Memorial Service for George Clifford Swanson | Special Event

Kootenai Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

17:13

Well, welcome everyone to this celebration of the life of George Swanson. We're grateful that you're here.

17:18

Let's begin with the word of prayer. Our Father, we are thankful that we can gather here in joyful celebration of a life well -lived and a race well -finished.

17:30

And we pray that through our time of meditating upon the truth of the resurrection and the hope that we have as believers that our hearts would be strengthened and our witness and testimony would be strengthened as well, that you would be glorified through our time and our attention to these things.

17:46

We pray that all of the testimony that is given here concerning George would ultimately show how good of a

17:52

God you are, how gracious of a Savior you are, and how you are able to keep your own even to the very end.

17:58

Thank you for your mercy to us and thank you for this time that we can rejoice together in Christ's name. Amen. So, several months ago, after we sang the song,

18:08

The Church is One Foundation, here in our corporate worship, George leaned over to Julie and told her that growing up in the

18:15

Evangelical Lutheran Church, they started every worship service with that hymn. So we found it appropriate that we would begin today's service with The Church is

18:25

One Foundation. So would you please stand together as we sing that song? The Church is one foundation,

18:54

His Jesus Christ her Lord. She is

19:00

His new creation, By water and the

19:07

Word. From heaven He came and sought her,

19:14

To be His holy bride. With His own blood

19:21

He bought her, And for her life

19:27

He died. He leapt from every nation,

19:42

Yet one o 'er all the earth. Her charter of salvation,

19:51

One Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses,

20:01

Partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses,

20:10

With every grace endued.

20:35

Mid toil and tribulation, And tumult of her war,

20:44

She waits the consummation, Of peace forevermore.

20:54

Till with the vision glorious, Her longing eyes are blessed,

21:03

And the great church victorious, Shall be the church at rest.

21:32

Yet she on earth hath union, With God the three in one,

21:42

And mystics we communion, With those whose rest is won.

21:50

O happy ones and holy, Lord give us grace that we,

22:00

Like them the meek and lowly, On high may dwell with Thee.

22:09

Like them the meek and lowly, On high may dwell with Thee.

22:20

You may be seated. If you guys would read with me the

22:46

Psalm 23, which is in the KGB therein. The Lord is my shepherd,

22:54

I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters.

23:02

He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for His name's sake.

23:10

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.

23:17

Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me,

23:23

In the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, My cup runneth over.

23:30

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the

23:38

Lord forever. George Clifford Swanson, 91, passed away peacefully on Friday, February 23, 2024, in Sandpoint, Idaho, with his daughter,

24:03

Julie, by his side. George was born on February 3, 1933, in Helena, Montana, to George Victor and Sylvia Basnet Swanson.

24:14

He attended Helena schools and graduated in 1951. He enlisted in the

24:20

U .S. Army and served in Korea. Back home, he attended Montana State University in Missoula, graduating in June 1959 with a

24:31

B .S. in Business Administration. Just an aside. Easy to write this in to read it.

24:39

By September, he had accepted a job as a management trainee with Carnation Milk Company in Spokane, Washington.

24:46

His career with Carnation spanned 45 years, taking him from Spokane to Sunnyside, Washington, to Oakland, California, from a trainee to branch manager and comptroller.

24:58

George met Juanita June Denby Howell while both were working for Carnation in Spokane, and they married there on September 23, 1961.

25:07

Most of their married life they lived in Pleasanton, California, where they were active in the Valley Community Church, and George was able to indulge in his love of all things outdoors, hunting, fishing, hiking, and skiing.

25:20

After retirement, they continued traveling and spending time with family, especially their growing tribe of grandchildren.

