Hi. Hi. I'm Kathleen. Hi, Kathleen. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Thank you so much for coming out. I'm Kathleen Barnes. Thank you. You're good. How about me? Do I have crunchies? It's freaky. Thank you. I told your husband I remember him. I don't intend to challenge you anymore, but if you don't think you're in the right place, why don't you turn to me? I would be able to make the right decision. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh. Thanks for coming out. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Thanks for coming and joining us. Thank you. Wow. I don't know. Thank you for coming out. How should I sit? How's the air? Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks so much for coming. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Hi Sharon, how are you? This is my wife, Sarah. How are you? Thank you. That's my husband, Mitch. Thanks for coming. Questioner 2. you. Aum. you and and you you you Oh. you and and and and you I love you. Oh, man. Om. On behalf of the Barnes family, I'd like to welcome all who are here today. Thank you for your presence at this sad time, but also a joyful time. We are here today to, as the program suggests, celebrate the homegoing of Gertrude Barnes, known to many of you as Trudy. I want to give my own condolences out of my own family, my wife and I and our family and our congregation in the Lehigh Valley. And also on behalf of the Malvern congregation here, to Ron and to each of the children and their spouses and the grandchildren, all those who are related to Trudy, all who are friends of her, and all that are gathered here today, we want to express our sincere sympathy and assure you of our prayers and of our love for you. We're going to seek the Lord's face together in prayer, so let us all bow together before God. Our gracious God and our eternal heavenly Father, we come into thy presence this afternoon in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. We thank thee today that in circumstances such as these, we have a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Is there anyone can help us, one who understands our hearts, when the thorns of life have pierced them till they bleed? One who sympathizes with us, who in wondrous love imparts just the very, very blessing that we need, we can answer, yes, there's one, only one. The blessed, blessed Jesus, he's the one. When afflictions press the soul, when waves of sorrow roll, and you need a friend to help you, he's the one. For there's not a friend like the lowly Jesus. No, not one. Today, Lord, we commit to Thee these sad and sorrowing hearts. We thank Thee that Thou art the sympathizing Savior. We're so glad today, Lord, that Thou dost care for us, and so we cast all of our care upon Thee, because Thou dost care for us. I pray that Thou wilt bind up the broken hearts, not just today, but in the days to come, and Thy will, especially we commit our brother Ron to Thee, We pray that thou wilt be his comforter, that thou wilt be his helper. We pray for each of the children, that thou wilt bless them and their spouses and the grandchildren and the other relatives of Trudy. We pray that thou wilt comfort them each one with the comfort in knowing that she is with Christ, which is far better. Bless all of our hearts. We pray that thou wilt grant to us today in this service Thy presence may we know that God is here and that he is here to bless us. We ask this in Jesus' name and for God's glory. Amen. I want to read an obituary of sorts, a message from the family. This is something that They all put their heads together for and came up with a form of words. And so I want to read that to you today on their behalf. Gertrude Doyle Barnes was born and raised in Philadelphia with her sister Jane and brother Joseph. Her dad died when she was only five years old. So one of the only memories she had of her father was of him sitting on the front porch of their Philadelphia row home eating ice cream, and listening to the Phillies game on the radio. Her mother, Gertrude, was a hard worker, working second shift to provide for her family. Mom, Trudy, always spoke of her mother making a roast beef dinner every Sunday, which she and extended family enjoyed together. I can only say she must have been Irish. because that's what we did every Sunday, is have a roast beef dinner in Belfast. Mom grew up faithfully going to church, and that dedication continued all throughout her life. She loved to read her Bible and pray every day. Mom met Dad in 1964 at Elliott Printing Company, where both were employed. There they got to know one another, spending many break times together playing checkers. Years later, Mom would reminisce about those times and shake her head, telling people, Ron didn't even let me win. Mom and Dad were married on April 23, 1966, and spent the first five years of their married life living in a typical row home in Philadelphia. It was here they welcomed two baby boys, Ronnie and Mark, into their lives. In 1971, they moved to Delran, New Jersey, where they raised an additional four children, Christian, Timothy, Kathleen, and Megan. In that house on Sycamore Street, 17 years of great memories were made. It truly was home for the Barnes family, where six kids ran wildly around the neighborhood, only coming inside when mom called, dinner! Those who knew Mom also knew her