Jean Williams Funeral

Mrs. Jean Williams

Please be seated.

On behalf of the family, I want to tell you thank you for every kind word, every visit, the food, the cards, your presence over the past few weeks and your presence here today, but most of all I want to thank you for the prayers that you have offered up over the past month and days as the family have been faithful to stand by Mrs. Jean’s side. It is wonderful to know that during times of difficulties, we can lean on those around us to hold us up and to help bear our burdens.

I want to also encourage you as friends and family to remember the family in coming days and weeks as well as they will continue to need our love and support.

As we begin today, I want to read a passage of Scripture from Mrs. Jean’s Bible that she had marked and circled in her Bible.

Proverbs 31:10–31 NASB95

An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight. She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar. She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And portions to her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength And makes her arms strong. She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle. She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet. She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen. Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: “Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.” Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.

I’m thankful today for Mrs. Jean and that by God’s grace, she was a woman who lived according to this passage.

Whoever Mrs. Jean was to you, whether she was your mother, grandmother, your sister, sister in law, friend, extended family, whatever the case may be. I’m convinced that if se could tell you anything here today, it would be that she loves you and I am convinced that she would you to look to Jesus and be saved. I think she would tell you to trust in Christ alone for salvation.

She would urge you to prepare your heart for your appointed time.

Hebrews 9:27–28 NASB95

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

All of us one day, will pass away. most important question we can answer today is: Are we in Christ? Have you trusted in Christ? Are you resting in His amazing grace.

Let’s pray.

Scripture and Message

One of the joys of being a pastor is having the opportunity to go and visit Mrs. Jean. Now some people really look forward to the pastor coming to visit because a lot times, people don’t visit with them as much.

That certainly was not the case with Mrs. Jean. It seemed like every day she had someone from her family visiting her.

I actually told Mrs. Jean the other day that if I waited until she didn’t have anybody over at her house, I would never get to see her, so I just started barging visits, and I have had the opportunity to meet many of you through those times and I’m thankful for that.

I say all that to say that when I visit with people, one of things I like to do is to read a passage of Scripture with them before I leave to encourage them.

The last time I visited Mrs. Jean at her home was just before she was going into the hospital.

Mrs. Ann was there, and we had a visit, and I could tell that Mrs. Jean was a little bit anxious about the surgery, so I read her this passage. and.. I really don’t know of a better passage to share with you all today.

Its actually at the bottom of the order of service if you open up the bulletin. Its

Philippians 4:4–7 NASB95

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I love that fourth verse there.

Philippians 4:4 NASB95

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

The family asked that this not be a sad service, and It really shouldn’t be.

Mrs. Jean was a joyful person. I don’t know that I have ever met a woman who smiled and laughed as much as she did.

And Mrs. Jean seemed to have the ability to be joyful regardless of what she may have been going through.

When I would go and see her, I could tell her back and legs would hurting, but that didn’t keep Mrs. Jean from smiling, from laughing, and welcoming me into her home.

She seemed to be always smiling always laughing.

A few weeks back, a deer ran across the road in front of her house and got hit, and Duff happened to be across town. So I got a call that I needed to go up to Mrs. Jean’s house and take care of the deer.

When I got there Mrs. Jean was out in the yard, and so was the deer. and She looked at me and said well Preacher, are you my deer removal too? and she laughed and laughed.

She walked back across the yard and I told her I was gonna shoot the deer now. And she hollered back ok go ahead and she laughed.

I shot the deer and she laughed.

She was always smiling.

I’m gonna miss her joy.

But… the question that we need to ask today is what was the source of her joy?

Paul says here Rejoice IN THE LORD.

We can have joy like Mrs. Jean if we posses the salvation and Lord that Mrs. Jean possessed.

Joy comes from the Lord.

Believers and families of believers

Psalm 16:11 NASB95

You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

This doesn’t mean we won’t have hard times. It doesn’t mean we won’t have difficult years. But believers in Christ can have joy.

Believers can rejoice always.

You can rejoice today knowing that Mrs. Jean is experiencing the joy that is found in Christ like never before.

But you also need to understand that apart from Christ, there is no lasting joy.

There is temporary fleeting pleasure, but no lasting joy. Find the joy that Mrs. Jean had. Find it in Christ.

We Have Joy in Christ.

Secondly, we can have peace today in Christ.

Philippians 4:5–7 NASB95

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:5

Today it may be difficult to see the peace that Christ offers.

But its available because he is present.

Psalm 46:1 NASB95

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

The presence of God for the believer should bring peace.

We know that we serve the God life and death.

The God over the storms that we’ve faced this past week.

We serve a sovereign God. We serve the Prince of peace.

I know many of you that are here today.

Family, I may not know you very well, but I know this.

There is only one way to have joy and peace, and its found in Christ.

Its not found in money, cars, homes, treasure, retirement.

Joy and Peace are found in Christ.

If we have Him present with us in our life,

We can have a gentle spirit. A spirit that despite our difficulties, we can be confident.

