Shall we stand to pray? Dear God, we stand in your presence this morning. We come to you in the precious name of Jesus. We thank you for who you are. Thank you that you have called us together in this way today. We thank you for the blessings of life. Thank you for the beautiful day. We thank you that you have wrought so great salvation. through the precious blood of Jesus. God, we would pray for your presence here today. Pray that your peace would rest especially upon the family as we've gathered to pay our last respects on a memorial service for our dear sister, Irma. We ask that you would bless the service, be with the preaching of your word and the singing, and as we worship together, that we would be reminded that you're God and you have a purpose and plan for each life. And you know that life from beginning to the end. So speak to our hearts today and bring comfort and courage. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. You may be seated. On behalf of the Schrock family and the Messiah Church here, We welcome you to this memorial service. Thank you for being here and for showing your support to the family and to pay our last respects to Irma. We're reminded again that we're here by divine appointment. It's God who has arranged this meeting today. You know, God has again called another of his saints home. While there's weeping, we can also rejoice. The order of the service this morning was planned by Irma. Her request was that we would not focus on her, but on the Jesus that she so loved. We want to honor her request and lift up the name of Jesus in the service this morning. Order of service will be congregational songs led by Justin Schrock, one of Irma's grandsons, will be having an opening meditation. Following that, there'll be a message by Ivan Chup, who is a pastor here at Messiah. Following the message, there'll be some special singing by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Justin, would you come? Take out your hymnaries and turn to 835. Let's stand in worship and reverence to God. Song number 835. 835 in the Christian hymnory. When peace like a river at end left my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my Nature saying, it is well, it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this last for sure. control, that Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed His own blood. It is well, it is well with my soul, with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul. of His glorious thought, my Savior did plot. Hold this tale to his cross, And I bear it no more. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! It is well with my soul. And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sighed, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll, The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall he stand, even so it is well with me. It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul. You may be seated. For the second song, turn to 531. 531. He leadeth me, O blessed thought! O earth, with heavenly comfort brought! What air I do wear! Still tis God's hand that leadeth me, He leadeth me, He leadeth me by His own hand. He leadeth me, His faithful follower, ♪ Would be more by His hand He leadeth me ♪ ♪ Sometimes with streams of deepest blue, sometimes with streams of light ♪ Where Egypt's towers flew, my fathers' home, O'er troubled sea, still Tisdal's hand that leadeth me, He leadeth me, He leadeth me, His own, and He leadeth me. His faithful lover I would be, For by His hand He leadeth me. Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine, I'm content whatever lot I see, since it's my God that leadeth me. He leadeth me. He leadeth me by his own hand. He leadeth me. His faithful follower I would be, for by His hand He leadeth me. And when my task on earth is done, And by thy grace the victory's won, In death's cold grave I will not flee, Since God through Jordan leadeth me, He leadeth me, He leadeth me by His own hand. He leadeth me in faithful love, Thank you for those appropriate songs. I have three verses I'd like to read this morning in a meditation here. These verses are from Matthew chapter 1, verses 21 through 23. And we're in the time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. There's a name for Jesus in these verses that I'd like for us to think about a few minutes this morning. This name for Jesus that's mentioned in Matthew is only mentioned in this text in the New Testament. A form of this name of Jesus is only found twice in the Old Testament in the book of Isaiah. I'll read these verses and then we'll talk a little bit about this name for Jesus. Matthew chapter 1 verse 21, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled would for spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. The name is Emmanuel, God with us. Now, if this would be a less formal setting, I'd have you repeat that several times with me. Just do it inside. Okay, Emmanuel. Isn't that a beautiful name? It's even more beautiful in what it means. God with us. God is with us. God is here. God is very near. That means that We're not alone. We're never alone. Emmanuel, this God with