love of cooking. Whenever you'd visit the Barnes house, you knew you'd leave with a full belly. Cooking was Mom's gift. It was her way of showing you that she cared. In 1986, while reading the Bible and listening to a Christian radio station, Mom began to discover more of who Jesus Christ was and how she needed him to save her from her sins. She put her faith and trust in him alone for salvation and from that time on continued to grow in the Lord. Several years later, we moved to Lancaster County and started to attend the Free Presbyterian Church over in Newtown Square and then here in Malvern. Many memories were made during those 20 plus years in the church, which included the blessing of three of mom's sons attending seminary. In 2003, tragedy struck our house with the sudden death of Mark. A hole was left in all our hearts, not least mom's. But soon the heartache was turned to joy with the birth of her first grandchild. During the next nine years, 10 more grandchildren were added to her family. Mom loved spending time with her grandkids, playing games, watching cartoons together with them. She would also send notes and treats in the mail to each of them. The moving adventures continued for Mom and Dad when they relocated to sunny Florida. Mom enjoyed going to Dad's weekly bowling games, sitting in the back, keeping score, and of course, bringing tasty treats to share. On her final visit to Pennsylvania the day before she died, Mom and Dad found a new house. Mom really liked the kitchen and was looking forward to making many meals there. She and Dad put an offer on the house, but Mom never found out if that offer was accepted. Yet the truth is, Mom does have a new house. A house in heaven in which many meals will be eaten. There she'll be feasting forever with her Savior along with Mark. This is a house which one day she'll welcome us into. Until that glorious day, Mom, we love you and we will miss you. And that's a very touching message from the family, and we thank them for that. If you take your order of service, we're going to sing to God's praise the hymn that's listed there on page three, the first hymn that is recorded. Wonderful hymn of Wesley, and can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood. And we're going to stand together as we sing this hymn. ♪ In His hands did the Savior fall ♪ ♪ Lie before Him who washed His face ♪ ♪ For me to live together still ♪ ♪ Amazing grace, how sweet the sound ♪ ♪ There's but one God to strive for me ♪ ♪ He lives in me ♪ His grace will endlessly flow like water, and ever as the grass fades, His mercy will remain. ♪ You see how they rest with me ♪ ♪ For all my young infertile days ♪ ♪ All my greatest fear and anguish now you see ♪ You. ♪ And follow me ♪ ♪ The foundation now I tread ♪ ♪ Angels sang, oh, they gave their sight ♪ ♪ Oh, I repent my sinning ♪ Oh, if I just let the hour of my birth, the hour of my birth, the hour of my birth, Amen. Let us be seated. Let us now hear the word of God for our comfort. I have several scripture readings. First one from John's gospel chapter 14, the words of the Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. And whether I go, ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, And how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Then the words of the apostle in 2 Corinthians chapter five, for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven. If so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the self, same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. And then finally, words from John in the book of the Revelation, Revelation chapters 21 and 22. Revelation 21 from verse one, and I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying. Neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. Chapter 22 from verse three. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the lamb shall be in it. and his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads, and there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. Amen. May God bless these readings. from his holy and infallible word. I want to invite one of Trudy's sons, Christian, Chris, to come and to bring us a reading from God's word, again speaking on behalf of the family. My wife and I got back to Pennsylvania on Thursday after driving from South Carolina and went to Kathleen's house where the family asked me to say something that would be reflective of the thoughts that the family has, as well as something that my mother might want said were she here. Don't know why they asked me. I'm always the one with the fewest words to be said among all the children, the quietest. So I want to read a passage from the Old Testament and a passage from the New Testament and then just say a few things. Now, I see Mr. Hamilton has the message. It's listed in the program. That's never stopped a free Presbyterian from saying a few things. So I want to read this passage. This was the passage that my dad asked me to read from Job, Job chapter 19, verse 25 and 26. For I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. And then the other passage that I want to read that was the passage that I felt mom would want me to read is from Romans chapter 3, beginning in verse 21. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. For there is no difference. