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FUNERAL/MEMORIAL SERVICE
Appreciation For Coming
Thank you for being here today to remember and celebrate XXX’s life, and to share our grief, and comfort those who are mourning.
God of all comfort and grace, we come before You this day in pain and sorrow because of XX’s death, mixed with happiness for a life that was well lived and with the sure hope that XXX will live forever. Give Your grace to those who grieve. Help XXX’s family and friends come closer to You and to each other. Amen.
A.W. Tozer was a wise man. He said: “The most important thing about any human being is what he, deep in his heart, thinks about God.” Not money, accomplishments, political positions or anything else.
XXX believed deep in her heart the truth about God, and therefore had a successful life in this world, which will be followed by eternal life in the world to come.
Tzidduk HaDeen: Vindicating The Judge
The Lord, He is God. What He does is right, for all His ways are just. He is a God of faithfulness, and without injustice, righteous and upright is He. He is God, perfect in every deed. He rules below and above; He causes death and life; He brings down to the grave and raises up. He decrees and then does what He decrees. He determines the length of our days before we live the first one. He sees all, and knows all and judges all. He punishes and rewards every human being. He is right when He speaks, and just when He give sentences. We must not find fault with His manner of judging. Who can say to Him: what are You doing?
Kohelet, Ecclesiastes 3
Lah-kol z’man v’et l’kol cheh-fetz tah-chat HaShamayeem.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace,
a time to be born and a time to die.
Psalm 23
Adonai roh-ee lo echsar. The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
The Lord was XXX’s shepherd. He will live in the house of the Lord forever.
John 10
Yeshua said: I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again … I am the gate for the sheep … whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
The risen Lord Yeshua was XXX’s good shepherd. And He was the gate through which XXX entered the kingdom of God and will enjoy eternal pasture.
Psalm 16
Ah-vah-rech et Adonai asher y’ah-sah-nee: I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.
Isaiah 53
Hinay yas-keel av-dee; ya-room v’ni-sah v’ga-vah m’od. See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him – his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness – so he will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Revelation 21
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Message (see below for some sample messages)
Eulogy
El Maleh Rachamim – God Full Of Compassion
El maleh rachamim, God full of compassion, Shochen Bamromim, You who live on high, thank You for granting perfect rest beneath the sheltering wings of the Shekhinah, among the holy and pure who shine as the brightness of the heavens, to the soul of XXX who has gone to eternity. Thank You that his rest will be in paradise.
Lord of mercies, thank You for bringing XXX under the cover of Your wings forever, and binding up his soul in the bond of eternal life. Thank You that You are XXX’s possession and that he rests in peace. And let us say, amen.
God, full of compassion, El maleh rachamim, just as Your Son promised Paradise to the repentant thief on the cross, thank You that You have brought XXX to the joys of Heaven. And let us say, amen.
God, full of compassion, El maleh rachamim, precious in Your sight is the death of Your saints, Your holy ones, the ones You have set apart for Yourself. Thank You for XXX’s life and death as a saint, and the confidence we have that he will be eternally precious and alive to You! And let us say, amen.
God, full of compassion, El maleh rachamim, thank You that You have revealed to us that for those who know You and are loyal to You, to be absent from the body is to be present with You. We praise you that XXX knew You and was loyal to You, and is present with You, this moment, and forever. And let us say, amen.
God, full of compassion, El maleh rachamim, thank You for Yeshua, who is the way, the truth and the life. Thank You that XXX found the One who is the way; that XXX lived for the One who is the truth; and that XXX will never be separated from the One who is the life. And let us say, amen.
God, full of compassion, El maleh rachamim, thank You for Messiah who said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.” Just as He wept at the grave of Lazarus, and comforted Martha and Mary in their distress, so may the Lord Jesus bring resurrection and everlasting life to XXX, and comfort those who mourn today. And let us say, amen.
God, full of compassion, El maleh rachamim, thank You that Messiah is the bright morning star. Guide us through any darkness with the unfailing light that is shining through the Messiah. And let us say, amen.
God, full of compassion, El maleh rachamim, You who are righteous in all Your ways, You who are slow to anger and full of mercy, have compassion on the rest of XXX family and friends, and bless them with your yeshua, your salvation! And let us say, amen.
God, full of compassion, El maleh rachamim, You are the righteous judge of the living and the dead. Into Your gracious and loving and everlasting hands we commit XXX’s spirit. And let us say, amen.
God, full of compassion, El maleh rachamim, after Adam and Eve sinned and joined the rebellion of the fallen angels, and we and the world were ruined, You promised to fix the catastrophe that happened in Eden by sending a special human being, the Seed of the Woman, the Redeemer, the Messiah. Thank You that what You promised, You are in the process of fulfilling. You sent Your Son, Yeshua the Messiah, who by living a perfect life, and dying an atoning death, and rising from the dead, has started crushing the head of the serpent, and bringing redemption and salvation to those who know Him – like XXX.