25:27

In 2010, they moved to Kaiser, Oregon, to live near their daughter Margo and her husband Douglas. After Juanita's death in March 2020,

25:35

George moved to Pendray, Idaho, to live with his daughter Julie. George is survived by his daughters

25:40

Nancy, Bob and Willie of Centralia, Washington, Julie Martin of Pendray, Idaho, Margo Douglas Rogers of Salem, Oregon, daughter -in -law

25:50

Colleen Howell of Goldendale, Washington, 19 grandchildren, 30 great -grandchildren, niece

25:56

Laura Bruce Day of Bremerton, and several cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife

26:03

Juanita, son Dr. Gregory Howell, daughter Paula Howell, son -in -law

26:08

Stan Martin, great -granddaughter Grace Murkey, sister and brother -in -law Flo and Bill Anderson, and niece

26:15

Vicky Spore. Oh Lord, when

26:39

I in awe of the moon, come for all to see the stars,

27:04

I hear the rolling thunder, the universe display.

27:21

Then sings my soul, my

27:26

Savior God, to Thee, How great

27:34

Thou art, great

27:39

Thou art, Then sings my soul, my

27:48

Savior God, to Thee, How great

27:55

Thou, how great

28:02

Thou art,

28:35

Savior God, to Thee, How great

29:00

Thou, how great Thou art,

29:08

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, How great

29:19

Thou art, how great

29:25

Thou art,

29:33

Then God, His Son not sparing, sent

29:41

Him to die, I scarce can take it in.

29:50

Let all my burden gladly bearing,

29:59

He bled and died to take away my sin.

30:10

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, How great

30:21

Thou art, how great Thou art,

30:28

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, How great

30:40

Thou art, how great

30:45

Thou art, When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,

30:59

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.

31:09

Then I shall bow in humble adoration,

31:18

And there proclaim, my

31:23

God, how great Thou art. Then sings my soul, my

31:33

Savior God, to Thee, How great

31:39

Thou art, how great Thou art,

31:47

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, How great

31:58

Thou art, how great

32:04

Thou art, Then sings my soul, my

32:13

Savior God, to Thee, How great

32:19

Thou art, how great Thou art,

32:28

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, How great

32:39

Thou art, how great Thou art,

33:11

For any of you that might want to know, those are the five Martin sisters. They were singing and playing my parents' favorite hymn at their grandmother's funeral to honor their grandfather.

33:30

This was their gift. My dad was one of the silent generation.

33:43

According to Google, this generation grew up experiencing the economic hardships of the Great Depression and witnessing the upheaval and challenges of World War II.

33:54

Due to their work ethic, they benefited from the post -war economic boom. They were known for being resilient, respectful, loyal, hardworking, self -sacrificing, financially prudent, and having traditional values.

34:10

My dad and I were working together on the story of his life. Before his passing, he dictated his first 30 years in 30 pages.

34:20

I suspect if we'd had time to finish, he would have given us 91 pages or more.

34:27

Since some of you did not know George Swanson as well as his family did, I would like to illustrate his character in his own words.

34:35

First of all, George was adventurous. He loved the outdoors and growing up in Helena, Montana.

34:41

He and his buddies skied on homemade skis and roamed the woods. In his own words, during the summers of our 7th, 8th, and 9th grade years, three of our group, including

34:52

Bruce's dog, went backpacking in the mountains around Helena. We always went in July because there was no rain in Montana during that month.

35:02

Our parents would drop us off in the mountains and several days later pick us up at our intended destination.

35:07

The first few hikes lasted about a week. Our final hike lasted 10 days.

35:14

We hiked approximately 50 miles over the Continental Divide and met our ride home at a ghost town relatively near Helena.

35:22

During all of our trips in this wilderness, we never met another person. My friend Bruce always brought his dog and Dick brought a .22

35:29

rifle. We tried to limit our backpacks to no more than 50 pounds, which consisted of a sleeping bag, a few food items, and cooking utensils.

35:39

We also took some fishing lines so that we could catch fish to eat from the mountain lakes. The only thing we used for guidance were compass and forestry maps which showed the trails to follow.