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. I read that passage because I think that section helps clarify the verse that my father wanted me to read. Job had a confidence way back before Christ even was born. He knew the gospel. He knew the promise of a coming Savior. And even though Job's body was breaking down, Job felt, I'm sure, at this time with all the boils and the things that were in his flesh, that he was going to die. Yet so many years ago, Job said, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, Yet in my flesh shall I see God. He said, I know. When Job came to death, he knew that not only his Redeemer lived, but that in his flesh he would see God. The word Redeemer is at the center of those two verses. What exactly is it that the Redeemer did, or would do in Job's case, that gave him so much confidence that when he faced death he could say, I know that I shall see God in my flesh? That's why I read Romans chapter three. Because Romans chapter three is a chapter that reminds us we're all under sin. We're all under the guilt of the law because of our sin. Not one of us can look at God's law and say we've kept it perfectly. And yet the standard that God has in his word is that if you keep this law, I will be your God, I will be a God to you, and you will be my people. Not one of us can look at that law and say, we've kept it, so then how can God be our God if he commands us to keep the law perfectly? The very law that we've broken, the very prophets that cry out that we've broken the law, are the very testimony that tells us that someone, one man, kept the law. He kept it perfectly for us. That's why Christ had to come into the world. Christ came into the world in order to keep the law of God perfectly for us, to earn for us what this passage tells us is a righteousness which is by faith. When we trust in Christ, his righteousness that he earned upon the earth is put to our account. It's a faith righteousness, the moment we believe. His work upon the cross washes away our sins. Every sin that we've committed, past, present, and future, the Son of God washed away those sins. That's why Paul could say, but now the righteousness of God without the law, or what he means there is outside our attempts to keep the law for our justification. The righteousness of God outside of that attempt to keep the law is manifested. being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." My mom believed that. My mom understood that God's righteousness is imputed to your account. She could never have earned the righteousness that God demanded from his law. None of us can. But there is a perfect righteousness. God views those that are in Christ as having perfectly kept His law because Christ did it on their behalf. That's why it says it's a faith righteousness. It's not an earned righteousness. It's not something that I have to go out and try to do. I can't do it. I'm a sinner. I break His law. I know it each and every day. Christ Jesus came into the world not just to die for sinners, but to live for them and earn that righteousness that they need in order to be accepted before the Lord. And so when my dad gave me that passage, I wanted to say something from this passage in the book of Romans, because I know my mom would sit out in this congregation. I've stood behind this desk many times. And I know that she would want me to say something about the work that Jesus Christ did on her behalf. She is with the Lord, and we can use those same words that Job said, I know that my Redeemer liveth. And he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, and though my skin worms destroy this body, Yet in this very flesh, after it'll be raised from the dead, on that great day when the Lord returns for his people, in my flesh, I shall see God. A free justification. It's my desire, it's the desire of my family that each one of us would leave this place having the confidence, enough confidence in the work of Christ to be able to say, I know. You can know when you face death that your Redeemer lives. And so I trust that the Lord will just take these thoughts and write them on our hearts. We're very thankful. I know I can speak for my brothers, my sisters. We're very thankful for a mother who taught us the gospel. We're very thankful for a mother who prayed for us every day, locked herself in the bathroom and prayed for us. I couldn't even use the bathroom when I would go down to visit them. I had to go use the bathroom in their bedroom. She would lock herself in her bathroom to pray for us. How can you put a price tag on that? We're thankful and trust that the Lord will take these few thoughts and write them on our hearts for Jesus' sake. I'd like to thank Chris for that. I've been there, and I know what a difficult task that is that he just had to perform, and we thank him for that. Trust the Lord will bless what he had to say. I want to draw your attention also to God's word. You'll see on your program there that it does list that there is a tribute from the grandchildren, but the family asked if we could switch that up a little bit. So they're going to do that after I bring the message from the Lord's word. So we're thankful for all of them too, and for each of the family members who are here and all the friends. I would like to draw your attention to a verse of scripture that's found also in the book of Job. It's in Job chapter 30 and verse 23. Job chapter 30 verse 23. And it's