us. Well, so how is it that God is with us? God through His only Son, Jesus, became flesh. and dwelt among us, the Bible tells us, and in that respect God is with us. But when Jesus then left the earth and ascended back to heaven, it tells us he sent another Comforter to be with us. And that Comforter is God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit. And that's even better than when Jesus was here on earth. Because when he was here on earth, he was limited to one location. at a time. He could minister at one location at a time. But now that His Spirit is here with us, He can be with His children all over the world all at once. Isn't that beautiful? So first of all, God is with us by His Spirit. Secondly, God is with us in our sin. That's actually why He came in the first place. In our text, our verse 21 tells us, he shall save his people from their sins. Now listen to this verse in 2 Corinthians 5 21, for he hath made him, Jesus, to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Jesus not only is with us in our sin, it tells us He became sin for us so that He could save us from our sin. And He did that by coming to this earth, giving His life on the cross, shedding His blood so that our sin can be forgiven. So God is with us by His Spirit. He's with us in our sin. Thirdly, God is with us in our sorrow. Isn't that true? God is with us in our sorrow. 2 Corinthians 1, 3, Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. Verse 4 tells us, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ." Isn't that beautiful that God, the God of all comfort, is with us? Verse 4 tells us one of the ways he brings that comfort is by other people who have faced similar circumstances. What a blessing it is to be surrounded by loving people who bring comfort at a time like this. God also comforts us by his word. Listen to just a few of these verses of comfort from the scripture. Hebrews 13.5b, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Matthew 11.28 and following, come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest for your souls. John 14.1, Let not your heart be troubled. If ye 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 unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." So God is with us by spirit. He's with us in our sin. He's with us in our sorrow. God is also with us in the shadow of death. God is with us there. Psalm 23, that favorite shepherd's psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, doesn't stop there. I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Even in death, we have Emmanuel. We have God with us. Not only is God with us in death, did you know that He tasted it for us? Hebrews 2.9 tells us, but we see Jesus made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor that He, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. Jesus was willing to experience death. so that we do not need to fear to die. And you know, when we pass through that valley of death and we arrive on the other side, we'll be with God in His very presence. Instead of it being Emmanuel, God with us, it'll be the other way around. It'll be us with God. Us with God. Down here, it's God with us. We get there, it's us with God for all eternity, forever. So may we find comfort that God is with us by his spirit, he's with us in our sin, he's with us in our sorrow, and he's with us in the shadow of death. You know, Irma just loved to serve. Hospitality was her specialty. I'm sure many of our lives have been touched and enriched by her generosity. She was serving God by serving others. That's how it's done here. But did you know that when we get to heaven, we'll be serving God directly? Listen to this, Revelation 5.15, Therefore they be before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in the temple, and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell with them. Revelation 22.3, And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him. Can't you almost imagine Irma serving Jesus, the one she loved? Now, don't ask me what kind of service that all looks like, but I'm confident that it includes worship and more worship and more worship forever and ever. And if it would, if it would involve food, I'm sure she would be involved with it. But for those of us who are left behind, don't forget God is with us. Emmanuel. For the family, especially for Ivan and Mark, the house will feel empty. Irma will not have lunch ready for you anymore. You will no longer be able to enjoy her presence But remember, you're not alone. God is with you. God's people are with you. You're never alone. May God bless you. I greet you this morning in the name of Jesus. the one that died for us, the one who rose again and is interceding for us today. It was Irma's desire that we would lift up the high and holy name of Jesus at her funeral service. God has again spoken to us. Almighty God, Sovereign God, the One who is in control of life, the One who is in control of our death. And may that same God, who is full of love and compassion, by His Spirit, minister peace and comfort to the family and many friends who are gathered here this morning to pay our last