Maggie Bauer Memorial Service

March 22, 2025

Welcome/Opening Prayer

On behalf of Maggie’s family I would like to thank each of you for coming today and showing the love and affection we all had for Maggie. I know they are blessed by you all today. After the service today, there is going to be a reception in the community room and you’re all invited to stay and visit and share your memories of our friend who is even now praising the LJC in heaven. We sorrow, grieve, we mourn—but we rejoice b/c Maggie is with Jesus. She doesn’t have difficulty breathing, the weaknesses that come in later years of life—those are gone. We miss her but have so much joy b/c she is with Christ.

Would you bow with me as we open our time together in prayer?

Our Gracious Father,

We come before you with hearts that have a variety of emotions in light of Maggie’s earthly death. Though she is no longer among us and we have a sadness over this loss, yet we have the deepest joy b/c your promise to Maggie has been fulfilled. You saved her to the uttermost b/c that is your nature, your character, your heart—to extend grace, forgiveness and salvation to everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord. We praise you for this reality in our loved one but we also ask that as we spend these next moment together, and share a common sorrow—that you would comfort your people thru your Spirit. I pray that your peace would come over us and that our memories today of Maggie would reflect your grace in her life, and the joy and blessing that we had to be part of her life. We thank you that you save her not b/c of her worthiness but on account of your goodness and mercy. Help us to see that today and we pray that you would be honored by this service—we pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reading of Obituary

Tim Huls

Sharing by Family Members

Special Music

Scott Slight (Lilly Ross) “My Hope Is In the Lord”

Words of Remembrance

Robyn Samek

Scripture Reading

Matthew 25:14–30 NASB95

14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 “In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 “But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 “The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 ‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ 29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Message

I met Maggie 18 years ago but I don’t remember the first time we met. We visited on many occasions and I’m impressed by the fact that she was always very gracious, kind, didn’t speak harshly about anyone. In her was a true sense of humility. She trusted the Lord and that showed every time we were together. It was not even a week before her passing that she wanted to make sure we had her on the prayer chain b/c she was faithful to serve the Lord and His church by praying for the needs of her church family. She may not have been able to breath very well (that last couple of years that was a real struggle for her) but she could always be about the business of prayer. I’m thankful for Maggie and those like her.

I have a few words to share about the passage I just read from Matthew. It is called “the Parable of the Talents” and is spoken by Jesus to His disciples very shortly before His own death and resurrection. He is teaching them about things that are coming…hardship, persecution, difficult times ahead of His glorious return. There are over 20 parables in the Gospel of Matthew and this is the longest of all of them. Its called the parable of the talent and when we think of “talents” we typically think about natural abilities (artistic, musical, athletic, etc). But in the NT—this word speaks about a unit of currency. Originally it was a measure of weight (50-80 lbs). As it relates to currency, one talent was about 15 years of wages—not a paltry amount of money. The landowner in the parable entrusts 8 talents (his possessions—120 years) to his servants while he goes away. He expected his servants to take advantage of the opportunity:

Proverbs 10:5 NASB95

5 He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.

Ecclesiastes 11:6 NASB95

6 Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.

Use opportunities wisely. 2 of his servants do just that. They act wisely. They proved their worthiness by being faithful. One servant who did not understand the goodness of the master did nothing with the master’s possessions and as a wicked, lazy slave who is rebuke b/c of his insolence (lack of repentance) and faithlessness. Parables are used by Jesus to teach a spiritual reality (earthly story with heavenly meaning). There’s a few things that jump out at me:

1. There will be a day of reckoning

There is coming a time when God will hold all men accountable and render to each one according to what he has done (while the master is away). The Bible speaks of this day many times:

Matthew 16:27 NASB95

27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.

Romans 2:5–6 NASB95

5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who will render to each person according to his deeds:

Revelation 20:12–13 NASB95

12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.

A day of reckoning is coming. The atheist has worked hard to convince himself that there is no God, there will be no judgment, no place of eternal punishment. The agnostic claims that we can’t know whether there will be a day of reckoning (just another way of rejecting the claims of the Bible). God says that day is coming and its mentioned in this parable when the master returns “after a long time…comes to settle accounts” (vs 19).

2. The Master (who represents JC in the parable) will hold people accountable for their individual level of responsibility—accord to own ability.

