SBC Funeral Template

Welcome and Opening Prayer

Welcome to the service for ____Shirley Spilman Rawls__________________

A dear sister in the Lord

A saint among the saints

Faithful to the end to her God who is faithful from everlasting to everlasting

Thank you for being here for the family

Thank you for coming to hear the Gospel of Shirley’s Lord

A Gospel that will ensure you she does not need your tears today

And yet, it is a Gospel that doesn’t tell you not to cry.

Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus.

He said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Therefore, you may cry. Just don’t cry for Shirley.

You may mourn this unnatural evil called death, but don’t mourn for Shirley.

She is alive. She is with Jesus.

And she is with with Raymond Jesse Rawls again—best friends in the Bride of Christ, seated at the Lamb’s table.

Let’s pray and ask God to help us honor Jesus and his servant, Shirley, today:

I AM COMFORTED WITH HIM

Comfort us with your Spirit, my Lord, and the rest will not matter.

Let your promise be our portion, and your care for our souls. Then whatever is left for our bodies will be enough.

Lord, let us sit down to eat with you. If we have a portion from your table, however much it is, just let us hear your voice saying, “I am yours, and with me are all things.” We will be content with what You allow.

Give us the comfort of your mercy and we will be quiet and at peace, and we will know that all is well. We will not worry, because you are near. Amen.

—Richard Alleine

Richard Alleine, “I Am Comforted with Him,” in Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans, ed. Robert Elmer (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2019), 105. Adjusted.

Congregational Hymn: How Great Thou Art

Eulogy: Karen Hair, Leslie Hoglund, Jo Rawls

Congregational Hymn: Amazing Grace

Homily: The Lord is My Shepherd

INTRODUCTION

There are very few passages of Scripture that have provided as much comfort for people as the 23rd Psalm. And on a difficult day where we mourn and grieve, we turn to this Psalm again.

As we turn to it, we find truth about the character of God that brings relief to our souls in our time of need.

In this Psalm we find a God who is:

Personal

Persistent

Promise-Keeping

Let’s look closer at the passage and see aspects of God’s character in the famous Psalm.

READ Psalm 23

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

HE IS A PERSONAL GOD

If you think of God as being transcendent, you aren’t wrong. He is that. He is above and beyond us. He is holy and pure. He governs the whole world. He is in total control of every single thing at every second.

That is something we have a hard time even imagining.

And yet, God is also near to us. He is a personal God who desires to have a personal relationship with His children.

And we see that clearly in the 23rd Psalm.

The pronouns that are used in the Psalm show us just how personal God is.

The Lord is my Shepherd

I shall not want

He makes me lie down in green pastures

He leads me beside quiet waters

And that goes on throughout the Psalm

Me, My, I, You--these are used over and over throughout the six verses of the Psalm

David is not talking about a God that he has only heard of, but a God that He has experienced

A God that He has walked with

It is reminiscent of Asaph’s words in Psalm 73

Asaph had acted sinfully toward God in his attitude, but God was gracious to him

Asaph says:

Psalm 73:23

Psalm 73:23 ESV

Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.

And it is no different today. He is personally caring for us in the midst of our pain and our grief.

He knows every emotion that flows through our hearts:

Emotions of sadness, sorrow, mourning

Mixed emotions of joy and regret

Feelings of weariness and restlessness

And His mercies are new every morning

He personally responds to where we are at provides the mercy we need to face the day--even difficult ones like this

Proverbs 15:3 ESV

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.

And His eyes are on you today. He sees and He is the Shepherd who will personally give you restoration (v. 3).

He will personally see to it that goodness and mercy follow you all the days of your life (v. 6)

HE IS A PERSISTENT GOD (v. 4)

He is a personal God, but He is also a persistent God. You really see this in verse 4, where David says that God is with him in the valley of the shadow of death.

Most people turn back at the valley of the shadow of death.

Our doctors

Our counselors

Some of our friends and family even…

They will walk with us a long way, but the valley of the shadow of death is a step too far for most

But it isn’t for God. He is committed to be with us in the valley.

He doesn’t just shepherd us to green pastures and quiet waters

He shepherds us in the place that few dare to tread--the valley of the shadow of death

As shepherds moved their herds from place to place in ancient times, they would often have to travel through dark valleys

These are places where robbers and wolves would hide out, waiting to ambush the shepherd and the flock

But the shepherds loved their sheep and they would go with them into these dark valleys

They would use their rod and staff to comfort them

The rod was like a club. It was used to protect the sheep. If a wolf came, the shepherd would use the rod as a weapon to keep the sheep safe from the predator.

