Funeral- Shirley Klimek

Opening Remarks

On behalf of the family I want to thank all of you for being here today.

As we gather here today, still reeling from the death of Shirley Klimek, We seek to make sense of this, and to understand. What plan could this have been a part of, what possible meaning or lesson can be gleaned from this?

Unfortunately, there are no easy answers, and as difficult and painful as it is, As a family, as friends, as a community, we express our sadness. We acknowledge our loss, we acknowledge the great importance of Shirley Klimek’s life, and the loss to us all that her passing brings.

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 NASB95

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 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.

(Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

My prayer is that today we can comfort each other with a strength that comes from the comfort we receive from the Lord.

John 14:1–6 NASB95

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. “And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

When Jesus said this He knew in a few hours He would be hanging on a cross for you and me, so He prepared His disciples to face the future without fear.

He told His disciples, "Do not let your heart be troubled ", we can also apply this to our own hearts and lives today.

This scripture teaches us that while we can't prevent the losses in our life, we are able to find the strength in the Lord to get us through them.

PRAYER

SONG:

I Can Only Imagine

Obituary:

Family Member

SHARING TIME:

Share a memory or what Shirley meant to you

We ask that you keep it short to give everyone a chance to share

SONG:

The Other Side

MESSAGE:

We’ve come to share in the loss of Shirley Klimek. We’ve come to weep, to feel, and to wonder.

First: this is a time for us to celebrate the life that God gave to Carol. We’re sad but we also want to remember her uniqueness.

Shirley loved her grandkids

she loved to spend time with them

play with them

take them out to eat

take them to the YMCA

Or even to take them to the Movies

Anything to spend time with her family, which brought her much joy

including several memorable trips to different theme parks and water parks in Florida

Shirley enjoyed doing Water aerobics with her friends

one of her love languages was clearly quality time, and she shared her time generously with those she loved

She was quiet and didn’t speak up much, but she was always true and genuine

She looked out for others and put others before herself

She Always remembered birthdays of those close to her and regularly sent cards to let them know that they are loved

And so, this is a time for us to remember.

Second: it's a time for us to say good-bye to Shirley. As hard as it is, this service will help us begin the process of letting go.

And, third, it’s a time for us to take a look at our own lives.

We are all going to die someday. Now is a great time to ask some tough questions.

Questions like, “Am I ready to die?” and

“Where will I go when my life is over?”

When it comes right down to it, this service is more for us who are living than for the person who has died.

And so, we’re going to remember, we’re going to say good-bye, and we’re going to reflect on our own lives.

Some of you are searching for answers this afternoon. I want you to know that it’s OK to ask those questions.

It’s natural to wonder why this had to happen.

Some questions are the “WHY” question.

But a better question would be “WHAT NOW”?

There’s a story in the Bible that addresses some of the same things that most of us are feeling today. It’s found in the Gospel of John, in the 11th chapter. Here we read of a funeral that involved hard questions, deep feelings, and budding hope.

The deceased is a man named Lazarus. He comes from a very close family -- among them are two sisters -- Mary and Martha. Like Shirley, Lazarus came from a good family, and one of his best friends was Jesus.

Jesus arrives four days after Lazarus dies, and as he approaches the house full of people crying, both sisters run out to Him at separate times and say:

Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Mary and Martha are asking Jesus some tough questions,

“If only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

It’s really senseless to either accuse God or to try to defend Him.

But neither is it sinful to question Him.

Some of you are wondering why God would allow this to happen.

It’s OK for you to ask these kinds of questions.

Jesus does not scold these sisters for suggesting that perhaps their brother’s death was His fault.

Ecclesiastes 3:2 reminds us that there is a time for everything and that there is a Time to be born and a Time to die.

As we continue with the story, we find the shortest verse in the entire Bible. Surrounded by family and friends, Jesus is deeply moved and asks where the body of Lazarus is.

When he views Lazarus, he could have said something extremely profound.

Instead, John 11:35 tells us what Jesus DID -- “Jesus wept.”

Here is Jesus of Nazareth, the world’s most complete, most perfect man, attending the funeral of a friend and openly weeping, without embarrassment, without apology.

In fact, those watching him said, “See how much he loved him!”

God feels your pain -- he wants you to let it out -- and to let Him in on your feelings.

He wants to help you work through everything you’re feeling.

He wants to be a part of your life.

God knows what it’s like to hurt.

One day He lost a family member too, His one and only son.

—------------------------------------------------------

I have a question for you today.

Where will you go when it’s your time to die?

In this passage, Jesus said to Mary and Martha in verses 25-26 of John 11:

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”

Do you believe this?

Jesus didn’t merely say that there is a resurrection.

He claimed that HE IS the resurrection.

The fact that He would rise from the dead was the guarantee that others would too.

We often think that this is the land of the living, and that when we die we go the land of the dead.

The opposite is really true

– this is the land of the dying, when our life here is over, we are transferred into the land of the living

– either to a place of eternal joy or to a place of eternal torment.

There are really only two possible destinations.

There’s only one requirement for entrance into resurrection life -

- it’s not a matter of trying to be good or even going to church -

- the only requirement is that you personally believe that Jesus exchanged his life for yours by absorbing your sins on a cross and that He rose again so that at the moment of your death you will rise too.

You can leave this place the same way you came,

Or you can leave it trying to be a good, religious person with vague hopes of heaven.

Or, you can leave here in full assurance that you will go there when you die.

The choice is up to you.

Determine today to put your faith and trust in Jesus as the Savior and Leader of your life.

James 4:14

“What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

Shirley was not planning to die when she did

– but since life is like a vapor that appears for a little while and then passes away

– it was her time to go.

Friends, none of us know what will happen to us either.

Our lives are very fragile, aren’t they?

Proverbs 27:1 reminds us to not boast about tomorrow because we don’t know what a day will bring forth.

This passage in Proverbs gives us two very significant reasons why we should never presume upon the future:

· Life is unpredictable.

We don’t even know what will happen tonight, much less next week or next year.

The truth is that no one can predict the future.

· Life is brief.

Our lives are like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Friends, life is too unpredictable and too brief to live it without God at the centre.

We count our lives in years but God tells us in Psalm 90:12 to number our days.

The truth of the matter is that all of us are just one heartbeat away from eternity.

In 1 Samuel 20:3, David said,

“Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”

Our lives are like a vapor

– here one minute and gone the next.

Don’t put off this decision.

Decide today to give your life to Jesus.

Jesus said,

“Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies.”

Do you believe this?

If not, don’t waste another minute of the only life you have.

Right now, right here, decide to pin all your hopes on Jesus Christ, and him alone, who exchanged his life for yours, and who, in the next life, will greet you on the other side

-- if you receive Him into your life now.

Romans 10:9–10 NASB95

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; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Whether it is for the first time or the hundredth, let us all confess with our mouths together and pray the sinner’s prayer.

I remember Shirley responding to an altar call one Sunday as she repeated this same prayer in a rededication her life to Jesus.

So don’t just repeat these words; pray them, believe them, and act on them:

Repeat after me:

Lord Jesus, I come to you a sinner.

Forgive me of the sins I have committed.

I believe that you are the Son of God, the Saviour of the world.

I believe that You died on the cross for my sins

I believe that You rose from the dead the third day

Come into my heart, and make me new.

I receive You as my Lord and Saviour.

Now, help me to live for you the rest of this life.

Amen!

Let’s sing the first verse to that classic hymn: Amazing Grace, and I pray that these words have new meaning for you this evening.

SONG Amazing Grace

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see.

Song

Scars in Heaven

hand it over to the funeral directors