Celebration of Life Bruce Powree

When we celebrate the life of an individual we are examining the life that individual led

The word legacy means something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past

When we examine the life of an individual the choices and decisions made by that individual revealed the type of person they were

Some will claim to love God, but if their life is without fruit then their claim for loving God is in question.

Bruce Powrie was a man who loved God and loved people.

During my time here as the Pastor of Norwich Assembly of God I came to know Bruce at the end of his life.

By this point dementia had taken hold and he was a shell of the man he was during his life.

I was often told of the many ministries he was involved in here at Norwich and the many lives that he impacted.

When I felt led by the Lord I often would lay my hand on Bruce and pray for him.

I knew from the expression on his face and the look in his eye that his love for the Lord never stopped

Though our physical bodies on this earth break down and we eventually die, the spirit of a person will live forever

When I asked Karen to share with me some of the many things that Bruce was involved with during his life, this is what she shared with me

During his time as a member of Norwich Assembly of God he served on the board, the building committee, he taught Sunday school, he faithfully attended Wednesday evening bible study.

He had a true love for food and the highlight for Bruce was the gang going out to get a snack after

Bruce had a true love for babies and little children. Karen shared with me while attending Randallsville New Life church that Bruce would often go to the front and hold up the babies introducing them to the congregation

Even after dementia set in Bruce would go up to people in Walmart and ask how can anyone be mean to someone like that when referring to the treatment of a child.

During there trips out West Bruce would often be in awe of the beauty of creation.

His favorite verse was Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

He loved nature and was in awe of all that God had created

Bruce served in the air force during the Korean war as an aircraft mechanic.

It was here that his love of aircraft began. He was pleased when his son Douglas became a commercial pilot.

He was a proud member of the Hamilton American legion and a life long member of Hamilton’s fountain fire Co #1

Bruce was filled with joy and laughter and loved to see others laugh.

He would often do funny little things to provoke laughter in others

Bruce truly loved the Lord, loved his family, and loved America.

Bruce throughout his life remained a gentle, patient, sweet spirited man until his last breath

Karen shared with me that she truly counted it a privilege and honor to have serve her husband as his caregiver

Bruce was a man who lived a full life and by no means was Bruce perfect

There is only one who ever was perfect and His name is Jesus Christ

Every person born on this earth is born into sin

Every person has a day they are born, and they will have a day that they die

When you visit a persons grave you will find a small dash between two dates

That dash represents the life of an individual

Psalm 144:4 tells us “Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow.”

All of us will some day stand before Jesus Christ and give an account of the life we have lived.

Some in our world today believe that a persons works or goodness will gain them entrance into heaven

But the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

No one who comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ has anything to boast about

I shared with you many of the wonderful things that filled the life of Bruce

But none of those enable Bruce to spend all eternity with his Lord and Savior.

The Only reason any of us will spend all eternity with Jesus is because of what Christ has done for us

But through Bruces life he demonstrated a true saving faith in Jesus Christ

He demonstrated that it was faith backed up with action

Often times the passing of a love one can be hard and difficult

Even when we know they are with the Lord we still miss them and go through the grieving process.

But it is the Holy Spirit who will comfort us

It is the Holy Spirit who will carry us

We find in God’s word that two judgements are listed in scripture

One is known as the Judgement seat of Christ and is for all those who have come to saving faith in Jesus

Our rewards in Heaven will be based upon our faithfulness on this earth

The Lord tells us that we are accountable for every word we speak

But sadly for all those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior they will stand before the white throne judgement

On that day a person will give account of their life before the Lord and sadly at the end Jesus will say to them away from me I never knew you

Revelation 20:11-15 states “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Understanding these truths found in scripture, today is a day of rejoicing and celebration.

We know that Bruce during his life accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

Bruce heard the gospel message preached, understood that he was a sinner in need of a Savior, gave his life to Jesus, and the Holy Spirit began to change him from the inside out

His life was evidence that he was truly a believer in Jesus Christ.

Today there may be some here who do not know Jesus

You may have spent your entire life living for your own selfish desires and running from God

But understand this is what Jesus says in Luke 15:1-8 “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?”

Jesus is the one who always leaves the 99 and chases after the one

Bruce was one of the one’s

Jesus pursued Bruce and Bruce gave his life to Jesus

I believe if Bruce were here with us today that his desire would be that the name of Jesus would be glorified and the invitation to follow him be extended

John 3:16-18 tells us ““For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

The greatest decision we can make is what will we do with the one called Jesus

When we look at Bruces life and the life he lived, it is clear that Bruce loved Jesus and that Jesus was his Lord and Savior

But I know even though we have come to celebrate the life of Bruce Powrie today that his desire would be that ultimately all praise and honor would be given to Christ alone.