God, full of compassion, El maleh rachamim, the prophet Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would not appear as a popular superhero, but be despised and rejected, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. He would be oppressed and afflicted, yet not open his mouth. He would be considered to be a sinner, yet be a perfectly righteous man who through his rejection, suffering, death and resurrection would help the real sinners who would recognize Him. Thank You that You helped XXX recognize Your suffering servant and XXX has his sins forgiven and is one of Your righteous ones.
God, full of compassion, El maleh rachamim, You are mighty to save. You raise the dead. We thank you that you will raise from the dead and give eternal life to XXX! And let us say, amen.
God, full of compassion, El maleh rachamim, thank You that we do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, and that God will bring with Yeshua those who have fallen asleep in Him … and we believe that the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first … and we will be with the Lord forever, and so we can encourage one another with these words.
Adonai Natan The Lord Gave
Adonai natan vah-Adonai lah-kach; y’hee shem Adonai m’voh-rach. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Kaddish
Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His Kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire house of Israel, speedily and soon; and say amayn. May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity. Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, amayn. May there be abundant peace from Heaven, and life, for us and for all Israel; and say, amayn. He who creates peace in His heavenly heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, amayn.
Yit-ga-dal v’yit-ka-dash sh’may rah-bah b’al-mah dee vrah chi-ru-tay v’yam-leech mal-chu-tay b’chai-yay-chon uv-yo-may-chon uv-chai-yay d’chol bait Yisrael ba’ah-gah-lah u’viz-man ka-reev v’eem-ru amayn.
Y’hay sh’may ra-bah m’va-rach ah-lam u’l’al-may al-mai-yah. Yit-ba-rach v’yish-ta-bach v’yit-pa-ar v’yit-ro-mam v’yit-nah-say v’yit-hadar v’yit-ah-leh v’yit-ha-lal sh’may d’kud-shah b’reech Hu, l’ay-lah min kol bir-cha-tah v’shee-ra-tah tush-b’cha-tah v’neh-cheh-mah-tah da’ah-mee-ran b’al-mah v’eem-ru amayn.
Y’hay shla-mah rabah min sh’mai-yah v’chai-yeem ah-laynu v’al kol Yisrael v’eem-ru ah-mayn. Oh-seh shalom bim-ro-mahv Hu ya-ah-seh shalom ah-laynu v’al kol Yisrael v’eem-ru amayn.
Funeral/Memorial Messages
Gospel Message
XXX believed the Gospel, the Good News, the Message of Salvation about Yeshua, Jesus, the risen Lord and Messiah. Proclaiming the Good News was XXX’s passion. In honor of him, I want to proclaim the message today.
First the bad news: news:In the beginning, Adam and Eve rebelled against the Creator. By listening to the leader of the fallen angels, and disobeying the Lord by eating from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve joined the rebellion of Satan and the demons.
The consequences of their rebellion were immediate and terrible. Adam and Eve were alienated from God. Their relationship to Him was ruined. Every aspect of who they were was damaged. Their nature – their souls, wills, minds, spirits, emotions – were broken, twisted, corrupted. Their bodies became subject to sickness, pain and death.
The consequences of Adam and Eve’s rebellion were far-reaching. When Adam and Eve fell, the universe fell with them. The entire universe was affected. All things go from a state of more order to a state of less order.
When Adam and Eve fell, their God-given authority to rule the world was transferred to the leader of the fallen angels. Satan is the god of this world – which explains a lot.
Adam and Eve’s future was ruined. Instead of living forever with God and the good angels, they would experience death and Hell.
Like a contagious virus, the consequences of their sin infected all of their descendants.
Because of our fallen, sinful, corrupt nature, no amount of good deeds, human effort, law-keeping or religious ceremonies can end our alienation from God, or transform our ruined nature, or save us from death and Hell.
That’s the bad news. Now for the Good News: News:What we are completely helpless to do redeem ourselves for this horrible situation, God is more than able to accomplish! And He did! Here’s how:
The Son of God left Heaven and through the incarnation, became a man. He was born into the royal family of a specially prepared people. Yeshua the Messiah became our greatest rabbi. He did many miracles demonstrating that He was sent by God. He lived a unique, sinless and perfect life. Then He allowed Himself to be crucified. But death could not hold this sinless and perfect man, and God the Father raised His Son from the dead. The risen Messiah then ascended to Heaven, to the right hand of the Father, where he is right now, at this very moment, full of life and power and grace and salvation.
Those who know these truths, and believe them, and act on them by transferring their loyalties to the Son, and obey Him as their Lord, are reconciled to God. They are removed from the dominion of Satan and the demons. They receive God’s Holy Spirit. They are given a new, godly nature. They will be resurrected and live forever as the glorious sons and daughters of God in a new heavens and a new Earth – a whole new universe that is coming.
