Jordan Collier Funeral Sermon 4-6-24

Good afternoon and, on behalf of Jordan’s family and friends, thank you for joining them today to celebrate Jordan’s life and impact 21 years can have on such a tribe as his. As we start our memorial service today, would you join me in a word of prayer.

· Opening Prayer- Juston

Father, we want to start this morning by acknowledging that you love us and you are with us. Your word tells us you are near to the brokenhearted. However, we also want to acknowledge that because of you we also have great reason to celebrate. Jordan’s life was one well lived because he was the kind of person who squeezed 2 minutes out of every 1. Many gathered here today are the living testimony of the impact of his life and we can only pause to celebrate him by thanking you for him. We ask that as we remember his live today that you will be with us, that you will wrap us with your love and show us mercy and grace as we grieve as those with hope, but still grieve none the less. Be with us this in this time, we ask in Jesus name, Amen.

· Obituary- Juston

Jordan Hurst Collier, age 21, of Mt. Vernon, Missouri, passed away on Sunday, March 24, 2024. He was born September 27, 2002, in Springfield, Missouri, the son of Jonathan and Jennifer (Hurst) Collier.

Jordan was a 2021 graduate of Mt. Vernon High School and worked for FedEx Ground. He played football and baseball in high school and was a huge New Orleans Saints Football Fan. Jordan was baptized at the Mt. Vernon Christian Church, December 12, 2010. His favorite scripture was Psalms 23, “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Jordan lived life that way, without fear. He loved his family and friends and touched so many people’s lives. Jordan was full of joy and was always the one making people laugh. He will forever be missed by his family and friends.

Jordan is survived by his parents, Jonathan and Jennifer; one brother, Jackson Collier; his maternal grandparents, Jack and Carol Hubbard and Bill and Judy Hurst; paternal grandparents, Mike and Kari Collier; five aunts and uncles, Rusty Stover and wife, Melody, Kelsey Hurst and Joe Caddick, Will Collier and wife, Shawna, Heather Collier and Melinda Jordan; one great-aunt, Jan Scantlin; several cousins and his beloved dog, Rome.

Jordan was preceded in death by his paternal great-grandparents, Bill, and Sue Collier; maternal great-grandparents Bill and Clessie Hurst and Virgil and Ardie McPherson and his uncle, Darin Hurst.

· Song- I’ll Fly Away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYyyfw349FI (2:13)

· Remembrances

o Payton

o Mason

o John

o Tom Cox

· Song- The Circle Be unbroken/Daddy Sang Base. Johnny Cash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_geYBnMNG0 (2:23)

· Sermon-Juston

Through the years the 23rd Psalm has been a welcomed refuge of comfort in chaotic lives. It speaks of a life founded on the great love of God. A love that Jordan had tattooed on himself, so that he would always be reminded of it.

Psalm 23 (ESV)

A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 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.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The images in this great psalm of David, here, point us to a God of care and comfort. Just as a Shepherd cares for the sheep of his flock, the Lord causes us to find rest. Not rest in deserts or barren landscapes but by lands of rich pastures and flowing waters. You can feel the coolness of the water and the gentle sound of streams portrayed here. Peace and content-ness wash over the sheep because the Shepherd is near. He not only provides choicest of lodging, but he also leads and protects us from those that mean for our harm. The sheep has no fear because the rod and staff guide and protect from any enemy. While the journey takes them through the valley of the shadow it ends with a buffet of God’s grace and riches. The enemies and struggles that used to come against us watch on as God sets the table right in front of their faces. And so, it will be for the sheep of the Shepherd as he makes their home with him forever.

Truly a beautiful story of hope and comfort but more than that a promise for you and I. Though we, like sheep often lose our way and forget the path our good Shepherd never lets us get out of sight.

Jesus speaks to this role in John 10:14-18

John 10:14–15 (ESV)

14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

He’s not like a hired hand whom you send out to look after your flock. Those guys would bail at the first sign of predators or bandits, deeming their own lives more important than someone else’s sheep or a meager paycheck. No, he’s intimately aware of the sheep because they are his. He hears their cries and attends to them. While others might abandon the sheep at the first sign of trouble, he does not. He puts himself between the danger and the sheep, laying down his own life to protect them. He lays down his life for those he loves and shows us how to do the same for those around us.

Jordan placed his hope and trust in Jesus Christ as his savior, and the same love he was shown by him, he poured out on you all as well. And While we would have liked many more years with him, his shepherd called him home. A home beside stilled waters, tables that no enemy can threaten, and goodness that doesn’t end. Jordan is home. And the truth is this, for those in Christ, those who have tasted and seen the goodness of the shepherd, we will see Jordan again. The Bible teaches that anyone who believes in the name of Jesus and confesses him before men will be saved. Jordan did that and you can as well. I would encourage you all to seek the Lord during this time. Fall on him for comfort and strength. Put your faith and trust in him and ask for guidance. Because he is the good shepherd. He knows your voice and you can learn to hear his as well.

You see, the truth of today is that this is not goodbye, simply see you in a bit. Paul encourages us with his words to the 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 (ESV)

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

We grieve just like everyone else. We will feel the pain, the loss, the grief that is common to everyone but we have hope. Hope that this is not the end and, that, in fact, with Christ there is no end. For those in Christ there is only eternity. Eternity with a shepherd that loves and cares and knows. He knows our hearts and cares for us deeply.

This is the hope that Jordan had. A hope, founded in the love of his shepherd who knew him and loved him. Many of you in this room are the recipients of the effects of this love, as Christ moved in Jordan’s life. Whether that was a late night snap asking how you were doing, seemingly out of nowhere, or him getting all of his orders done faster than anyone thought possible so that he could be in 3 places at once to be there for everyone, or just always being there to listen when you needed someone. He cared deeply for his family and his friends. And it showed deeply as he found ways to be there for you even when you didn’t know you needed him to be. In some ways, that is the legacy he hands down to us. Just as Christ cared for him, and he cared for us, we need to take on the challenge of caring for one another in that same way. Its on us now to take that light that Jordan brought and give it to those around us. That is the life that we celebrate today and we honor his memory by continuing to love each other as he loved us.

Let us pray.

God, thank you so much for the 21 years we had with your servant Jordan. We thank you for the love that he showed and the faith that he had. We thank you for all the lives that he touched and the legacy that outlives him. We thank you for all the jokes, all the Friday night lights, all the practices and phone calls at just the right time. We thank you for the time we had with him knowing that before he was ever ours, he was yours. That as much as we loved him, your love goes further than even ours. We thank you for the hope and truth that we can rest in, that while he fought for everything in his life, his fighting is done because you’ve already won the victory for him. We praise you, we love you, and we thank you for the cross that paid the way for our salvation.

In Jesus name, Amen.

· Song- Go Rest High on That Mountain- Vince Gill. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jXrmAKBBTU (4:21)

· Dismissal Prayer and Reception in Fellowship Hall.

As we finish up our time in here today, we want to provide you all a space and a time to laugh and take some joy from today. You see, the end of Jordan’s life is but a small part of the story of it. Those stories are best shared and held in laughter, food, and fellowship. So the family would like to invite you to the fellowship hall after we leave here to laugh with them as you all share your ridiculous stories of how much Jordan meant to your lives. But let’s close in prayer.

Lord we thank you for Jordan and for the trust he had in you. We thank you that he knew your name and that you knew his. We ask for your blessing over our fellowship and for guidance in the coming days and weeks. Help us to seek your face and find hope and joy in those that you’ve given us for support. We thank you and praise you, in Jesus name. Amen.