Alan Funeral 2

1. Intro

For those of you who have ever been in a car with Alan when he was driving well this quick service is going to feel like that! I've got 5 minutes, and like Al confronted with red lights, we are going to run right through em. One thing about Alan was that he was not ashamed to share his thoughts. While politics was one of his favorite topics, even more was his faith, he shared it with numerous customers he served, and with his friends, family and neighbors. Alan’s life was one “lived by faith”.

This love of the gospel is what Paul refers to in his letter to the Romans.

2.0 Scripture

Hear this from God’s word in Romans 1:16-17

Romans 1:16–17 ESV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

3.0 Message

Friends and family, we are gathered here together not only to remember our beloved friend, father, and husband Alan as he was, but also to be reminded and encouraged by the good news we find in the gospel message. As we just heard Paul say, the gospel contains the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. The term salvation means we are saved from something, for example medicine saves us from an illness or disease. The salvation Paul is speaking of is the idea of being saved from sin. You see we say the gospel is good news because in it we are told that our sins can be forgiven... there is a cure! The source of this healing... the medicine that we all need... is found in Jesus, our Savior. Ephesians 2:4-5 speaks of this cure for sin saying “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

If you have yet to accept the gospel message, or even if you have forgotten this good news, then hear it and believe it today. The good news is that God became man in the person of Jesus. This Jesus lived a righteous life, void of any sin, a life undeserving of death. However, Jesus did die. He died on the cross for US, for the sins of all who believe in him. That is the good news, that our sin is forgiven. The medicine, the cure, the salvation is found in Jesus. Is that true for you? Have you placed your faith in Jesus as your Savior? If not, do it now! He is the only cure, he is the way to eternal life.

To conclude, please be reminded of this good news. Even as we grieve, let us grieve with a hope. We are thankful this is the faith Alan confessed, so let us be like him and share it and live it out with our friends, families, and neighbors. This is the love that Jesus calls us to have, a love based on truth, a love based on the good news of Jesus Christ. Let us end in prayer.

4.0 Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we come to you today in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. God we thank you for the hope and salvation found in Jesus.

Lord today we remember Alan. We find joy in knowing that Alan was unashamed of your gospel and he placed his faith in you. We thank you for Alan’s service to his nation and the love he had of sharing his faith with others. Lord we also remember and are so thankful for the love of Alan as a Husband to Pat; for his love and guidance as a Father to Nicole, Kelly, and Melody; and for his beloved friendship to all those who knew him. We pray Lord that we always give thanks to you for the amount of time and experiences we have had with Alan, and give us encouragement in remembering that we have yet an eternity still to live with our loved ones in heaven for all who placed their faith in Jesus.

Lord we thank you for this day, we thank you for the friends and family gathered today and also for the members providing the military honors for Alan.

I pray this all in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen