PRELUDE- Hymns by Carol Wright (with video)
Scriptures
Psalm 1 1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Job 19:25-27 25 I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
John 11:25-26 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 "Yes, Lord," she replied, "I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
Romans 31-39 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Congregational Song- Hymn #352 Victory in Jesus
EULOGY
Alice Ordway was born on August 31, 1961 in Hart, Michigan to James and Hilda Coleson. She passed away last Wednesday March 9, 2011 in Shelby at the age of 49. She is survived by her husband of nearly 20 years, Steve Ordway and their son, James (or as we all know him, Jimmy). As well, her mother, Hilda Coleson of Silver Lake; Harold Coleson of Franklin, Indiana, Helen Fitzpatrick of Hart, Ruth Musil of Hart and Donald of Pentwater; many nieces and nephews; and lots of friends. She was preceded in death by her father, James Coleson.
Alice was a 1979 graduate of Shelby High School. Afterwards she attended Grace Bible College in Grand Rapids where she studied Bible. Following college, she served as a nursing assistant at Spring Arbor Nursing Home where she met a young fellow named Steven Ordway. A friendship developed and grew into courtship that grew into marriage on June 29, 1991.
Alice was a friends friend. In fact, Alice was everybody's friend. So many people loved her and enjoyed her friendship over the years. She had no enemies and if she did they didn't stand a chance with all the friends she had.
She was a woman of the simple life. She didn't look for the fancy or the latest trends- just keep life simple and she was happy. She loved to read- especially her Bible. She also enjoyed Christian television programs.
Alice was someone who thought of others. One of my favorite gifts I have ever received as a pastor was a an American Indian Nativity Set in honor of my Indian heritage. She spearheaded a team of children that went out to her mom's garage and painted the various figurines. She always thought of the needs of others before her own.
Alice loved to laugh. She loved to see the humorous side of life. Her smile was infectious.
Alice loved to serve. She and Steve thought of their local Church as important. She served as our Church Secretary for three years as well as was on the Church Board where she was able to share lots of ideas.
Alice loved her family. She loved her husband and son immensely. She was always keeping track of Jimmy's school activities and needs.
Alice was loved by all of us. I hope she knew that. We loved her because there was something extra-ordinary about her. We probably could never figure out but I wonder if it was just the way she respected us and who we were? We're going to miss her greatly. But now she is resting in peace with our Lord's eternal presence.
PRAYER MEDITATIION- Pastor Jack Cooper
Special Song- In Christ Alone (Owl City video)
MESSAGE- Being a Conqueror in Life
Following the tragic news of Alice's death, I began to consider how I might preach this message today. A variety of scriptures came to mind to some degree- more or less. However, the passage from Romans 8:31-39 kept coming to mind. And then when I received Alice's Bible from Steve and began perusing through it I found that Alice had highlighted these verses with this thought written below: "Script for sick heart."
Alice certainly knew what it was to be down and hurting. A good part of why she had to step down as our Church Secretary was due a serious shoulder injury that was hampering her. Just recently though, she had called me to tell me that when the snow melted away she wanted to start coming into the office at least a day, maybe two, a week and volunteer.
Maybe your heart is sick today and you need this scripture. Perhaps all of us are sick to some degree- whether we realize it or not- and need to hear these words: "What shall separate us from the love of God?" and learn that nothing- absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God.
And so this morning, taking a cue from this passage of God's word and especially from verse 37: "…in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." I want to talk to you about being a Conqueror in Life.
So this is where we will begin our journey this afternoon of striving to bring a certain level of understanding of our situation and where we go from here.
Steve, your wife was a wonderful woman of God. She loved our Lord so much. And now she rests in his arms until that great day of Resurrection that all Christians look forward to. Jimmy, your mom loved you so much. She was always so proud of you. I hope you both can find that place of peace in Christ in spite of the circumstances.
So how can you be a conqueror in life? It starts by having…
Christ into your life. We learn from Colossians 1:26- "Christ in you the hope of glory."
In Christian terms, we believe that the person who admits that they are a sinner, believes that Jesus died for their sins, confesses Jesus as Lord and believes that he was raised from the dead is saved. This person becomes a follower of Jesus Christ.
To be a conqueror in life means that Christ is in your life. When you are a believer in Jesus Christ he then intervenes for you before God according to verse 34. This means that Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord who sits at God's right hand acts as our mediator to God. For all of us Christians this afternoon, through our hurt and grieving hearts we can be assured that Jesus Christ sees all of us this and is pleading our case to God right now. And the result is the blessed Holy Spirit bringing comfort to us.
What changes the person's heart is not simply their confession of faith but the work of God in their life. Time and again we will hear the testimony of those who come to Christ and become Christians who sensed something happening in them that they really could not explain. There is an internal excitement that goes beyond emotion.
