Keith Bushnell

Welcome and thank you those present and Trinity Church

Music by Theron Smith

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isa 41:10 NIVUS)

“"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

“You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Joh 14:1-6 NIVUS)

Prayer Keith Elno Bushnell

Keith Elno Bushnell Lansing Born January 23, 1927, in Charlotte; died October 7, 2008, in Lansing, MI, at the age of 81. Keith graduated from Lansing Eastern High School in 1944 and M.S.U. in 1949. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Navy Reserves, retiring as a Commander after 35 years of service. Keith also retired from MDOT in 1989, as Director of Design, after 39 years of service. He was a member of the First United Brethren Church for 55 years, where he taught Sunday school, a member of Gideon's and ITE, International Transportation Engineers, and enjoyed traveling. Keith was preceded in death by his parents, Elno and Letha (Snore) Bushnell. Surviving are his wife of 61 years, Darlene; daughter, Sandra (Kenneth) Mayes of Carson City, MI; sons, Terry (Ellen) Bushnell of Lansing, Trent (Patsy) Bushnell of Grand Ledge, and Brian (Pamela) Bushnell of Lansing; 11 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and brother, Carl (Betty) Bushnell of Lansing. Funeral services will be held Friday, October 10, at 11:00 a.m. at Trinity Church, 3355 Dunckel Rd., Lansing, with the Rev. Scott Hergert, of First United Brethren Church, Lansing, officiating. Interment will follow in Evergreen Cemetery, Lansing. The family will receive friends at the Gorsline-Runciman Funeral Homes, 900 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, on Thursday from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. and at the church on Friday 1-hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to Gideon's International, Lansing South Camp, P.O. Box 842, Holt, MI 48842; YFC - Youth For Christ, P.O. Box 80555, Lansing, MI 48908; or to the First United Brethren Church, 1330 E. Grand River Ave., Lansing, MI 48906, in memory of Keith Bushnell.

Memories

Philippians 4:4-10

Every person can be contented in their life if they will master the keys Paul speaks of.

Introduction:

I have chosen this passage because I think of Keith as one of the most contented people I have ver known. He did not require the best things in the world. He was happy with things that lasted. He was kind of like the writer of this passage. Even when things in life were not going well he did not complain. He really seemed to exemplify the idea of someone being content. In this passage the author gives us some keys to staying content.

Key I. Rejoice

A. One of the first thing the author tells us is to rejoice. He even repeats himself, he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again rejoice.” In the Bible times when something was repeated it was done so the reader would take extra notice of that. It probably seems a little strange that we would be talking about rejoicing at a funeral, but I believe this was something that Keith had learned and he lived by this. For the person who has put their faith in Jesus Christ, there is always reason to rejoice. No matter how ugly things might get in our world, there is reason to rejoice.

B. Perhaps it would help you to get your mind around this if your realized that the author was writing from a Roman prison, expecting to be executed. He was a man who had been beaten many times. He had spent much time in prison. He was a man who was familiar with suffering. Yet he was able to communicate to his readers the importance of rejoicing. He knew that no matter how bad things were in his life Jesus Christ endured more. He also knew that eternity with Christ would cause all of the bad to disappear. The good that is coming is so much greater than the bad this is right now.

C. Everyone has times in their life when they feel that things have gotten really bad, and maybe even felt like things could not get any worse. That ability to rejoice at those times forces us to take our eyes off from our circumstances and causes us to look at both the suffering that Jesus endured for us, and the great future we have in Jesus Christ. I am confident that keith was so sure of this that he was a man who could rejoice in the Lord always. No matter how bad his circumstances were. No matter was obstacles he faced he could rejoice. Keith’s cancer treatments and his other ailments were nothing compared to what layed ahead for him. He could rejoice always.

Key II. Know God is watching

A. Another secret of contentment is knowing that God is always with you. The author actually says, “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” The author knew that God is everywhere all of the time. Even as he was sitting in that Roman prison he knew that God was with him. He knew that when he was floating with the debris from a ship wreck God was with him. He knew that when he was being flogged, God was with Him. He knew that in every situation he faced God was with Him. He was a man who was very aware of God’s presence. God was with him when things were going well and when they were going very bad also.

B. In the short time that I knew Keith I did not see him when he was acting like God was not near. Keith had an abrasiveness about him that could be construed as a lack of gentleness. Deep down I believe that he was a very gentle person. He was a man who cared about what was happening in the world. He had a concern for people in the world who don’t know Jesus Christ as Lord and savior.

C. As a Christian it would be troubling for me to know that God is always with me, if I was doing something I was not supposed to be doing. I think it would also bother me if I was not a Christian and I knew God was with me. God’s presence would make me want to be on the right team and living within God’s plans.

Key III. Give your worries to God

A. God has given us a mechanism by which we can communicate with him. That mechanism is prayer. We can speak to God at any time and in any place. We are even encouraged to do that. In the passage I have chosen the author says, “in everything. . . present your requests to God.” We can give God our requests, our concerns and our needs. The describing words he uses in that passage are don’t be anxious, and with thanksgiving. We can give our requests to God no matter what our situation or difficulty.

B. Typically when you give someone something, you don’t take it back. You give whatever you are giving and you don’t ask for it back. Christians need to learn to give their concerns to God and not take them back. Some people have mastered the ability to give their requests to God and leave them there. Keith left me with the impression that he was someone who was able to do that. He was able to ask God to take his prayers and petitions and requests to God. He was able to do this and not be anxious.

C. Today people seek others who will listen to them. They might seek a therapist or a psychologist to listen to them. All just for the sake of finding someone who will listen. There is some benefit in that, we need to learn to give our requests to God. We have a God who wants to take our concerns from us so we don’t need to worry about them. Keith was a man who really believed in prayer. He was one of the most faithful attenders of our prayer meetings. I am confident that he did plenty of praying in private as well. He could be content because he knew when he gave God his concerns God was going to deal with them.

Key IV. Receive God’s peace

A. In v. 7 of this passage the author says, “At the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” In other places this peace is mentioned as the peace that passes all understanding. I have in mind what peace might look like, but the peace that the author is talking about is a peace that cannot be described with words. It is probably not even a peace that we can really get our hands around. That says to me that I will imagine the best peace possible and the peace of God is going to be many times better than that. it is a peace that passes all understanding. It is a peace that we can’t explain or describe.

B. There were times when I saw keith get feisty. These are times that we would probably refer to as a righteous indignation. It was the kind of feistyness that God would approve of. Most of the time however, Keith was a peaceful man. He had a sense of calmness about him. As Keith found out about the need for surgery, the diagnosis of cancer and the need for treatment, he never really seemed to get too upset about all of that. He did not need to because he had the peace that passes all understanding.

C. There is a pattern that the author has shown in this passage. He first says to rejoice, next he says to be aware of God’s presence, and then he says to give your requests to God. At the end of this he promises that the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds. Who in our world could not use a little peace? I believe that in our world everyone could enjoy a little peace. We could really learn to wallow in peace that passes all understanding.

Conclusion:

Just a few verses beyond where we read the author says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to content in every circumstance? By practicing these keys Keith was able to be content and we can too. Many of you here are already Christians. You can have this peace and contentment by following the keys that the author has laid out.

Some of you may have strayed from faith in God. Perhaps this is the wakeup call from God telling you it is time to get back into faith with God.

Some of you maybe have never made that commitment to follow God. You can have the peace and contentment I spoke of, but a first step you need to take is to put trust in Jesus Christ that he is the only way to God. You can do that in the quietness of this sanctuary. In your own mind you tell him that you want to follow him. Then it is good to tell someone else that you made that decision so they can encourage you and help you.