Edward Kovschak Funeral

Bible Passage

Psalm 90:1–12 ESV

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Prayer

Let us pray:

Father, we come before You this morning with heavy hearts.

We thank You for the life of Ed. We thank You for the years You gave him, for his wife, his children, his grandchildren, his family and friends, and for the many ways his life touched the people gathered here today.

And Father, we know that today is difficult. There’s grief in this room. There’s an empty place that can’t simply be filled with words. And so we ask You to be near to those who are hurting. Give comfort to Robyn and to the entire family. Give them strength for today and grace for the days ahead.

Lord, as we hear Your Word this morning, help us not simply to remember Ed, but to remember that our own lives are in Your hands. Teach us to number our days. Give us wisdom to recognize how brief this life really is, and help us to look beyond this life to the hope that You’ve given us through Jesus Christ.

Comfort us, challenge us, and point our hearts toward You.

We ask all of this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Message

Well, good morning.

Today’s one of those days when words can feel very inadequate.

We gather together because we loved Ed. We gather because he was a husband, a father, a grandfather, a brother, a friend, a neighbor—and for many of you, simply someone who was a part of your life.

And when someone’s been part of your life for so many years, their absence is difficult to put into words.

Ed lived 77 years. He was married to Robyn for 54 of those years. Together they raised four daughters, and they’ve been blessed with fourteen grandchildren…Ed served his country in Vietnam. He spent much of his life working hard, whether that was his work as a concrete mason or the work he loved on the family farm—beekeeping, and hunting, raising cattle.

The obituary describes Ed as a man of integrity, of strength, determination, a man with a strong work ethic.

And as we gather today, we don't wanna minimize any of that. We wanna remember him. We wanna give thanks to God for the years that Ed was given. We wanna remember the ways he loved his family, the work of his hands, the experiences that shaped his life, the memories that each of you carry with you today.

But listen, there’s something else that a funeral does.

A funeral forces us to stop. Our lives are so busy. We have jobs to do. Places to go. We have things to fix. People to see. We have plans for tomorrow. And then all of a sudden, we find ourselves sitting in a room just like this one, confronted with something we would rather not think about.

Life is short. And Scripture doesn't shy away from saying that.

Psalm 90:12, it says, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

Notice what Moses, the author of this Psalm, doesn't say. He doesn't say, "Teach us to number our years." He says, "our days." Because our lives, they’re made up of days.

One day becomes another. One year becomes another. We make plans for tomorrow, and we assume tomorrow will come. But none of us are promised tomorrow. And that's one of the most difficult things about a moment like this. We all know that intellectually. We've heard it before. But when death comes close to us, all of a sudden those words don't feel theoretical anymore.

James says something very similar in his letter. He said, "What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes."

That's not meant to make us hopeless. It's meant to make us wise. Because the brevity of life forces us to ask an important question: What are we living for? If this life is all there is, then death really is the end of everything that matters.

But listen, the Bible tells us that this life isn’t all there is.

There’s eternity.

And that means the most important question any of us can ask isn't how many years we've been given. It's what’ll happen when those years are finished. And this is where the Christian message is both sobering and incredibly hopeful.

The Bible tells us that every one of us has a problem that we can’t solve ourselves. The problem is sin. We’ve all sinned against God. We’ve all fallen short of His standard. And none of us can stand before a holy God and say, "I've lived a good enough life."

Ed couldn't do that. I can't do that. You can't do that.

Our good works can't erase our sin. Our church attendance can't erase our sin. Being a good husband or a good wife, a good father, a good mother, a good neighbor, none those things can erase our sin.

And that's important for us to understand today, because a funeral can tempt us to think that the answer is simply, "He was a good man."

But the hope of Christianity isn’t that good people go to heaven. The hope of Christianity is that Jesus Christ saves sinners. That's the gospel.

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world. Jesus lived the life that we’ve all failed to live. He died the death that sinners deserve. He bore the judgment of God in the place of His people. And He rose again from the grave. And because Jesus Christ lives, death doesn’t have the final word.

Jesus said in John 11: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”

That's an extraordinary promise for those who’ve trusted Him.

Jesus doesn't say that His followers won't die. They will. Ed did. You and I will. But Jesus says that death doesn’t have the final word for the person who belongs to Him.

There’s resurrection.

There’s eternal life.

There’s a hope that can’t be taken away by the grave.

And so, in a moment like this, I wanna speak especially to those who are grieving. There’s nothing wrong with grieving. Jesus Himself stood at the tomb of Lazarus and wept.