Alice experienced this in her life. She knew that she was God's child. She knew Jesus as her Lord and Savior. And, yes, she loved her husband and son but she loved her Lord even more.
And this is the call to all of humanity and even to you today: come to Jesus and let him take the lead in your life. I say these things because I know Alice would want me to. I also say these things for all of our thoughtful consideration and how we apply God's word of truth into our lives.
Something else we learn about being a Conqueror in Life and that is:
God's strength is Perfect. This love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord perfects us in all sorts of ways. One way is through suffering. This may seem hard to understand and yet so many Christians over the centuries have testified to God doing extraordinary things in and through their lives because of the trials and tribulations they have gone through.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 in response to a so-called "thorn in the flesh" that Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore [Paul writes] I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
When we realize the human boundaries that hem us in so often and begin to accept some of those as God's hand at work, we will see His perfect strength working in and through our life. When I recognize my limits and what I cannot do, God is able to step in and step up the work of His Holy Spirit in my life.
St. John of the Cross wrote in his classic book The Dark Night of the Soul- "In the first place, the soul learns to commune with God with more respect and more courtesy, such as a soul must ever observe in converse with the Most High." We find ourselves realizing just how weak we are in times of suffering and especially suffering with the question of death that shadows over us today.
To be a Conqueror in Life not only means that God has justified us and his strength is perfect but there is a choice we have to make:
Choose to see God. So often we can blame others and even ourselves for the predicament we are in. Other times we might even dare to blame God for the problems we face and wonder why we are going through what we don't know what to do about. However, there is a freedom for those who are conquerors in life who choose to rather see and hear God as opposed to just trying to gut their way through.
I have a problem with a statement that I often hear: "Well, I just believe everything will work out." Fine, everything will work out, I suppose. If I leave my broken car broken then it will remain broken. But I guess I can psyche myself into believing that it's okay as well and go nowhere in life.
Similarly, if we leave the problems of life to fate then we are going nowhere real fast. However, I choose along with thousands of other Christ believers to trust the circumstances and problems to God's hand.
Alice had highlighted in her Bible several verses and wrote next them, "Choose to see." One of them I want to highlight from 1 Thessalonians 4:13- Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
When we choose to see God in our middle of our storms we see hope. This hope we see goes beyond life itself. And in spite of the trials we face like the one we share in today, Jesus commands our destiny if we allow him to. We must choose to see God in the midst of our circumstances and even in these times of death. Why? Because "…we do not grieve like others who have no hope." We grieve knowing that there will be a great reunion on that final day of resurrection when the trumpet will blast. We have a hope that is safe and secure.
One day Jimmy was eating peanuts at his grandma Coleson's house. Someone had recently died and they were discussing the tragic news. Jimmy, being Jimmy, listened without comment- continuing to break open the peanut shells. And then he spoke. And when Jimmy speaks you better listen. Alice and her mom listened. Jimmy picked up two pieces of a peanut shell and put them together and said, "She is like this peanut shell and inside she is not there anymore."
Now I don't know about all the theological ramifications of soul-sleep and the end time resurrection- I'm still researching that. However, what I do know is that there is a presence of God that our dear departed sister is now enjoying. The shell is hear but is empty of her life. She now dwells in the hands of the Almighty.
Prayer-
Father God, we come today as people whose lives have been abruptly changed by the death of one whom we deeply love. Alice meant a lot to all of us. This change has brought confusion, anger, loneliness, fear and doubt. In the midst of these varied emotions, we long for peace and for endurance. We want to feel your presence.
As the stark reality of death is portrayed by this coffin, may we remember that Your love is the ultimate reality. May we remember that the reality of Your love is stronger than death and now sustains life on a different plane for this one we love. May we remember Alice and her vibrant faith in Jesus Christ.
Lord, may the memories of precious moments shared sustain the family in this time of grief. We ask for your blessing on Steve and Jimmy especially. And for Hilda and her brothers and sisters we pray your most precious comfort to sustain them as well.
May those times of laughter and crying, joy and sorrow, energy and fatigue, conflict and peace which mark our history with this beloved individual be the foundation of hope which sends us all into tomorrow. May we not strive for healing by the things of this world but by the power of Your Holy Spirit.
Father, place us in Your strong resourceful hands, and do those things for which we cannot do for ourselves. In Jesus name- Amen.
COMMITTAL
1 Corinthians 15:54-58 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
55 "Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Committal Prayer
Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God, in His wise providence, we now commit this body to its resting place; and we commit the spirit, O our Father, together with every sacred interest of our hearts, into your keeping; praying that you will deal graciously and mercifully with each of us, until we too shall come to you in glory by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the riches of grace in our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Biblical quotes NIV 2011 from Biblegateway.com
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