Funeral A Bogenschneider

Amanda Bogenschneider

1Thessalonians 4: 13-18

November 18th, 2003

“Amanda’s Message to Us”

Introduction: Betty, Bonne, Alan, Sisters_____, Family and friend of Amanda Bogenschneider, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

            Many years ago, Amanda was thinking about this day, although she did not know the exact date. She was thinking about the message that she wanted you to hear upon the occasion of her death and upon your being here in this service. You see, she had a message she wanted to convey to you.  We know this because she chose the Psalm, the readings, and all the hymns for this service. I believe that she wants us to listen closely to what she has to say because it was important for her, and, more importantly, she believed important for you. Amanda has a message for us, expressed in her life and now expressed through the Word of God. Amanda’s message begins with the sermon text that she chose 1Thess. 4:13-18

            “But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning 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… And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

            The first thing we notice about this text that Amanda selected for you to hear this day is that God does not want people to be ignorant or unknowing about those who have fallen asleep -- those Christians who have died in Christ. The reason? Well, God does not want you to grieve the way others do whose relatives and loved ones die without Christ. Those who die in such a state of unbelief have no hope, and those who grieve for them don't have any hope during their grieving process. That is not the situation with Amanda. Those of you who mourn her falling asleep in Christ do not have to grieve as others do who have no hope.

            Why is there hope for you who grieve Amanda’s passing? Well, it's not because of what Amanda has done. It's because of what God in Christ has done. Without Jesus' coming into this world in Bethlehem and without Him living a perfect life and without Him suffering God's wrath for the sins of the world (Amanda’s sins, your sins, and mine as well) and without Him dying in our place on the cross and without Him rising from the dead on Easter morning and without Him ascending into heaven to prepare a place for us, there would be no hope for Amanda or for anyone else. The blessings of God in Christ have been earned for everyone.

            While it is true that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the whole.  The blessings of forgiveness and eternal life are received individually by faith in Jesus.  It is a faith in Christ which is believed in the heart, confessed with the mouth, and lived out in life. It is faith that is expressed in the words “I believe.” Amanda had this faith. She knew that her Savior had come for her, lived for her, died for her, and rose from the dead for her.  His victory over death and the grave were hers.

            Of course, believing is more than just saying the words. It is living the faith out in life. Amanda was an example to all of us. Amanda was baptized on May 20th, 1907 and at that time God worked faith in her heart and she became a child of God. She was confirmed on August 15, 1920 when she publicly confessed her faith in Jesus. Then she continued to serve the Lord in her life and faith, going to church, hearing God’s word and applying it to her life. She lived out her faith as a loving and hard working wife and mother to her children.  She lived out her faith as a member of the Ladies Aid and Hospital Auxiliary and by volunteering at Bethesda. She lived out her faith in so many meaningful ways that they cannot all be expressed. When Amanda was no longer able to come to church the church came to her as she listened to services on tape. Listening to God’s Word remained precious to Amanda everyday of her life; truly it was a lamp unto her feet and a light unto her path. Amanda faithfully received the Lord’s Supper through out her life. Through all these Amanda found her eternal hope.

            In 1 Thessalonians, the text, and Amanda’s message to us continue…”For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep.” Fallen asleep. It's such a beautiful term to describe the death of a Christian and particularly the way Amanda died. Amanda spoke to me many times about how Herbert, her husband died peacefully in his sleep. This too was a message, a quiet prayer to God, asking Him to take her this way also.  God answered her prayer. She fell asleep in Jesus, in her Good Shepherd’s arms. Now she enjoys her soul’s rest.

            Amanda’s message to us is a message of hope and faith. Along with 1Thess Amanda wanted you to hear the words of the Gospel. Jesus spoke, “Let not your heart’s be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Fathers house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, that where I go, there you may also be.” She found hope in her Savior, raised from the dead and now sitting in glory with the Father.  In Heaven He has prepared a place for her. Bonny, you called your mother a woman of the hearth. On earth her hearth, as beautiful as it was, was temporary, but she now resided in the mansion prepared for her, a heavenly and glorious hearth. There she enjoys the company of her family that has preceded her in faith, her parents, her brothers and her husband and daughter. As she is joined them she now waits for the day of the resurrection when her body will be recreated from the dust of the grave. And on that day, the Apostle Paul writes, “We will be with the Lord forever. Therefore let us encourage each other with these words.”

            Finally Amanda had one more message for us, written in her own hand, “Weep not my friends, that I am gone, I’m just asleep. No pain I know, no sorrow, no alarm, I rest securely in my Shepherds arm. Asleep in my Master’s arms, safe from all fear and alarm, safe in the arms of Jesus, Safe in my Saviors arms. She signed it mother.

            She wants you to know that she is safe in her Saviors arms. But not only that, she wants you to know that you are safe in the Saviors arms as well.  This is Amanda’s message to us all. Amen