35:50

Many nights after dark, I enjoyed stargazing. One night, a porcupine entered our camp and joined me.

35:58

I scared him off with my flashlight. Looking back, our parents had a lot of faith in us.

36:04

I liked to go skiing, camping, backpacking, hiking, hunting, and shooting gophers. There was a good place to shoot gophers near the outdoor hot springs pools on the road from Helena to Butte.

36:15

We were about 13 and 14 and usually we rode our bicycles. One time, my dad volunteered to drop us off.

36:22

We hitchhiked back with the three of us kids, our rifle, Bruce's dog, and yet we still easily got a ride home in the back seat of someone's car.

36:32

We were all members of the Junior Ski Patrol and enjoyed skiing together. We would report skiing accidents and sometimes sweep the trails after the tow rope shut down to make sure that no skiers were still on the slopes.

36:44

By the way, my dad continued to ski and hike until he was 83 years old. George had a strong work ethic.

36:54

In his own words, since there were no sprinkler systems during my youth, at the age of 9, I got jobs watering lawns by hand for a couple local widows.

37:03

When I was 10, I started mowing lawns with a push mower and doing yard work. When I reached the age of 12,

37:09

I got a job setting pins at the local bowling alley. I picked up the downed pins and put them in a tray with holes, then

37:16

I pushed a lever to reset the pins on the alley. One time, I was picking up the pins and a bowler threw the ball before I was able to set the pins.

37:24

He hit me in the arm, which resulted in a charley horse, and I was out of commission for a couple weeks.

37:30

With the money I earned at the bowling alley, I bought my first bicycle. This was in 1945, right after the war, and they had just started manufacturing consumer goods again.

37:40

While working for the bowling alley, someone approached my parents and asked if I wanted a paper route for a

37:46

Butte, Montana newspaper. So I quit my job at the bowling alley, and for three years,

37:51

I had a morning paper route. In the summer, I rode the bike I had bought to deliver the papers, but in the winter,

37:58

I had to walk my route in the snow and cold to deliver the papers. When I was a junior in high school,

38:05

I got a job at the Union Bank, a trust company as a part -time messenger since I had such high marks in school. My job consisted of mainly sorting the bank mail, and then

38:13

I took it to the post office. Since the local branch of the Federal Reserve Bank was in Helena, I also took thousands of dollars of poor -quality paper money and occasionally gold bars to the

38:25

Federal Reserve. I made all of these trips with no guard or anyone knowing I was carrying that much money on me.

38:32

I also manually posted checks, balanced the daily ledger, and worked as a teller until I was drafted into the

38:38

Army in 1953 after my 20th birthday. After returning from my tour in Korea, I bought a

38:44

Chevy V8 car with the money I had saved while in the Army. I also used money repaid by my parents, which they had previously borrowed from me.

38:53

I went back to work at the Union Bank, a trust company where I worked for a year and a half until my friend Paul convinced me to attend the

38:59

University of Montana in Missoula. I completed my three years at the university in the spring of 1959, and in September, I started working for Carnation Company, where I worked for the next 45 years.

39:13

George was self -sacrificing, in his own words. In the fall of 1960, after working at Carnation Company for a year, my co -worker

39:23

Ernest suggested that I call up Juanita Howell and take her to a Saturday night party at Ernest Church.

39:30

I didn't think Juanita would go out with me, but I called her and said, Hi, this is

39:35

George. After a long pause, she said, George who? I said, well, from Carnation Company.

39:44

At the time, she was nervous that I was calling because maybe she'd made a mistake at work.

39:50

To my surprise, she agreed to go with me, and at the party, we played the card game pit. Juanita managed to always get the bear, the losing card.

39:58

So I surprised her on Monday morning with an anonymous gift of a teddy bear. After that party that night, she invited me to her home to cook some bacon and eggs, and we talked until 2 a .m.

40:10

The next day, I called her and asked if she wanted to go for a ride to Mount Spokane. She said, I don't have time to get a babysitter.

