Funeral Sermon for Mrs. Shirley Vickers
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: Today we are here to celebrate the life of Mrs. Shirley Vickers. Over the past couple of days I have had the privilege to speak with Bro. Kenneth and her children about her life and they way they described her and the memories painted a beautiful picture of a life well lived. Today, I would like to draw your attention to the book of Proverbs chapter 31. The picture they painted bears a remarkable resemblance to the picture that God paints as He inspired His vision of a virtuous woman. Allow me to read these verses to you this afternoon.
Scripture Reading:
10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar.
15 She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants.
16 She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle.
20 She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.
Transition: As I read these verses today I can see a Picture of Mrs. Shirley. First,
SHE WAS A GREAT WIFE:
The writer describes her in 3 different ways.
She is priceless- her worth is far above rubies
She is trustworthy- Her husband trusts her with everything he has
She is loving- does good and not evil
Bro. Kenneth had 60 wonderful years together.
The dated for 2 months after meeting in a little cafe in Clarksville and never looked back.
They built a good life together and built a strong family.
Often times they would go on road trips just to go. She was very spontaneous and ready to go at the drop of a hat.
God blessed him with not just a wife, but a true help mate in this life. With 5 kids she always made sure they were taken care of.
While I know that these last few days haven’t been easy, I can assure you that Shirley knew just how much you loved her and you can find some sort of peace in knowing this.
SHE WAS A GREAT MOTHER-
The writer gives some great characteristics about a mother:
She provides food for her household vs 15
She girds herself with strength Vs 17
She clothes her household Vs 21
She had words of wisdom and kindness Vs 26
Vs 28 is a great testament to a mother- Her children rise up and call her blessed.
I can see all of these in Shirley by the way her children have described her to me.
The absolute joy of a woman is her children. To watch them grow, to feed them, cloth them, love them, wipe away their tears and discipline them when the time comes.
No doubt there were tears when you left the nest, and I am sure she worried about you from time to time, I can say she did a great job preparing you for life.
The family shared with me that she loved the holidays. She loved to cook for them and just having them back in the home. It would always lift her spirits to be around her children.
She was truly blessed to have a family that loved her so deeply. While she will be missed terribly, she will never be forgotten and one thing is for certain, we will see her again because
SHE WAS A CHRISTIAN- Mrs Shirley knew Jesus as her savior.
She was an active member of this church up until her health started to deteriorate just prior to my coming here. The writer of this proverb shows some of the great things a Christian woman does:
Vs 13 says she willingly works with her hands.
Vs 20 says she helps those in need
Mrs. Shirley did these things.
She worked at the Bogata nursing home for many years.
From the time she was a young teen, she had to take on the role of mother to the other siblings because her mother fell ill.
She had a caretakers heart, always helping others. She loved to cook meals for other people as well. She was not afraid of hard work.
Mrs. Shirley feared the Lord, and loved the Lord and for that we give her the honor that she is due today. We celebrate a life that was well lived, for a woman who was well loved.
Conclusion: Shirley is now rejoicing in the presence of Jesus, no more pain and no more tears. Her faith has been realized as she is seeing things that we can only dream of. 1 Thes 4:16-18
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I hope you find comfort in knowing that if you have accepted Christ as Shirley has, you will be reunited with her one day. Until that day comes, keep her memory close and she will always be near.