John Smith's Funeral

John Dallas Smith, 94, of Parkersburg, went to be with the Lord on Friday, June 26, 2020 at Belpre Landing Nursing and Rehab.

He was born April 7, 1926, in Gladden, Missouri, a son of the late John and Linna    Smith.

John was a U.S. Navy and U.S. Army Veteran. He worked at E.I. DuPont retiring in 1991. He was a member of Fairlawn Baptist Church.

He is survived by his daughter, Susan Daugherty (John); son, John Smith (Debbie); four grandchildren, Dr. John Daugherty IV (Alison), Emily Daugherty, Stephanie Root (Warren) and John Smith (Amy); ten great-grandchildren.

In addition to his parents, John was preceded in death by his wife, Lucile Smith of 63 years and one sister.

John was a great man.

At times like this we look for meaning.

Our faith is tested.

Our understanding of God and of ourselves, is put to the test.

Is our love deep enough to endure?

Is God’s grace vast enough to suffice?

John’s faith can guide us here

His legacy can shine a light on what we need to do now.

How we should live the rest of our lives.

The psalmist wrote,

Psalm 34:18 ESV

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

The writer of the book of Hebrews said,

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

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.

And for those who wrestle with so many questions as we face the loss of a loved one, the apostle Paul wrote,

1 Corinthians 13:12 ESV

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

This tells us that someday, all of our questions will be answered and everything will be made clear.

One thing I am very clear on was John’s love of the Lord.

John was a called deacon of the church and his life reflected that. I never served in that capacity with him but his heart for it was clear.

1 Timothy 3:8 ESV

Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.

I do not think that anyone who knew John would have thought him to be overly dignified, but this passage means more than that. It means the person is respectable.

It means that someone would be surprised to hear that he had intentional done something sinful of wrong. John was that type of guy.

He was not double tongued. He told you what he thought. He did not say one thing and do another.

He used to tell me what he did not like. But , he also would stop by, out of the blue, to say “your going a good job pastor”.

I appreciated his frankness.

He was anything but greedy. He would always show up looking to either give money or time to one ministry or another, one person or another.

Such a gentle, generous man. may as well be said of all of us one day.

John leaves us a legacy to follow. A legacy of service to the Lord and to others.

Let us pray

Our passages for today are

John 19:17–20 ESV

and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.

Notice the plainness of their descriptions. They do not tell us of heroes swooping in to save the day. No embellished details to hype up the event. Remember that Christ had been beaten and whipped just before this but there is no detail oriented telling of the beating.

Ever wonder why there isn’t more told? Like there would be today?

I think one reason is because the beatings and ridicule were actually only a small part of what Jesus actually endured for us.

Yes the beating was bad, yes it was a pain he, and we, cannot have imagined.

But it is a small part of what was done to him.

I think there are three reasons we are not told more

First, being beaten is not as bad as taking on sin that is not your own.

Second, is that we only slightly understand or comprehend the totality of the wrath of God.

It is like trying to completely describe heaven.

1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—

Listen, heaven is so wonderful; it’s simply beyond our comprehension.

I like how one theologian said, “I can’t describe all the furniture of heaven anymore than I can tell you the temperature of hell but I’m not going to let what I don’t understand affect my choice.”

They have quotes on the side of Starbucks coffee cups and one in particular was by a guy by the name of Joel Stein and he said, “Heaven is totally overrated. It seems boring, all those fluffy clouds and listening to people play the harp. It should be somewhere you can’t wait to go like a luxury hotel. Maybe blues skies and soft music were enough to keep people in line in the 17th century but heaven has to step it up a bit. They’re basically getting by because they only have to be a little better than hell.”

Heaven will be more than we ever comprehended or could imagine.

But, God’s wrath is just as real and equally terrifying.

The fact that Jesus took the full wrath of God in our place is amazing and completely unfathomable.

Third, he did all this for John to be forgiven, and for us to be forgiven.

John is in heaven today because he accepted the gift of Jesus Christ, the grace of Jesus Christ.

That is another legacy he leaves us. Have you made that choice?

If so, you will see John again.

This is not the end for the believer.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

John was a great man, John was a Godly man, John was a saved man.

I hope you will follow his legacy.

Revelation 21:3–4 ESV

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Today, we celebrate the life John lived on earth but, we also celebrate the life he now lives in the presence of the Lord. Where pain and suffering are no more.

Psalm 23 ESV

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.