Mrs. Jessie's Funeral

Love Characterized Her Life

Mrs. Jessie’s personal relationship with Jesus was the foundation for her expression of love. She knew what was important in life. Her ambition was to see everyone she knew come to faith in Jesus Christ. Her life is that example.

Love for Her Children

She made sure that her kids were in church every week. There was not a vacation bible school that they didn’t attend. She wanted her children to have every opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Her number one desire was for all three of her children to come to faith in Jesus Christ. She got her desire just a couple of months ago.

Jessica and Jennifer came to faith at an early age. It took Danny a little longer, but he got it. Her dying wish was granted on this side of heaven.

Love for Her Grandchildren

Mrs. Jessie went out of her way to love her grandchildren well. She would often times go beyond her physical ability to demonstrate her love. She would go out and get on the trampoline and chase them up and down the stairs. Jessica would always tell her “mama, you cant keep doing this in your condition!” It was like talking to a brick wall. She was going to do whatever it took to make sure them grand babies knew that they were loved.

Love for All People

She would give everyone the gift of listening. When they would come to her with their issues and struggles she would simply listen. She would not judge them as a person but would chose to love them. If they had made a poor decision or was considering it she would simply say “mph”!

Love For Jesus Guided Her Life

Mrs. Jessie did not live an easy life. As we all do she had disappointments, struggles, and difficulties. However, she knew how to manage through these challenges in life. She would got to God’s Word and find the answers to life’s challenges. I would like to share with you some of the ones she wrote down because they were important to her.

Pain

As her health began to deteriorate she would endure much pain because of her ailments. She found comfort in Exodus 15:26

Exodus 15:26 NASB95

And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.”

She knew that Jesus was her healer. She had faith that He could make her well. Her faith is now a reality. She has been healed from all of her infirmities!

Broken-heartedness

Though she loved well, there were times in her life where that was not reciprocated as much. She faced disappointments. She found victory over disappointments in Psalms 34:18

Psalm 34:18 NASB95

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Mrs. Jessie found comfort from the Lord in her disappointments in life. The nearness of the Lord was her comfort.

Tiredness

Mrs. Jessie found herself sometimes getting tired because she wanted to demonstrate Christ-like love to everyone. She would find herself over-committing to a fault. This would make her very tired. She found strength in Matthew 11:28-30

Matthew 11:28–30 NASB95

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

When she couldn’t muster the energy herself, she would turn to the Lord who would give her the rest needed to carry on.

Love was Shown By Her Character

There were several characteristics that demonstrated her love, but 4 seem to reveal themselves most. These are presence, forgiveness, quirkiness, and joy!

Presence

Mrs Jessie was always available. She may be late, but she always made sure she was present if you needed her. She had on her calendar all the places of importance she needed to be to make sure the people she was with knew that she loved them

Forgiveness

Mrs. Jessie was not one to hold a grudge. She would find a way to forgive whatever wrong that was done to her. She even taught her kids to the same thing. There were times where people would not treat Mrs. Jessie right and the kids would not understand why she didn’t hate them for what they did. She understood that forgiveness is the only thing that can heal a wrong done to you.

Quirkiness

Mrs. Jessie was an out of the box thinker. She did not do things the way most people would do them. If there was a way to get it done, she would figure it out using unorthodox ways.

Another quirky way was the situations she got herself into. One time it was rainy and dark and she got off of Danny’s driveway and ended up parking in the front yard. Well when it was time to leave she couldn’t figure out how to get back out to the road. She had to get Danny to get her pointed in the right direction.

Joy

Mrs. Jessie was a woman full of joy. Her joy was not rooted in her circumstances but in her prayers. She was a praying woman that lifted everything up in prayer. If you ever asked her to pray for you, not only would she pray but she would also get many others to pray for you as well. You needed to be careful about what you asked her to pray for you about. She believed in prayer in numbers!

Conclusion

If Mrs. Jessie were here right now, I believe she would want for you what she wanted for everyone. She would want you to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You may ask how can I have a relationship with Jesus?

Mrs. Jessie has had the promise of Jesus Christ fulfilled in her life. She has eternal life with Jesus. He has fulfilled his promise to her and will do the same for you.

Gospel

A. “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. John 3:16

B. We have a sin problem.

1. for all [a]have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Rom. 3:23

2. For the wages of sin is death, Rom. 6:23

C. We must repent.

1. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19

D. We must place our faith in Jesus as our Savior.

1. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [a]that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph. 2:8-9

E. God give us Salvation through faith in His Son.

1. that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Rom. 10:9-10