1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly
Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Dear family and friends of Glen.
May Jesus our Good Shepherd carry you in His loving arms and give you
His comfort and consolation as you mourn the death of your beloved Glen. May you know for certain that this Jesus has
offered to you and to Glen the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation by dying on the cross for you and rising
victoriously from the dead. Because of
Jesus who is your Lord and Savior, you and Glen have, “A Fearless Future,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. Glen’s family has many vivid memories about him. He was an avid sportsman who loved to fish
and hunt deer and turkey. Glen enjoyed
traveling, dancing, and spending time with his grandchildren. Many people remember Glen always being ready
to lend a helping hand to those who were in need. Glen’s focus was also on the needs of his
family. In fact, he enjoyed playing
music and having fish fries with his family.
Because he loved his family so much, it was very hard for him a few
years ago to see his brother Paul and his nephew Greg pass away. His brother Paul was his buddy and they were
very close. Glen enjoyed driving his
truck cross country and seeing the United States, even taking his family on
some of his truck driving trips. Glen
was also a baptized child of God through water and the Holy Word. All his life he continued to confess the
faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior from sin, death, and the power of
the devil. In fact, even this past
Christmas, while Glen was in the nursing home, he was trying to sing Christmas
hymns with those around him. He
continued to hear the saving Word of God and receive the Sacrament of our
Lord’s body and blood from Pastor Leistico on a regular basis. Glen knew that
his faith was sustained and strengthened through God’s precious Word and
Sacraments. Many who knew Glen can tell
us today that old age was getting hard on him, especially these past few years
following a number of strokes that he had.
That’s why God the Father sent His Son Jesus to die for Glen in order to
give to him a fearless future.
3. In the same chapter of Glen’s confirmation verse the
Apostle Peter says in 2 Peter 3:13, “In
keeping with God’s promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new
earth, the home of righteousness.” When
you woke up this morning, what was the first thing on your mind, “Today is Saturday; it’s laundry day,”
or, “I only have an hour to get to work,”
or, “I wonder if it rained last
night?” If you’re like me, the
morning’s first efforts involve clearing the cobwebs from the brain and
routinely mulling over the day’s upcoming activities. Tomorrow morning let’s try something
different. Let’s turn our attention to
spiritual matters, “Where do I stand in
relation to my God?”
4. If we take a look at ourselves in the mirror of God’s
perfect standards from His 10 Commandments, the thought of standing before God
isn’t all that pleasant. He is holy, we
are not. By the sin we are born with by
the wrong we do, and by the right we don’t do, we deserve the worst. Our worries, doubts, greed, envy and anger
have separated us from God’s love. By
all rights we have earned hell.
5. The Apostle Peter also knew what it was like to sin
and compare himself to the standards of God’s holy law. The Apostle Peter was a man who knew what it
was to fall into sin, to struggle with his sinful nature as you and I do day
after day. On the night of Jesus’ own death, the Savior had said to his
disciples, “You will all fall away
because of me this night” (Matthew 26:31), and Peter was the one who
replied, “Though they all fall away … I
will never fall away.… I will not deny you!” (vv. 33, 35). The Apostle Peter our beloved and
self-proclaimed superman! “I will never
fall away!” And what happened next? Peter fell once. He fell twice. He fell
for the third time before the presence of a servant girl in the high priest’s
courtyard. Peter writes his epistle here
in 2 Peter as one who knew what it was like to fall into sin. But, it comes to
you by the hand of one whose faith didn’t fail. And as such it contains the
words of his final apostolic charge to strengthen
the brothers in the faith because in Jesus we like Glen have a fearless future.
6. Peter says in Glen’s confirmation verse from 2 Peter
3:18, “But grow in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (v. 18a).” Just as we are to
stay on our guard against spiritual adversaries, we must also keep seeking to
grow spiritually strong.
7. Peter writes of a knowledge of “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Glen gained this knowledge of Jesus as his Lord and Savior from going to
worship, Sunday School, and being confirmed in the Christian faith. Strength
and stability in the Christian faith comes from this knowledge of Jesus as our
Lord and Savior, which comes from the preaching and teaching of God’s Word and
the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. But “knowledge” isn’t the only thing at work in this last statement.
Peter also writes of “grace.” Grace is given, but it’s to be grown too. Too
many grow weary and quit the Christian faith along the way. May it not be so
for you and me. May we be known for knowing
& growing in our faith in the
Holy Trinity, Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.
Glen kept on growing and receiving God’s Holy Word and the Sacrament of
our Lord’s body and blood, because he knew this is where his faith was founded,
established, and strengthened.
8.
God the
Father has promised through His Son Jesus Christ that we, like Glen, who
believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior will receive these promises to give to
us a fearless future. In Revelation 21
it says, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with
them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their
God. 4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall
be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for
the former things have passed away.” And in Matthew 11:28-30 our Lord Jesus
promises, “28Come to me, all
who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my
yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden
is light.”
9. God is as merciful and forgiving as he is holy and
just. He loaded onto His Son Jesus on
the cross all our wrongs and transferred to us Jesus’ perfection and
holiness. God the Father did this for
our beloved brother in Christ Glen as well.
Because of Jesus we won’t get what we deserved; we will get what Jesus
earned for us on our behalf through His sacrificial death on the cross. Now that is a truth worth holding onto as we
begin each day. That is a truth worth
holding onto every day that promises us a fearless
future.
10. Peter leaves the pages of Scripture singing about the fearless future we have in Jesus. His
final refrain reads in 2 Peter 3:18, “To
him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (v. 18b)” This
song of praise contains the final words we hear from Peter on this earth. In
writing them, it’s as if he’s already arrived in heaven. Imagine the joy of
singing your way into Heaven. It’s as if
the Apostle Peter is singing here at the end of 2 Peter what I’m sure Glen was
singing before God called him to his heavenly home, “We’re on the homeward trail, We’re
on the homeward trail, Singing as we
go, Going home.” Through faith in our Lord and Savior
Jesus, who died and rose from the dead to give you victory over sin, death, and
the power of the devil, we can have confidence that we like Glen, will reach
our heavenly home and have a fearless
future that will have no end. Please
pray with me: May God
our Heavenly Father, strengthen us in Christ, that like the Apostle Peter and
Glen, we too might finish well and die confessing Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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