We can go to Him in prayer. Over the next few months, weeks, days, you may struggle. Who will you call upon?

Philippians 4:6–7 NASB95

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

He promise that He will be with us.

Philippians 4:6 NASB95

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:8–9 NASB95

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

The wonderful truth for every believer in this life is that we are never alone if we are in Christ.

And the even greater hope that we have is that even in death we go to be with our God.

The three questions I want to leave you with this afternoon:

Do you have the joy that is found only in Christ?

Do you have the peace that is only found in Christ?

Do have a relationship with the God of peace?

If not, I would love to talk with you afterward today and show you how to find the peace and joy Mrs. Jean has forever in Christ.

Let’s pray.

This concludes our services today. The family would like to invite anyone who would like to speak with them over to the fellowship hall of the church for a time of fellowship. Thank you again for coming today and supporting Mrs. Jean and her family.

Mr. Kelley was and is my friend. Mr. Kelley was and is my brother. He loved me and I loved him. But he didn’t just love me. He loved His family. He loved you Mrs. Cathy. For 42 years, he faithfully loved you. What an example of love and marriage he has left for us. He loved you Kevin, Tara, Tracy, Carter, Abigail, and Emmalynn, and he was proud of you. I knew what to do to make him smile. I would just mention Carter, Abigial, or Emmalynn and that normally worked every time. He loved you Mrs. Eula Mae. he loved you Foster, and Deloris and Squeaky. He loved you all and you all loved him. Thats why you are here today. But today, I want to assure you that today is not Goodbye. I am thankful that one day we will see Mr. Kelley again if we put our faith in Christ like he did. Again, today is not goodbye. Today we celebrate a life lived well. A husband A daddy A Pa A brotherA son,a friend.Whoever he was to you, we celebrate today to have been graciously afforded the opurtunity to live and love with this great man. Let’s pray.

Scripture and Remarks

Family and friends, I want to speak to you today and I want to encourage you in three ways that are summarized in two words. Hold on.I want to encourage you to hold on to each other. Last night, the close knit ness of the family. Mr. Kelly built that. He built a house of love. You don’t get that way being lazy. It takes work. And as a man who no stranger to work or avoider of it, he worked hard to bring his family together.Now is the time to rely and be there for each other even more. The love that Mr. Kelly has for you is not gone. the love that you have Mr. Kelly is not gone. Your love your each other and the continued tightness of your family will be a testament to who he was and what he desired for you to be. Each of you will have hard days, and you will ned each other to hold onto. I know I don’t even need to say this, but be there for each other. Not only hold on to each other...I want to encourage you to hold on to the memories you have with each other. Our memory and memories are a gift from God. They are apart of the common grace that God gives us all. Cherish those times you had with Mr. Kelley. Cherish the trips to White Lake, the holidays you spent together, the dinner outings as a family. Every memory you have is a testament to the goodness of God to you. More so, than either of those, I want to encourage you today to Hold on to Christ. I spoke with Mr. Kelley

​ NASB95But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak,

Confidence in the Christ who conquers

Verse 13 speaks of the confidence that we have in Christ even in the midst of hard times. We can have the confidence in order to speak the hope that we have in Christ. he told me his hope was in Christ. He told me that he knew that Christ was his Savior and his hope. That day, I heard a man who even in the midst of hard times and struggle, he knew where his hope rested. He knew Christ. We can speak confidently even in the middle of hard times and even in the face of death because we have a Savior who faced death and won. In verse 14 it says:

​ NASB95knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.

We can have confidence like Mr. Kelley because of the hope that we have in Christ. Mr Kelley had confidence in Christ because is the one who has faced death for us and he conquered. He knew that death would not be a loss, but he would no longer be in any pain.

Confidence In Christ who holds us together.

​ NASB95Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

We don’t lose heart. Though the vessel is weak and grows weaker and weaker with age, the Gospel remains constant. The strength within us remains unbroken. And that which is within us holds us together.

​ NASB95we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

Mr. Kelly is one of the toughest men I believe I’ve ever met and he was no stranger to suffering. But i want to tell you something today.Because Kelley Strickland put his faith and trust in Christ, He isn’t suffering anymore. My friend will never suffer again. Every affliction he went through, we are told was producing for him an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison that he is now experiencing. Essentially, Put all of your suffering on a scale. it holds no comparison to the weight of the glory that awaits us in Heaven. Its doing something for us. . eternally. Every last thing is producing something in us. We hold on to Christ knowing that in him we have hope, in him we know that all suffering is gone.

​ NASB95He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

The Lord will end the suffering of His people. He has assured that on the cross, and the object of Kelleys’s faith, Christ is what secures him there.We can rejoice today and be glad in His salvation. In Christ, death is defeated. In Christ, sin is defeated. In Christ, sickness, pain are gone. We have a hope that is found in Christ. Kelley has experienced the presence of the one who has defeated all this for him and for us. Family Hold on to each other. Hold on to the Memories. But the most important thing you can do, is hold onto the hope that Mr. Kelley held on to. Hold onto Christ.