Jone Housouer Memorial Service- A Life Well Lived, James 1:12

ORDER OF SERVICE

Video

Welcome

Song- The Old Rugged Cross

Family (tentative)

Message

Song- Amazing Grace

Closing remarks

WELCOME: Good morning, my name is Jeremy Franklin. For the last year & a half, I’ve had the privilege of being Ms. Jone’s pastor. She truly was so sweet and encouraging to me. I’m grateful for the time I’ve gotten to know her.

‌To Susan, Anna, & Gary, thank you for the honor of conducting Ms. Jone’s service. My prayer has been for you to find comfort and peace in the Lord, just as Jone has. Philippians 4:6-7, 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Obituary: Jone Ann Housouer, 80, of Lubbock, passed away on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. She was born on March 7, 1945, in Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi, to the late Edwaard Kostelich and Elsie (Bell) Kostelich.

She attended Denver City Schools, graduating from Denver City High School in 1963.

Jone was an avid painter, loved to do arts and crafts, and do anything for anyone. She was a very outgoing person and loved working in her garden. For 20 years, she worked with special education children as an aide, as well as working for the Central Office for LISD. She was a member of Lakeridge Baptist Church.

Those left to honor and cherish her memory include her three children: Gary Housouer of Plano; Anna Elliott of Lubbock and Susan Alvey of Lubbock; one brother, Wayne Kostelrich of Waco. She is also survived by 7 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren and, as is evident from your presence today, a host of other friends and neighbors who loved Jone & will miss her dearly.

Psalm 116:15, Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints. Let’s pray.

SONG: The Old Rugged Cross

SERMON: I want to thank Gary for bringing me Ms. Jone’s Bibles to look through, they were very helpful as I prepared for this service. She has two that are well-marked, & I encourage the family to spend some time looking at the passages she has highlighted, & read the notes she has made.

As I looked through one of her Bibles, I noticed a particular passage that is well highlighted, with several notes written in the margins, James 1. It just so happens that the verse Susan & Anna chose for Ms. Jone’s program is from James 1- James 1:12, Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

They captioned over the verse the phrase- A Life Well Lived. As I surveyed James 1 & read over Ms. Jone’s notes, 3 thoughts jumped out to me about a life well lived, & I want to share those three things with you today. A life well lived is one that has:

1, Asked for God’s WISDOM.

James 1:5-8, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

In the Bible, wisdom is the trait of utilizing knowledge and experience with common sense & insight. Proverbs 1:7, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. From Ms. Jone’s notes- Wisdom is understanding for living.

There’s not any of us who don’t need that- understanding for living. Life can be hard. It can throw a lot of curveballs at you. On any given day, we could be dealing with a number of personal, stressful situations- financial strain, relationship conflicts, health issues, mental health struggles, & a lack of self-care. We don’t always know what to do about these things, or how to deal with them, but God does know. He is all wise. Romans 11:33, Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

If we’re going to live well, then when we run up against the hard things of life, we will turn to God & ask Him to give us His wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1:24 says that Christ is both “the power of God and the wisdom of God” and 1 Corinthians 1:30 that He “became for us wisdom from God...” A life well-lived is one that has asked God for wisdom & has found it in Jesus Christ.

Jone did that. At some point in her life, Jone realized that she needed the kind of wisdom that only God could give, and she trusted in Jesus. I know for a fact that she would want you to do the same. A life well-lived is one who asks for God’s wisdom.

2, A Life well lived has Received God’s WORD.

James 1:17-21, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. 19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

In this section, James has shifted from instructions about life’s difficulties to the practical implications of faith in Jesus. Everything that we have (every good & perfect gift) comes from God (the Father of lights), & this includes wisdom. Later in James 3:17, the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Just like wisdom comes from God, so does His Word. It is God’s Word that changes our lives.

Vs. 18 says that God brought us forth by the Word of truth. James is using birth imagery here. He is talking about the new birth of Christians, or as Jesus called it, being “born again.” John 3:3, ...unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. How does the new birth happen? By the Word (message) of Truth, i.e., the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:13, In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

When a person believes in the Word of God, the message of truth, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it begins to change them, & transform them from the inside out. When we receive Christ, we get His RIGHTEOUSNESS & His righteousness starts working through us, it changes our REACTIONS, and we RECEIVE God’s Word within that saves our souls. We’re quicker to listen, slower to speak, anger doesn’t come as fast, and we lay aside the filthiness and wickedness that is in us. We accept the fact that God’s way is better and with humility, we receive the Word He put in us. A life well-lived receives God’s Word.

3, A life well lived Does God’s WILL.

James 1:22-25, 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

Whenever we encounter God’s Word we’re faced with a choice- are we going to do it or not? To hear God’s Word but not do it is like looking at ourselves in a mirror, seeing what we need to fix up, & forgetting it. That might be ok when we’re going to Wal-Mart, but for most other places we go, it’s just not. We get ourselves ready.

God’s Word is the perfect law of liberty, when we do it, it breaks us free from the baggage & bondage of worldly things, & we are blessed. When I think about Jone, her testimony of God’s grace in her life and her faithfulness to Him, I think her’s was a life well-lived. She was a faithful member of this church for about 20 years. She loved kids, & when she was physically able, she helped in nursery. Jone loved people and genuinely cared about them. She had a heart to go visit people who were in the hospital or homebound. Jone never met a stranger, she loved meeting new people, & learning about them.

But family meant the most to her. Her family trips to Ruidoso, the adventures you used to take, her love of the mountains, that was her favorite place to be. Spending time with her grandkids, making Mickey Mouse pancakes, & decorating for Christmas, that was special to her. Those are memories of her that you can hold onto for the rest of your life.

The text ends by saying that the one who is a doer of God’s Word will be blessed in what they do. Because Jone asked for God’s Wisdom, received His Word, & did His Will, we can be assured that she has received the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

What about you? Have you received Jesus? Have you put your faith & trust in Him alone for the gift of eternal life? If you haven’t. I know for a fact Jone would want you to do that today. If we circle back to where we started, what did James 1:12, Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

Let’s pray.

Song: Amazing Grace

This concludes our service. On behalf of the family, let me say thank you for attending Jone’s service today. I know it meant a lot to them. The family is invited to stay for a meal provided by the church. Let me pray for you and the service will be dismissed.