This is the Good News. It’s the Gospel truth. It’s a message worth living for. It’s a message worth dying for. It’s a message worth proclaiming – like XXX did – with passion and with consistency – for many years.
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Passover Message
Passover begins in a few hours, and I want to talk about the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. And I want to talk about XXX’s exodus, and the need for each one of us to make our own exodus from our Egypts.
The story of the Exodus begins with a great famine in the Middle East. At that time, the Jewish people were just were comprised of Jacob and his twelves sons and their families. We numbered about 70 people. One of the sons, Joseph, had been sold into slavery by his brothers. He became a slave in Egypt. With God’s help, he went from slave and prisoner to prime minister of Egypt.
Eventually, Joseph was reconciled to his brothers. He invited them to join him in Egypt. They did. The Lord used Joseph to save the Egyptians, and the small Jewish nation, from a long, seven year famine.
We remained in Egypt for many years. We multiplied. Years later, a new king came to power who did not remember how Joseph had saved Egypt, and instead of showing gratitude to Joseph’s people, he enslaved us.
The Lord gave us Moses, who, though unusual circumstances, grew up in the home of the king. The time came when the Lord instructed Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand that Israel be allowed to leave Egypt. Pharaoh refused – repeatedly.
The Lord responded by sending 10 plagues on the Egyptians. The tenth plague was the worst – the death of the first-born sons.
However, the Lord made a way for them to survive. Their families needed to kill an unblemished, year-old male lamb, and apply the blood to the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where the lamb was to be eaten.
On the first Passover night, the Lord killed all the first-born sons, but passed over those who were protected by the blood of the lamb. The next day, we made our exodus from Egypt.
This is a great story. I believe it’s a true story. But it should be more than a story. It needs to apply to each one of us. Each one of needs to experience our own Passover and Exodus.
Here’s what I mean: Like the Jewish people were slaves to the Egyptians, we are slaves – not to people, but to a real and powerful and deadly force called sin. And we are slaves to our sin-prone nature. And we are slaves to dark spiritual powers. And we are slaves to death. Death dominates us. All of us will die.
Just as the Jewish people made an exodus from Egyptian slavery, each one of us needs to make our own exodus from those things that enslave us.
How do we do that? How do we make our own exodus from sin, and from our sin-inclined nature? And from the dark spiritual powers which control us, and from death which dominates us?
Passover shows us how.
Yeshua, who is the Son of God, and the Messiah, came into this world. He lived a perfect life. He did many great miracles. He taught us the greatest truths. He revealed God to us in a far greater way than He had been revealed before. Then, Yeshua the Messiah died – on Passover. Then He was resurrected. Yeshua came back to life. Then He made His exodus. He left this world. He returned to His Father, who is in Heaven.
Yeshua’s death and resurrection and ascension happened so that God can passover us and we can make our exodus from the deadly things that enslave us to eternal life in the World To Come.
About five years ago, XXX realized that Yeshua is the Passover Lamb. When XXX became aware of Yeshua’s reality, XXX began his own exodus. Then, last week, XXX completed his exodus into God’s presence.
I know that XXX would want everyone here today to do what he did – become loyal to Yeshua, the Passover Lamb and Risen Lord and Exodus Maker.
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Wise king Solomon, who experienced the best that life had to offer, who had wealth almost beyond measure, and power that few have experienced, and had all the prestige that being king of Israel could bring a man – drew some conclusions about the meaning of life. He wrote this: It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart (Ecc. 7:2).
Better to go to a funeral than a party? Really? Why?
Death is a reminder that we are mortal, and that the purpose of life is to be in a right relationship with God before we die.
Moses said this: Mankind is like grass which sprouts anew in the morning. In the morning it flourishes, and sprouts anew; toward evening it fades, and withers away… So teach us to number our days, that we might present You a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:5-6, 12).
Paul, one of God’s great representatives in this world, took time to consider the end of his life. This is what he said:
The time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to those who have loved His appearing.
Paul looked forward to his departure from this life. When you think about the word “departure”, think about a ship pulling up its anchor and setting sail, leaving the confinement of the port for the open water of the blues seas.
When you think about the word “departure”, think about a soldier who, after having fought well and helping win a great battle, takes down his tent and heads home.
XXX finished the race. He kept the faith. Like that soldier, he fought the good fight and went home.
But even knowing that he is alive with the everlasting God, there is still the sorrow of parting. It’s right grieve at this time. But we don’t have to grieve like those who have no hope. The night before He was to depart and go home, the Lord Jesus said this to comfort hurting people:
Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, you may be also.
Yeshua reminds us that for all who believe in Him, this world is not our home. Home is a place that He is preparing for us. That’s the reason why Messianic Jews and Christians need not fear death or grieve in quite the same way as the rest of the world.
One day we will find out that the important people in this world were not famous politicians or celebrities, or the rich and powerful. The important people in this world are those who served God humbly and faithfully, and who in their own quiet way, touched a lot of lives – like XXX.