Donald W. Immel 2020 Funeral

Jesus said, I am the resurrection and I am the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die; yet shall they live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. I died, and be- hold I am alive for evermore, and I hold the keys of hell and death. Because I live, you shall live also.

The Gathering

Through his death, Christ destroyed our death. Through his resurrection from the dead, he restored our life. Christ will come again in glory. Here and now, dear friends, we are God’s children. What we shall be has not been revealed; but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Those who have this hope purify themselves as Christ is pure.

The Greeting

Friends, we have gathered here to praise God and to witness to our faith as we celebrate the life of Donald Immel . We come together in grief, acknowledging our human loss. May God grant us grace, that in pain we may find comfort, in sorrow hope, in death resurrection.

The Invocation Prayer for grace. Old Testament Lesson Psalms 23

Let the words of scripture comfort us:

Psalm 23

The Lord Is My Shepherd

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.[a]

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness[b]

for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,[c]

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[d] goodness and mercy[e] shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell[f] in the house of the Lord

forever.[g]

The Gospel Lesson John 14:1-6 The Message “I Will See You in the Morning”

Title: I will see you in the morning

Theme:"that you also may be where I am"

Text: Psalm 23; John 14:1-6

Goal: 1. Celebration of life. 2. We journey with God through moments like this.

Introduction:

Eulogy Jim Gimmel

I. God’s promise of presence.

John 14:1-6

1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

4You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

A. Believe:

② to entrust oneself to an entity in complete confidence, believe (in), trust, w. implication of total commitment to the one who is trusted. In our lit. God and Christ are objects of this type of faith that relies on their power and nearness to help, in addition to being convinced that their revelations or disclosures are true.

In our loss we need to realize that God goes with us in our journey then our suffering is not meaningless for we have shared the moment together.

B. This presence can bring peace.

John 14:26-27 “ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

1. God’s presence brings peace... that quiet assurance that things will be fine because God is here.

2. God is present therefore we can draw strength.

that you also may be where I am.

As we celebrate his life and grieve our loss, let us draw strength from God’s presence and grace in our midst.

B. As Christians this is our hope... one day we will stand in the new day of God’s presence.

In our loss we need to realize that God goes with us in our journey then our suffering is not meaningless for we have shared the moment together.

II. Provision

Illustration girl School bus

that you also may be where I am.

III. Eternity

Heaven is a real place…

that you also may be where I am

Will we open our heart is the question..?

Hi Pastor Frank......I have a devotional book I read each day, written by Billy Graham and looked at the one for Saturday, Dec. 3 and thought it would be most appropriate to be put into the service (if you would not mind). The title of the daily scripture is

"From Time To Eternity"

We give thanks to God....because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven. Colossians 1:3 - 5

This is Billy Graham speaking: Once I stood in London to watch Queen Elizabeth return from an overseas trip. I saw the parade of dignitaries, the marching bands, the crack troops, the waving flags. I saw all the splendor that accompanies the homecoming of a queen

However, that was nothing compared to the homecoming of a true believer. At that moment of death, the believer enters Heaven itself, carried upward by the angels to the glorious welcome awaiting the redeemed.

From our human viewpoint death is always tinged with sadness. IT is not wrong to mourn the loss of a loved one; Jesus wept at the grave of His friend Lazarus (John 11:35).

But the Christian should never consider the death of a fellow believer as a tragedy. Paul said we should not "grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope:. I1Thess. 4:13 niv) Yes, we have hope! The way to Heaven may lie through the valley of the shadow of death, but the angels accompany us all the way-----and beyond is Heaven, our glorious home.

The Coming of the Lord 1 These 4:13

13 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. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,[d] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 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. 17 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. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

The Dismissal with Blessing Postlude

GRAVESIDE SERVICE:

REVELATION 21:1–7)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth;

for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,

and the sea was no more.

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,

coming down out of heaven from God,

prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

"See, the home of God is among mortals.

He will dwell with them as their God;

they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;

he will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more;

mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

for the first things have passed away."

And the one who was seated on the throne said,

"See, I am making all things new."

Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."

Then he said to me,

"It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

To the thirsty I will give water

as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

Those who conquer will inherit these things,

and I will be their God and they will be my children."

(REVELATION 21:1–7)

Into your hands, O merciful Savior,

we commend your servant Donald W. Immel.

Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you,

a sheep of your own fold,

a lamb of your own flock,

a sinner of your own redeeming.

Receive Donald W. Immel.

into the arms of your mercy,

into the blessed rest of everlasting peace,

and into the glorious company of the saints of light. Amen.

End of grave service invite back for meal

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GRAVESIDE SERVICE:

Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turned received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved.

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those who have also died in Christ have perished.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who died.

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”

Fool! What you sow does not come back to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.

It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in Glory.

It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power

It is sown a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.

If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.

When this perishable body puts on imperishability,

And the mortal body puts on immortality,

Then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?”

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 15 assorted)

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, we commend to God’s merciful care Ruth Elaine Kober and we commit her body to the ground and her soul to your care.

Psalm 23 (King James Version)

1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

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