Nellie Ginter

Graveside Service:

Gathering:

In John 11:25 Jesus said,

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” And Then he said: “Do you believe this?”

It is the Christian’s belief in Christ as the Resurrection and the Life… and it is Christ’s own death and resurrection from the grave that so encourages our hearts as we face the loss of our loved ones and face death ourselves…

I want to welcome you to the Graveside service for Nellie Ginter.

This is a sacred time and space… a time you have set aside… and a place you have chosen to lay your loved one to rest…

My name is Ron Babel and I am a chaplain in Steinbach and a lay minister in the SEMC… Nellie’s last physical church here on earth.

It is a great privilege to share this time with you, Nellie’s family (and friends)…

I would like to extend the condolences to Dave, Roger and Kel, and the family on behalf of SEMC, who are full aware of Nellie’s passing. The church is praying for you.

We are gathered here today to celebrate the life and to honour the memory of Nellie Ginter.

It is the death that has brought us together but it is Nellie's life that we wish to remember.

We are drawn here by our common love, our common respect and our common grief.

This is certainly an occasion for sorrow, but may it also be an occasion for thanksgiving because we are thankful for the gift of life and we are thankful that Nellie lived among us…

We are confident that Nellie is at this moment safe in the presence of God, forever free from pain, discomfort, anxieties, and alarms.

Let us find strength and confidence knowing that Nellie is in the Lord’s care, freeing you, the family (and friends), to express both, your tears and your joy, as we share together in this special service.

Let us recognize God’s presence among us as we pray…

Prayer:

O God, who gave us birth, you are ever more ready to hear than we are to pray…   I thank you for the time we had with Nellie. I thank you for her family (and friends) gathered here today and I ask that you allow my words to bring comfort, help, and peace here today!...

Give to us now your grace, that as we shrink before the mystery of death, we may see the light of eternity…   Help us to live as those who are prepared to die…  

And when our days here are accomplished, enable us to die as those who go forth to live, so that living or dying, our life may be in you.  May God grant us grace, that in pain we may find comfort, in sorrow hope, in death resurrection. Amen

Message:

What do we say in moments like this, as family members (and friends) gather … and we are confronted with the awefullness of death?

When we expereince the sting of death… we surely realize there must be more than the evelasting cycle of living, dying and grieving.

And what do we make of the fact that Nellie was a faithful and committed Christian for most of her life?

And where is God in the midst of all this?

Well, I can asure you that death is not a sign that God has forgotten us… or that God has forgotten Nellie…

If we are to believe the glorious truth of the gospel, she is more alive today than she ever has been… free from struggles and pain of this earthly life… free from the grip of death…

But what is the basis for such hope?

Knowing that we all will face our own death someday, what does God say to us today?

Our hope is in the Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have all heard or read these verses… but today they have a different ring to them… They hit home for you today…

Jesus offered comfort as only Jesus can do:

Let not your hearts be troubled… How is that even possible?

Jesus gives two answers: “Believe in God; believe also in me.”

The key is to believe… this is something our human minds cannot fathom… we can only truly when the Holy Spirit opens our souls to the truth of the gospel…

Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God who came to save the world from sin and spiritual death?

Let not your hearts be troubled.

The second answer: “I will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

Jesus said these things because they are true…

He is the only Son of God… sent to save a world of lost sinners…

He knew that he would go to the Fahter’s house… to prepare a place…

He knew the sins he took to the cross…

He knew the victory over death… and that he will raise us up on the last day…

This is the testimony and hope we believe and gold on to. We find comfort in the midst of loss and grief… As it is a comfort for the dying it is a comfort to those who stay behind.

Do you believe that Jesus is preparing an eternal place for you in heaven?

Why do We Believe?

When I asked Dave if Nellie had a favourite Bible verse I could use for the message today, he said there were probably many and he got up and got Nellie’s Bible…

He began to show me hand-written notes on little pieces of paper stuck into different places in the Bible…

One that seemed to stick out to Dave was the reference to… Hebrews 4:15-16… I will add verse 14…

Hebrews 4:14–16 ESV

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Here are three things I want to point out that connect with Jesus’ promise in John 14…

Confession (14)

Let us hold fast our confession…

that Jesus is the Son of God… who passed through the heavens…

He is at God’s right hand now, praying for us…

we confess that we truely believe…

The confession that Jesus is Christ and Lord… is our anchor in times of trouble… in times of sorrow…

Jesus resonates with all our experience (15)

it is a fact that when you have two pianos in one room and a note is struck on one… the other will resonate that exact same note… that is called “sympathetic resonance”

There is no note of human experience that can be struck that doesn’t find an answering chord in Jesus…

Christ really symathizes withour weakness…

He took the same human journey as we do…

Every joy and every sorrow and everything in between… Jesus has lived it…

He feels what you feel right now… Believe it!...

We draw near to God to recive grace in time of need (16)

In verse 16, the writer speaks of confidence with which we can draw near to the thrown of grace…

the word “confidence” means in the classical Greek…

free and open speech of citizens with one another…

It means “bold frankness” - an open outpouring of the heart…

God wants you to come and pour out your heart… bold and frankly…

Draw near to the thrown of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace… to help in time of need… Believe it!

Where do We Go from Here?

You know, Nellie believed in eternal life even after physical death here on earth. She knew that Jesus himself would come and take her home, according to his promise in John 14…

This is why I could say in the beginning: We are confident that Nellie is at this moment safe in the presence of God, forever free from pain, discomfort, anxieties, and alarms.

But we are still here… we live on… we don’t know how long… but we are still here…

And this is my question for you today… As you ponder about your own mortality… do you believe that Jesus is preparing a place for you?… Do you believe in him? …

Jesus came for Nellie… He took her to himself…

So, I invite you to pause, to let it settle in that a precious life has passed from among us. We can use the gift of our worship and our memories to bring comfort and peace and joy and laughter to one another as we remember Nellie and…..perhaps……we will enjoy a “trace” of Nellie’s presence as we share together.

Words of Committal:

Forasmuch as it has pleased God to receive unto himself the soul of our dear departed (sister), we therefore tenderly commit his/her body to the ground… in the blessed hope that as (she) has born the image of the earthly so also, (she) shall bear the image of the heavenly…

Prayer:

“God our Father, by raising Christ your Son, you destroyed the power of death and opened for us the way to eternal life… As we remember before you, our sister Nellie, we ask your help as we go from here… Grant us the assurance of your presence and grace by the Spirit you have given us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Benediction:

English Standard Version Chapter 15

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.