Christian hope doesn’t mean that we don't cry. It doesn't mean we don't feel the emptiness. Or that we don't miss Ed.

We should miss him.

We should grieve.

We should remember.

But for the Christian, grief isn’t the same thing as hopelessness. We grieve because we love. And we grieve with hope because Jesus Christ, He’s conquered death.

…

But listen, I also wanna speak to everyone else in this room. Because as difficult as today is, there’s mercy in being reminded of the brevity of life.

Most of us don't think about our own death very often. We get up, we go to work, we take care of the kids, we pay the bills, we make plans, make appointments, make purchases, make vacation plans—and we just keep moving.

But again Psalm 90 says, “Teach us to number our days.”

In other words, God’s telling us to stop long enough to recognize that our lives are passing.

Ed's life was 77 years.

Yours may be 77.

It may be 87.

It may be 27.

We don't know.

And that's why the question we need to ask isn't, "How long do I have?" The question is, "Am I ready for eternity?" Because one day every one of us will stand before God. And the good news is that God hasn’t left us wondering how we can be ready. He’s given us Jesus.

And so if you don't know Jesus Christ, don't leave here today simply thinking about Ed. Let his death cause you to think about your own life. Think about where you're standing before God. Think about the brevity of your days. And hear the good news of the gospel: You can’t save yourself but Jesus can. He came for sinners.

And so turn from your sin. Trust in Christ. And you’ll find the rest your soul so desperately longs for.

The person who come to Christ in faith doesn't have to spend the rest of their life wondering whether they’ve done enough.

Christ has done enough. His death was sufficient. His resurrection was real. And His promise is sure. And those who belong to Him have a hope that death itself can’t destroy.

So today we remember Ed. We remember a husband who loved his wife. A father who raised four daughters. A grandfather who had fourteen grandchildren. A soldier who served his country. A man who worked hard and loved the work of his hands. A man whose life touched the lives of so many people in this room. And as we remember his life, may God also teach us to number our own days. Because none of us know how many days we’ve been given. But we do know the One who holds every one of them. And we know the One who said:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”

That’s where our hope is today.

Not in the strength of a man. Not in the length of a life. Not in the good things we've accomplished. Our hope is in Jesus Christ.

And for everyone who trusts Him, the grave isn’t the end.

Amen.

Time of Sharing

At this time, I'd like to open it up to family and friends who would like to come and share a memory, or a story, or something about Ed that you'd like the rest of us to remember. Once everyone’s had some time to do that, I’ll then close us again in prayer.

{Allow time}

Closing

This will conclude our service this morning. We hope you’ll join us at the graveside following this service. Let us pray:

Father, thank You for the time we’ve had together this morning.

Thank You for the life You gave Ed, for the years he shared with his family and friends, and for the memories that we’ll all carry with us.

Lord, we know that words can’t take away the pain of losing someone we love. And so we ask You to be especially near to Robyn and to this family. Give them comfort in the days ahead. Give them strength when the grief feels too heavy, and remind them that You are faithful even in our darkest moments.

And Lord, I pray that what we’ve heard from Your Word this morning would stay with us. Help us to number our days. Help us not to take this life for granted. And above all, help us to look to Jesus Christ, who is our hope in life and in death.

We entrust this family to Your care, and Lord we ask You to bless the time we have now as we remember Ed together.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Graveside Committal

1 Corinthians 15:51–57 ESV

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

These are precious words to hear at a graveside because they remind us that the grave isn’t the final word.

Today, we commit Ed’s body to the ground. Scripture reminds us that we’re formed from the dust, and that in death our bodies return to the dust. There’s a finality to that which is difficult for us to face, especially when we’re saying goodbye to someone we love.

But for the Christian, the grave isn’t the end. The resurrection of Jesus Christ guarantees that death will ultimately be defeated. There’s coming a day when the trumpet will sound, when the dead will be raised, and these perishable bodies will be raised imperishable.

That’s why our hope isn’t simply in the memories we carry with us, though those memories are precious. Our hope is ultimately in Jesus Christ—the One who died, who was buried, who rose again, and who promised that He is “the resurrection and the life.”

So, with reverence and with hope, we commit Ed’s body to the ground: earth to earth, dust to dust. And we do so looking forward to the day when Christ returns, when death’s swallowed up in victory, and when there’ll be no more grave, no more sorrow, no more death.

Let’s pray.

Father, thank You for the life of Ed and for the years You gave him with his family and friends. Continue to comfort Robyn and this family as they walk through these days of grief.

And Lord, remind us that the grave isn’t the end. Fix our hope upon Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life.

In Jesus’ name, amen.