Loretta M. Petti Funeral Service

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All right, welcome everybody. Thank you so much for coming. Thank you all for coming.
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If you did not get a program today, some of the ushers in the aisle would be willing to hand you one.
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So please just slip your hand up in the air and one of the ushers will provide a program to you.
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Just hold those up until you get those. Wow, what a packed house of friends and family.
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That's such a testament to the love that you have for Loretta and how the Lord has brought so many people here to honor her.
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We thank each of you for coming. We feel your love, we feel your prayers. The family has found
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God's strength in our weakness and we know it's because so many of you are praying. So thank you all for coming.
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I'm gonna open in a word of prayer and then we're going to ask the worship team to lead us in a song,
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It Is Well With My Soul. Let's pray. Father it is only well with our souls because we do not grieve like those who have no hope.
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We know that Loretta is with you right now. We know that she has salvation through her faith in your son
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Jesus Christ and we thank you that you have rescued her from this body of death into the kingdom of light.
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Thank you Lord that we can have hope even in the midst of our sorrow and so Lord as we grieve today we pray that we would be able to grieve well.
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That we could cry out to you and find you to be near to us. Lord you are near to the brokenhearted.
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We thank you for your presence and that you comfort us as no one could. And God we pray that during this service we would point to you and we would share the hope that Loretta had and now enjoys in heaven and we pray that you would be glorified in everything that happens in this memorial service.
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Lord we do grieve but we also celebrate. We celebrate salvation through Christ Jesus in whose name we pray.
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Amen. Let's stand and sing. Whatever my lot,
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Thou hast taught me to say,
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It is well, it is well with my soul.
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It is well, it is well with my soul.
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It is well, it is well with my soul.
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My sin,
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O the bliss of this glorious thought,
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My sin, not in part but the whole,
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Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more.
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Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul.
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It is well, it is well with my soul.
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It is well, it is well with my soul.
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And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sad,
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The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
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The trump shall resound and the
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Lord shall descend. Even so, it is well with my soul.
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It is well with my soul.
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It is well, it is well with my soul.
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A reading from the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse Behold, I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep,
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But we shall be changed in a moment, In the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet.
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For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable,
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And we shall be changed. For the perishable body must put on the imperishable,
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And this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable,
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And the mortal puts on immortality, Then shall come to pass the saying that is written,
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Death is swallowed up in the victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
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The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our
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Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. O Lord my
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God, I in awesome wonder
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Consider all the works
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Thy hand hath made. I see the stars,
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I hear the rolling thunder,
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Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
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Then sings my soul, my
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Savior God, to Thee, How great
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Thou art, how great
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Thou art. Then sings my soul, my
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Savior God, to Thee, How great
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Thou art, how great
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Thou art. And when
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I think that God, His Son not sparing,
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Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in.
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That on that cross, my burden gladly bearing,
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He bled and died to take away my sin.
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Then sings my soul, my
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Savior God, to Thee, How great
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Thou art, how great
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Thou art. Then sings my soul, my
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Savior God, to Thee, How great
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Thou art, how great
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Thou art. When Christ shall come with shafts of acclamation
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And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
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Then I shall bow in humble adoration
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And there proclaim, my
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God, how great Thou art.
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Then sings my soul, my
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Savior God, to Thee, How great
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Thou art, how great
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Thou art. Then sings my soul, my
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Savior God, to Thee, How great
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Thou art, how great
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Thou art. A reading from the book of Revelation, chapter 21, verses 1 to 4.
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Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
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And the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new
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Jerusalem, Coming down out of heaven from God, Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
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And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.
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He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, And God himself will be with them as their
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God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, And death shall be no more,
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Neither the former things have passed away. Amen. Loretta was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
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Her family was loving, but it wasn't wealthy, and they faced their fair share of trouble.
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In those early years, she developed a very special love for her great -grandmother. Not a lot of people ever really get to know their great -grandmother.
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In Psalm 90, verse 10, it gets specific about how short life is.
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It says, Last fall, we didn't know how literally
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Psalm 90, verse 10 would play out in Loretta's life. We gathered for her 70th birthday, not knowing that 70 years would be the span of her life.
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It was in an upper room at a restaurant over in Mount Holly. It was a beautiful scene.
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It was a tribute to the life that she lived. And the image of her sitting around the table with her beloved family is a picture of her legacy.
