Judy Rouch Memorial Service

Judy’s Life

Judy loved her family.

Judy and Keith had a wonderful marriage. They were married for 58 years. They met in high school in algebra class. You wouldn’t thing algebra was a place to fall in love. They didn’t either, because they didn’t start dating until their sophomore year of college.

Judy had a degree in elementary education. They lived in Wisconsin for 17 years before moving to Versailles with Keith’s work at UK.

Judy and Keith have to successful and driven sons, Eric (an engineer) and Tim (an architect).

Judy was a great artist. Her charcoal drawings are spectacular. Besides charcoal, she did faux finishes, stained glass, and interior design. She was an artist at heart. I can always appreciate an artist, because they make the world a more beautiful place. Through her talents, she was able to provide much work to the Jack Jouett House here in Versailles.

Keith and Judy joined VBC in 2011. She served her church in various ways: Sunday School and Flower Committee among others.

Judy and Keith travelled all over the world: England, France, Canada, and all over USA.

Explanation

The Scripture that Judy wanted used in this service was Psalm 23. The other Scripture was the Lord’s Prayer. I want to share a few words of comfort from the prayer.

I think it says a lot that the Scripture she wanted shared was the Lord’s Prayer.

This passage provides both Jesus’ view of His Heavenly Father, and the way that believers can relate to our Heavenly Father.

Matthew 6:9–13 ESV

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. “God is a good Father, AND He is a glorious ruler of the universe. Neither reality diminishes the other.

The Importance of Father

We have a father in heaven. We skip over the term because we are so familiar with it. I have a little boy, and I want you to know that I would do ANYTHING for him.

When he asks me for a glass of milk, I get him sippy cup of milk. When he wants a snack, I get him a snack. When he is scared, I hold him. When he cries in the middle of the night, I go sit with him and calm him.

You could ask me for those things, and I am probably not going to do it for you. Why? Because I am not your Father. BUT, because I am his father, it doesn’t matter how big my job, my life, my everything actually is… if he is my son, I will do anything for Him.

God sees Judy in the same way, and He sees all of us who have called on his name in the same way.

Hallowed?

May your name be made holy. May your name be glorious.

May we place the weight on your name that is due your name

Judy found out last week in full, what she has known to be true from the moment she trusted in Jesus, that our Heavenly Father is both incredibly loving and incredibly glorious.

God is glorious, and He is good. And Judy experiences Him in full today.

That God is both willing and able to save us is best seen in the raising of Lazarus.

Jesus saw the despair that death caused and he wept.

Jesus did something that none of the rest of us can do… he walked up to the edge of that grave and he called Lazarus out of the grave.

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

“We know that God is good, and God is glorious.” We know that Judy sees Him in full right now. What does that mean for us today.

God will do three things in seeing his Kingdom come.

He will destroy the Kingdom of Darkness.

Just as death and destruction entered the world through sin, so God grants grace and life.

God is ending the brokenness of the world one heart at a time.

As each heart comes to know him the domain of darkness gets pushed further and further away.

Judy is an inheritor of the Kingdom, and her work on behalf of Christ Jesus pushes back the domain of darkness.

He will advance the Kingdom of Grace.

God is in the restoration business.

How does God do this? By his grace.

For everyone who calls on the name of Jesus, they will be saved.

God’s grace is his goodwill towards us bestowed in the person and work of Jesus.

He will hasten the Kingdom of Glory.

Revelation 21:1–6 ESV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.

God provided for Judy. Our days are numbered, but God sees those days.

But more than daily provision, God provided Himself as a way of salvation.

Christ came, lived, and died that we would have eternal life.

Prayer