respects to Irma. The Bible says precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints in Psalm 116. The word precious means highly esteemed. It pleased our God to take sister Irma A beloved companion, a loving mom, a caring grandmother and great grandmother, and a friend of many. From our midst and plant her in his own garden in glory. Precious in the sight of God is the death of a saint. Why? Because a saint is one of his very own. It is one who has a focus on their faithfulness. It is one who is faithful to God while they're here on earth. It is not one who follows every wind of doctrine and is tossed about with everything that comes our way. A saint is one who has her heart, his heart, and feet planted on the solid rock of Jesus Christ and is faithful all the way to the end. Faithful. I observed that not only was Irma concerned about her own faithfulness, her own heart, but she was concerned about those around her. She wanted everybody to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Faithful. I received a text message from one of her granddaughters. Grandma prayed for her family so faithfully. I like to think that time and time again, when one of us was protected from harm, experienced victory over sin, or simply had an unexpected blessing come our way, it may have been because our dear grandmother was somewhere praying for us. A favorite memory that I have is kneeling beside the bed with Grandma and hearing her pray for each of her loved ones by name. In no better way could she have shown us how much she loved us. Faithful. When the family was asked what Irma would have us to preach at her funeral, it was very clear that she would want the name of Jesus to be exalted and that everyone present would know what it takes to get to heaven. And by God's grace this morning, that's what I would like to talk about. The Bible speaks of two destinies. to eternal destinations. Know in the beginning, God created heaven and earth and everything in it. The eternal almighty God created heaven and earth by the speaking of the word. And when he was all done, he said, it is very good. It is very good. Next he made something very unique. He needed someone to be in control or in dominion over what he had just created. And so he created man. He needed someone to manage what he had created. And man is special above all creation in that man, we here this morning have the breath of God in us. God planted something within each one of us that will never die, and we call it a soul. This soul, Irma's soul, is no longer here in front of us in the box this morning. Her soul is departed. All we have is the body wherein that soul dwelt while she was here. The soul this morning is somewhere else. That soul will never die, and you and I have a soul as well. that will never die. And so, if that soul within us never dies, then there has to be some place for that soul to go when we die. That soul will live on throughout eternity somewhere. The Bible teaches that there are two possible destinies for the soul of mankind. It will be heaven or hell, one or the other. There is nothing in between. There is no middle ground for those who are too bad for heaven, but too good for hell. There is nothing in between. It is one or the other, heaven or hell. In Matthew 25, where the king divides the sheep from the goats, we make the observation that there are only two destinations. It says, the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. One of two destinations will be our lot when we die. In Luke 16, verses 19 to 31, we have a story of the rich man and Lazarus. Verse 19 says, there was a certain rich man which was clothed with purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores and it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented. in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted and thou art tormented. And beside all this between us and you, there is a great goal fixed so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee, therefore, father, that thou would ascend him to my father's house. For I have five brethren that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. And he said, nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded. The one rose from the dead. We have Moses and the prophets right in front of us. What a story. In this story, we see that heaven and hell are both real. They are both a place, a real place. All of us here today will one day find ourselves in one or the other. You know, man is unique above all creation in that we have a choice. We have a choice today. Which one of those will be our lot? The choices we make shape our lives. They point our feet in a certain direction. The choices we make today determine the destination at the end of our life. We personally make the choice of where we are after we die, before we die. We make the choice before we die. where we spend eternity. It will be heaven or hell. It will be life or death. It will be bliss or suffering. It will be light or darkness. You know, to choose heaven this morning, it requires positive action on our part. We do not just drift into heaven. We do not just get there by chance