Sermon Tone Analysis

Mr. Samuel Clifton Turner, a lifelong resident of Wetumpka, Alabama, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, September 21, 2022.

Sam was born August 30, 1933, in Wetumpka, Alabama, to Clifton E. Turner and Voncile Haynie Turner.

His paternal grandparents were William Ocie Turner and Lula Ann Moseley Turner of Wetumpka and his maternal grandparents were Allen Haynie and Minnie Lee Singleton Haynie of Santuck.

He graduated from Wetumpka High School in the class of 1951.

He was a charter member of the Elmore County Band, under the direction of Truman Welch.

He went on to play in the University of Alabama’s Million Dollar Band and graduated from the University in 1957.

He spent two years in the United States Army, 1954-1956.

While in the army, he was a member of the 3rd Army Band.

He married Beverly Ann Pierce of Mobile, Alabama, on July 11, 1959, and they were married for 59 years.

Sam was a member of the First Baptist Church of Wetumpka and served as head usher for decades.

He was a member of the Wetumpka Fire Department and the Wetumpka Lions Club for over 50 years.

He served as a member of the Board of Directors of 1st National Bank of Wetumpka and First Community Bank.

He was on the Elmore Community Hospital Board and Elmore County Economic Development Board.

Pallbearers will be Houston Gibbons, Bobby Barrett, John Abrams, Ed Reeves, Brent Turner, and Don Johnson.

Honorary pallbearers will be the Wetumpka Fire Department, Wetumpka Lions Club, and the Christ Crusaders/Crystal Sunday School Class.

Sam is survived by his daughters Beverly Turner Mack (Dean) of Wetumpka and Leigh Turner Vines (Michael) of Brentwood, Tennessee; granddaughters Ashley Kristen Mack and Katie Mack Norton (Tyler) of Wetumpka and grandsons Samuel Thomas Vines and Mitchell Pierce Vines of Brentwood, Tennessee.

I.

A Comforting Truth v. 1

a.

As He prepares for His imminent departure, Jesus is going to provide His Apostles with some important words of comfort

b.

Death has always been the King of terrors, in it is wrapped up the worst of our fears: pain, loss, separation, and the unknown

c.

He speaks to our lives with authority!

d.

If you can trust what God says about any subject, you can trust what Jesus says: He is co-equal with the Father.

e.

He will be able to speak to death, not as a victim, but as a victor!

Behold!

I tell you a mystery.

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(1 Corinthians 15:51-57 ESV)

II.

A Prepared Place v.2

a. Heaven is a place of order and joy

b.

Heaven is not a cartoon land where we will gain halos and play harps all day

c.

Heaven is a place of service and love that is being prepared by our Lord for us to enjoy His presence for all eternity

A little girl was taking an evening walk with her father.

Wonderingly, she looked up at the stars and exclaimed; "Oh, Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what must the right side be!"

III.

A Joyous Reunion v. 3

a.

Heaven is a place where we will be reunited with friends and family who have gone on ahead of us

"As a boy, I thought of heaven as a city with domes, spires, and beautiful streets, inhabited by angels.

By and by my little brother died, and I thought of heaven much as before, but with one inhabitant that I knew.

Then another died, and then some of my acquaintances, so in time I began to think of heaven as containing several people that I knew.

But it was not until one of my own little children died that I began to think I had treasure in heaven myself.

Afterward another went, and yet another.

By that time I had so many acquaintances and children in heaven that I no more thought of it as a city merely with streets of gold but as a place full of inhabitants.

Now there are so many loved ones there I sometimes think I know more people in heaven than I do on earth."

b.

But it is a place of a greater reunion: Our perfect reunion with the Savior, Christ.

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, 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, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.

He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

(Revelation 21:1-4 ESV)

IV.

A Glorious Savior vv.

4-6

a. Jesus came not as a moral teacher or a symbol of hope, He came as a Savior

b.

Jesus provided the perfect sacrifice to atone for the sin of humanity

c.

He invites us to come and to follow after Him.

d.

If we know Him, we have nothing to fear on the other side of this life.

Last night, I had the opportunity to attend the homecoming game at Wetumpka High School.

Of course, we saw all of the hoopla of the introduction of the court, the game on the field, and the band in the stands, but something very special happened.

Before the game started, the 1979-1980 basketball state championship teams were introduced.

There were cheers, high fives, and hugs, because those boys, now men, had come home.

In Christ, there’s always a way to go home to a place prepared for you!