interesting that Chris referred to what Job knew. I also read earlier from 2 Corinthians chapter five and it begins, we know. But here's something else that we know. Job 30 verse 23. For I know that thou wilt bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living. No doubt we're all familiar with the phenomenon known as house hunting. Sometimes we're compelled to look for a new place to live because of a change in our circumstances or for purposes of employment and so forth. For various reasons, folks are often in the market for a new house. And having moved a number of times in our married life, my wife and I are very familiar with what we call house hunting. And it's always good for Christians to pray about the moves that they make, to not only talk over those things, but to pray over those matters. And moving house is something that you should pray about. After all, you want to be in the place where God wants you to be, the place of his appointment. I know that this was the case with Ron and Trudy. They came up from Florida on Monday of this week to find a new home, to get a new house to live in. That was the plan. But God had other plans for Trudy. And this was made clear on Wednesday morning when the Lord took her to her final home. to what the Bible calls the Father's house of many mansions. And I was thinking of this matter of looking for a God-appointed home, and was reminded of another house that the Lord has appointed for all of us, and it's referred to in this text of scripture. It's called the house appointed for all living. That house, though it is said to be appointed for all living is one that we are brought into by death. It's actually a reference to the grave, a house appointed. It's a strange way of speaking of it, perhaps you may think, but it is how God refers to it, a house appointed for everyone who is now alive on the earth. You see, experience teaches us, and the Bible says it, It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgment. The grave is an appointed house for all of us. It's God's appointed house for you and for me, and we ought to give earnest and careful heed to it. And I just want to pass on a few thoughts concerning this appointed house to which we must all go. First of all, it is a house that casts a great shadow upon men. We've been reminded again here graphically, strongly, that death and the grave are never far away from us. In the midst of life, we are in death. One man in scripture put it like this, there is but a step between me and death. Every one of us is just a heartbeat away from eternity. And truly, As we look around us each day, there are constant reminders of the fact that we are not here to stay. There is an appointed time for man to be upon the earth. The psalmist David, when he was speaking about this, he said in 2 Samuel chapter 14 and verse 14, for we must needs die and are as water spilt in the ground which cannot be gathered up again. Neither doth God respect any person, yet doth he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him. We must needs die. Every funeral testifies to that, every hearse, every graveyard, every headstone, they're eloquent reminders of this fact. Death and the grave, they cast a constant shadow over men and women in every nation and in every walk of life. Every day, The grim reaper does his silent work, and the obituaries in our newspapers testify to that. In Psalm 23, the psalmist speaks of the shadow of death. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, one preacher observed on that from the very moment of birth, when we start out in life, we're walking through a canyon where the shadow of death is upon us. And we keep going until it gets narrower and narrower, and finally leads to death itself. The truth is, at the moment each one of us is born, we begin to die. And we walk constantly in the shadow of this dark house. It casts that shadow on all of us. You and I are dying men and women. We are bound for death. this that the scripture calls the house appointed for all living. And that's emphasized repeatedly in scripture. I could quote all manner of verses that prove this. In Psalm 90, for example, it talks about the fact that if we have a normal life expectancy, we will live to three score and 10. That's 70. The Bible goes on to say that if by reason of strength, those days be four score or four score years, Yet is their strength labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and we fly away. And so we are to number our days that we might apply our hearts onto wisdom. We live in a world where people don't like to think about death. They don't like to talk about it and spend a lot of time over it. But yet the scripture says that it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting. Because we are reminded of our frailty. We're reminded of our mortality. And however much we might feel that we're in the bloom of health, there is but a step between us and this house that casts a great shadow upon all men. The second thing I would say is that this is a house that creates a great separation among men. And we know that today. We know that only too well. Death is a great divider, it's a great separator. Every relationship that we can know on earth can be broken and is often broken by death. Death creates separations by taking men, women, and children away from their loved ones and away from