Don Hughes Funeral | Ephesians 2:10

SEATING

FAMILY ENTERS

WELCOME: On behalf of Colleen and Rachel and the rest of Don’s family, thank you for being a part of the service this morning. Don was clearly loved by many, That has been evident both last night at the visitation and this morning as well.

Dealing with death is never easy, but the irony is that it’s part of life. And even though it’s the great unknown and probably that thing that we fear the most, it is possible to be comforted in the face of death. The reason it’s possible is because God, who has all-powerful and has all-knowledge, promises to be with His people in the face of death. I just read this to the family, but I’d like to read it again.

PSALM 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;

Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

PRAY

HYMN 672 “SWEET BY AND BY”

SOLO-Dennis Van Zee

OBITUARY-Pastor Jett

HYMN 2 “HOW GREAT THOU ART”

SOLO-Diana Chambers

MESSAGE

It was back in February that I sat down in Don and Colleen’s living room and visited with them about this service. He was doing well in the moment, but they wanted to go over details and make sure there was a plan for whenever this day came.

Those are hard topics, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to do it. It gave me insight into Don’t life that I wouldn’t have otherwise had.

A few things stood out to me as we visited, but the two that kept popping up were these: Softball And Drywall.

If Don had written an autobiography, that might be the perfect title. Don’s Story: Softball And Drywall.

I know there was so much more to him than those two things, but on that day those topics are what came up the most.

And the interesting thing about those two subjects goes so much deeper than what you’d initially think. At first glance, you might consider that Drywall was just work and Softball was just play. But both of those parts of his life do a great job at summarizing his life.

Softball wasn’t just about fun. It was about people.

Many of Don’s relationships were forged on softball fields. Whether it was taking Rachel to play in tournaments everywhere or just watching at the fields here in Sioux Falls, it was a bond with others.

I didn’t know Don as well as I’d like, but our very first conversation included softball. We met when Dalia was sick and he and Colleen were there supporting Carlos and Miriam. In that conversation, we found out we had shared loves. We’re both Dallas Cowboy fans, which I will not discuss here because there’s not much positive to say.

But we also found out we’re both OU Softball fans. That was in 2019, so we’ve both been happy the last few years.

But even that conversation reveals that it wasn’t just his interest, it was shared interest. It was about the relationships formed and the people involved. Many of you know Don because of Softball.

And others of you know Don because of Drywall.

Don started drywall at in his teen years, and he became one of best drywallers in Sioux Falls

He took his craft very seriously

In visiting with he and Colleen that day, what I appreciated about their view of their craft was that not every house was the same

It wasn’t “one-size-fits-all” approach. He wanted his special touch to be seen in every stroke. It was done by hand. He wasn’t in a hurry. He was concerned that it was personal, unique to that home, and done with the highest quality. He wasn’t there to finish quickly and move on.

With that mindset, Don never forgot that a house is actually a home. It represents people. People that are unique and have personalities. Not to mention that home became a place full of their memories. It defined who they were.

Don was about personal touches. Relationships. Doing things to the best of your ability.

Maybe his health trials gave him a sense of appreciating what really mattered. He didn’t take things for granted and that’s why he had that approach.

Don certainly didn’t take life for granted. He died on a golf course and it took four men to keep him alive for 12 minutes until the ambulance showed up.

So maybe that’s why Don took such great care in the personal touches. Building relationship on a field or doing all he could to make a house a home.

When I think of that mindset, I can’t help but think of how God works in our lives.

As I prepared for this, I couldn’t help but think of Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

That word “workmanship” comes from the Greek word “poeima,” from which we get our English “poem.” It means a work of art or a masterpiece. Which means that God doesn’t look at our lives as something to just slap together and call it good. He works in us to produce an extraordinary life. And not every home is the same. God is a God of personal touches.

If you think about, God does work in us like Don did in houses all over Sioux Falls.

God Created Us

Genesis says that God formed Adam out of the dust of the earth.

With the rest of creation, God spoke it into existence. But with mankind, God took personal care to form us out of dust.

Dust isn’t beautiful or impressive. It’s just dust. But God took a formless substance and with His touch, made it beautiful.

Like a blank wall with sheetrock before it’s finished, God saw that blank canvass and said, “Oh what I could do with this.”

And things were good until sin.

God created us, but…

Mankind Fell In Sin

Adam and Eve rejected God and disobeyed.

And sin became that which separates us from the Father.

It’s like something coming along after a wall has been finished and taking a hammer to it. It was perfect, now it’s marred.

That’s what happened to God’s design. We became sinners.

And you might think that’s the end, but God the master artist wasn’t done.

Instead of leaving us in that condition, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to fix it.

So God Created Us, Mankind Fell Into Sin, and Third…

Jesus Came To Fix What Is Broken

He came with a solution that no one else could offer. He came to pay for our sins by dying on the cross for us.

He offers us eternal life instead of separation.

In drywall, it takes a master like Don to repair a hole in such a way that you can’t tell it was ever there.

And that’s what God offers us. Yes, our lives are marred by sin, but Jesus can fix us better than how we started.

So God Created Us

But Sin Separates Us From God

But rather than leave us in our condition, Jesus died on the cross to offer forgiveness and restoration.

All We Have To Do Is Believe

I know that sounds so simple. But it’s true.

The work has already been done by Jesus. He simply asks that we acknowledge our sin, place our faith in His finished work, and then we have eternal life.

And God is still working on us. He molds the believer into the image of Jesus Christ. He muds and tapes, then sands away rough edges, all to create a beautiful work of art. To help us be like His Son.

God is in a constant state of renovation in our lives. But He doesn’t just slap it together. He is concerned with every stroke. He deals with us with personal touches.

And not only that, He also is preparing a place for us in eternity.

John 14:2 “I go to prepare a place for you.” It’s amazing how much God works on our behalf.

He worked on us at creation

He worked on us at salvation

He works on us while trying to mold us into His Son’s image

And He is right now working on the believer’s future home in Heaven.

It’s not just a house to Him. It’s a home for eternity.

And He’s preparing it for those who have believed on him.

Just like Don spent so much time making houses home, God prepares a place for us.

If God does that much work to make something special of our lives, it’s only right that we embrace what He’s doing. Let Him do the work He wants to do in your life.

It would honor the work Don did to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior today. From right there in your seat you can say, “I know I’m a sinner, I know Jesus died for my sins, I repent of my sins and place my faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.”

Your Life Can Be God’s Masterpiece

It begins with faith and it ends when you enter an eternal home with the personal touches of Jesus Christ Himself.

But along the way, if God works in your life with personal touches, would you decide today to do that in the lives of others? It was the personal touches in things like Softball and Drywall that made Don who he was.

Now, do honor to his memory by pursuing the personal touch in other people’s lives.

Like Don did for many of you.

Like God does for us.

Do that for others.

And watch God use your life to impact many.

Today is a day of sadness, but it’s also a day to remember that God gives us the choice to live our lives in such a way that we make a difference with a personal touch. Like Don did. Like God does and wants to do in your life. And you can do the same for others too.

CLOSING PRAYER

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MEAL

DISMISSAL (Family First? Or All At Once?)