Cynthia "Cindy" Hindeliter
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Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
Pray
It is never easy to get through a day like today.
On the surface, especially when facing untimely death such as Cindy’s, it’s so unfair that we often as WHY.”
Why did she have to go now?
Why this way? Why so soon? Why her and not me?
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
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.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
It is never easy to get through a day like today.
On the surface, especially when facing untimely death such as Cindy’s, it’s so unfair that we often as WHY.”
Why did she have to go now?
Why this way? Why so soon? Why her and not me?
The answers to these questions common questions are above my pay-grade.
But, what I can tell you today, is that even though life is short, death is an enemy that Jesus Christ is victorious over - and because Jesus rose from the dead victorious over sin, death and hell, we can have hope and victory in his Name.
Ronald Reagan Sentiment
Ronald Reagan Sentiment
After the passing of a life-long pastor friend of his, Ronald Reagan, as president, wrote a letter to his widow, and I think we can share this sentiment with the family:
At moments like this we must believe and trust in God’s infinite wisdom and mercy. Time will bring healing…Those of us who care can only stand by, share some measure of your sorrow, and pray for that healing to come. My heartfelt condolences and prayers are with you. Sincerely, Dutch.
Terry “H”, Erica, Aurelia, Cheryl, Edana, John, Bill and the rest of the closest family members - this is what we’re here to do for you. Today and in the days to come.
Please be considering whether you’d like to share. Here in a minute we’re going to open up the opportunity.
I had the privilege of meeting Cindy and “H” about 3 years ago now, when my wife and I moved into Valier. Just like Cindy was years ago, I was a transplant into the community. I’ve come to know and love many of my neighbors.
H when walking on the street past mailbox. Cindy when stopping with leftover chicken from a church dinner.
What began as a conversation about chicken grew into conversations about Dillon. Eventually we had formed a relationship. Healing - Church - Hospital - Nursing Home - Meeting the family - Opportunities to see God’s work on hear heart in the final months of her life.
I was blessed to know Cindy, even though for a short while, and I look forward to one day sharing eternity with her.
Wedding Song
Open Sharing
Message
It’s difficult to capture the impact and value of a persons life in a few short words. Well done. Wonderful memories, thank you.
The difference between Christianity and all other religions and worldviews is the resurrection of Jesus.
The truth that Jesus said he would raise from the dead on the third day and then accomplished it - is both the power of our faith for salvation and the hinge that makes all makes all the difference. No other faith serves a risen, living Savior.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:
Once we’ve heard the true message of Jesus crucified, dead, buried and raised to life for the forgiveness of our sins, each of us must answer the question:
Who is Jesus to you?
Jesus' answer is, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”
This one question and statement has to be dealt with in your heart. Jesus claimed to be God, the only path to the Father, to Salvation, to Heaven. And he offers it to each of us. See, the Bible says, “The good news of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. ()
The good news of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. ()
Cindy made that decision. Cindy answered that question. As a youth in faith and baptism and again in her final months. You and I have to as well. A non-answer is an answer. It’s a rejection of the free gift. The best gift you can receive and the only gift that matters in the end.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
C.S. Lewis, who also wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, said [paraphrase], “Jesus does not allow us to call him a good moral teacher. That’s not an option for the question ‘who is Jesus.’ He claims to be God. It’s a multiple choice question. Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or our Lord and Savior.”
If Jesus is your Lord, on days like this when the pain is hard to bear, he becomes your comforter.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
I hope you are willing to open your hearting heart to the Lord’s reflection. Death is the great teacher of the living. So what does death teach us?
I have a 2 year old son, and this past summer he was at the age where he falls a lot. You know, figuring out walking, but he tries to go faster than his coordination is ready for? You’ve seen this, right?
He’s a little accident prone. Falls in the driveway, slipped and lost a tooth on the swing. Runs into our arms for comfort.
He is a God of all comfort.
If God wanted to he could remove all those cuts and bruises and make the world soft and covered in cushions.
Instead, he chooses to allow us to face pain and trouble, trials and temptations, hurts and loss. Why? Oftentimes it’s because his desire is to draw us near to him in our times of affliction. He wants us to say, “Lord, I need your comfort.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—
yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
I asked “Who is Jesus to you?”
One barrier we often have to answering that question is what comes to mind when we think of God.
Do you picture God as a BIG, Scowling old Man, Arms Crossed looking forward to crushing you every time you mess up?
Or do you see God with BIG, Jolly old man, Arms open wide, smile creases around his eyes looking forward to comforting you. That’s the God of the Bible. That’s the God who longs for you to seek comfort and refuge on your knees before him.
In the days to come, I’d challenge you to turn to God in prayer every time your heart hurts while missing Cindy. Ask him to meet you there.
Life is uncertain, but there is hope. We tend to have the delusion of control. I control my time, my location, my duration, my enterprise, my goals. When the truth is life’s only certainty is uncertainty. But there is hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We cherish the many blessed memories that come to us in these moments. Her faithfulness, friendship, and gracious life will continue their radiance and testimony in all of your lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, we commit her body to rest, knowing that her spirit is with the Lord in His heavenly house.
We cherish the many blessed memories that come to us in these moments. Her faithfulness, friendship, and gracious life will continue their radiance and testimony in all of your lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, we commit her body to rest, knowing that her spirit is with the Lord in His heavenly house.
In so doing, we rest our hearts in fresh confidence upon the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to life through Jesus Christ, "Who will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” ()
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Closing prayer