their earthly home to that house appointed for all living. You just think for a moment of the separations that are created by this strange phenomenon, this mysterious thing called death. There are relationships that human beings are called upon to cultivate and preserve here on Earth. For example, the marriage bond. And isn't it a great thing that Ron and Trudy celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last April? What a wonderful thing that is, to be married to the same person and to love the same person all those years. And I know they were a devoted couple. And we know that the Bible says that the marriage bond should not be broken by either party or both. And at the time when we take our wedding vows, the vows are made to that effect. Each one promises to keep him or herself only to him or only to her as long as you both shall live. And then we have those words that are so familiar. Till death do us part. Death does part husband from wife and wife from husband. And even in scripture, we read of many widows and widowers. I think of Abraham who lost his wife, Sarah, and he came up to weep and to mourn for her. Don't think that there's something wrong with the tears and the lump in the throat and the heartbreak. That's very natural. And that's something that you should not fight. That's something that God has put within us. Abraham came up to mourn and to weep for his wife, Sarah. Jacob lost his wife, Rachel, at childbirth. We often read in the Bible of the widows and how we're to care for them. There are marriage bonds that are broken by death. There are family bonds that are broken by death. There's a special bond between parents and their children, children and their parents, and sometimes, cruel as it may seem, the children are taken from their parents by death. And we might say, well, it shouldn't really be that way. That's not really the way it's supposed to be. Maybe that's true, but it happens. And Ron and Trudy knew that only too well, the heartbreak of that. The Bible speaks of this man, Job, from whose book we're reading. At the very beginning of that book, he and his wife lost all 10 of their children in one day. Seven sons and three daughters. Yes, that dark house separates loving mothers and fathers from their offspring. It takes fathers and mothers away from their children. Death is the great separator. It separates also bonds of the closest friendship, David and Jonathan. were very close. They loved each other dearly, but they were separated by death. And David mourned over Jonathan, his friend. Every human tie, every fleshly relationship is cut by death. Death is the great creator of separations. And friends, we have to think about this. It's not being morbid. It's not thinking about something unnecessarily. This is something that we should think about. you will leave your loved ones behind someday, or they will leave you behind. But here's the great thought. There is one great relationship, one bond, one union that death will not be able to dissolve. We read of that in Romans chapter number eight, where the apostle Paul speaks of the love of Christ. And he says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword. He goes on to say in verse 37, nay, no, in all these things, we're more than conquerors through him that loved us, for I am persuaded that neither death nor life. nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. When death came calling for Trudy on Wednesday, death did not create a separation between her and her Savior. She was Christ here on earth. He was her companion. And that companionship continues today in heaven, where she's gone into his immediate presence, where she's no longer walking by faith, but it is by sight because she has seen him in all of his beauty. For the true believer, No separation from the Lord Jesus Christ is possible. As the hymn says, we're bound to him eternally by love's strong cord. God has told us, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. There is no separation from him. But the gospel message also reminds us that the unbelieving, the Christless man or woman will be forever separated from God. Their entry to that house appointed for all living will be the portal to another place of everlasting separation from God. And I would not be faithful as a minister of the gospel and truly would not be pleased either. If I were to be remiss in this matter of warning of a place where the Bible says, Jesus said, They shall be cast into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. There are those who will be separated not only from the Lord, but from Christian people who on earth pleaded with them and prayed for them to be saved. I have no doubt there may be folks here today for whom Gertrude prayed that you might be saved. Think about that. But we may also save this appointed place for all living in the third place. It is a house that causes a great sorrow within men. Of course it does. I was just sharing with somebody out in the hallway there that death is actually called the last enemy that shall be destroyed. Death we consider to be an enemy and not a friend. And there are two groups really who suffer and experience sorrow as a result, a direct result of death. We may speak of the sorrow of those who are left on earth. And that's us today, especially the family and the friends, the close friends of Trudy. We