Kyle Bennett
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Celebration of Life
Celebration of Life
Hello and Welcome
Thank you all for coming
We’re hear to mourn the loss of a friend and celebrate the impact Kyle had on all of us
Hear from Kyle’s mom Teri
I’ll speak:
Slideshow:
Hear from Kyle’s brothers
Here from some if you would like to tell a story or a memory of Kyle
Pray:
Lord God we come before you today and we ask you for peace
In our grief and sorrow God we know that your Holy Spirit is our comforter
Give us a peace that surpasses all understanding
It says in your word, blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted, bring us comfort today
As we honor a son, a brother and friend today
We Thank you that we had the privilege and honor to know Kyle
God give us a bigger perspective today and draw us closer to you
In your Son’s precious name we pray Amen
Hear from Kyle’s Mom Teri
On Behalf of Kyle’s Family and Friends I would like to say Thank you for coming today
It means a lot that you’re here to support and celebrate
Today we’ve come to not only Mourn the loss of a Son, a brother and a friend
But we came to celebrate the Life of a good Man
What interests me about the loss of a loved one is the binding property behind one persons life
How one person’s can impact so many people and bring us all together for a purpose
That purpose today is to honor Kyle
Introduction:
For those of you who don’t know me
My name I Joel Johnson
My wife and I Pastor Reign Church here in town
I’ve known Kyle for close to 10 years
And for a short time Kyle and I were roommates
I was fortunate enough to get to know him for the time that I did
Things I remember about
Kyle had a distinct voice that I could always know if he was around
I could walk into a room and hear him before anyone else
His laugh was contagious along with his sayings, idioms and catch phrases
Kyle Loved America and his community
Kyle had a warmness about him that when you saw him you couldn’t help but smile
He had a way of making everything fun
HE was a great listener and had a way of making you feel important when he talked to you
A few months before Kyle’s passing I got the opportunity to hang out with Kyle
We hadn’t seen each other or talked in a while but it was like no time had passed at all
I was driving everyone in my car and he was the last one out
Go figure
I went to shake his hand to say goodbye
He said and I quote “Get your ass out of the car and give me a hug”
Fortunately the last time I talked to Him I told Him I loved him
I want to read to you an excerpt from a news article written about Kyle’s passing:
“The death of Kyle Bennett is described by many as a heartbreaking Loss, he was praised by friends and neighbors as a sociable cheerful person, always ready to help others.
“Although Kyle’s life was cut short by the accident, he left a positive impact on the local community. Kyle was involved in numerous charitable activities, such as donating food to the homeless and tutoring underprivileged children.”
Despite his departure, Kyle’s contributions will be remembered and cherished indefinitely”
When people describe Kyle as a shirt of their back kind of guy, that’s who he was:
He was always ready to help out wherever he could and was incredibly generous
I’ve been to more hospital visits and my share of icu waiting rooms than I care to be in my life:
I can honestly say the turnout for Kyle’s Honor walk was the biggest hospital turnout for someone I’ve seen at one time
If your not familiar with a Heroes/Honor Walk it’s when someone who is an organ donor is wheeled to to do just that
Even in death Kyle is still giving life and his heart to help someone else
It’s often in the loss of a loved one we are left with unanswered questions:
Some of those questions we won’t know on this side life
We experience pain, grief, anger, sorrow
We often don’t know how to process the feelings
IN the Gospel Of John Jesus says in
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
In Death there is sorrow much like we’re feeling to day:
The Apostle Paul says:
55 “O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”
There is a sting to death he likens to that of sting of an animal like a bee or scorpion:
It often comes on you suddenly
Sometimes unexpectedly
But it leaves us with a lasting painful and an indelible mark
Another definition of that word is like a prodding
For all us the pain of losing someone is the prodding of our own mortality
That in the end death comes for us all
Paul later goes on to say:
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
There is a way to have victory in Death:
There is a way to be certain of where you go in the afterlife:
Jesus makes it abundantly clear in the gospel of John 14
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
How do we choose Jesus while we’re here on this earth:
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
He makes it easy to make that decision
Paul tells the Roman church how they can gain salvation:
The interesting part of Paul’s life is that he didn’t start out as an apostle for Christ
He was quite the opposite
He was a man who persecuted and killed Christians
The thing about the Bible is God and one of the many reasons I believe it to be the Word of God
Is that God is transparent
God doesn’t hide the fact that he has and will continue to call flawed and unqualified people to himself
1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
In the midst of all the trouble he was causing to the church
God still was offers Him the free gift through Jesus
If we believe in Him and we call on the name of the Lord
We can be sure where we are going for eternity
You cant out-sin the Father’s love
Be sure today on where you are going it can be as simple as saying Lord what do you want me to do?
I would like to extend an invitation to you:
If you would like to know more about Jesus
Please come talk to me after this is over
I would love to pray with you or try and answer any questions you may have
I want to leave you with this quote by Henry Thoreau:
“On the death of a friend, we should consider that the fates through confidence have devolved on us the task of a double living, that we have henceforth to fulfill the promise of our friend's life also, in our own, to the world.”
To Paraphrase:
With the distinct honor that we had of being Kyle’s friend, we must now take on the responsibility to fill the holes in the world that he is leaving in his passing.
Slideshow:
Josh And Kasey
Open Mic:
Pray:
God we thank you today for the privilege and the distinct honor it was to know KYLE
Thank you for the people that came here to support and celebrate a brother
We ask that you comfort us
Show us you love and your Mercy today God
Will bless this food that we are about to partake and bless the hands that prepared it
We thank you for safety as we go back to our homes
We ask this all in your Son precious name
Amen