or by accident. or by doing a few good works. We do not get to heaven just because grandma is there. We get to heaven by choosing on our own to follow Christ. We get to heaven by admitting that we are lost. We get to heaven by repenting of our sins and coming to God in faith for forgiveness and completely surrendering our life to His will. My dear friends, eternal life starts this side of eternity. Eternal life starts at the foot of the cross. When we fall on our knees and we, in repentance, confess our sins. We plead for mercy and we ask Jesus to cleanse our hearts. from all sin through His own blood. It starts when we surrender our entire being to His will and ask Him to remove that stony, cold, carnal heart, that nature within us that wants to do what feels good to the flesh. We ask Him to remove it and give us one that is pliable, that He can shape and mold suitable for His kingdom. We become surrendered to His will. I think of the song where it says, Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, when at the cross the Savior made me whole. My sins were washed away and my night was turned to day. Heaven came down and glory filled my soul. Eternal life begins by opening our heart and asking Jesus to dwell within us. Letting him take control of our life, our will, our emotions, our desires, coming to Him for a drink from that well of water where we will never thirst again. God will accept that kind of heart, a heart that is broken and contrite, a heart that is sanctified by the blood of Jesus, a heart that accepts by faith, that Christ is the only way, the truth and the life. He accepts a heart that has been redeemed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. God has done all for us. He is gracious. He is merciful. He has made it possible for us to come to him through the blood of his own son. He will never make another way. He has done all He will. He has given us His Son. There will never be another sacrifice for our sins. It is only through the blood of Jesus that we can have a relationship with God Almighty and have a hope of eternal life with Him someday. And it is His desire that we choose life. He has no desire to destroy any one of us. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Two destinations. The one is heaven, and I trust that all of us here this morning have a sincere desire to someday be in glory with Jesus our Savior. with God Almighty and with our loved ones and those gone before. Who will be there? God, the Creator of all things. Jesus, our Savior. The angels will be there. The Old Testament prophets. The apostles in the New Testament. All the saints who died before us. The innocent children. Here in the story we read, Abraham and Lazarus are there. And I have a hope that Irma Schrock is there as well. I don't know how it will be, but I trust that she is in a good place, in good hands this morning. What will heaven look like? We have a glimpse in Revelation. I believe it will be the most beautiful sight we have ever seen. The light of the city is the glory of God. There's no need for the sun or the moon. The foundations of the city are made of precious stones. The walls of Chasper, the city of pure gold. The gates are made of pearls, the streets of gold. We can hardly imagine the site. It's a place of unmatched beauty. There will be no wilted flowers, no dying trees, no weeds and briars like we're used to. There will be no worn out, crippled bodies. No more death, no more sorrow, no more tears, no more parting, no more pain, no more night. I don't think we can imagine the sight. Heaven is also a holy place. Heaven is a holy place. Sin cannot enter there. No more evil, no more sin, no more temptations to fall into sin. All will be glory. His love and comfort will be eternal. There is complete and perfect rest. There is peace and joy. Worship, like we already heard this morning, worship and singing in the presence of many thousands of angels forever. This place is only possible by God's mercy and grace and the work of Jesus Christ on Calvary. Heaven is possible when we heed the call of God upon our life and we repent of our sins and follow Him by obeying His Word. Woe unto us this morning if we neglect so great a salvation and turn our backs on God and go our own way. We will find ourselves on that wide and broad road that leads to destruction and eternal damnation. My friends here this morning, hell is also a place. Hell is real, just like heaven is real. Hell is a place. And I hope and pray that none of us here today will ever be there. It is where the unrepentant sinners go when they die. The devil and his angels will be there. The atheist, the murderer, the thief, the drunkard, the liar, and all those who disobey God will be there. The lukewarm person who likes to have one foot in the world and one foot in the church, will be there. The rich man in Luke 16 is there. It is a place of awful suffering and death, torment day and night, a furnace of fire. It is outer darkness, a bottomless pit. Hell is also a place where we will not be consumed. We will be there by our own choice and it is for eternity. In this chapter, we are reminded