Funeral of Robert Woolley

Funeral Service

Tuesday 28th October, 11AM at Whitehill Church of Christ

•     Instrumental music to be played before service.

[Procession]

Casket to be carried from car to front of auditorium by Robert’s grandchildren. Bag pipe players to play while following procession into auditorium.

[1. Welcome]

I would like to welcome you all, today, to Celebrate and give thanks to God for the life of Robert Woolley.

To his wife Glenys, sister Dawn, children David & Belinda and Pauline, his grandkids and great grandkids, thank you especially for inviting us into this sacred moment for you as a family and for the courage to let us grieve and celebrate alongside you today.

My name is Matt, I serve as the Associate Pastor here at Whitehill Church of Christ, where Robert and Glenys attended and were members for many years. I count it a great honour and privilege to be able to lead our service today, to walk with you in your grief but also celebration of the life of your cherised and beloved Robert.

We are find ourselves here today for a few reasons:

1. Support each other and grieve together the loss of a husband, brother, father, grandfather, great grandfather and dear friend.

2. We also have the opportunity to share memories of Robert that honour his life and recount times of laughter, of tears and experiences of him that continue to shape us for the rest of our own days here on earth.

3. To thank God for his life and to celebrate his faith in his saviour, the LORD Jesus Christ, and the hope He gives for him in heaven.

[2. Prayer]

As we commence today, let’s pray together.

Heavenly Father, our hearts are filled with sadness and grief at the loss of one we have loved and cherished.

•     Our hearts are hurting having experience in a very real way, the fleeting nature of our earthly lives

•     And the reality of now having to adjust to live without someone who you placed in our lives for a purpose, and whose special relationships are now gone.

BUT we thank you today for we know that even though we are separated, Your love is not. Robert now dwells in your presence.

•     He now enjoys your perfect and eternal presence to which he so loved and longed for him while on earth.

Father today we want to acknowledge that you are God and the God of all comfort.

•     We ask that you would comfort the family and all who grieve.

•     In the midst of their grief may you be their Rock, their hiding place, their refuge and strength. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen

[3. Bible Reading]

Robert lived a life well lived and is celebrated by a family he loved. Today, as you remember Robert, you may feel the pangs of frustration that death brings, the saddness and sense of grief.

We also, however, can take comfort in and achnowledge Robert’s faith, his love for the Lord. To God, death brings him grief also, yet it does not rule over him. Ephesians 1:11 says that God works all things according to the cousel of His will. We are born, we live, and we die all according to the perfect, purposes and plan of God.

You may not have faith in God, but Robert did, and he has gone to be with His God and rests in his arms.

The family has chosen this passage from 2 Timothy 4 to remember him by. The Apostle Paul writes to his apprentice Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:7–8 ESV

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Robert has finished the race. He has kept the faith.

[4. Song 1 – Onward, Christian Soldiers]

Robert’s life was marked by his faith in God and his dedication to attendance and membership of his local church family.

I am told, that Robert loved to play music on his stereo which was, often, much too loud. One of these songs is the classic Christian hymn; Onward, Christian Soldiers.

So would you please stand, if you wish, join us in singing Onward, Christian Soldiers, as sung by the Scottish Festival Singers.

[5. Eulogy]

Alan Berrie

To share their own reflections of Robert’s life, I’d like to invite Mr Peter Dale and Pastor John Molhoek to the stage.

[6. Memories of Robert (Sharing Reflections)]

Peter Dale

Pastor John Molhoek

[7. Video Tribute]

•     Lights to dim, video begins playing at end of tributes.

[8. Message]

Word on video

I did not know Robert personally. His health failed him before I had the the honour of being a Pastor here. In many ways though, he reminds me of my own dad.

Like Robert, my dad was a boilermaker by trade. They both worked at Maxwell’s at sometime. Like my dad, Robert was a helper and a fixer. He loved time with His family and enjoyed the quitest moments in nature, or simply tinkering on things that won’t ever be truly fixed.

Like my dad, Robert has a faith too. From what I’ve heard about him from family and friends, he loved to demonstrate that through helping out, tinkering and contributing to whatever projects he could.

Our passage for Robert’s celebration service was from 2 Timothy 4:7–8

2 Timothy 4:7–8 ESV

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Paul writes to his apprentice Timothy three ways in which he fulfilled what God was calling him to do. He fought the good fight, he finished the race and he kept the faith. He may have strived, he may have faltered, he may have made mistakes- yet, he continued on faithfully till the end.

Hearing of Robert’s faith, he too fought, ran and believed- even when his body began to give up on him.

______

You are here today to remember and celebrate Robert’s life- yet, for the Christian- death is not the end.

It was this freedom in Christ that shaped and transformed his character and his love for others, and it this freedom is Christ which he now experiences in its complete fullness, unrestrcited by the brokeness of this world.

This may seem like a paradox, to say that death brings freedom. But for those who have faith in Jesus, death only further completes and fulfils the freedom that has been granted to us.

