Frank Bates Service

New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition John 14

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going.”

Introduction- I don’t know

In preparing for this service today, I realize just how sad it is for me that I never got to know Frank Bates.

Frank was a youth pastor here at Beulah, and as a former youth pastor myself, he and I would have had a lot to talk about.

Beulah to this day has a reputation as a strong church for children and youth ministry.

And that reputation is something that can trace its origins back to Reverends Bates and Milligan.

In fact, I do what I do in part because of the youth and children’s ministry that I grew up with, a ministry that very much still bears the fingerprints of Frank Bates.

He and I would have had some things to talk about.

He later moved with Dr. Milligan to Southminister Church, where he developed the Kerygma program.

It was born out of this simple idea: how can we make the Bible come alive in the adult Bible studies he was leading?

Anyone who’s tried to read the Bible cover to cover will tell you that this is no simple task!

And so Frank created a program which asked the question “of what God was doing in the Old Testament that resonated with what God was doing in the New Testament.”

What a fantastic way to dive deeper into God’s word.

And of course, Frank loved his family.

One of the sweetest stories I’ve ever heard was that Frank’s sister was able to visit him for the first time in 25 years recently.

She was with him on the night he passed away.

She sat by the bedside singing “Home on the Range.”

I’ve heard that there is a whole collection of music loving family, quite gifted all of them.

And all of them we beheld and loved by Frank.

Yes, it is quite sad that I never got to know Frank.

But, if you’ll permit me, I’d like to spend a moment telling you about someone Frank and I both know.

Someone I do know

Personally I think that everyone’s introduction to Jesus should come from these verses in John 14:1 ““Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me.” .

Don’t be troubled.

On a sad day like this, don’t be troubled.

When you’re struggling to make sense of the world, don’t be troubled.

The way to allow our hearts to not be troubled is to trust Jesus.

We can trust Jesus in what he’s had to say about us.

That Jesus cherishes each and every soul on this planet.

That Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us in the life to come, one of rest and of comfort and of consolation.

That Jesus will in fact lead us to that place, so that our souls can enjoy eternity together with the never ending love of God.

Clearly Frank had a deep and abiding love for Jesus.

He had a deep and abiding love for the Church as evidenced in his lifetime of ministry.

He loved the work of opening up the scriptures, and helping people to know the deep and amazing love of Jesus Christ.

And through it all, he worshipped with a deep and abiding love the Jesus who has promised us that Frank rests with him this very moment, this very second, this very day.

Don’t let your hearts be troubled.

We will see our Brother Frank again, won’t we?

We’ll join him in that heavenly dwelling place that Jesus has gone to prepare, not just for him, but for us as well.

We will be together with him in peace at the last.

There’s a stretch of time between here and that glorious reunion that we can look forward to.

In the meantime, I believe that each of us here today have been given three gifts:

Three gifts:

God’s word to us

To be sure, this book has been used and abused by many in our culture.

Which is why I am so grateful to Frank for the work he’s done and left for us to make this book more accessable.

So that we can know that God loves us.

So that we can know Christ would rather our hearts not be troubled.

So that we can rest in confidence that he has gone on to prepare a place for us.

So that we can share that love with the rest of the world.

If you find yourself in need of some encouragement in these coming days, I am sure that Frank would want us to find that encouragement in the words of God to us.

Gifts of our memories

While I didn’t get to know Frank, I am certain there are stories out here in this room that need to be shared.

Stories that will make us laugh.

Stories that will make us cry.

Stories of music and singing and joy.

Stories of overcoming challenges and pain and difficulty.

And of course, stories that point us back to Christ Jesus.

My encouragement to us all today is to make sure that we share those stories.

Share with a neighbor.

Share with a friend.

Share with a family member you haven’t seen in a while.

Share today, tomorrow, and as often as you can!

Our memories are a gift from God. Make sure to share them.

Gifts of each other

Frank’s life is one marked by the impact he had on those who knew him well.

Each and every one of us here shares that in common, that we have been impacted by Frank’s love and witness.

And so we live in the blessing of each other.

To be sure we can mourn together.

We can grieve together.

We can celebrate together.

We can remember together.

God has surely given us each other, and so wherever there are relationships to be formed or strengthened, I encourage us to live in to that.

I didn’t know Frank all that well…

But Frank knew Jesus.

And more than that, Frank knew the way to the place where Jesus was going.

He’s resting in that place that Christ has prepared for him.

And so, let’s not allow our hearts to be troubled.

Let’s trust and rest in God.