that hell is a place of memories. Abraham reminded the rich man of all the good things that he enjoyed in his life before he died. And I believe those in hell will have plenty of time to reflect back and think of all the wrong choices they made, of all the opportunities and privileges they missed to repent and give their heart to the Lord Jesus Christ before they died. A place of memories. Hell is also a place of separation. Abraham told the rich man, there's no way that either one of us can pass from one to the other. There's a great goal fixed. It's a place of separation, forever separated from God, forever separated from holiness and righteousness, forever separated from love and peace. No one will be there to show you that they love you and they care for you. You will be on your own in a state of torment. There is no mercy in hell. The rich man cried out for mercy. He said, O father Abraham, send Lazarus that he might dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. This rich man was not asking for a river to flow through hell that he could sit on the bank and cool his feet in the water. He was not asking for a glass of water to drink. He didn't even ask Abraham to send Lazarus to get me out of this place. All he wanted was a drop of water. Just a little bit of mercy. No mercy in hell. He is still asking for one drop of mercy. There is no mercy in hell. In fact, hell is so terrible that this man, this rich man, was willing to cut ties with his family. He had five brothers at home. He said, please send someone back to my five brothers. I don't want them to come to this awful place. Send someone back to warn them. I'm willing to be forever separated from my family just to spare them from coming to this awful place. Denied. Abraham said, you have the word. You have Moses and the prophets. We have the word of God. What else do we need? Abraham told them if they don't give heed to the word, they will not heed one. Though he rose from the dead and went back to minister to them. Today, we have someone that rose from the dead. Jesus, our Savior. brought about our salvation, do we hear His voice when He speaks to us? You know, today there are people who admit they are going to hell and they don't really care. When we get there, we'll have one big party with all of our friends. It's a lie from the devil. There will be no parties, no close friends in hell. No one there that cares about you. Maybe there's someone here that the devil is trying to convince you that God is a passive God and He will overlook some sin in your life because of who you are. and you will be able to get by. God is so full of love and mercy that He would never cast someone into hell. Well, it is true. God is a God of love. God is a God of mercy. And He has no desire to cast anyone into hell. He has provided everything we need in order to live a life that takes us down a different path. Our life should be such that we are faithful to God in our everyday walk of life. The choices we make point us to a certain destination. And at the end of that life, God will say, you have been faithful. Join me. He has provided everything we need. He has given us a way of escape, if you will. For God so loves the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. It is our choice. God is a God of mercy. He is long-suffering. He's still giving us time today. If your heart is not right with God, please do not leave this place before you find peace. Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins, and His plea is that we should all come to repentance. Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden." What is holding you back? What is wearing you down? What is heavy on your heart? Just give it to Jesus. I will give you rest, He says. I will forgive your sins when you repent. I will walk beside you. I will show you the way. Turn your back to the world. You know, the Bible says the road is narrow, the gate is straight. That leads to life. That gate is not wide enough for us to pass through with the world on our back. We have to turn the other way and follow Jesus. The gate, the road is wide enough for you and Jesus side by side. There's no room for the world. There's no room for carnal Selfish desires in our heart on that road that leads to glory God is calling us to follow him in obedience He wants to lead us. He wants to give us rest and peace He wants to give us strength He wants to abide in our heart and and by doing so he will lead us to glory someday. His desire is that all of us would someday enjoy the bliss of heaven with him. I was told several times in the last couple days that Irma loved showing hospitality, inviting family, friends to her house. She was good at organizing it and cooking the meals. I was told that one of her doctor friends, and I don't have it word for word, but he wondered if maybe Irma is now welcoming those into glory and helping them find a seat at the marriage supper. of the lamb. Could it be this morning that Irma is in her element? Showing hospitality, she loved being with others. Let me give you a few verses. concerning that Revelation 5 verse 11 and