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It was a joyful evening. By her side was her loving husband,
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Rich. As Providence would have it, this would be not only Loretta's 70th birthday, but also their 50th anniversary.
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Rich and Loretta gave us a legacy of faithfulness. What a picture that is, 50 years of faithful marriage.
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And what was the pledge? In sickness and in health. I was visiting with Rich a few days ago, and we began to discuss
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Loretta's artistic ability. He began to speak not only of the beautiful things that she made.
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Have you guys seen that in the hall? Make sure you look in the hall before you leave and see some of the things that she created.
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But also of her own beauty. She was beautiful. Everyone could see her surpassing beauty.
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But Rich commented, it was not just on the outside. It was in her heart. No one knows a wife better than a husband of 50 years.
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And he praised her inner beauty and her outer beauty. In Proverbs 31, it says,
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An excellent wife, who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her.
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Her husband praises her. At her 70th birthday party, her husband was, of 50 years, sitting by her side.
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And it was a testimony that she was a Proverbs 31 woman. And Rich was holding her hands as she went to be with the
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Lord. That's a beautiful picture. Their marriage was blessed by God such that they had two children,
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Anthony and Jen. Anthony and Jen were at the table for that 70th birthday party.
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They had the privilege of being raised by a loving mother. She was an active mom, taking them everywhere they needed to go and guiding them as they learned to navigate these toils and troubles of this world.
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She and Rich raised the kids well, as I can attest because I married their daughter. The Proverbs 31 woman opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
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She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed.
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The fact that Anthony and Jen were willing to do anything for their mom speaks more than words could possibly say.
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They rise up and call her blessed. They were together with her at her bedside as she ran her final laps of her 70 -year race.
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They had been coming to see her her whole life. Often on Sundays, the kids would be playing in the court and mom would take interest in everything going on in all of our lives.
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Loretta's son and daughter both married incredible spouses, right? Aren't they incredible in our own right?
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But in all seriousness, Loretta loved us like her own son and daughter.
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We were there at that table for her 70th birthday, living testimonies to the legacy of a loving mother.
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She welcomed us. Her brothers and sisters, in -law as well, brothers and sisters -in -law, were there too.
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She loved each of you so much as you loved her. She enjoyed time with you.
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You were not just siblings, you were her best friends. The love was evident.
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And then there were the little ones. Not so little anymore, huh? Growing up so quickly.
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They were there celebrating grandmom's 70th birthday. Her legacy lives on in them. We can see her character in each of you because she poured her character into you.
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You were very much like her. When you're young, you don't realize what an impact someone is having on you.
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But as you're older, you begin to see it. But whether she was showing you a Bible story cartoon on TV or reading to you or helping you learn to read or painting those incredible pictures of you that are hanging on the wall, she was pouring something of herself into you.
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And you are like her. And you do carry her legacy to the next generation. But Loretta's legacy doesn't end with family at the table at her 70th birthday.
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Her church was an extended family to her and she loved to spend time with each of you.
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She was so blessed by how you prayed for her. She knew it and she could feel it. And how you would check in with her in those rough patches that she went through, how many times did you reach out in love?
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And it meant the world to her. She got saved way back in the 1980s and she never looked back.
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She never stopped going to church, never stopped reading the word, never stopped praying. She was the picture of a consistent
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Christian. Inside and outside of Cornerstone, Loretta's friendships ran deep.
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She kept in touch with a group of high school friends whom she loved dearly. So many of you are here today.
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Decades of friendship. And the families of Cherry Tree Court where the kids grew up together.
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It's still like a big family to this day. She was close with everyone she met. She told me days before she went to be with the
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Lord that she thinks she knows why God had her take so many odd jobs. She met many of you at some of these different jobs that she worked.
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She never had a career. She said it was for the people she would meet. She especially wanted to make sure that we invited everyone to her funeral so that everyone would hear the gospel.
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And that brings me to my last point about her legacy. The most important one. The only one that's eternal.
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And that is her legacy as an evangelist. A million more things could be said about Loretta.
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But this is the most important. It says in the Bible that the years of our life are like 70 years.
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70 approximately, or 80 if you have the strength or perhaps beyond. But 70 years after we're gone, almost nobody remembers what a person was like.
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Isn't that true? Some people make the history books, but do the history books really show who a person really was?
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Really it was their family and friends that knew them. This thing was eternal.
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Loretta would write letters to her friends to tell them about salvation in Jesus Christ.