Take a few minutes to show you that from God’s word. Firstly,

1.   Death Brings Freedom from Suffering

God was in the beginning, before all things and then created all things out of nothing. In a marvellous display of His infinite and everlasting power, God created Man and women to dwell in perfect harmony together with God. At this time in human history, there was no evil, no pain, no suffering.

But soon after, man and woman decided to disobey the all powerful and perfectly Holy God, and in doing so, ushered in an age of evil and its curses of suffering into the world. We all now experience suffering at the hands of other evil acts against us, suffering from our ungodly actions / thoughts, but also at the hands of a broken world in which disaster and sickness seem to prevail against us.

But the good news is that right in those very moments in which the curse of sin entered the world, God revealed his plan to redeem and restore all things back to that first perfect state where God and man dwelt in harmony.

God would send a Saviour would crush the head of the enemy, and offer His people the opportunity to be freed from the curse of sin, which ultimately, is more than just physical suffering, but spiritual death and eternal suffering.

And that Saviour’s name is Jesus. Jesus lived a perfectly sinless life on earth 2000 years ago, and was crucified and killed to pay the penalty of sin for those who believe in Him. And on the third day following His death, Jesus rose again from death confirming the sufficiency of his payment for our sin and that He truly was God.

Romans 6:23ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And now through faith in Jesus Christ alone, we can receive God’s gift of of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven - where once again man and woman can dwell in the presence of God with complete freedom from sin and is curse of suffering.

Revelation 21:4 describes this freedom from suffering with these words:

Revelation 21:4ESV

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.”

We all struggle with the concept of a good God but the reality of sin and suffering. Yet, it is only a Good God who can appoint an end to suffering.

I know it was hard for the family to see Dad, grandad, in a reduced physical state. To see the weakness of death seep into his body. That weakness and the suffering is now more.

God brought to an end, Robert’s sin and suffering.

For those in Christ, Death brings freedom from suffering, and also freedom from a troubled heart.

2. Death Brings Freedom from a Troubled Heart.

Beyond just physical suffering in this life, we all experience the fears, anxieties and concerns that are a natural human response to the chaos and uncertainty of the world we live in.

Jesus even tells us very plainly in John 16:33,

John 16:33NIV

… In this world you will have trouble.

These words are of no surpirse to any of us as we continue to see the news feed. These words are true also as we see our friends and family go through the later years of life.

There are lots of troubles as our body begins to fail. There are troubles as we find ourselves unable to do even simple things.

There are troubles for us today, housing prices, the cost of fuel, the cost of living. Many of you may be anxious in this present day.

Robert no longer has such troubles. He is not anxious for tomorrow. He isn’t working long days to pay the many bills.

He is with his saviour. In his comforting arms, in His everlasting presence.

Jesus finishes those words from John 16 by saying,

John 16:33NIV

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Through Jesus death and resurrection He frees us from this worlds, trouble, giving us a future hope of glory that far transcends the concerns and issues of this world.

There is comfort for us, in part today, but in fullness when we die with faith in Christ Jesus.

In Christ, death brings freedom from suffering, freedom from a troubled heart, but also …

3. Freedom TO Enjoy God Eternally

Psalm 16:11ESV

… in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

And.

1 Peter 1:3–4ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

Unlike the inheritances of this world, which will lay in the dust of history and become worthless, the inheritance secured for us by Jesus is imperishable, undefiled and unfading. It will never be destroyed or taken away. Robert strived faithfully in this life and has received the full reward of his eternal inheritance which includes:

•     Glorious residence - a bejewelled and beautiful city with no need for a sun because the glory of Jesus Christ is its light.

•     New resurrected physical bodies - like Jesus’s ressurected body.

But ultimately, greatest treasure of the inheritance in Chirst is the eternal enjoyment of God - who has become the supreme affection of Robert’s life and dearest friend.

Jonathan Edwards beautifully described this reality by saying: "To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Better than fathers and mothers, husbands, wives or children, or the company of any, or all earthly friends. These are but shadows; but the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the fountain. These are but drops; but God is the ocean."

_______________________

If you are yet to place your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life, I am sure Robert would want me to plead with you to do so today. Its as simple as praying to God and asking for His forgiveness and declaring your faith in Jesus for the gift of salvation - that you too may escape the consequences of sin and receive freedom to enjoy God eternally.

But even for those of us who are confident in this, we still grieve the loss of someone who’s life was so beautifully transformed by the freedom found in Christ.

So let me encourage you today, to bring your emotions before God. Bring your troubled and grieving heart before God. Because God not only exists in perfect glory in Heaven, but also is near and close to you today.

Let me pray for ask for God to remind us not only of the hope of heaven but also His presence with us now as we grieve.

[Pray]

•     Thank you for your promise of eternal life for those who have faith in you Jesus

•     Thank you that Robert is experiencing that today and that we can take comfort in knowing that today is a great day for him.

•     We acknowledge that while we have hope in one hand, we also have sorrow in the other.

•     So Father of all comfort, be near to us today. May your presence be known intimately in this time of grief.

•     May you illuminate our hearts with your love during this difficult  time.

•     Amen.