40:17

I replied, I planned to take the whole family, including her three children. On the trip to Mount Spokane, I got along well with Juanita's children.

40:26

I was a lonely old bachelor, so I frequently had dates with the whole family. After putting the children to bed, we would watch

40:33

TV or listen to music on the hi -fi. I ended up spending almost all of my evenings with Juanita and the children.

40:40

I took my TV set and hi -fi to her house, since she had neither. She eventually complained that she couldn't afford to feed me, so I started going with the family every

40:48

Friday night to do the grocery shopping for the next week. In October of 1960,

40:54

I asked Juanita if she would marry me. I promised Juanita that I would treat her three children as my own, but I also wanted biological children.

41:04

She agreed to only two more children because she had had enough of this pregnancy business. We both kept our promises to each other.

41:13

I felt elated to marry this beautiful and talented woman. For your information, so that they could carry on their father's name, my father did not legally adopt

41:23

Nancy, Greg, and Paula. He always treated them as his own children, and they are receiving an equal portion of his estate.

41:31

George lived by traditional values. My father was committed, even though he did not wear his faith on his sleeve, in his own words.

41:39

As long as I can remember, every Sunday morning, my parents took me to Sunday school, and after my confirmation,

41:45

I continued to attend St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Helena, Montana. Because my dad did not drive in the wintertime, we trudged through the snow to attend church services, even when it was below zero.

41:57

I became a Christian through this influence of my parents. I was baptized as an infant, but later re -baptized in 1971 as an adult in Sunnyside, Washington, at the

42:08

First Brethren Church. Some of the things that influenced me most were not what my parents did, but what they did not do.

42:15

My parents never smoked, never drank liquor, never used profanity, and never argued in front of my sister and me.

42:21

Because of their example, I never smoked, never drank liquor, and never swore. My parents showed me love, good care, and gave me a lot of independence.

42:31

Not long after Juanita and I started dating, I asked her to take me to church with her. She and the children attended the

42:37

Free Methodist Church in Opportunity, Washington, near Spokane. She apologized that her church was meeting in a garage and not in the church buildings

42:44

I was used to attending. I told her it did not make any difference to me where we met. Before long,

42:50

Juanita's pastor and our friends started asking me, when are you going to get married? George was a loyal man and a man of integrity.

43:02

I want to end this tribute by honoring our father for his loyalty and integrity. Being loyal is showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution.

43:14

Dad was loyal to his parents, his employer, his children, his faith, and especially to my mother.

43:21

The last few years of his life were challenging as his body began rapidly deteriorating.

43:26

He was lonely without his bride, and having been so active and independent, he struggled with his physical limitations.

43:34

But he was still committed to providing financially for his heirs, attending his local church, and providing a beautiful home for Josiah and I.

43:45

This generation of men and women is quickly moving off the scene to their eternal home, but they have left behind a pattern we will be blessed to emulate.

43:56

Thank you, Dad, for your example to the rest of us. We know you are free from pain and enjoying the eternal home

44:03

God has prepared for you. See you, see you again when it's our turn to join you,

44:10

Mother, Greg. And when we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be when we all see

