Sermon Tone Analysis

Open with a welcome to those who came

Thank you all for coming today, I know it means so much to family and friends to see everyone here to celebrate the life of our dear friend Steven Kleckner.

At this time I would like to invite Ps Tim Koetitz, who was Steven’s pastor for more than half a decade to come open us in a word of prayer.

Ps Tim...

Ps Tim prays...

Thank you Ps Tim.

For those of you I have not yet met, my name is Matthew Morris, and for the last seven months I have had the great pleasure of being Steven’s pastor.

On behalf of Marcus and Tawnie and all of the family i would like to again thank you all for coming and showing your love and support.

And on behalf of the church, I would like to extend our condolences.

Today is not a funeral but rather a celebration of life service.

The Bible tells us that

Paul here tells us, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that for those who are in Christ Jesus, we have a hope and a future.

When a dear loved one passes on, we are affirmed that it is not the end but truly their beginning.

We on this side, though we mourn our loss, we know this is only temporary for we will see loved ones again.

Faith in Jesus is this assurance!

And Steven had faith in Jesus, boy did he ever!

We are going to hear great and memorable stories today about our dear father, brother, uncle and friend Steven today, and as the service progresses please be thinking about a favorite story or two as we will have an open mic share time later on in this service.

at this time, I would like to invite one of Tawnie’s HS mentors, Lisa Koekkoek to come and read Steven’s life story...

LISA: Steven Kleckner was one of a kind.

He was a giant, maybe not in stature, but always in personality.

A smile was always readily given to everyone and had a way of brightening peoples days.

He was never afraid to show people how much he cared for them and always had open arms for those who asked.

He welcomed my friends, my brothers friends, into the fold.

He will not only be missed by those who are family, but by those he welcomed as friends and coworkers, and by many, many more as his heart was so big for everyone.

He was also not afraid to be goofy and to make people laugh.

One of the best things about my dad was that he could always make me laugh.

When I would read books, dad was to the side saying random words so I would look up and say “what?” then he would laugh and act like he wasn't doing anything at all.

When I was a baby he used to put his shirt over my head and have my head peak out of his shirt and call me his twin.

When I wanted to have a tea party he was never afraid to get down to my level and share a fake biscuit and fake tea as a way to ask me how my day had gone.

He braved through the awkward stages of puberty by not one but two children, and he mostly held onto patience pretty well even when i'm sure he wanted to rip out what was left of his hair and yell at us more often than not.

He was very forgiving and always give people chances even when people told him not too.

I never once doubted his love for me, and I don't want anyone to every doubt his love for them.

He could be a very stubborn man but that was one thing you could never doubt him on.

His love.

He never asked for much and was very simple man.

He was a hard worker and taught me and my brothers the same.

Yes, he may not have had the most glamorous of jobs, but he showed up, and he always gave 110 percent.

He was like an eagle, one of his favorite animals, protective of those he loved with an arm span long enough to fold you into one of the best hugs.

He was comfort and protection.

His voice could lull me to sleep and fill my heart with joy.

I could tell him everything on my mind, no matter how weird or sad, and he would never judge me.

I’ll miss the days when we would sit and talk and discuss just about everything.

Even when we were not on the same page he still talked to me like an equal.

Oregon was our home for so long and now when I walk outside, the flowers, the sun, and the rain will remind me of him.

Of how much you loved life and loved the people in his life.

Life could be a tough lesson, but having him for a dad equipped us to handle it.

I'm so thankful to have had the years i’ve had with him.

Now i know he's up there with my mom, best friends still to this day, and he's romping around with Charley, finally at peace from his illness.

I hope dad that you feel free like the eagles you so adore.

I'll miss your hugs and laugh and i will always love you.

You will always be my best friend.

Rest In Peace big guy.

thank you Lisa

at this time we’d love to share a video slide show of Steven...

Steven was a very kind and generous man and he loved his family and friends with a huge heart!

He also love his lord and saviour Jesus with all his heart.

I believe, both because of conversations I’ve had with friends and family and because I knew Steven as well, that he would want everyone to love Jesus like he did.

I asked Marcus and Tawnie if their dad had any favorite Bible verses and Tawnie spoke up right away, she said, “He loved anything in the New Testament!”

“He loved the Spirit of it all”

the new testament share much with us about the hope of the Believer.

Hope is an interesting word that I believe has lost much of its meaning by the way we use it today.

We say I hope...

Hope is the absolute expectancy of Good to come, Peter tells us we can know for sure and that we should be able to explain this to others… Paul says it this way...

The HS of Jesus is our earnest, our guarantee of a future with God in heaven… the author of Hebrews puts it this way...

discuss this verse briefly and paint the picture of Jesus calling us home...

Life is a journey and it can be bumpy but with Jesus as our secure hope, we can endure… Steven faced a lot, but his hope in Jesus and love for others helped him as he was navigating life’s waters.

I mentioned earlier that I asked Marcus and Tawnie about their dad’s favorite bible verse and I shared what Tawnie said but almost as quickly as she answered, both Marcus and Steven’s girlfriend Robin piped in, “he loved anything Jesus said” “when Jesus was speaking”

we have looked at some scripture from the New Testament as Steven liked, now let’s spend a few moments looking at Steven’s favorite person, Jesus!

before this, I must say this too, I asked Tawnie what Steven did for a living and heard stories of his working in the restaurant business but the thing that stood out the most to me was the reason he stayed in this industry and love it so was that he got to meet new people and interact with them, he got to here their stories he got to bring them Joy in their days, this attribute of Steven is the very same of Jesus.

Jesus loved to meet new people and did it over and over again, he heard their stories, he cried with them and he brought them joy.

Jesus’ most famous sermon...

Matthew 5:2-

Matthew 6:9-

Matthew 6:

Matthew 6:

Jesus goes on to say not to judge others and teaches us the golden rule...

Steven embodied these teachings… Jesus also said this

john 11:

Steven believed this and is in the presence of his Jesus right now! the bible says to be absent...

Faith in Jesus is the only sure hope we can have.

Steven had it and his prayer was that you would have it too, tells us that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and Believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead we will be saved and that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved!

if you want to talk more about this and the faith Steven had please feel free to talk to me or Ps Tim or Ps Dave after the service.

Let’s pray and thank the Lord for the life of Steven...

at this time we would to hear some stories from all of you...

Open Mic time...

Thank you all for sharing… at this moment I’d like to ask Ps Dave, the lead Ps of HCF to close us in prayer… Ps Dave...

thanks PD, well as one of steven’s favorite animals was an eagle, I’m reminded of this verse...

Isaiah 40:

let’s trust in the Lord amen...

well, Steven liked food and having conversations around food, so lets honor him and eat good food and share great stories.

God bless...