I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders and a number of them was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands Hospitality there's a lot of friends, people there to fellowship with. Lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, closed with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces and worshiped God, saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple and he that sitteth on the throne Shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more neither thirst anymore Neither shall the sunlight on them nor any heat for the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and and lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Hospitality and fellowship every day. To the family this morning, may the God of comfort sustain you through this time of parting and separation. May the Holy Spirit minister peace and comfort to your hearts. And may the Holy Spirit do its work in all of our hearts in preparing us for that great day when Jesus will come again, whether it be for you or me or whether he comes back for all of us. May we be prepared. Choose life today while you still have the opportunity. Shall we bow our heads forward a prayer? Holy Father, we come to you this morning. We thank you for your mercy, your goodness to us. Thank you for salvation through Jesus Christ. Thank you for faithful saints who have gone on before us, but have left a legacy, an example for us to follow. Oh God, I pray you would help each one of us here this morning to follow You, to make that choice in our heart, to surrender our will, our life to You and say no to the carnal nature within us. Help us, O God, to choose our destiny, this site of death. We pray Your Spirit would be in our midst and that You would grace this place with Your love and peace and comfort. as only you can. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We've been confronted this morning again with the truth of the gospel. Thank you, Ivan, for faithfully preaching God's word and presenting to us the gospel message, The Choice is Ours. We choose life when we choose Jesus, we choose life. This time the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren are going to have some special singing, so we invite you to come forward and sing. Class dismissed. God is so good. God is so good. God is so good. He's so good to me. He answers prayer. He answers prayer, He's so good to me. I love Him so, I love Him so, I love Him so, He's so good to me. He's coming soon, He's coming soon He's coming soon, He's so good to me ♪ Abide with me, fast falls the eventide ♪ ♪ The darkness deepens, Lord, with me abide ♪ ♪ When other hells have fallen ♪ and comforts me. Help of the helpless, so abide with me. Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day. Earth's joys grow dim, Change and decay in all around I see. O Thou who changest not, abide with me. I need Thy presence every passing hour. What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power? Who, like Thyself, my guidance say can be? Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me. I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless, ills have no weight, and Where is that scene where, brave by victory, I triumph still if Thou abideth me? Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes, ♪ Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies ♪ ♪ Heaven's morning breaks and earth's vague shadows flee ♪ ♪ In life, in death, O Lord, we pray to Thee ♪ Thank you for that special singing. I didn't get a count of how many of you there were, but it did remind me of the multitudes that were described in Revelation. It wasn't quite that many, but it's close enough. Thank you. I'm sure that would have been special for Grandma and Great-Grandma. This brings our service to a close. We'll be reading the obituary, making a few final announcements, and having the benediction. For her obituary on December 16, 2021, Irma Elizabeth Hirschberger Schrock realized her longtime wish to go live with her Savior. She joins her son Matthew and great-grandchildren Drew and Willow, who preceded her in passing. Five days before her passing, she turned 87 years old. Irma was born near Walnut Creek, Ohio, on December 11, 1934. to Albert and Emma Hostetler Hirshberg. November 4, 1954, Irma became Mrs. Ivan Schrock. To Ivan and Irma were born six children. Janice Diane, married to Marvin Miller. Karen Kay, married to John Hostetler. Brian Jay, married to Kathy Schrock. Matthew Tymon, deceased. was married to Clara Miller, now Mrs. Paul Stolzfus. Bernice Rene, married to Hosea Troyer. Mark Anthony, who spent many hours at home with Irma. The Zio Church family, where Ivan and Irma have been members for many years, is overseeing the details surrounding the funeral. Irma's family is grateful. Grandma Irma holds the hearts of her 26 grandchildren and 53 great-grandchildren. Much effort and many miles had been traveled for all of them to be present at her funeral service. Irma thought of heaven, read of heaven, and listened to stories about heaven. A struggling human and far from perfect, yet she loved the Lord Jesus Christ. Her desire was that as we put