44:17

Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory. ♪ ♪

44:47

Happy days are here again ♪ The skies above are clear again ♪

44:54

Let us sing a song of cheer again ♪ Happy days are here again ♪

45:02

All together, shout it now ♪ There's no one who can doubt it now ♪

45:09

So let's tell the world all about it now ♪ Happy days are here again ♪

45:16

Your cares and troubles are gone ♪ There'll be no more from now on ♪

45:23

Happy days are here again ♪ The skies above are clear again ♪

45:30

Let us sing a song of cheer again ♪ Happy days are here again ♪

45:38

So long, sad times ♪ So long, bad times ♪ We are rid of you at last ♪

45:45

Howdy, gay times ♪ Cloudy, gray times ♪ You are now a thing of the past ♪

45:53

Happy days are here again ♪ The skies above are clear again ♪

45:59

Let us sing a song of cheer again ♪ Happy days are here again ♪

46:07

All together, shout it now ♪ There's no one who can doubt it now ♪

46:14

So let's tell the world about it now ♪ Happy days are here again ♪

46:21

Your cares and troubles are gone ♪ There'll be no more from now on ♪

46:29

Happy days are here again ♪ The skies above are clear again ♪

46:36

Let us sing a song of cheer again ♪ Happy days are here again

46:53

Forward, halt! ♪

47:11

What do you do in the infantry ♪ You march, you march, you march ♪ What do you do when your pack ♪

47:17

Has got your back as stiff as starch ♪ There's many a fallen a cavalry ♪ But never a fallen arch ♪

47:23

And what do you do in the infantry ♪ You march, you march, you march ♪ What do you do in the infantry ♪

47:30

You hike, you hike, you hike ♪ What do you get in the infantry ♪ You lift and ride a bike ♪

47:36

The son of a gun in the signal ♪ Corps is traveling on a bike ♪ And what do you do in the infantry ♪

47:42

You hike, you hike, you hike ♪ The hard way ♪♪♪♪ ♪

48:17

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine ♪ I keep my eyes wide open all the time ♪

48:27

I keep the ends out for the tie that binds ♪ Because you're mine ♪

48:35

I walk the line ♪ I find it very, very easy to be true ♪

48:51

I find myself alone when each day is through ♪ Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you ♪

49:01

Because you're mine ♪ I walk the line ♪ Remember when the sound of little feet ♪

49:20

Wasn't music ♪ We danced from week to week ♪

49:27

Brought back the love ♪ We found trust ♪ Thought we'd never give it up ♪

49:35

Remember when ♪♪♪♪ ♪

49:42

Remember when ♪♪♪♪ ♪

49:48

Thirty seems so old now looking back ♪

49:55

It's just a stepping stone ♪ To where we are, where we've been ♪

50:02

Said we'd do it all again ♪ Remember when ♪♪♪♪ ♪

50:18

Remember when ♪ We said when we turn gray ♪

50:25

When the children ♪ Grow up and move away ♪

50:32

We won't be sad ♪ We'll be glad ♪ For all the life we've had ♪

50:43

And we'll remember when ♪ Remember when ♪

51:02

When ♪♪♪♪♪ ♪

51:15

I love you ♪

51:21

For sentimental reasons ♪

51:29

I hope you do believe me ♪ I'll give you my heart ♪

51:40

I love you ♪

51:48

And you alone were meant for me ♪

51:55

Please give your loving heart to me ♪

52:01

And say we'll never part ♪

52:09

I think of you every morning ♪

52:19

Dream of you every night ♪

52:25

Darling, I'm never lonely ♪

52:32

Whenever you are inside ♪

52:37

I love you ♪ For sentimental reasons ♪

52:50

I hope you do believe me ♪

52:56

I've given you my heart ♪♪♪♪♪♪ ♪

55:05

He will hold me precious in his holy sight ♪

55:19

He'll not let my soul be lost ♪

55:25

His promises shall last ♪ Caught by him at such a cost ♪

55:34

He will hold me fast ♪

55:41

He will hold me fast ♪ He will hold me fast ♪

55:48

For my savior loves me so ♪

55:57

Fast ♪ For my life he bled ♪

56:13

Christ will hold me fast ♪

56:18

Justice has been satisfied ♪ He will hold me fast ♪

56:26

Raise with him to endless life ♪ He will hold me fast ♪

56:35

Till our faith is turned to sight ♪

56:41

When he comes at last ♪ He will hold me fast ♪

56:50

He will hold me fast ♪ For my savior loves me so ♪

56:59

He will hold me fast ♪ He will hold me fast ♪

57:09

He will hold me fast ♪ For my savior loves me so ♪

57:20

He will hold me fast

57:43

It feels like there's something special about a video tribute that begins with black and white pictures. I don't know why that feels so different to me, but I guess it's the testimony of a life well lived over decades and decades.

