FUNERAL FOR A GODLY MAN
by Bob Ingle
Funeral for a Godly Man
Bob Ingle
As a pastor, one of the roles and responsibilities I have is to speak frequently at funerals just like this. For most people, just the thought of doing this is terrifying. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld said he read somewhere that the number one fear of Americans is public speaking. And number two is death. He said, ''That means that at a funeral, the average American would rather be in the casket than up front doing the eulogy.''
Well, while some people would absolutely hate standing up at moments like this and speaking, I count it one of the greatest privileges of my life. And that is no different today. I get to do three things this morning that I'm happy to do and eager to do:
I get to honor Chuck's life.
I get to serve Chuck's family.
I get to point to Chuck's Lord...the Lord Jesus Christ.
So I'm thankful to Diane, and Michael, and Danielle for giving me this opportunity to do those three things. Yesterday I spent some time calling around to people I knew were close to Chuck. I asked them to describe Chuck from their own point of view. What was he passionate about? What was his personality like? What did he love? What did he fear? Someone said, ''Everyone gets to preach their own funeral by the way they live their life.'' Well, after what I heard yesterday, I believe Chuck will preach very, very well.
So this morning, I came to my office here at the church and said, ''Ok Lord, what do you want me to say? What Scripture would you want me to read that would honor Chuck's life, serve Chuck's family, and point to Chuck's Lord.'' And I kept coming back to the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1. On the outside from other people's perspective, Paul's life couldn't get much worse or much lower. He was in a Roman prison. He was on death row for being a preacher of the Gospel. His future looked dreary and hopeless. Some of Paul's closest friends were people in the church at Philippi. He knew they were worr ...
Bob Ingle
As a pastor, one of the roles and responsibilities I have is to speak frequently at funerals just like this. For most people, just the thought of doing this is terrifying. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld said he read somewhere that the number one fear of Americans is public speaking. And number two is death. He said, ''That means that at a funeral, the average American would rather be in the casket than up front doing the eulogy.''
Well, while some people would absolutely hate standing up at moments like this and speaking, I count it one of the greatest privileges of my life. And that is no different today. I get to do three things this morning that I'm happy to do and eager to do:
I get to honor Chuck's life.
I get to serve Chuck's family.
I get to point to Chuck's Lord...the Lord Jesus Christ.
So I'm thankful to Diane, and Michael, and Danielle for giving me this opportunity to do those three things. Yesterday I spent some time calling around to people I knew were close to Chuck. I asked them to describe Chuck from their own point of view. What was he passionate about? What was his personality like? What did he love? What did he fear? Someone said, ''Everyone gets to preach their own funeral by the way they live their life.'' Well, after what I heard yesterday, I believe Chuck will preach very, very well.
So this morning, I came to my office here at the church and said, ''Ok Lord, what do you want me to say? What Scripture would you want me to read that would honor Chuck's life, serve Chuck's family, and point to Chuck's Lord.'' And I kept coming back to the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1. On the outside from other people's perspective, Paul's life couldn't get much worse or much lower. He was in a Roman prison. He was on death row for being a preacher of the Gospel. His future looked dreary and hopeless. Some of Paul's closest friends were people in the church at Philippi. He knew they were worr ...
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