Warren and Joan Linhart
Friday February 23 at 6:30 p.m.
Call To Worship Scripture:
“3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,” 1 Peter 1:3-4
Worship in Prayer with Pastor Jessica
Worship with song: Hayden Linhart “Amazing Grace my Chains are Gone.”
Reading of Joan Linhart’s Obituary: by Juliana Linhart
Worship with song: Hayden Linhart “When I get to glory, I’m going to: sing, sing, sing.”
Reading of Warren Linhart Senior’s Obituary: by Elainna Linhart
Worship with song: Hayden Linhart “I saw the light.”
Worship with The Word:
Breanna Linhart
Psalm 23
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Reading Response: Page 284 in our Song Book!
“Our Eternal Home”
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Worship Song “Beulah Land” with PA system! (-all standing & all singing)
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Message: Pastor Jessica Linhart
3 things to take from the scripture for today:
FIRST, peace is promised.
SECOND, God has prepared a place for us.
THIRD, God has prepared a way for us to get there.
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The Message:
I’m wearing multiple hats today! One is that of a daughter-in-law; while, the other is that of a Senior Pastor. Therefore, I offer prayers of comfort both for the family and friends of Warren and Joan Linhart. I’m afraid that I can take nothing from the grief you feel today, but I pray the Holy Spirit will give your comfort, peace, and even joy.
I cannot say to you, “everything is all right.” Because right now, it’s not and we know it. You hurt and we know you will hurt for some time. Right now our struggles are real. We are aware of the rift we feel in our relationships, because Joan and Warren’s bodily presence are not here. You see, when a relationship is broken or lost, it hurts! It feels like apart of you is missing and sometimes we feel alone.
Did you know that God created us for a relationship and a fellowship with Him and with others? Remember, if you are a child of God you are never alone, because God sent the Holy Ghost. In the days ahead, Warren would not want us to be apart. He and Joan would want us to experience the love of God through a relationship with His son Jesus Christ. Then, they would want us to also love and comfort each other. Joan and Warren loved people and always loved to visit and spend time with family and friends. It was never to early to see Warren come by for a cup of coffee. He understood that established and nurtured relationships brought comfort.
So, let me repeat some words of comfort we find in John 14:1-6; Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Because Jesus is, “the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him.“
Here we find three comforting thoughts from the Holy Ghost.
FIRST, peace is promised. Notice the words Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. Yes, I know today is a day of sadness – a day of grief – a day of mourning. Yet, even in the midst of this you can have peace. How? If you have faith. If you believe. Believe that even in the midst of this storm – even in the valley of the shadow of death – there can be a peace that passes all understanding – because God is with us. Warren had peace about this body giving out and about making Heaven his home. In the nursing home he told us several times that he was not afraid of death and he was ready, but he was worried about all of us.
Not only did Jesus instruct them, “do not let your heart be troubled,” but He gave them tools to keep them from worry and fear, and it all comes back to FATIH – TRUST in God the Father and ALSO TRUST in ME. “You believe in God… believe ALSO in ME.” We may be facing some of the darkest days ahead without Joan and Warren, but there will be joy and peace for us as well. Because we trust in God we also have that hope that we will make heaven our home. Weather it be by the way of the grave or it will be on that glorious day when Jesus comes in the clouds to take us to be with Himself. It is both peaceful and joyful when one meet’s Jesus.
SECOND, God has prepared a place for us. Do you feel the significance of Jesus going to prepare a place for you. The Bible tells us God created the heavens and the earth in six days, and look how amazing and spectacular that is. But just think, Jesus has been preparing a place for us for over two thousand years. WOW! what a place that must be! And it’s not just any place. There are many mansions. A mansion for each of us, prepared by Jesus Himself. Prepared especially for each of us who believe. This is one of the greatest truths found anywhere in the Bible, and it implies that God dwells somewhere in a permanent place. The word “rooms” is actually translated “mansions” and the Greek says “In the house of the Father of me abodes many there are.” What Jesus is teaching us is that in God’s house, which is heaven, there are many mansions to live in. To me, that gives me great comfort, that I can know for sure that Jesus has already prepared a mansion in heaven for Joan and Warren, for you, and for me to live. Joan always wanted a beautiful home, but folks now she and Warren have traded up!
THIRD, God has prepared a way for us to get there. Everyone wants to go to heaven, some just don’t know the way. But Jesus tells us in John 14 that, He is the way, the truth, the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Him. We are all travelers on a road called “life”. Warren worked for the street department and he often drove Joan across town just to show her his work. He showed her many side streets, curves, mountains, and even detours. Spiritually speaking, there are a lot of pot holes too!
But: We do not need to be confused – we need not fear – we need not be lost.
All we need to do is follow Jesus. He will show us the way – in fact He is the way. Knowing He will lead us and guide us is comforting. This gives us great comfort today!
God is going to come back and take us by the hand and personally lead us to our Father’s house. Another great truth from this passage in John chapter 14 is that we will be with the Lord Jesus Christ forever. To me, that must be what makes heaven so wonderful. When our lives are focused upon Christ, we walk in glory with Him forever. Jesus takes care of your past. He helps you with your present. And He has already prepared for you the future. There is a mansion prepared for each of us. The lights are on, the door is open, and the meal is prepared. There are friends and there is comfort. Do not have a troubled heart and do not be afraid. God is merciful. God is love. God is full of compassion. He sees your tears. He cares.
As much as I know Warren and Joan, you, his family and friends, know them better. But God, who looks on the heart, knows them best. But the God who gave His only begotten Son to die for our sins, loves Joan and Warren the most. If we have committed or will commit our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ, we do not have to say “goodbye” to Joan and Warren we can say, “See you later.” So, for now, we commit the spirits of Joan Monette Linhart and Warren Bruce Linhart Sr. into God’s hands, and isn’t that the best place to leave them?
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Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of this earthly life. We thank you for the life of Joan and Warren Linhart, for the years you gave them and the character that you shaped in them. We thank you for their life, for every memory of love and joy, for every good deed and every sorrow shared with us. We thank you for the rest in Christ Warren and Joan now enjoys. We thank you for giving them to us for a time, and we praise you for the glory we shall share together for eternity. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