57:55

A memorial service for a believer, especially one that is celebrated by other believers, is markedly different than a memorial service for an unbeliever or somebody who has no hope.

58:05

So while it is true that we get to mourn, we don't mourn like those who have no hope.

58:13

Death is a reality for us as Christians as well. We lose people because death takes something, takes a lot of things from us that are precious.

58:21

Death is the constant specter under which we live. It's the constant cloud under which we walk.

58:26

That's why David, when he says, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he's not describing there some unique particular time in his life when his enemies threatened him.

58:36

He's describing all of life. All of life is lived in the valley of the shadow of death because death is a constant reality around us all the time and it threatens us at every moment.

58:45

We do everything we can to stay alive and to survive, and yet death could strike any one of us at any time.

58:52

And so that's a reality for us as Christians, but it's not ultimately the triumphant thing in our lives, for the triumphant thing in our lives is the resurrection that we get to look forward to at the end of time, on the last day.

59:06

I'm going to read to you from John 11, beginning at verse 21, and then

59:12

I'll read this to you, and then I'll briefly explain the context and its significance. John 11, 21.

59:18

Martha then said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

59:28

Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again.

59:35

Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus said to her,

59:41

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.

59:49

Do you believe this? She said to him, Yes, Lord, I have believed that you are the Christ, the

59:55

Son of God, even he who comes into the world. When she had said this, she went away and called

01:00:00

Mary, her sister, saying, Secretly, the teacher is here and is calling for you. And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to him.

01:00:06

That took place at the tomb of Jesus' friend Lazarus, and Lazarus' two sisters are there.

01:00:12

And when Jesus showed up, of course, the Lord knew what he was going to do. He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.

01:00:18

And at the tomb there, he has this conversation with Mary in which she confesses her belief that on the last day,

01:00:27

Lazarus would rise again. She says to him, Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give to you.

01:00:34

And Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. Of course, he meant he was speaking of that moment when he was about to raise

01:00:41

Lazarus from the dead. But then Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.

01:00:47

And Martha there is confessing the common Old Testament hope that the Jews had because it is all through the

01:00:54

Old Testament that eventually there will be a resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous. Job 19 describes this.

01:01:00

God says he is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, meaning that he is not the God of the dead but of the living.

01:01:06

You see this in Psalm 16. You see it in the book of Daniel that there will be a resurrection at the end of time.

01:01:12

And then Jesus describes this same resurrection in John 5 when he says,

01:01:18

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

01:01:24

For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself. And He gave

01:01:30

Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this. For an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear

01:01:38

His voice and will come forth, those who did the good deeds, to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds, to a resurrection of judgment.

01:01:47

So Scripture teaches that there's a resurrection of all men at the end, and that we know that for certain because Jesus Himself was raised from the dead three days after He died on the cross.

01:01:57

And He died on the cross to pay the price for the sin of any and all who will believe upon Him. You and I are sinners, and we have sinned, and we have violated

01:02:05

God's law, and we deserve the wrath of God. This is something that George knew. This is something he understood.

01:02:11

But he had placed his faith in Jesus Christ who came into this world to live a perfect life and then to die a death on the cross.

01:02:17

Three days later, He rose again. And here in a few weeks, we are going to set aside a Sunday, a Resurrection Sunday, in which we celebrate this magnificent triumph over death that the

01:02:27

Lord Jesus Christ enjoyed, the resurrection from the dead. And because He is raised, He has promised that He will raise all who believe upon Him to a resurrection of life, and that we will get our bodies back glorified, and that we will live and dwell with Him in eternal bliss, in eternal joy, in eternal glory forever in the new heavens and the new earth because Christ is risen from the dead.

