Lynn Rogowski

Philippians 4:2–9 (NIV84)

2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Psalm 26:1–8 (NIV84)

1 Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. 2 Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; 3 for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. 4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; 5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD, 7 proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds. 8 I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells.

Psalm 23:6 (NIV84)

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Scotty McCreery: Something More:

By now I think I've heard every line There is to hear 'bout a truck And I've got the point that the beer tastes good When you're down on your luck [Pre-Chorus 1] But don't get me wrong a summer song Sounds good when you're on the shore But every now and then I want to dig in And hear something that means something more

Like a mama's love even when she don't approve Four generations sitting on the same church pew A soldier's first steps back through his own front door Yeah, something that means something more

How do you tell the story of a person’s life?

Well, that may depend on how famous they were. A biographer of Teddy Roosevelt commented that his story of the former President was very long and was at a little bit thankful that he had died at a relatively young age (61) or the biography would have been much longer.

Certainly celebrities in all walks of life deserve to have much written about them.

No more so than Jesus. John 21:25 (NIV84)

25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

But most of us are not celebrities. And unless we provide details by way of journals or writing our own autobiography, we probably won’t have much written about us. It may be limited to official records and what our family writes about us in our obituary.

What does Lynn’s obituary say about her? The usual important dates of birth and death but not much about the “dash in between”. It also includes the names of family who survive her and close relatives who have preceded her in death. Oh, and one more thing:

Lynn M. Rogowski, age 95, went to be with her Lord and Savior, peacefully, with family at her side on Friday, December 5, 2025, at her home in the Town of Green Valley, Marathon County.

The very short summary relates our faith in the Lord and her faith as well.

The short story of her faith is recorded in an old record book of Grace Lutheran Church that is still used today. It is the official record book of this congregation. The first record is of a baptism in 1918. The last record is today. The memorial service for Lynn Rogowski.

Her name appears in this record book several times:

Baptism: (listed at Lena Amelia Hollatz) in 1930

Confirmation: (listed at Lena Hollatz) in 1943

Communicant list: 1955

Death: December 5th, 2025

[There was a span during which she lived in Milwaukee and was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa) I have the 1982 anniversary church directory and have seen the photo of Lynn with sons Glen and David. And their address at 1354 N 64th Street and her phone number.]

Lynn was able to do something that is becoming more and more rare these days. She was baptized, confirmed, and was still a member when she died at the same church. I think this means something . . . something more.

What does it mean?

Her parents believed in the saving power of baptism as it connects and infant to the Holy Trinity and in a powerful way brings a child into the family of God through faith in Jesus. Even though tiny infant Lynn did not remember or understand it, God’s faithful promise was made to her. And here name wasn’t only written in the record book of Grace Lutheran church, it was written in the book of life. (See Google article).

But her parents did not stop their. They believed in the importance of teaching and having the pastor and SS teachers teach her the faith into which she had been baptized. And after careful instruction in the doctrines of the Bible, she made a public confession of her faith in God and her commitment to him and the church. The vow is to suffer all even death, rather than fall away from God.

At her confirmation, Rev. Nommensen gave her a prayer book with a standard prayer at the beginning that as her pastor he prayed that she would remain faithful unto death and receive the crown of life.

He also gave her a Confirmation Certificate with her memory verse on it. It is a portion of Psalm 26:1–12 (NIV84)

1 Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. 2 Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; 3 for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. 4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; 5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD, 7 proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds. 8 I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells. 9 Do not take away my soul along with sinners, my life with bloodthirsty men, 10 in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes. 11 But I lead a blameless life; redeem me and be merciful to me. 12 My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.

We must read this passage in the context of the entire Psalm. Most of what Lynn would experience lay ahead of that 13 or 14 year old girl. But in time she would experience what David writes about this Psalm.

She would do this not because of her vows or fortitude but because the Lord would strengthen her faith through word and sacrament for decades to come.

She indeed loved (loves) the house of the Lord. Not so much a reference to a particular building, but the true house of the Lord which is an expression for heaven.

When David said he loved the house of the Lord it was a portable structure. It would become a temple . . . several times. It is no longer intact for the final earthly temple was destroyed in 70 AD. He must have meant heaven. The Bible describes the earthly building as a replica of God’s dwelling in heaven. (see Hebrews?)

Lynn loved the Lord and his dwelling. She also had the hope expressed in Psalm 23: I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. This is because of what the Lord had done for her. I mentioned several times that Lynn’s name was written in a certain book (church record book) and referred to her name in the obituary which is published in several places. But did I mention that her name is in a much more important book? This book is referred to several times in the bible and especially in the book of Revelation: It is the “Book of Life”.

How is it to be understood?

The Book of Life in the Bible is a divine record of people destined for eternal life with God, mentioned in both Old and New Testaments, especially in Revelation, symbolizing God's remembrance of the righteous and redeemed. Its presence signifies salvation, while not being in it leads to judgment (the lake of fire). Often called the "Lamb's Book of Life," it contains names inscribed through faith in Jesus Christ, offering hope and assurance of salvation. Key aspects

Divine Record: A heavenly register of those chosen for everlasting life, written by God before creation. 

Salvation & Judgment: Names are added through faith in God, and those not found in it face eternal punishment; those in it receive eternal life. 

Lamb's Book of Life: A specific name for the book, highlighting that it contains names of those redeemed by Jesus' blood. 

Old Testament References: Mentions like Moses asking to be blotted out (Exodus 32) and Psalm 69:28 link to this concept of being written in God's book for life. 

New Testament Focus (Revelation): Most explicit mentions are in Revelation (e.g., 3:5, 13:8, 20:12, 21:27), tying it to the final judgment and the new heavens/earth. 

Significance for believers

Assurance: Knowing your name is in the Book of Life provides security in salvation. 

Hope: It offers hope to the suffering, encouraging perseverance. 

Action: Believers are encouraged to live righteously to ensure their names remain. 

In essence, it's a powerful biblical symbol of God's intimate knowledge of His people and His promise of eternal life to those who follow Him. 

When a person dies, there is certainly a time of grieving and sadness because that person was important to us. This past two weeks I know of several others who have also died (my best friend in grade school, a man my age from my old neighborhood, a faithful member of the church I served in Lowell) as well as reflecting on the death of my own father this week eleven years ago. I’m sure this means nothing to you. But we are all impacted by the death of Lynn and have an appropriate emotional reaction to that because she was someone we knew and cared about and for. But we do not grieve like those who have no hope because we trust as she did that her name is written in the Book of Life.

Your name may not be written in the same church record book (s) that Lynn’s was, but I pray that through faith in Jesus your name is in the only Book that really matters to have our names in and that we will all encourage one another to remain faithful until death so that we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.