Memorial Service - Graydon LaBar 123005
Promises from God:
John 11:25, 26
25Jesus said… "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even if he dies; 26and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
Psalm 46:1-7
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
A Time of Sharing and Remembrance by Friends and Family:
Eulogies:
At this time I would like to give those who would like to say a few words an opportunity to do so, this is a time to share anything special you remember about Graydon or maybe a special experience that you shared with him.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, we gather here today to remember the precious life of Graydon LaBar. We also gather to celebrate the life that he enjoyed here on earth and thank you for each precious moment and memory that we have had with him. His life has touched so many in so many different ways, let us always remember this. We pray that your peace and presence will be upon us during this time. We pray this in the name your Son Jesus, Amen.
Message
Introduction:
As we gather here this afternoon to remember the dear and precious life of Graydon LaBar, I know that many of you are dealing with mixed emotions. On the one hand, there are emotions of great sadness. Sadness not for Graydon because Graydon is in a far better place, but sadness because we have lost a dear loved one.
But on the other hand, there is great joy knowing that Graydon has already been in the presence of the Lord.
For the Christian there is no greater joy than to be in the presence of the One that loves them like no one else can.
So today is not a day of mourning but a day of celebration. It’s not a day of regret but truly a day of rejoicing. Today we come to remember the life of Graydon LaBar and reminisce over all the special moments that we had with him.
I believe that Graydon had a relationship with God and because of that relationship there are some wonderful promises that we find in the Book of John, chapter 14:1-6. Let me read that portion of scripture to you.
John 14:1-6
JN 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going."
JN 14:5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
JN 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I. The First Promise to Christians is that We Don’t have to Fear Death. Jesus said "Don’t let your hearts be troubled"
1) We are troubled when we don’t know what is going to happen when we die, but Jesus has taken the fear out of dying.
a) He has conquered the grave and death so there needs to be no fear in our eternal future.
Rev 1:17-18
REV 1:17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
b) Do you know what the good news is this afternoon? Death had no hold on Him nor does it have a hold on us.
i) Because Christ conquered death there should be no fear for the Christian because through Christ we also conquer death.
2) We are Troubled when we view death as an end instead of a beginning.
2 Cor 5:1
2CO 5:1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
a) Graydon’s life is not over, as a matter of fact, it has just begun.
i) Graydon has shed the temporary for the eternal, the tarnished for the spotless and the passing for the everlasting.
ii) Yes our earthly bodies die, however our heavenly bodies endure for all eternity.
Everyone here knows that it was Graydon’s desire to go home to be with the Lord and there’s nothing more that he wanted. He understood what Jesus meant when He said "Don’t let your hearts be troubled". I think trouble was the last thing from Graydon’s mind.
Not only can we face death without fear,
II. The Second Promise is Jesus Prepares a Place for Believer’s in Heaven. What has He Prepared?
Rev 21:4
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
1) A place with no more sorrow or crying.
a) Heaven is a place where the hurts and disappointment of this world have no more sting.
b) Where the pains of life are not permitted and the failures of life no longer control us.
2) A place with no more pain.
a) There are no pharmacies and prescriptions to fill.
b) Heaven doesn’t have hospitals.
d) The days of aches and pains for Graydon are over, the trips to the doctors have ceased, and all his pain has ended.
III. The Third Promise is found in John 14: That He Personally Receives Us.
1) Now I want you to imagine this, the moment that Graydon took his first breath in Heaven the Lord was right there to welcome him.
a) The first image he saw was the Lord Jesus Christ.
b) He was there with His arms wide open to receive him in to that great mansion that He has prepared for all His children.
c) And for Graydon he experienced a love that we cant even understand.
i) A love that forgives every failure that he had in his life.
ii) A love that mends the hurts only he knew.
iii) A love that understood ever feeling that he had.
iv) It is an unconditional love that completely satisfies the longing of his soul.
VI. The Last Promise is that there is only One-way to Enter Heaven.
1) Jesus said to Thomas "Thomas you say you don’t know the way to heaven but you do, I am the way, the truth, and the life."
a) I believe Graydon understood this. He understood that God desired for him to have a relationship with the Lord. He wrote this prayer [READ PRAYER]
b) He understood that Christ came to take away the sins of the world and that included his.
c) He believed in the greatest promise that is given to all and found in three simple verses:
John 3:15-18
15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
JN 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
Because Graydon believed that promise and because of his relationship with the Lord, he is in a place that is far greater then we can even imagine. Full of God’s love.
Conclusion:
It is my hope and desire that each one of you will have that same relationship with the Lord Jesus. Maybe you have never given any thought to your eternal future, but this afternoon you are wondering where you would go if you were to leave this world today.
I’d be glad to talk with you more about that, and here are a couple of things I hope you’ll remember:
1) The first one we have already heard
"Jesus said I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
a) There is no other way to enter heaven it’s only through a personal relationship with Jesus.
b) It doesn’t have any thing to do with what church you belong to, what denomination or religion.
c) It doesn’t have to do with being a good person.
d) And no one can pray you in.
It’s a personal relationship with Jesus. That’s what the Bible says.
Remember John 3:16:
JN 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
As we all know, there will be difficult days ahead, and when these days arrive, may we find comfort in the words of Psalm 23:
Psalm 23
PS 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
PS 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
PS 23:3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
PS 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
PS 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
PS 23:6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Every life has a beginning date and an ending date, and most of the time we don’t know what those dates will be. But the part that we do have some control over is what happens in between those two dates.
Graydon lived a good life; and we have many great memories of the time we spent with him.
What about our lives? What kind of a legacy are we leaving behind, what will you be remembered for?
My prayer is you’ll be remembered for the way you cared for others, the way Graydon cared for others. That you will ask Jesus into your life, if you haven’t already, and that you will live your life in a way that is pleasing to God.
If you do those things, no matter what others remember you for, God will be honored by your life, and that is what matters most.
Let’s pray:
Dear heavenly Father we once again thank you for the life of my grandfather, Graydon LaBar. I thank you for all the lives that he has touched and the memories that he has left. And now Father, we ask that you comfort the many family members and friends that have gathered here and help us to always remember the frailty of life. In the days ahead I pray that we will be available for each other, especially my grandmother to draw strength from, and most importantly that we would always remember to look to you for our strength and comfort. For it’s in your Sons precious name we pray, Amen.