[7. Song 2 – Amazing Grace]

I’d love for you to join me again in celebration and worship of God for eternal and freedom that Robert found in Jesus and that is on offer for all of us today. The family has chosen for us today, Amazing Grace, a song that reminds us of the mercy and kindness of God.

Would you please stand as we sing the “Amazing Grace” together.

[8. Announcements]

TBA

[9. Benediction]

May the peace which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ; and may the blessing of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, rest upon you in the midst of your grief and abide with you now and for evermore. Amen

[10. Recession]

polebearers to carry Robert’s casket out, bagpipes to follow

______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Graveside Committal Service

Tuesday 28th October, 12.30pm at Haigslea Lawn Cemetery.

Notes:

•     Simplicity Funerals - Tiresi.

•     Pallbearers (David and sons) to carry casket from car.

[1. Introduction]

Please come and gather close as we don’t have a microphone this morning.

I count it an incredible privilege to be serving you as a family today and being a part of this very difficult but also sacred and special moment. It was a privilege to lead you in celebrating and remembering Robert’s life.

This committal service will be short and simple, but I want you to take all the time you need. We are in no rush and there will be a time of silent reflection that I will let you all lead in terms of how much time you need to give thanks for her life and say goodbye.

Let’s begin by praying.

[2. Prayer]

•     You are the God of the resurrection and the life

•     In the cloud of darkness and grief we know that there is dawn of resurrection where we will have all of eternity with you.

•     Help us to assured of this truth now.

[3. Words of Encouragement and Scripture Reading]

Firstly, I want to acknowledge the sense of grief and loss that we feel here today. For some of you, you may still feel a suddenness and an unfairness in your grief. This next moment is for you to acknowledge that hurt and find some comfort and closure.

We also grieve the loss of the opportunity of what the years to come could have looked like for Robert to have continued to watch his amazing family grow up in the LORD. To share new memories with him.

But two truths I want to encourage us in today.

1.   Firstly, is the sovereignty of God.

Ephesians 1:11 says that “God works all things according to the counsel of His will”. We are born, we live, and we die all according to the perfect, purposes and plan of God. Our lives and our deaths, are not governed by blind fate, or random chance. But governed by our Lord. Which gives us confidence in the reality the God had graciously and completely fulfilled His plan and purpose for Robert’s life.

But even though we still know that, we grieve deeply.

And so then the second truth I want to encourage us in this morning is that:

2. The Bible does not remedy suffering and pain by discouraging us from grieving.

Even Jesus Himself grieved the loss of a friend. When Lazarus died, just first response was simply recorded in John 11:35 with two words.

John 11:35 (ESV)

Jesus wept.

But when we do grieve, the bible instructs us to “not grieve as others do who have no hope”.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 (ESV)

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

So, we still grieve today, just differently.

•     We celebrate Robert’s reunion with Christ, whilst lamenting his departure from us.

•     We feel at peace that he no longer experiences the brokenness of this world, and that he has now escaped the long and drawn out suffering.

•     But we grieve deeply for the loss of a husband, brother, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

__________________

In Jesus’ own moment of grief at the loss of his friend lazarus, he seeks to comfort the grieving family by speaking these words which we hold fast to today.

John 11:25–27ESV

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

This promise for Lazarus is the same promise for Robery because he too believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God and had the power to grant him new and eternal life.

So then what we are really here to do today is to simply entrusting Robert’s physical body to God for a season, knowing that he will be raised in power with a new imperishable body. _____

As 1 Corinthians 15:35-44 says,

1 Corinthians 15:35–44 (ESV)

What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body…

_____________

We believe this to be true as we now commit Robert’s perishable body to the ground in great confidence that he will be raised in Glory.

[5. Time of Silence]

Before we do this, I want to give you a few moments to reflect and thank God for the blessing of his life here on earth.

So in the quietness of the next few moments, give thanks to God and ask him to help prepare your hearts to say goodbye and to adjust to life without Robert.

[7. Committal]

I will now lead us through a final commital of Robert’s earthly body. When I am done, please take a moment to place a flower on his coffin as it is lowered into the ground as symbol of the beatuty of God’s creation which blooms, lives and dies.

Psalm 103:15–17NLT

Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone— as though we had never been here. But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children’s children

Our lives the Psalmist says are like the flowers.  We bloom but we do not last forever.  We die.

At this time, we commit Robert’s earthly body to the grave : earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. From the earth we are created and to the earth we must return.

We do this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died, and was buried, and rose again for us, and who shall CHANGE our mortal body that it may be like his glorious body.

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

Notes:

•     Signal to groundskeeper to take spray off coffin

•     signal to groundskeeper for lowering of casket.

[6. Floral Tribute]

Please feel free to come forward now in your own time to do lay a flower.

•     6 minutes of music (two songs)

[8. Closing Prayer]

•     We give thanks for Robert’s live

•     We entrust him into your care

•     As psalm 34 says, we pray you would be near to the brokenhearted.

•     Comfort each of us here in our grief

•     And remind us constantly of the hope that we each too can share with Robert, in your unfailing love that can never be removed from us, not even in death.

•     Bless him and keep him.

•     Be near to us.

•     Amen