill knew God therefore he could love like God

The way Bill Loved his family, friends and co-workers is a testament to His relationship with God

This is one of the things that drew me to Bill

If you have met Bill’s mom Lynda and his dad Fred then you understand where Bill learned what love is and how we are to love others and put others first

And it won’t surprise you then that his wife Michelle and children Melissa and Trey follow suit. I speak often of......

Melissa - Praying - youth - purity of how we should approach prayer

Trey - always concerned about other peoples needs

He often had a prayer request for a friend at school

I would hear stories of how the family would not just pray but help meet physical needs

One thing the kids told me about Bill was that,

“Dad always stressed the importance of living as Christ did. We grew up in a godly home where we did family devotions at night. Dad not only talked about God but he also lived the life God wanted. He was a vital person in us becoming followers of God.” What a great heritage.

As a music minister I hear many relatives speak about someone who has passed. Often times Jesus is not mentioned in their testimony.

This is the very definition of what love is

Michelle, Mellisa, Trey

I know you don’t need me to tell you this but next to Jesus you guys were his life

He loved you guys

Let your dad’s love cause you to stand on the truth that God loves you too

God is also our comforter

Christians can be comforted today in our grief because we know Jesus as Lord and Savior

2 Cor 1:3 says,

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

God uses those He has comforted to comfort others

A similar word we use in church today is encourager

Next to being a great friend Bill was an encourager to me and I know many others

Our pastor preached from the book of Acts 4 Sunday of a man whose name was Joseph but came to be known by the name Barnabas which means “Son of Encouragement”

obviously this was because he was an encourager

My pastor asked the congregation, “what nickname do you have at your church!”

Great question isn’t it!

To me Bill was a Barnabas

If I was upset or conflicted God used Bill’s encouragement to comfort me

Bill and I like the person in the video had a time and place where we would meet to eat and spend many hours together. We only needed to know the day we both were available

Bill was a great encourager and comforter to many

Lastly, God has a purpose for us

Our lives are not just random acts

Acts 13:36 says “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep”

David was a great king and known as “a man after God’s own heart”

David had a purpose

his purpose was to bring peace to the nation of Israel

David was a worshipper and a warrior

A man’s man. Yet he died AFTER he served his purpose

This was true for Bill just as it is for you and me

God has a purpose for his children

If you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior then what purpose are you serving?

Your life is not an accident

Bill faithfully served his purpose. He had great purpose

In Conclusion

If it’s not obvious yet I believe Bill showed much fruit in his life - meaning he lived the best he could how the Bible tells us someone who has a relationship with Him should.

It’s my prayer today that seeing how Bill lived out His purpose will bring us hope and continued encouragement over the difficult days to come.

1 Thessalonians 4:13

 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

We can have full confidence today that those who have confessed their sins and believed that Jesus died and rose again will spend eternity with Jesus.

Bill has walked down the streets of gold by now.

He has hugged the neck of Jesus.

He is in no more pain.

His sight is completely restored.

His cancer gone and never to return.

He is with his Dad, brother (Russel) and other relatives.

1 Kings 8:56 Solomon, David son, says, “Not one word has failed of all God’s good promise”

This is the good promise, John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

If you do not know Christ as your Savior and Lord The Bible says you have know hope.

BUT if you do know Christ as your Savior and Lord then Christians, we have the greatest of hopes. To see our savior Jesus one day and the loved ones like Bill who have gone before us.

Praise the Lord for our hope.

Praise God for Bills life

Thank you for placing Bill in our lives

Jesus for the cross

being resurrected

making a way for us to spend eternity with him

comfort as only you can

End with “It is Well”

Welcome

Prayer

Song 1 - How Great Thou Art

Obituary

Video - from Trey

Song 2 - Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus)

Sermon

Song 3 - It is Well

Celebration

What about this life did someone Love

He was a good man

He worked har

He loved his family

His hobby/sports

As we have gathered today to comfort one another and to share in each others grief at this moment, the most important thing is that we are prepared for when this day happens to you that you are prepared

It was “Jim Bobs testimony that he trusted Christ” and was baptized

Pivot to the gospel

As we are here to pay our last respects to Jim Bob its a reminder that there is going to be a service like this for everyone of us. The scripture tells us how to be prepared for death.

Make a clear presentation

What do they need to know

death, burial, resurrection

What they need to do

Repent

Place their faith in Christ

Invite them to do so

Call on the name of the Lord