Funeral Sermon for Luella Pedley

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Dear Cynthia, Arlyn, Lylah, Judy and the rest of the relatives and friends of Luella:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Luella was born in Ocheyedan on January 15, 1935. She was baptized in the name of God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit here at Zion Lutheran Church on February 10, 1935. She was confirmed in her Christian faith here at Zion Lutheran Church on April 10, 1949. She was married to her husband of 67 years, Bob, on February 19, 1954, here at Zion Lutheran Church.

Luella was a lifelong member of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League here at Zion Lutheran Church. She led the meetings a few times in the past year when the president was unable to attend. She was a regular worshiper at Zion Lutheran Church. She had a habit of carrying a pad to sit on and stacking a couple hymnals under her feet at the church pew where she liked to sit. In the last year or so she was given a special pad to sit on and a couple of pieces of styrofoam to stack under her feet instead of hymnals. The pieces of styrofoam and the pad were left in the pew she liked to sit in. That way she did not need to carry a pad to sit on or use hymnals to put under her feet. The pad she sat on and styrofoam pieces are on the piano in front of the church in her honor. She looked forward each December to Zion Lutheran Church’s Family Fun Night.

One of the things that made her unique was how short she was and if you saw her driving her car around Ocheyedan you would wonder if anyone was driving the car. She could barely see over the wheel. Luella enjoyed baking bread and cinnamon rolls. She liked coffee time. Taking care of flowers was a hobby of hers. Her great-grandchildren called her “Grandma Lue.” She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary in Ocheyedan. She regularly attended the annual Memorial Day service at the Ocheyedan cemetery and sat with other American Legion Auxiliary members.

Psalm 139:16–18 is a Bible passage that described Luella. “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.” She believed God was in charge of things and that she was a special creation of God.

Lamentations 3:21–23 is another Bible passage that was important for Luella: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” With her many years of helping out Bob on the farm and her many years of marriage, the mercies of God were new each morning for Luella.

On this day as we mourn and grieve because we do not have Luella with us, we do not mourn and grieve as those who have no hope. As Christians we have the sure hope of heaven and we look forward to being in heaven one day. That is all thanks to Jesus who suffered, died, arose, and ascended to heaven for us and for our salvation. Thanks to Jesus and His once for all sacrifice for Luella and for each one of us we are forgiven of our sins and wrongs.

Revelation 21:1–4 is a good passage for a time like this: “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.’” What a great day that will be. No more funerals, no more crying, no more pain, and no more death for all those with saving faith in Jesus.

I based the sermon for Luella’s husband, Bob, in 2021 on the last part of Romans 8:37–39 and the last three verses are a good way to conclude my message this morning: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.