all feel sorrow and sadness. We grieve when our loved one is taken from us. The tears flow, the heart breaks. We feel the anguish and the pain of parting. And there's nothing wrong with the tears and the grief, even for Christians. Because although we are saved by grace and we have that perspective, We're still in this flesh with all of its natural feelings and emotions. I've often told people, don't be ashamed of your tears because God created the tear ducts. You're supposed to weep. The scripture refers not only to Abraham, who I mentioned, mourning and weeping over his wife at her sepulcher, but when Stephen was to be buried The Bible says in Acts chapter eight and verse two that the disciples came up and they made great mourning and lamentation over him. Great godliness is not incompatible with great emotion and grief, and we who have gone this way know what it's like to long for the sound of the voice now grown silent and the touch of that now departed hand. We miss their presence with us, and that's only natural. But here's the thing. When we know, as we do today, that the one taken from us was a true child of God, who was made ready for eternity by the work of Jesus Christ, who was prepared by the Savior for this very day of her death. It makes all the difference. 1 Thessalonians 4 records the words of Paul, we sorrow not as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Oh, we sorrow for our loss, but we have a great peace in knowing that we will meet Trudy Barnes again in that home beyond the skies. And at a time like this for the believer, there's real hope and there's real comfort. But how sorrowful it would have been if we had no assurance that it was well with our departed loved one here. I've conducted a lot of funerals in my 30 plus years of ministry. And I can tell you it's very different when the deceased has left no testimony of saving grace that we knew of. Now I know that God is the judge. We don't always know what God is doing in the last moments of someone's life. I understand that. Matthew Henry said, there's only one deathbed conversion in the Bible, that of the dying thief. There is only one, lest anyone should presume upon God's grace. But there is one, lest any should despair of God's grace. The Lord is able to save. But oh, how much better it is, like at this occasion, to be able to sorrow not as others who have no hope. Yes, there's sorrow at the passing of a true saint and a beloved wife and mother and grandmother and sister and friend. But all the sorrow of one for whom we can entertain little or no hope. I was thinking about this in relation to the Psalmist David. The Psalmist lost two of his sons in life. One we read of in 2 Samuel chapter 12, and he was an infant. Just a little baby. The other we read of in 2 Samuel chapter 18. He was a grown man. And all the difference in David's attitude to the deaths of those two. He was comforted at the sad death of his infant son. He said of that child, he shall not come to me. But I shall go to him. I shall go to him. He's with the Lord. That's my hope. But when Absalom died, David cried and wept, and he said, oh, my son, Absalom, my son, my son. Would God I had died for thee. Oh, Absalom, my son, my son. Because he didn't have the same hope with regard to him. How will people feel when you pass from this scene of time? There's the sorrow of those who are left behind. Then there's the sorrow of those who are lost in eternity. I hear as a minister a lot of times people saying things at funerals, and sometimes what they say is good, and sometimes what they say is not so good. Sometimes they'll say something that's true. They'll say something that's definitely not true. But something I've heard an awful lot at a funeral is, well, he's now in a better place. She's now in a better place. And they say that about everybody. They say that about everyone. And I can tell you this, if you leave this scene of time without the savior that Trudy Barnes loved and served, you will not be in a better place. What awful things we could say. about the woe of a lost soul. People will say, well, you should just preach like Jesus, right? He was gentle Jesus, meek and mild, right? He always was nice. Isn't it interesting how when you read what the Bible actually says and not what people think it says, the Lord Jesus talked far, far more about a lost eternity than he did about heaven. In fact, I think it's something like 13 times he talked about hell and once when he talked at any length about heaven. We are warned in scripture to flee, to run away from the wrath to come. And some years ago in Trudy Barnes's experience, that's exactly what the Lord enabled her to do. And she came as a sinner to Jesus. Yes, she was a lovely person. I can testify to that. My wife and I were just sharing about one of the times that we met in the home of the Ruppiners and my wife and Trudy were discussing food, cooking. My wife was talking about stuffing the turkey. And she said, well, with all the busyness with the girls and everything, I just stuffed the turkey the night before and put it in the oven the next day. And Trudy chided her. Oh, no, you don't want to do that. You'll get sick. With the eggs and everything, binding that together, you'll get sick. Don't do that. You know, from that day to this, that's years ago. My wife has never stuffed the carcass of the turkey the night before. Never. She was a lovely person. I want to tell you today, Trudy Barnes is not in heaven in the presence of Christ because she was a lovely person. Or she was a good mother. Or she was a good wife. Or she was a good friend. She was all of those things. She's in heaven today because of the grace of God. The kindness of Christ that she recognized and came to accept for her own. She came to Christ. She was born of the Spirit and washed in the blood. And what a joy it is to read these words like I read earlier in Revelation chapter 21 and verse 4. Think of it this afternoon. This is the truth. