Jim Dorn Funeral

Introduction

On behalf of the Dorn family we would like to thank you for coming this afternoon. Certainly, Jim would have very much appreciated your presence.

The circumstance that brings us together today is the most solemn kind of circumstance, and one we must often face in this world of sickness, sorrow, and death.

Today we have come together to weep with those who weep, and to express our love and appreciation for the Dorn family and their friends.

A Glimpse of the Humanity of our Savior

John 11:1–5 CSB

1 Now a man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. 3 So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus.

John 11:14–15 CSB

14 So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. 15 I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”

John 11:30–36 CSB

30 Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to cry there. 32 As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!” 33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked. “Lord,” they told him, “come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

I believe this passage gives us a glimpse of the humanity of our Savior.

When Jesus saw Mary and the others weeping, He was deeply moved, even to the point of weeping himself.

Weeping, out of love for Lazarus, ...

But also because of the grief that the family and friends were experiencing.

John 11.35 - Jesus wept.

He openly cried. There was no holding in of emotions.

This… is the man of sorrows acquainted with grief as prophesied by Isaiah. (Isaiah 53.3b)

These aren’t sentimental tears. They’re not professional tears. They are literally the shocking outburst of our sympathetic high priest.

This passage not only teaches us that Jesus weeps when we weep, it tells us when people are brokenhearted, He is with us.

He comes to us and surrounds us with His love during our sufferings.

Psalm 34.18-19 - The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

When people are brokenhearted and wounded, God’s word tells us that God will bind up our wounds:

Psalm 147.3, 5: He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure.

Our text not only shows how in times of grief He comes to us, but it also shows us our need to go to Him.

Mary shows us where to go when we feel pain and loss.Mary already had people consoling her. She was in pain. But in that pain, she went to Jesus at her first opportunity.

Mary went to Jesus in her grief and so should we.In the Word, He tells us what we need to hear:

John 11:25–26 CSB

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Do you believe Jesus is the resurrection and the life?

Days like today are what our faith is all about.

Days like today are where our faith gets very real … because it brings home the very obvious reality that it is only by faith that we walk and in grace that we stand.

Faith in a power that transcends this world.

Faith in a loving God who keeps every promise.

Faith in the work of a Savior who lovingly and willingly sacrificed Himself in our place so that we can die in hope.

Faith in the word of God which tells us that by His own resurrection, Jesus has taken away the sting and victory of death.

It is this faith that propels us to lead lives just like Jim did … living lives of surrendered dedication to Christ … that propel us with the strongest of assurance:

It is Paul who declared: If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you, Romans 8.11.

Death is not the End

Psalm 116.15: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.

The death of God’s saint, rather than being a senseless end to a futile existence, is really the crowing glory of a life of faith and obedience.

It is in the transition of death that the child of God exchanges worlds.

The Christian goes from a world that is temporal to one that is eternal.

From one darkened by sin to one where the sun is not even needed for the glory of God supplies the everlasting light.

We pass from a world filled with pain, sorrow, and tears to one where every tear is wiped away from every eye and there is no more sorrow, crying, or pain.

Our death supplies our entrance into higher, eternal fellowships.

For Jim, the eternal inheritance is no longer a hope — it is a reality.

D. L. Moody once said:

Someday you will read in the papers that I am dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. At that moment, I shall be more alive than I am now. I shall have gone up higher, that is all, into a house that is immortal, a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint, a body fashioned unto His glorious body.

Because of his relationship with Christ, our brother, Jim Dorn is not dead.

He was prepared for this day.

He is alive and well.

He is in a place of comfort, rest, and peace.

We trust in the power of God. He has promised that those who live for Him in this life will reign with Him in the next.

You see, Jim knew that. He knew that for the Christian, the best is yet to come.

2 Corinthians 4:16–5:1 CSB

16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 1 For we know that if our earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands.

Did you hear the contrast in the last verse I read from 2 Corinthians 5?

Right now we live in a tent. You know, our bodies are like tents.

They are temporary and not designed for us to live in them permanently.

They can be flimsy, easy to tear down, and are meant to be replaced.

Our bodies wear out. They break down. While we can maybe slow down the aging process, we can’t delay things forever.

Paul says, one day we’ll trade in our tent for a building.

A building is strong, built on a foundation, and not meant to be moved.

Someday we’ll trade in this tent and replace it with a building made by God himself.

Death is not the end.

Death is not reincarnation.

Death is not evaporation.

Death is not annihilation.

Death is a trade-in.

One day we’ll trade in our broken down bodies for a new body. Paul says this new body:

is from God.

is not made with hands.

is eternal.

is heavenly.

This is what Paul means in verse 1 when he says “we know.”

There are many things about the future that we do not know, but this much is certain...

We won’t have to live in tents forever. Someday our “tent” will be replaced with a “building” made by God.

There Has to be More

If Jim could speak to us today, he would definitely testify to that.

He would tell you not to neglect that which is really important — that is, a relationship with the Savior.

When it comes down to it, that is all that matters.

There is no promise of eternal life for the person who does not have a relationship with Jesus.

Do you believe in the message Jesus brought? He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. (John 14.6)

Before the day of death comes we must confess Him and crown Him as the Lord of your life?

We must turn away from sin and be united with Him in the waters of baptism and wash away your sin.

The need for Christ is real, because the reality of our death is real.

Hebrews 9.27: it has been appointed for all men to die once, then the judgment.

So when death strikes close to us, we see how much we really do need Jesus.

We need Him to save us from our sinfulness.

We need Him to lead us safely through this life.

We need Him to give us strength and comfort.

We absolutely need Him when we must walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

It is only through Jesus that we will be victors over death.

1 Corinthians 15:55–57 CSB

55 Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

I believe Jim understood this promise and lived with this hope.

Think about how Paul concludes his thoughts in the chapter:

1 Corinthians 15:58 CSB

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

This was Jim. Think about everything we’ve heard about him today and you’ll see a steadfast brother in Christ.

Someone who was immovable.

And, someone who always abounded in the work of the Lord.

Even in Death There is Comfort

We have comfort in the fond memories of Jim and how he touched our lives.

Treasure each memory of Jim.

Let his good character, good values, and spiritual example influence us throughout our lives.

There is comfort in knowing that our Lord will come to us in times of deepest grief. … just like He did with the family of Lazarus.

He not only comes to us, but meets our loved ones to provide comfort, console, and receive them into His presence eternally.

Today, our brother Jim is a recipient of that comfort and consolation from her Lord.

Jesus is always there for us, ready to bless, and willing to receive.

Psalm 23 CSB

A psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. 2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

Let us give thanks for Jim Dorn, the life he lived, the inspiration he was, and the example he set.

Our world is a better place - lives have been touched - and God glorified - because of this godly man.

Let’s pray.

Graveside Committal

We have reached the end.

We can go no farther with Jim.

Today, based on the fruit of Jim’s life, we stand confident in the promises of our God.

We trust that he is alive and at peace.

We trust that Jim has moved on to enjoy the fellowship of the saints.

And for this, we are thankful.

As we mourn for his death today, let us remember Psalm 121, where we have the promise that God will help those who seek him:

Psalm 121 CSB

A song of ascents. 1 I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. 4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep. 5 The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side. 6 The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night. 7 The Lord will protect you from all harm; he will protect your life. 8 The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever.

Let’s pray.