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Just before she passed to be with the Lord, she showed me a picture on her phone. She had written another one of her gospel letters and the picture came from a friend who received one of those letters about Jesus.
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And not only was it the letter she had just received, on the table was a pile of tracts and letters that Loretta had been sending over the course of many decades.
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She had kept every one of them. She was listening. And that picture is a testament to an evangelist.
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Somebody who continued to send out the gospel that others would know the life that she was experiencing.
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I told mom that in 20 years as her son -in -law, she had never been anything but completely loving toward me.
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I told her she was the best. I told her that her kindness is amazing.
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Everyone who knows her saw it. I told her that weeks before she passed. She motioned like this because it had become a bit hard for her to speak.
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At that moment. And I said, I don't understand what you're signaling. What are you showing me with this?
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And so she got the strength to tell me. She said, you're giving me a big head. She was so humble.
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Even when being praised, she deflected it and gave the glory to God. She appreciated the love, but her instinct wasn't for herself, was it?
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It was never about her. It was always about others. And that's what was so lovable about her.
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I said, can we pray together? And so we prayed. And there in that room, she closed her eyes.
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And as I prayed for her, she welcomed that prayer. But then I began to pray for some of the hospice nurses that they would see the light of Christ in her and they would believe.
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And would you know that as I prayed for the hospice nurses, suddenly she was the most vocal person in the room.
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Amen. Yes, Lord. Praying alongside, interceding that other people would know the truth that she had.
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That was her heart. It came out in prayer. You know a person's heart when you hear them pray. She had the heart of an evangelist.
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So in the end, Loretta's legacy is love. In her counsel, she always gave everyone the benefit of the doubt.
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She was always our biggest cheerleader. She was in our corner no matter what. She was the one who held the family together.
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She took care of everyone older and younger than her. She hosted birthday parties every year for her parents, each sibling and each child.
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She hosted her parents almost every Sunday for her adult life until she passed away.
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She prayed for her children, their whole lives. She made every single person feel so special and loved.
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She gave selflessly to everyone. Selfless is a perfect description of her love.
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Her love carries on in her family, her friends and her church. Her legacy carries on into eternal life.
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Loretta was adored by everyone who knew her. 70 years to set the trajectory and she oriented her life to true north,
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Jesus Christ. So everything she did in his name will go on forever. Only one life.
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It will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. At this time, after the eulogy, we are going to open this microphone for a time of sharing from family and friends.
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We won't have long because the service is short, so we would ask that each person keep remarks to less than two minutes.
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And if the Lord is leading you to come and share a few words about Loretta, a memory, please do that.
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Thank you. Thank you,
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Rob. You can share.
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Loretta was the most wonderful sister anyone could ask for. She was a blessing to everyone's life she touched.
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She had a beautiful heart and a beautiful soul. She was always there for anyone and she always made you feel loved.
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She truly had Jesus living in her heart. I know that she did not want to leave us as much as we didn't want her to leave us, but she had the courage and the faith to accept
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God's will. She was humble, sweet and kind to everyone right up until the day the
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Lord called her home. Even as I read this, I know
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Loretta is in glory with her Lord and Savior receiving her crown. God promised that one day he would wipe the tears from our eyes and turn our mourning into dancing.
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But until that day, I will never stop missing her. So I want to say to Loretta, goodbye for now, my beautiful sister.
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Amen. Hi, everybody.
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Very rarely does someone come into your life who inspires you to be the best that you can be.
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And through the 30 some years that I've known Loretta as my sister, by the way, we didn't say in law because that's how close we were, she raised the bar for me.
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She raised the bar in so many ways scripturally. I refer back to Matthew 22, 34 to 40 when
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Jesus said the most important commands were to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
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And Loretta did that. She had a passion and a love for Jesus, as Jeff said, that was just contagious even to many of us who have been in the
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Lord for many years. She loved others as Jesus instructed us to do.
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As was said, she was so selfless. She taught me how to love more unconditionally and that is so very important, such an important part of the
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Christian life. And finally, she taught me to love cooking. Well, we're working on that.
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Anyway, goodbye my dear sister and I can't wait to meet you again and I miss you so much and love you so much.
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We do have a memorial slide show, so is there anybody else that wanted to speak and we can begin that.
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Thank you, Ivan. Good hustle. John calls me up out of the blue,
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I'm an elder here and says, can we meet for lunch? And so he said, sure.