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Oh, I know that in life Trudy shed a lot of tears. The death of Mark was hard on her. You know that. I want to tell you there are no tears today and there shall be no more death. She doesn't have to experience this again, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away. And as the next chapter tells us, She's in a place where the throne of God and the lamb are. And as one of his servants, she serves him. And she's one of those that's described there, they shall see his face. And there shall be no night there. And they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light and they shall reign forever and ever. What a joy. You know, we know nothing about it. We know nothing about it. The Bible tells us something about heaven, but it doesn't go into a lot of detail. But we find enough there to know that it is a wonderful place. We speak of the land of the blessed, that country so bright and so fair, and oft are its glories confessed. But what must it be to be there? To be there, to be there. Oh, what must it be to be there? Trudy Barnes knows what it's like to be there. But will your soul be ready for the mansions bright? Are you washed in the blood of the lamb? And this is my last point. The house that's appointed for all living, it conveys a great summons to men. You know, death speaks. The grave has a voice. And the one who summons us to this house that's described here is God himself. He calls living people from earth to the grave. That's what Job said there. I know that thou wilt bring me to death. And to the house appointed for all living. You see, in God's hand is the breath of every living thing. The doctors in Reading Hospital the other day tried their best. They tried their best, and the family appreciated, to keep Trudy out of eternity. But they were unable to do it. Because as I told Ron there at the hospital, That moment that God had ordained from all eternity had come for Trudy to be promoted to higher service. That was the day marked down from all eternity, the 30th of November, 2016, that she would be glorified. Now, what if God were to call forth the breath from one of us today? What if he said to you, like he did to that man in Luke chapter 12, who's described as a fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee? That's the thing about death. In a sense, every death is sudden, but some more than others. Death is a messenger that calls without notice. He doesn't ring you up beforehand. He doesn't send you a letter announcing his arrival on a certain date or time. When he arrives, it'll be without warning. And so that in a split second you can be ushered from this life into the next. And there is a summons therefore to the grave. But there is another great summons to be uttered, and that is to appear at God's judgment throne. For it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, after this, the judgment. Is that of concern to you? Do you care about your soul and its eternal welfare? I can tell you of one who cared enough for the souls of men and women, just like us, to go to a cross of shame and bear the penalty for their sins. And so for those who trust in his saving work, the grave holds no terror. I started out this message talking about house hunting. And in that portion in 2 Corinthians 5, I read that deliberately to go along with the message here. The Apostle Paul talks about knowing that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved. He's talking about the human body. We have a building of God and house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. And here's what he says, for in this, that's this body we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven, our new house. This is what Trudy has done. She has moved from this earthly house to her new house. And it means, by the way, as you look at that passage, to be really at home. I know that Trudy loved her home. She loved her home. And the scripture says here of Paul that He was confident, like Chris was talking about, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. And then he says, we're confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. And those two verses are interchangeable terms. They're translated from the same Greek word, but they're translated differently. For example, in verse six, it says, at home in the body, And then in verse eight, present with the Lord. It's the same word. So we can say, absent from the body, at home with the Lord. Isn't that a great thing? To be at home with the Lord. That's the hope of glory. Dwelling in the presence of the Lord forever. We're just here for a little while. And that was the hope of Mrs. Barnes. She knew where she was going when she left this earth. It wasn't presumption. It