The staff was the shepherd’s crook. It was used to direct the sheep. If they started to stray from the pack, the shepherd used the staff to steer them back in the right direction.

If they fell in a hole, they might even use the hook of the staff to pull the sheep out.

So this is a picture of what God gives to us in the valley of the shadow of death today.

We are there. We have lost life.

If it feels unnatural, that is because it is unnatural. It is not a natural part of life.

The Bible tells us that death came into the world because sin came into the world.

Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden and death entered into God’s perfect world.

And now death is the enemy of life.

And in the valley where the enemy of death casts its long shadow, we have God persisting to be with us.

Persisting to protect us from the enemies that would seek to grip us in our vulnerability.

The enemies of anxiety and addiction. The enemies of unending sorrow and the inability to cope.

He is there to keep us from a despair that paralyzes us for good. He protects us and empowers us to put one foot in front of the other, so that we can function--even as we grieve.

He persists to direct us.

As grief causes us to veer from righteousness and obedience, He is there to put us back on paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

He directs us to His Word, where we find hope. He directs people into our lives who provide comfort and care. He directs us to our knees where we pray and depend on Him.

He doesn’t just show us how to walk again, but the way in which we should go.

HE IS A PROMISE-KEEPING GOD

So he is a personal God. He is a persistent God. And finally, He is a promise-keeping God.

In verse 1, David says, “The LORD is my shepherd…”

This translates from Yahweh. “Yahweh is my shepherd,” is how it could be read.

This is God’s covenant name that Israel used for Him.

This name indicated He was not just the Creator of the Universe, but He is the God who made a promise to Israel.

A promise to place them in a land

A promise to make them a people

A promise to bless the world through them

And there are all sorts of implied promises in Psalm 23.

He will make you lie down in green pastures and lead you beside still waters (v. 2)

It rarely rained in Israel

When it was going to rain, the shepherds needed to make it last, so they would lead their flocks to green pastures where they could eat

And they would dig holes for rain to gather so that the sheep would have still water to drink from for days

God will care for and provide for us in the same way

He will restore us so that we can walk righteously in such a way that honors His name (v. 3)

As we just talked about, He will be with us in the valley of the shadow of death, protecting us and directing us (v. 4)

As a result, we do not need to fear evil

He will prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies (v. 5)

A table is usually associated with friends and family. A table has sustenance and abundance and celebration

But God will even provide that for us in the presence of our enemies

He will anoint our heads with oil (v. 5)

This means He will bless us

All throughout the Old Testament, anointing with oil is associated with God’s blessings

And not only will goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives on earth--we will dwell with God forever. (v. 6)

Meaning, He doesn’t just promise to be with us in the valley of the shadow of death, but to be with us for eternity.

These are all promises from God. The New Testament tells us that all of the promises of God find their “Yes,” in His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus is God’s Son who was born of a virgin and sent to Earth to live a perfect life.

The Bible says that everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but not Jesus.

He was not born from two human parents like me and you. We were born of two humans and we inherited their sinful nature.

But Jesus was born of a virgin and conceived of the Holy Spirit.

He was born without sin and lived without sin.

But then He died on the Cross. It was not a death He deserved.

He was punished there for our sin. He took every bit of the punishment we deserve. He died in our place for our sin.

And then He rose again.

When He did this, He proved He was the Son of God.

And He defeated sin and death for us.

And now if we repent of our sin (agree with God our sin is evil) and we turn to Christ in faith--believing that His work on the Cross and His resurrection are the only hope of salvation--we be united to Him. We will be forgiven of our sin and we will be in relationship with God.

And all the promises of Psalm 23 will find their “yes” in Christ.

True rest and provision

True restoration and obedience

True protection and direction

True blessing and abundance

And true eternal life

All of these come through Christ when you have faith in Christ

CONCLUSION

He is what you need today.

A personal, persistent, Promise-keeper.

Turn to Him and trust no other

Let me close with these words from an old Hymn called, “A Sovereign Protector I Have”:

“Inspirer and hearer of prayer,

Thou Shepherd and Guardian of Thine,

My all to Thy covenant care

I sleeping and waking resign.

If Thou art my Shield and my Sun,

The night is no darkness to me;

And fast as my moments roll on,

They bring me but nearer to Thee.”

Once you know Christ, the night is not darkness to you. He is your Shield and Your Son.

Your Shepherd and Guardian

And even the hardest moments will draw you closer to Him.

Congregational Hymn: It Is Well

Closing Prayer: Pastor David