Harry Workman Memorial Service
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Welcome & Statement of Purpose
Welcome & Statement of Purpose
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
Prayer
Prayer
Old Testament Readings
Old Testament Readings
On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.
All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
A Song of Ascents.
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.
In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.
As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!
For evils have encompassed me
beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!
“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
“For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, 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.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Hymns
Hymns
Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb? #190 (all)
Jesus Loves Me #579 (all)
New Testament Readings
New Testament Readings
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Hymn
Hymn
Softly & Tenderly Jesus is Calling #326 (1,4)
Marine Honor Guard
Eulogy
I would like to read one more verse of Scripture. This particular verse is Harry’s life verse.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
For someone to claim this particular verse as his life verse, is to claim a chief priority for one self. The kingdom of God and His righteousness. Striving to center all of life under God’s reign and to make life’s pursuit the righteousness of God. Those of us who knew Harry well, can almost hear him saying this verse out loud. No one lives this verse perfectly, but Harry desired this to be true of his life, and he did not hesitate to let it be known that He was a child of God… that he belonged to Jesus.
Harry Lee Workman was born just shy of 84 years ago (birthday is 5/23) in Weston, WV. Harry served his country on the Marine Corps and remained a loyal patriot for all his life thereafter. Harry was blessed to have 2 children, David and Marsha and was married to his wife, Sandra for over 33 years. After coming out of the Marines, Harry began a career as an insurance agent with Allstate which ended up being a 40 year career. It is admiral that Harry served this country in the Marine Corps. It is admirable that, after coming out of the armed forces, he worked for over 40 years. It is wonderful that Harry was father to 2 children and grandfather to 5 grandchildren. It is a precious treasure that he was married to Sandra for over 33 years, but while I will return to the relationship and partnership between Harry and Sandra, I want to note a very important event that took place in Harry’s life in 1980. So far, everything I said can be found in the obituary published after Harry passed away. Even this event in 1980 is in the obituary. But I want us to not only understand what happened in Harry’ life in 1980, but understand its significance. The event to which I refer is Harry’s profession of faith in Christ. To put it the way it appears in his obituary, this is when he became a born again Christian. You see, it is true that Harry was born on May 23, 1938, but in 1980, Harry professed to be born again. In other words, his profession declared that God opened his eyes to the fact that he was a sinner, and that his sin violated the holiness of God. In this, we know that we are unable to do anything about our sin in our own strength. It’s a devastating problem with devastating consequences. The consequence of dying in our sin, that is to say, to die in our violation of the holiness of God means we die with a debt we cannot ever pay, so we will continue to pay for that debt for eternity. This is the just and right judgement of God of whom this is true. But what Harry claimed about himself is that God opened his eyes to understand all of this, and Harry was able to see that only Jesus could rescue him. Only Jesus could provide a way of escape. Why only Jesus? Because Jesus came to the earth on a mission to save His people from their sins, he carried out this mission by living a sinless life, by dying on a cross for the sins for His people, but resurrecting from the dead which demonstrated His victory over sin and that God the Father accepted His sacrifice, and now Jesus is in heaven ruling over all creation. And the fact that Harry was able to understand all of this. The fact that Harry claims to have been forgiven of his sins through Jesus Christ. The fact that Harry was certain that he was going to heaven to be with Jesus when he died demonstrates that he was born again. Born again from being dead in his trespasses and sins. Born again to a living and certain hope. Born again to a reality where instead of being in violation of the holiness of God, being made holy and empowered to live holy as God is holy. This is a born again Christian, and that is what Harry professed about himself.
As I sat with Sandra to reflect on Harry’s life, something that stood out to her was that Harry was a man of faith. It didn’t seem to her that he worried about much. Soon after Harry passed away, an old friend called Sandra on the phone and said, he was one of the good guys. I think what this friend was recognizing was that because of his identity in Christ, and because of the faith Harry expressed in his daily walk with Christ, he endeared himself to many as one of the good guys.
I asked Sandra about her and Harry met. They had mutual friends who invited them to a Christmas dinner which took place in Columbia Bible college. At the time they were attending different churches, but this event and their mutual friends brought them together. I asked Sandra what he initial impressions of Harry were, and without much hesitation, she said, he talked too much. As they began to get to know each other more, Sandra would often say, Harry, time out. Let me talk. We’re laughing because we’re not all that surprised by this exchange. Anyone who knew Harry knew him to be someone full of life and excited about his relationship with Jesus. He had so much to say about Christ and life and he wanted others to know Jesus the way he did. Sandra says she believes that Harry had a gift for evangelism. He loved Jesus and he loved people. And he wasn’t easily intimidated by people. Whether a person was a CEO or someone who stocked shelves in a grocery store, Harry wanted to tell people about Jesus.
As we noted, Harry and Sandra were married for over 33 years. Sandra shared something with me that Harry wrote after they started dating but before they were married. He wrote this on Dec. 31, 1987. He references
John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
Then he wrote this prayer:
Praise you Jesus for sending Sandra to me. I pray for direction in marriage with her in 1988. Lord I pray you make us one in you, very strong, to be used at your will. In the fullness of His time.
A simple, yet beautiful note. After marrying, Harry and Sandra became a team. They served the Lord together. Whether it was serving in a mission in Washington D.C. once/month or serving in a hospital where Harry would preach to the patients there, they served together. Harry became a Giddeon and served with that ministry for over 20 years. Really, in my view, Harry and Sandra’s marriage was a model in partnership in the gospel. Ups and down like anyone else of course, but united in Christ.
You may know that Harry and Sandra were instrumental with Church Extension in planting this church. Harry and Sandra were among the first to become what are known as Acquila and Persilla teams with Church Extension. Dave Gundrum, Director of Church Extension, but was unable to be here, sent the following letter to read today.
Read Letter
Praise God for their service.
I mentioned earlier that Sandra noted that Harry didn’t seem to worry about much, and in the 9 years I knew Harry I would mostly agree. Some of us know that several years ago, Sandra was diagnosed with breast cancer, and praise God she is doing well today. But Harry was very tender during those months while Sandra received the cancer treatments. He would often become teary-eyed and choke up when talking about Sandra’s experience and progress with her treatments. He loved her dearly and cared very much about her well-being. Another testimony to the presence of Christ in their marriage.
There is no doubt that Harry will be missed. We will miss him here. He was a staple of sorts at New Life. He would often be heard on Sunday mornings, as soon as he walked in the door saying, good morning church. He loved the Lord. He was excited about the things of the Lord. He strove to make the Lord the center of his marriage, and he wanted other to know the Lord too. Praise God for this faithful man.
Gospel
Marine
Missionary
Husband
At peace with God… Why?
Hymn
Hymn
When We All Get to Heaven #542 (1,3,4)
Prayer
Prayer