was a faith that was rooted and grounded in God's own word. Someone said one time to a Christian, you know, all you have for your salvation is a piece of paper with writing on it. And the man quite stunningly said, I agree with you. Oh, you do. Yes, I agree with you. All I have for my salvation is a piece of paper with some writing on it. But here's the thing, it's God's writing. It's God's writing. And what God says is true. Trudy has gone to her new house, not over there near Denver, but she's at home with the Lord. What a joy that is for her. This is Earth's loss, but it's Heaven's gain. And soon those of us who know Christ, maybe sooner than we think, will be joining her. Oh, that today that would be your hope as well, that you would believe and accept the gospel that Trudy Barnes accepted and believed. May you be able to say with the hymn writer, then, oh my Lord, prepare my soul for that great day, Oh, wash me in thy precious blood and take my sins away. Finally, some of you may have read in your lifetime Pilgrim's Progress. John Bunyan wrote about heaven and he said this. I saw in my dream that these two men, Christian and hopeful, went in at the gate. And lo, as they entered, they were transfigured and they had raiment put on that shone like gold. There were also that met them with harps and crowns, and gave them to them, the harps to praise withal, and the crowns in token of honor. Then I heard in my dream that all the bells in the city rang for joy, and that it was said unto them, enter ye into the joy of your Lord. I also heard the men themselves sing with a loud voice, saying, blessing and honor and glory and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. Now just as the gates were open to let in the men, I looked in after them. And behold, the city shone like the sun. The streets also were paved with gold. And in them walked many men with crowns on their heads, palms in their hands, and golden harps to sing praises with all. There were also of them that had wings. And they answered one another without intermission saying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord. And after that, they shut up the gates, which when I had seen, I wished myself among them. Oh, that we might have the assurance that one day we shall be among them. in the presence of the King. May God bless His word to all of our hearts. We're going to have a tribute now from Ron and Trudy's grandchildren. We're thankful for them, each one. And I know that she prayed for them, each one, in life. They're going to bring their own tribute to their grandmother now here. They're gonna line up at the front. And may the Lord bless them as they bring this tribute to their dear grandmother. ♪ Blessed be the sun ♪ ♪ Blessed be the dawn that shines in me ♪ ♪ The light that shines on the path that I'm on ♪ is That was truly lovely. And your grandmother would have been very, very proud today of what you just did. That was beautiful. And it's true. It's true. Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Let's sing together our final hymn. on the back page of your bulletin there. And if someone did not receive a bulletin, you'd like to have one, there are some extras back there. So please avail yourself of that as well. Remember that the internment will not be until Monday morning at Media Cemetery at 11 o'clock. Perhaps that announcement will be made as well, but I just wanted to go ahead and make that announcement so that everyone is clear about that. But there are refreshments that are available in the area below here in the basement. I would like to thank those that have provided that. and everyone is welcome to stay and partake of that and obviously to greet the family as well. Abide with me, vast falls the even tide. Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light, ♪ The God in me, in me ♪ ♪ Spirit to His cross ♪ ♪ Enter my spirit away ♪ ♪ Enter my spirit away ♪ change everything in all that I see. O thou who changest all, abide with me. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet me. I'm driven home with the adventure Let us remain standing. close with prayer, benediction, and then we will give thanks to the Lord for the food provided. Once the prayer is over, please remain standing while the folks here come and remove the casket and the family will make their way also to the foyer of the church. Let us all pray. Oh God, our gracious heavenly Father, We thank the Lord today that in the midst of sorrow and grief and sadness, there is the note of hope, of confidence, and of joy. We thank thee for the comfort of the gospel. We rejoice, Lord, in this thought, that those who die in Christ will live forever with Christ. Lord, we thank thee that we have this comfort this afternoon. I pray thou will continue to bless the family and the loved ones, give them strength, give them help. We pray that they might know thy presence with them as we've just been singing, even in the darkest of times. And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be our abiding portion, both now and forevermore. And we thank thee for the food provided. We pray the devil bless it to the nourishment of our bodies and be with us all this day. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. And those who are going to serve as casket bearers, please to the back. Yeah. you Aum. Aum. an an StSq2 2.60 StSq3 3.30 (-0.99")