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He goes, I got this crazy idea. I want to start a support group within our church for people who are hurting, not so much grieving for death or anything, but just hurting and that we kind of lay it out there about who we are as believers in Christ and sharing our love.
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And then we can talk about all the different things that are happening with people, but the main thrust of it is really to show our love to others as a community.
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I said, that's a great idea. Let's do it. I go, where are you getting this idea from? He goes, Loretta. And I go,
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Loretta? He goes, yeah, she put this thing in my heart, in my mind that this is what we should be doing.
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Right, John? I mean, yeah. And he goes, I've been doing the prison ministry for years and I think the
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Lord's shutting that door down and he wants us to do that and I want you to do it with me. And I'm like,
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Loretta, really? And he goes, yeah, let's start doing it right away. So we started to meet every other week and kind of thinking how we're gonna work this thing through.
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And we have it. We started, it's small, but it's wonderful believers that come together and it's not just for people that are in Christ, but it's for anybody who wants to come and to share in Christ's love together.
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And then hopefully, if they're not in Christ, that somehow the
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Holy Spirit will come down on them and lead them there. But Loretta came to the first meeting and she sat with us.
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She was sitting next to my wife, Joyce, and John was going around and says, basically, each person, what do you want to get out of the meeting?
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And Loretta, a sweetheart, and she had this beautiful scarf on around her neck and she was smiling the whole time.
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And everybody else was kind of like looking and she kept on smiling. And so John goes to her and says,
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Loretta, what do you want to try to get out of this meeting? And she stops and she pauses and she goes, you know,
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I'm not worried about what's gonna happen to me. I'm worried about my family as they're looking to what's happening to me.
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That's the most important thing for me is to help them get through. I already know where I'm going.
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And I know that I'll be in his presence. But I just want to make sure that they know
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I'm gonna be okay and that they're okay. And she's saying this to people who are in the midst of going through whatever they're going through.
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And it was just an example of the type of person that she was.
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And I can't thank her enough that her voice and her legacy is impacting what we are gonna be doing from here on now going on.
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So the name of the group is called Agape, Agape Support Group, which is really the example of who
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Loretta was. So we thank you, Lord, for taking her home and we thank you, Loretta, for what you've done.
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This church, your legacy will continue going on. Amen. Awesome. Thank you for sharing that.
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You know, the ripple effects of what Loretta has done will be just powerful over the years and we won't see it till we get to heaven.
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Time for the... Yeah. Is there any others that would please come and share?
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John? Thank you. I don't think
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I need the mic. There are a handful that I met seven years ago.
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Whether it was a study, whether it was a work day at the church, whether it was setting up for the women's team,
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God gave her a gift in her eyes of love, light, joy.
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I will never forget that. Thank you, Lord. Okay.
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Let's play the slideshow to remember her life. How great the chasm that lay between us
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How high the mountain I could not climb
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In desperation I turned to heaven
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And spoke your name Into the night
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Then through the darkness Your love and kindness
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Tore through the shadows Of my soul
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The work is finished The end is written
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Jesus Christ, my living hope
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Who could imagine
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So great a mercy What heart could fathom
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Such boundless grace The God of ages
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Stepped down from glory To wear my sin
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And bear my shame The cross has spoken
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I am forgiven The King of kings
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Calls me his own For Savior I'm yours forever
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Jesus Christ, my living hope
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Hallelujah Set me free
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Lost its grip on me You take this
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Salvation in your name Jesus Christ, my living hope
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He's the one who You take this
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Salvation in your name Jesus Christ That sealed the promise
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Your buried body Began to breathe
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Out of the silence The roaring lion
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Declared the grave Has no claim on me
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Then came the morning That sealed the promise
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Your buried body Began to breathe
