Jackson Van Buskirk Funeral

Song #1 “Imagine”

Give them a Nod

Read Obituary (Pastor Micah)

Jackson Thor Van Buskirk was born November 7, 1997 to Anna Van Buskirk and Robert Kuntz in Aberdeen. This is where he grew up, graduating from Aberdeen Central High School with the class of 2016. He then attended Lake Area Technical College in Watertown studying mechanics. He returned to Aberdeen where he worked at various jobs.

He enjoyed his trips to Hitchcock to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa over several years and was very proud of his Norwegian heritage. He gave his heart to Jesus at Bible camp when he was nine years old. Jackson liked working on cars, especially the engine work. He had a good soul and kind heart. Jackson had a wide variety of friends that always put a smile on his face.

Grateful for having shared Jackson’s life are his parents, Anna Van Buskirk and Rodney Rich; the love of his life, Ashlee Red Cloud; brother, Vince Van Buskirk; half-brother, Mitchell Kuntz; uncles, Jim (Holly) Van Buskirk, Donald Kuntz Jr. and Richard Kuntz; grandparents, Carl and Lana (Hauglid) Iverson and Donald and Midge Kuntz Sr.; biological father, Robert Kuntz; step-grandparents, Bob and Deb Rich; cousins, Parker and Kade Van Buskirk; niece and nephews, Bjorn, Luke, Kara, Layton and Ryker; many close friends, Jeff Holmes, Allen Schanzenbach, Dylan and Lauren McCoy, Rhiannon Lunghi, Koby Rux, Andrew Weyer and Taj Blake and three cats, Odin, Mama and Blackie.

He was preceded in death by his uncles, infant, Luke Van Buskirk, John Kuntz and Mike Kuntz and friend, Josh Ford.

Song #2 - "Amber”

Message

OPEN IN PRAYER

We are here to remember and celebrate the life of Jackson. We honor the life that was taken too early, too soon yet a life that was loved by many.

After reading about Jackson in his obituary and talking with his grandma Lona, I realized he and I have a few things in common.

#1 - He was a proud Norwegian - He loved his heritage and was proud to carry it with him. But he wasn’t just a proud Norwegian, he was a normal Norwegian. My family is Norwegian and every year we visit our grandparents who are also proud Norwegians and they serve a steamy, stinky dish of ludafisk. No one in the family likes it but we eat it in order to honor those who came before us. I realized it was normal for Norwegians to be proud of their heritage yet dislike its staple food ludafisk. Jackson did not like Ludafisk and he was better off for it, in fact he was a picky eater. He was normal like the rest of us Norwegians.

#2 - He loved July 4th - He loved celebrating independence day because it involved explosives and blowing things up. Grandma Lona recalled the many moments of frantically trying to get him to put on eye protection, or take a step back, or just think safety when dealing with explosives.

#3 - He loved spending time with his cousin Parker - When they were ten he was spending the night with her and his grandparents and he was playing with a green glowstick and he did what many only dream of. He bit the glowstick and then began to scream and ran into his grandma’s room and all she saw was the neo green mouth coming towards her.

#4 - He enjoyed travelling - He had enjoyed time in Florida with family and was able to swim in Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and even made it out to the Pacific where he and his girl tried getting in the water and if you’ve ever been out at the pacific, it is real cold.

#5 - He had a mind for building - When he was young he built with legos and as he grew that shifted to engines and cars. His current project was a 52 Chevy. His technical mind got him to Lake area and brought him back home to Aberdeen.

Shift to more serious moment

In these moments it’s important to recognize the pain we feel. To recognize the darkness that surrounded him and now surrounds you as your mourn the loss of Jacksons life. It’s important for us to grapple with the reality and face the fear and sorrow so that he can be remembered well.

We know he was hurting, but we also know his life is not defined by one moment. It is defined by the many moments, the many moments he shared with each of you. The moments you will remember, the moments that brought you joy, the moments that brought you pain.

When we think about our pain, when we think about the life of Jackson, it pushes us to think that, THERE MUST BE MORE

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 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. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23 is the heart wrenching hope filled cry of the heart of a man anticipating and awaiting the day when he will dwell, not in a home he created or built, but in a home prepared for by the Lord.

David’s heart is set upon the things of God because he knows this God, this Shepherd will be the one who will lead him through any of the battles he might face in this life but also the one to come.

David looked to a day when there would be no more want, no more chaos. A place he could find rest from the torment and stress of life. Everything about this text screams, “There must be more”, the author was looking to a time of peace, a time of rest, a time of no more hurting, no more frustration, no more death. He is looking for someone to lead him.

David looks to the Shepherd, the one who will prepare the place for us to go and dwell with him forever.

This Shepherd....

He leads

He makes us lie down

He restores

He comforts

He builds a house

David isn’t looking for a good idea, he isn’t just looking for a solution to a problem, he is looking to a person, he is looking for reality rooted in a relationship

John 14:1–4 NLT

1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”

The Shepherd David is waiting for is Christ. Jesus tells those closest to him that he is going to die and then prepare a place for them.

Jesus says the Builder of your future, the Shepherd who will care for your soul both now and into eternity is Jesus himself.

HOW DID JESUS PREPARE A PLACE FOR US?He reconciled us to himself

Romans 3:23 ESV23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 5:8 ESV8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2:8 ESV8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Jesus died for our sins so that our reality might be rooted in a relationship with God Himself.

We must acknowledge our sin and put our faith in him, then we too will have eternal life.

Jesus gave us grace, a gift we do not deserve.

Our builder has built us a house upon grace.

He leads out of grace

He makes me lie down out of grace

He disciplines out of grace

He restores because of grace

He comforts out of grace.

He builds out of grace.

When this is your motivation, when you see the grace God has given you and the future he has for you, it will affect the way you see today, the way you see tomorrow and you too can live in a reality rooted in a relationship with God himself. Have you experienced that Grace today, have you experienced that Grace that’s so amazing?

Closing Prayer

Song #3 “First Day of My Life”

Time of Sharing

Song #4 “Missed the Boat”

Committal Service

“The Lords Prayer”

Matthew 6:9–13 ESV

9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Committal Prayer

Into your hands oh God we commit the soul or Jackson.

We praise you because you are a kind and merciful God.

May we give our hearts to you so we might rise with you one day.

May our life reflect the beauty of your gospel

and may our story be one that reflects you to a hurting world.

Together we pray for your Kingdom to come on this earth as it is in heaven.