her weary body to rest, our focus would be on Jesus. A special thank you to everyone who helped in so many ways during Irma's passing. The kind words, the heartfelt expressions of sympathy, and your presence are greatly appreciated. For the food that was graciously shared and served, and for the many hearts and hands that have contributed, the laying to rest of our precious loved one. May God bless each of you for your willing service. Just a few announcements here as we approach the final viewing. First of all, there will be a noon meal served here at the church, and everyone is welcome to stay for the meal. Just a few instructions for the final viewing and burial. After the viewing here, you will be ushered out and returning to your seats again. When the family is finished with viewing, the final viewing, we will proceed to the Schrock Cemetery for the burial. Those going to the burial will exit through the front doors and follow the procession to the Schrock Cemetery. If you're not family, stay seated until the family is out and the ushers will then usher you out. The Schrock Cemetery is close to Chestnut Ridge, just off of State Route 39. You will be entering the driveway for Rockwood Door and follow the lane back to the cemetery. We will be leaving the church driveway here, turning left and taking the back way up to 39 to avoid the traffic in Berlin. We ask that you turn on your headlights, try to stay close together, and use caution when going through the intersections. Hopefully we'll have an escort, but we're not certain on that. There are flags provided. The front row cars that are parked will have flags. If you're not in the front row parking and still going to the cemetery, there are some extra ones for you to pick up on your way out. Those not going to the burial and are staying for lunch, the food line will be to your left as you exit the auditorium. Make your way to the food line in the fellowship hall there. There'll be ushers that are available for giving you directions. Did I miss anything? All right, let's just simply bow our heads and pray again here, and we'll ask the blessing on the noon meal as well. God, as we come to the close of this service, we're grateful that your presence is here and can be sensed and felt. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for so great salvation providing for our soul after this life here. And let's pray that each heart here today would have again renewed our commitment to faithfully serve you and to follow you. And we can join those that have gone on before in serving our Savior forever in eternity. Thank you for the provisions that have been made here today and the food and we ask your blessing upon it and bless the many hearts and hands that have been involved in providing this today. Just pray for your hand upon us, pray for safety as we travel to the cemetery and back. And God, we just pray that your hand would be upon each one and as we've gathered here and just pray that that health would be granted to each one from being here and protect us from becoming ill would be our prayer, Lord. Just guide us further. We love you and pray it in the name of Jesus. Amen. All right, again, thank you for being here today. And this time we'll turn the final viewing over to Mother David and the ushers. There is a land of pure delight where saints immortal reign. Eternal day excludes the night, and pleasures banish pain. There everlasting spring abides, And ever withering flowers, Death, like an arrow, steady binds This heavenly man from Mars. Sweet fields beyond the swelling floods, And dressed in living green. So to the Jews old Cain stood, While Jordan rolled between. But impressed mortals, stars and trees, sea and linger trembling on the brink and fear to launch away. Oh could we make our doubts remove those gloomy doubts that rise and see the Canaan that we love with unbefounded eyes. Could we but climb where Moses stood and bear the landscape o'er, not Jordan's stream, nor the scroll of love, should fright us from the Sing to me of heaven, sing that song of peace, from the toils that bind me it will bring release. Burdens will be lifted that are pressing, so showers of great blessing o'er my heart will flow. Sing to me of heaven, let me fondly dream Of its golden glory, of its pearly gleam Sing to me when shadows of the evening fall Sing to me of heaven, sing the sweetest song of all ♪ Sing to me of heaven as I walk alone ♪ ♪ Dreaming of the comrades that so long have gone ♪ ♪ In a fairer region among the angel throng ♪ ♪ They are happy as they sing that old sweet song ♪ ♪ Sing to me of heaven ♪ Let me fondly dream of his golden glory, of his pearly gleam. Sing to me when shadows of the evening fall, sing to me of heaven, sing the sweetest song of all. ♪ Sing to me of heaven tenderly and low ♪ ♪ Till the shadows o'er me rise and swiftly go ♪ ♪ When my heart is weary, when the day is low ♪ ♪ Sing to me of heaven, sing that old sweet song ♪ ♪ Sing to me of heaven ♪ that we fondly dream of its golden glory, of its fruity gleam. Sing to me when shadows of the evening fall. Sing to me of heaven, sing the sweetest song of all.