What did they do with the master’s possessions (talents)? 2 of the servants took them and invested them so as to see a return on the investment—they were faithful to do what the master has given them. The meaning is that God has dispensed the glories of the gospel in differing levels. Some have heard the gospel and studied Scripture from early childhood (having grown up in the church). Others only knew the basics of the faith and have had little opportunity to learn and grow. JC will hold you accountable for whatever truth you have been exposed to. The 2 servants who brought back an increase have received the gospel, they believed it and there is a fruitfulness that is brought back to Jesus.

These are the ones who upon hearing the good news about LJC, knowing their sinfulness and spiritual bankruptcy and helplessness, have called upon the name of the Lord for salvation b/c you can’t save yourself you need Jesus who is the Savior. Believe on the LJC and you will be saved. That what these 2 servants represent—those who believe.

The 3rd, heard the basics of the gospel but did not believe it. This is the one whom the master rebukes upon his return—he calls him a worthless slave.

3. There is a place where “the worthless” will spend eternity—a place of outer darkness b/c they did not believe in Jesus

The Bible has different descriptions of this place: Hell, 2nd death, Lake of fire. It is the place where God (in judgment that is coming) will send those who have rejected His gracious offer of life. It is a place of torment—in our parable where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth…bitter, painful anguish b/c those in this place are separated forever from the presence and goodness of God—forever.

My friends, what you do with LJC in this life will have eternal consequences that can never be reversed. If you believe—you are blessed, you will be with Him forever. If you are faithless, reject the truth of the gospel by not trusting in Jesus you will be cast into the outer darkness—this is forever. Just to give you an idea of how long forever is:

Thomas Watson (400 years ago)

Eternity is a sea without bottom and banks. After millions of years, there is not one minute in eternity wasted; and the damned must be ever burning, but never consuming, always dying, but never dead. The fire of hell is such, as multitudes of tears will not quench it, length of time will not finish it; the vial of God’s wrath will always be dropping upon a sinner. As long as God is eternal, He lives to be avenged upon the wicked. Oh eternity! Eternity! Who can fathom it? Mariners have their plummets to measure the depths of the sea; but what line or plummet shall we use to fathom the depth of eternity? The breath of the Lord kindles the infernal lake (Isa 30:33), and where shall we have engines or buckets to quench that fire? O eternity! If all the body of the earth and sea were turned to sand, and all the air up to the starry heaven were nothing but sand, and a little bird should come every thousand years, and fetch away in her bill but the tenth part of a grain of all that heap of sand, what numberless years would be spent before that vast heap of sand would be fetched away! Yet, if at the end of all that time, the sinner might come out of hell, there would be some hope; but that word “Forever” breaks the heart. “The smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever.” What a terror is this to the wicked, enough to put them into a cold sweat, to think, as long as God is eternal, He lives forever to be avenged upon them!

4. There is great blessing for faith and faithfulness

The blessing that was upon the 2 servants who brought an increase back to the master is shown and the blessing is great.

Matthew 25:21 NASB95

21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

Enter the joy of your master. That’s another way to speak of heaven—the joy of your master. Heaven will be great and glorious for many reasons but the best reason is that Jesus Himself is there. Every believer will share in the Master’s joy. Jesus is joyful. Jesus rejoices b/c redemption is accomplished, the Father is glorified, saints are given eternal life. For those of you who trust in the Lord—you will enter the joy of your Master—LJC.

This is Maggie’s blessing. She believed God and trusted in Jesus for forgiveness of her sins and for the gift of eternal life. I’ll end with one of the simplest promises that you will find in the Bible:

Romans 10:9 NASB95

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

Do that today!

Congregation Singing

“It Is Well”

Closing Prayer

Father, thank you for directing our time today. Thank you for pouring out your love to us thru your HS. Thank you for being gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness—that thru your patience you are calling sinners to come to you for life. I pray that this would be the reality for each one here today—you know the hearts of all so I ask that you would extend your loving care according to what every person here needs. For those who need forgiveness—I ask you to grant that, for those who need to be comforted—give that b/c you are the God of all comfort, to those who need encouraged and lifted up—may your goodness reach down with rich blessing. Father, we thank you for setting your love upon Maggie and saving her and that she is now with you. In her absence, help each of us to learn how to abide the changes of this mortal life. We thank you for the memories that we have of Maggie and would pray that as we share those in the coming days and weeks that you would be honored by these things. I ask that you would also extend your blessing on the time of fellowship now and that in all things you would receive honor and glory we ask in Jesus’ name, amen.