Marsha Lee Coleman Memorial Service

Scripture and Prayer

Read Psalm 130

Psalm 130 ESV

A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Prayer

Sermon

Today, I want to do two three things:

I want to celebrate Marsha’s life.

I want to share the message of the gospel. If Marsha were here right now, she would want you to know Jesus.

I want to comfort you as the family.

Celebrate Marsha’s Life

I spent some time with the family yesterday as they shared memories they had of Marsha. A few thing stood out to me.

Marsha deeply loved her family.

Marsha was a person of presence. It wasn’t that you were going anywhere big but that you were going somewhere with her.

When I spend time with a family, and they can laugh about the memories they have of someone, that is special, and it doesn’t always happen. Her presence in your life was a gift.

Marsha loved Jack Lee and Ethan. She loved Randy. She loved her extended family.

Marsha was a fun person to be around.

Marsha worried about everyone else more than she worried about herself. Selfless.

She was fiercely independent.

She loved shopping, especially for the grandkids.

She never let the family pass up on a good garage sale.

Every Saturday, she had a running appointment with someone in her family to go shopping and spend the day together.

She loved gadgets. The latest and greatest and newest gadgets - she loved to collect them.

Marsha enjoyed her life.

Marsha spent time in Dollywood every summer with the family. She wanted to meet Dolly Parton, but she never had the opportunity.

She was the person who you wanted to tell good news and bad news.

She was always laughing and joking.

She was a big supporter of her family, and she worked hard to talk to her family daily.

The Hope of the Gospel

2 Corinthians 5:16–21 ESV

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

God makes us new in Christ.

God reconciles us to Himself.

God does this through Christ’s death on the cross.

A Comfort for the Family

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.

One day, we will have one final funeral and that funeral will be for death itself.

In that moment, God will wipe away every tear forever and death will be no more.