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Out of the silence The roaring lion
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Declared the grave Has no claim on me
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Jesus, yours is the victory
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Oh A few brief comments about the passage that Rich just read for us,
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Psalm 23 I asked my wife what passage should I share at mom's funeral and she said
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Psalm 23 because that was Loretta's favorite chapter in the Bible so mark it well, go back and read it and see the very things that spoke to Loretta's heart
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I thought perfect because this passage has such good news for all the people that mom loves so much
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Psalm 23 begins famously The Lord is my shepherd
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Isn't that an interesting thing that David would say about his God You have to understand,
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David was a shepherd boy before he ever went and slew the giant Goliath he was tending the sheep and there were times when different animals would try to attack his sheep and David at one point fought a lion and at another time killed a bear after he reflected upon these encounters he knew that he was protecting his sheep but he looked to heaven and realized that it was the providence of God that was protecting him and so he wrote
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Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd he understood what it was to be a shepherd but he didn't fully understand who it was about whom he was speaking
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It was a thousand years after David wrote that beautiful Psalm 23 that one of his descendants a son of David came into the world and as he taught the people and lived among us
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Jesus Christ said some of the most profound words ever spoken, hear them well in John chapter 10 verse 11
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I am the good shepherd now the son of David would know that his father said the
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Lord is my shepherd so clearly David was writing about Yahweh and Jesus' name
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Yahweh is salvation means the
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Lord is my shepherd he was claiming to be the shepherd of whom David spoke he was the fulfillment of the one that David had promised would come the
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Lord is my shepherd and Jesus shows up saying I am the good shepherd this is the one who claimed to be the living water and the bread of life
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Jesus had said I am the light of the world who is this one that speaks this way who would claim to be the good shepherd of our souls well
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Jesus went on to say in that profound passage John 10 verse 11 I am the good shepherd, listen the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep now picture
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David out there in the fields and the lion or the bear attacks the fold David would put his life on the line risk his life to fight for the lives of those precious sheep that he loved he probably named them he loved his sheep he was a good shepherd but Jesus says
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I lay down my life for the sheep a hired hand one who is only caring for the sheep because he's getting paid when he sees a wolf coming, what is he going to do he's going to head for the hills he'll protect his own life rather than lay it down for the sheep but the good shepherd who loves the sheep is willing to die for the sheep and Jesus is the good shepherd when they took him to Calvary and they nailed him to a cross and they hoisted him up it was not that anyone took his life, he says no one takes my life,
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I give it willingly a good shepherd of the soul he was putting himself in the place of the sheep you see we are the sheep that have wandered, we have all gone our own way, every person in this room like a sheep has wandered off in our own direction
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I was watching a video on YouTube the other day about some sheep in Mongolia and these animals for no apparent reason began to walk in a circle and as soon as the leader walked in a circle the others got in behind and with that herd mentality they followed that leader for 12 straight days now it's not so flattering to us to consider that in the analogy of the good shepherd and the sheep, we're like the dumb animals we're prone to wander, we're easily led astray we don't always listen to the voice of the shepherd finally a shepherd interposed and broke up the circle it would have gone to the point where they would have died, they would have walked themselves to death and all of us face the same fate it is appointed to man to live but once and after that to face judgment the wages of sin is death, have you ever wondered why we keep going to these funerals?
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some of you in this room have probably been to 100 funerals I know I have and so you see death again and again and the author of Ecclesiastes who was
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David's son, Solomon wrote, it is better to go to the house of mourning than to a house of feasting why would it be better to come to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting?
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he said because this is the fate of every man and the living will take it to heart there's something about being at a funeral where we begin to contemplate our own mortality our own death and the fact of the matter is that we are helpless sheep, we can do nothing about death but there is a good shepherd so why did the shepherd die?
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the shepherd came and became a sheep in order to be that sacrificial lamb that Isaiah spoke about in the 53rd chapter we all like sheep have wandered away but the
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Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all the good shepherd is none other than God himself coming in the flesh dwelling among us and laying himself down as a sacrifice for sin the cross was not the victimization of Jesus by people that hated him they were only instrumental to his own sacrifice the good shepherd came to die the death that we deserve the sheep bled and he died but his death was not in vain, he was paying the penalty of our sin he substituted himself in our place, he took the death penalty that each one of you owe, the wages of sin is death,
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I owed the penalty of death but when Jesus died on the cross he died not just his own death for he was sinless he died my death he took my punishment and that is why he died, what good is a dead shepherd?
