Sermon Tone Analysis

Funeral of Roxie Kay Jervis

Well, this is a day we knew would come, But we had hoped it would be a long time from now.

Frank, I want you and Sabrina and your family to know Marci and I love you a great deal, we are heartbroken with you, we mourn with you.

And we are also so very thankful for a Savior.

Jesus is the only one who can take these sad days and make them better for us, and for Roxie.

But Roxie I think would tell us not to mourn for her....

She is home, she is safe and free from those things that hurt her here… She is in the presence of Jesus....

Jesus is the only one who can take these sad days and make them better for us, and for Roxie.

When I think of Roxie, I I remember early on, Sabrina referring to her mother as Foxy Roxie and I always enjoyed hearing that.... and that makes us smile, it helps our heart and I know Roxie would want us to smile, to laugh in the midst of this sadness.

I remember early on, Sabrina referring to her mother as Foxy Roxie and I always enjoyed seeing that

She was a good woman, a good helpmate to Frank, a good mother to her children and a good volunteer who served our church well for so many years....

She was an incredible blessings to us....

Our church is so blessed

Just a little over a week ago, Roxie was over at the Hospice house in Bristol and Bobby and I were there with Marci and Tiny and before we left, she called us over and said I want you two, to preach my funeral.

She knew this day was coming, she had thought about it for a long time…

But understand what this is not....

This is not a funeral, we will not sing any dirges and morn and wail here today....

This is a celebration of her life… Roxie has passed from death unto life .... her eyes closed here but they opened in the presence of Jesus… wow

Just a beautiful thought.

We do these things today because we must, but this here is only her shell, what the Lord allowed her to occupy here, and earthen vessel as Paul spoke about in Corinthians.

She is with Jesus, her soul was redeemed and Jesus was her Lord

As I asked the Lord about this service he brought two passages to my mind.... and

And here is where the Lord has led me, and this message is a bit different that what I have done in the past, but that is ok, he is in control of what needs to be said tonight.

These days must come… Job said mans days are few and full of trouble… Solomon the writer of Ecclesiastes says there are seasons in this life, seasons of birth and death...

But these men followed the Lord and they had their hope in Him.

So and the 23rd Psalm

Why?

Why these two passages… In both the focus is on the Shepherd.

It is the Good Shepherd that cares for his sheep, He takes care of us.

So I want to share a couple thoughts with you this evening, about why we can look to Jesus and hold to Him during days like this....

1.

The First is His Office....

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

The role that God assigned to His Son is what has blessed us so much.

Let me share this passage with you,

The office of the true shepherd is something that only Jesus can hold.

He is the only person who not only owns the sheep, but would lay down His life for them.

Death, sickness, suffering comes into this world because of Adam’s disobedience, Adam and Eve sinned against God and the world changed, death came into the world....

How sad, because we suffer under the problem of sin.....

But we have help...

We have a Good Shepherd

Listen to what Jesus says here....

I am the Good Shepherd and I lay down my life for the sheep.

In a world touched by sin, in a world with no hope, suddenly we have hope.

Remember the hireling.... when danger came, when the wolves came, when sin came into the world… they were powerless, they run away.... they cannot help.

Who can… Jesus.

Jesus always helps

Jesus knows us, verse 14… I know my own and my own knows me… I am blessed that Roxie knew Jesus as here Savior.

Why… He knows her, He loves her and He has laid down his life for her… And she knew Him.. when I say knew, it is not just a head knowledge, a heart knowledge.

He has taken her home....

Paul tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord....

She Roxie’s eyes closed I want you to know her life didn’t cease to be.... Our life is not defined by this body but by the Savior who laid down his life for the sheep.

D.L. Moody said once.... there will be a report that I have died.. don’t you believe it, for at that point I will be more alive than I have ever been.

Jesus said I lay down my life for the sheep… He is the Good Shepherd.

How powerful is this truth.... and then consider this...

2. The Second is His Work...

Think about this passage in John chapter 10 and also the 23rd Psalm.

Both speak to the work of the Good Shepherd.

I remember when Roxie got the news that Hospice was the next step for her, that death was coming, when she got home I had a chance to visit with her....

I know she was worried, she wondered about death, about how this process would be, about pain and suffering… and we talked about the Shepherd.

This is what I love about the 23rd Psalm..

This entire Psalm reminds us that the Shepherd takes care of the sheep.

First off, There is only one true Shepherd..

The Lord is my Shepherd....

He is Roxie’s shepherd....

And what does He do...

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Can you see the power, the love and the care of the Shepherd in this first section… He cares for the Sheep… He is our Shepherd.

In the same way Jesus became our Shepherd the moment we asked to be His, the moment we asked him to be our Lord and Savior… He came our Shepherd.

And what do we see… I shall not want.

The Lord takes care of his people.

He has always taken care of our families and even in these last few months, Jesus walked with Roxie, took care of her, loved her and His presence never left her.

She lacked knowing in these days, the Lord walked with her....

And as move forward During the last few weeks, I can see the verse 4 illustrated....

During the last few weeks, I can see the verse 4 illustrated....

Walking in this valley, Jesus was with her, she was not alone… He comforted her but not only her but also all of us as well.

He has helped each of us as the days drew closer and closer… but Roxie and us as well, had no reason to fear..

Understand there is no fear in Jesus…

Fear is a tool of the devil to hold us back, to keep us limited .. Jesus reminds us in His word…

And in this last thought I think about Roxie’s state right now....

She is with Jesus.

Paul reminds us … to be absent from the Body is to be present with Lord

As Jesus hung on the cross, one thief asked to be remembered when Jesus entered into His Kingdom and Jesus promised he would see paradise on that day as well..

and then I think also of Psalm 23

I know exactly where Roxie is today… She is in His house… She is in His presence and She is blessed...

And we are blessed, yes, we would wish things could be different today, but we know she is safe....

And so....

What do we wait for… we till for that day as well… Not our own death but His appearing.

That is what we hope for .... the opportunity to see Jesus… but death has no more sting, the grave has no power… all because of Jesus.

I

Roxie is safe and secure, and she is home.

Pray