01:02:50

That is His promise. So we as believers, we do mourn because death has taken something from us, but that robbery is only temporary because we get back everything that we have lost in the fall.

01:03:02

We get it back, and then some, in a new creation, all because of what Christ has done.

01:03:07

He rescues us and secures us. Our forgiveness gives us eternal life and restores all of that to us.

01:03:14

And that is worth remembering at a funeral and a memorial service for one who is righteous. We who are in Christ will rise again, and we will be with Him, and we will be with all the saints in glory.

01:03:25

This temporary parting is just short -lived. It will not last long. And the time that we spend away from our loved ones here on earth will seem like just a glimpse, like a shadow, like a brief moment, like almost the blinking of an eye in light of the eternity that we get to spend with those whom we love.

01:03:45

This is our common confession. This is the hope of the church. And so at this point, it would be good for us to read together the

01:03:52

Apostles' Creed. You will find that in your bulletin. You can follow along with me, if you will.

01:03:59

You don't have to read out loud. I'm going to read it. In fact, I would encourage you to not read it out loud. That way, I don't have to keep up any kind of cadence that you can follow.

01:04:07

And if I mess up, then it will become a lot less obvious and awkward. The Apostles' Creed, and you will notice in here a reference not only to Christ's resurrection, but also to the resurrection of the body.

01:04:19

And the authors of the Creed were not talking there about the body of Christ that's mentioned earlier, but the resurrection of our body, this very body, will be raised again in newness of life.

01:04:30

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.

01:04:36

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the

01:04:42

Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

01:04:50

He descended to the dead. On the third day, He rose again. He ascended into heaven.

01:04:57

He is seated at the right hand of the Father. And He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the

01:05:04

Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, meaning not Roman Catholic, but Universal Church, the

01:05:10

Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

01:05:19

Amen. Let's pray. Our Father, we are grateful for the hope that we have in the resurrection. Because Christ has died for us and rose again, we can know that with triumph we will stand before You in resurrected bodies on the last day.

01:05:33

Thank You for Your glorious work on our behalf. Thank You for the hope that we have.

01:05:39

And thank You for the soon and coming return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We look forward to that day when we shall rejoice together before Your throne with all

01:05:47

Your elect, with all Your loved ones, with all Your children, from all the ages past. We give

01:05:52

You glory and thanks today in Christ's name. Amen. Would you stand with us please as we end this service by singing

01:06:02

Great is Thy Faithfulness. Great is

01:06:21

Thy Faithfulness O God my Father There is no shadow of turning with Thee Thou changest not by compassions they fail not

01:06:44

As Thou hast been Thou forever will be

01:06:52

Great is Thy Faithfulness Great is

01:06:58

Thy Faithfulness Morning by morning new mercies

01:07:06

I see All I have needed

01:07:11

Thy hand hath provided Great is

01:07:18

Thy Faithfulness Lord unto me

01:07:25

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest

01:07:33

Sun, moon and stars in their corset above Joined with all nature and manifold witness

01:07:49

To Thy Great Faithfulness Mercy and Love Great is

01:07:59

Thy Faithfulness Great is Thy Faithfulness Morning by morning new mercies

01:08:10

I see All I have needed

01:08:16

Thy hand hath provided Great is

01:08:22

Thy Faithfulness Lord unto me

01:08:30

Pardon for sin and a peace that entereth

01:08:38

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide

01:08:46

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

01:08:53

Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside Great is

01:09:03

Thy Faithfulness Great is Thy Faithfulness Morning by morning new mercies

01:09:15

I see All I have needed

01:09:20

Thy hand hath provided Great is

01:09:26

Thy Faithfulness Lord unto me

01:09:34

Let's end with a word of prayer. Lord, we thank you for your faithfulness. We thank you for your faithfulness in George's life and in the life of his family.

01:09:44

We also thank you for the promise of the resurrection and for the promised hope that we will see

01:09:51

George again and our family and loved ones that are in Christ. Amen.