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a dead shepherd cannot protect the sheep and so if he died for me what if another wolf comes along what if I wander into sin again
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Jesus is not a dead shepherd he says I have the power to lay down my life and I have the power to take it back up he is the only one who can not only lay down his life for sinners like us, the good shepherd interposing for the sheep but he is
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God almighty and he has the power to take his life back up and on the third day
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Jesus rose from the dead he is a living shepherd he once and for all paid the penalty of our sin but death could not hold him, the grave could not keep him he rose on the third day and he is a living shepherd and so he ever lives to make intercession for sinners like us we have one seated at the right hand of the father, his name is
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Jesus the good shepherd and when we sin, when we stumble, when we wander like sheep after our own way he is seated before the father to make intercession for us he pleads his own work on our behalf he speaks about his own death on our behalf and the father turns away his wrath against us because Jesus has already satisfied he is a living savior
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Psalm 23 says I am the good shepherd and that points to Jesus, well it says
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I am, it says in Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd and Jesus said I am the good shepherd and somebody here might be saying well how do we know that this is true and not just sentimental, you know it's true by the words and works of Jesus his words consider this, whoever made a claim like that before I am the good shepherd
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I am the light of the world he claimed things that are beyond the human,
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I am the good shepherd and then he performed miracles to prove that he was who he claimed to be he even rose from the dead and the very ones who followed him like sheep saw him risen from the dead, they ate meals with him, they spent time with him for 40 days before they saw him ascend into heaven after he gave the promise that he's coming back again the rest of the
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Psalm very short says this I shall not want he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
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I will fear no evil for you are with me your rod and your staff they comfort me when you look at what's happening here on this day,
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June 3rd 2023 you know that's the date but have you considered that it marks how much time has passed since Jesus came into the world some people would say well we no longer call it
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A .D. in the year of our lord we've changed the numbers, we've changed the letters to describe it but it doesn't change the fact that 2023 marks how long it's been since the good shepherd appeared we are here considering the claim of Jesus Christ because Loretta wanted nothing more than for the gospel to be preached at her funeral that's why she sent those tracts to so many of you it's what her heart was beating for the message of Jesus Christ we know it's true because all the prophecies foretold his death and resurrection we know it's true because the eyewitnesses saw it happen and you say
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I haven't seen the life of Christ haven't you seen
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Christ in Loretta haven't you seen Psalm 23 lived out right before your eyes haven't you seen goodness and mercy follow a person all the days of their life haven't you seen what
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Christianity really is in the life of Loretta Petty, she said
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I shall not once, she had no fear of death, yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death she had no fear she knew that the shepherd was guarding her soul her rod, the shepherd's rod was her comfort he would raise her up on the last day, she had no doubt of that would you like to be so sure of what will happen to you when you die what do you want your funeral to be like, hopefully many many years from now but unless the
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Lord tarries it's inevitable, unless the Lord comes before each of us passes, we will all face the same fate and so I offer you the very word that Loretta would want you to hear,
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Jesus Christ is the good shepherd read Psalm 23 on your own before you sleep tonight, spend a little time with you and God read the
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Psalm and consider the claim of Christ I am the good shepherd there's never been a shepherd like him who lays down his life for the sheep and there's never been another who takes his life back up again he is alive and he's offering to save you too you simply need to confess your sin to him admit your need for him and begin to follow him with faith, repent of your sins and believe in Jesus follow the shepherd, you will never regret having done so this is the message of the
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Gospel, it's what Loretta wanted us to share and it's summarized well in the song,
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Amazing Grace I'd like to invite the worship team to come forward after we sing these words of Amazing Grace I'll close in prayer and then we'll ask the pallbearers to follow out
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I'll lead and we'll take the casket forth but I want to thank you all for coming and for hearing this good news let's all stand together and sing
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Amazing Grace, you know the words well let's sing these from your heart Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
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I once was lost but now
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I'm found, was blind but now
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I see it was grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved how precious did that grace appear the hour
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I first believed my chains are gone
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I've been set free my God my Savior hath ransomed me and like a flood
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His mercy reigns unending love
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Amazing Grace the
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Lord has promised good to me
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His word my hope secures
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He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures my chains are gone
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I've been set free my God my Savior has ransomed me and like a flood
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His mercy reigns unending love
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Amazing Grace the earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine but God who called me here be will be forever mine will be forever mine you are forever mine remain standing as we pray
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Heavenly Father thank you so much for this memorial service thank you for Loretta Petty thank you for her influence on us, thank you for the light of Christ that shined in her life
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Lord I pray that you would comfort the broken hearted that you would draw near to all of us who grieve we grieve but not like those who have no hope restore to us the joy of the
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Lord help us to celebrate the eternal life that mom has right now we thank you
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God for your great sacrifice we thank you good shepherd that you laid down your life for us and you took your life back up and so we desire to follow you through all the days of our lives the
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Lord is our shepherd and we shall not want thank you God for this service go with us now as we go in your name