This packet of materials is intended to help you as you face these difficult days ahead. Know that we are here for you. You are not alone.

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1 Dear Friends in Christ, We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's (Romans 14:7-8). At the death of a loved one we need to be reminded that we are not alone, even though it may feel that way. At Lutheran Church of the Master, we are here to show God s loving care as you journey through this time of grief. Sometimes people wonder where God is when death strikes those close to us. We trust that God walks with us in these difficult times, and God s presence is revealed through the love and care of this congregation. The church can be a source of great support to you. We can be with you through your grief, offering support and guidance when helpful. We are here to walk with you today, tomorrow, and into the future. This packet of materials is intended to help you as you face these difficult days ahead. Know that we are here for you. You are not alone. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). In the Resurrected Christ, Pastor Rob Moss

2 Funeral and Memorial Service Fees Because we are often asked how much we charge for funerals, we provide this suggested honoraria page. Although Lutheran Church of the Master does not charge fees for funeral or memorial services, many families desire to provide honoraria for those involved in those services. If considering honoraria, the following guide can be helpful. Pastor (Recommended Minimum Honorarium)... $ Pianist... $75.00 Sound/Video Technicians Sound Basic (microphones only)... $45.00 Sound Complex (CDs)... $75.00 Video (DVDs or PowerPoint) in addition to sound... $45.00 Custodian... $50.00 Luncheon/Reception Staff (suggested minimum)... $ Use of the Facility Worship area only (Recommended donation)... $50.00 Fellowship Hall/Kitchen (Recommended donation)... $50.00 Funeral Reception Coordinators: Required if Fellowship Hall/Kitchen is used. August, 2013 N-M

3 Suggestions for the Funeral (Memorial) Service It is most appropriate that the funeral service be held in the church building. There is no more fitting way to celebrate the life of the deceased than to do so within a congregational community in worship of God. Additionally, funerals at Lutheran Church of the Master are directed by members of the congregation, who do so with love, care, and with a Christian perspective. The family of the deceased should meet 10 minutes prior to the service in the upstairs Fellowship Hall. A pastor will join you for prayer about five minutes before the service begins. The funeral service centers on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that promise to us. It is most helpful to focus on that promise of life, and remembering that promise to the deceased through baptism. Music Music should focus on worship, on resurrection, and on God s grace and promises of life. Songs/hymns sung by the gathered congregation are appropriate, e.g., entrance and departing. Music is not only an expression of faith and worship, it helps those gathered participate. A suggested list of songs/hymns is included in the packet. A pastor will help you with selections. Lutheran Church of the Master can provide a pianist. The family may provide musicians or soloists if desired. Funeral Pall Lutheran Church of the Master uses a funeral pall (a large white cloth which covers the casket). It is placed on the casket at the beginning of the service, and removed before the casket leaves the church building. This symbolizes the forgiveness and righteousness of Christ which covers the deceased. A smaller pall is used for cremation urns. Flowers Flowers are often given as a memorial. It is recommended that only two floral arrangements be placed in the worship area for a funeral. Additional flowers may be placed in the narthex or in the Fellowship Hall. Notice should therefore be given to encourage memorials in place of flowers. Bulletins Lutheran Church of the Master will print a basic bulletin for a funeral or memorial service at no cost. Custom bulletin covers may be printed by Lutheran Church of the Master for a small fee. You may print a bulletin elsewhere, but it must be reviewed by a pastor prior to final printing. Communication with the church office is necessary due to tight printing schedules.

4 Ushers If the funeral/memorial is at the Lutheran Church of the Master facility, ushers will be provided by the congregation. Memorials Friends often will want to make a financial donation in memory of the deceased. The selection of this memorial can sometimes be uncertain. However, there may be a particular foundation, area of research, educational institution, scholarship, or organization that has special significance for the family of the deceased. Additionally, Lutheran Church of the Master has a Memorial Fund to which funds may be applied. These funds are used for special, non-budgeted items for the congregation or its ministries. Open Casket To many people, viewing the body is an important part of dealing with their loss. It is common to have a viewing at the mortuary the day before the funeral/memorial service. If desired, the casket may also be open before the funeral near the narthex of the church building. The casket will not be open during the service, nor re-opened after the service. Cremation Cremation is an increasingly favorable method of handling the body of the deceased. A cremains urn can be displayed during the service if the family desires. Inurnment can be either public or private. Columbarium There is not a columbarium on the property of Lutheran Church of the Master. Photos/Displays Displays of photos can be set up in the narthex or reception area. They may not be placed on the altar. The family is responsible for such displays. Remarks/Remembrances Though generally not recommended, a family member or close friend may choose to share something during the service. If this is done, it should be brief, written out beforehand, and limited to one or two people. The pastor is very willing to read comments written by a loved one, since many people find it difficult to speak publicly while grieving.

5 Some Options for Funeral Scripture Readings Old Testament Isaiah 35:3-10 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. {4} Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you." {5} Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; {6} then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; {7} the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. {8} A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God's people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. {9} No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. {10} And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 40:6-11 A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. {7} The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. {8} The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. {9} Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!" {10} See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. {11} He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep. Isaiah 40:28-31 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. {29} He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. {30} Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; {31} but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 61:1-3 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; {2} to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; {3} to provide for those

6 who mourn in Zion-- to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory. Jeremiah 31:31-34 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. {32} It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt--a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. {33} But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. {34} No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. Lamentations 3:22-26, The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; {23} they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. {24} "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." {25} The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. {26} It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD... {31} For the Lord will not reject forever. {32} Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; {33} for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone. Psalms Psalms 23 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. {2} He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; {3} he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake. {4} Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff-- they comfort me. {5} You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. {6} Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long. Psalms 27 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? {2} When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh-- my adversaries and foes-- they shall stumble and fall. {3} Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. {4} One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. {5} For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock. {6} Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make

7 melody to the LORD. {7} Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! {8} "Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, LORD, do I seek. {9} Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation! {10} If my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me up. {11} Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. {12} Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence. {13} I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. {14} Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Psalms 42:1-7 As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. {2} My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? {3} My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, "Where is your God?" {4} These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. {5} Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help {6} and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. {7} Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me. Psalms 46 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. {2} Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; {3} though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah {4} There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. {5} God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. {6} The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. {7} The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah {8} Come, behold the works of the LORD; see what desolations he has brought on the earth. {9} He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. {10} "Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth." {11} The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah Psalms 90 Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. {2} Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. {3} You turn us back to dust, and say, "Turn back, you mortals." {4} For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night. {5} You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; {6} in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. {7} For we are consumed by your anger; by your wrath we are overwhelmed. {8} You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance. {9} For all our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh. {10}

8 The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. {11} Who considers the power of your anger? Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you. {12} So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart. {13} Turn, O LORD! How long? Have compassion on your servants! {14} Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. {15} Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil. {16} Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. {17} Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands-- O prosper the work of our hands! Psalms 121 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come? {2} My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. {3} He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. {4} He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. {5} The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. {6} The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. {7} The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. {8} The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. Psalms 130 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. {2} Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! {3} If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? {4} But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. {5} I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; {6} my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. {7} O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. {8} It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. New Testament Epistles Romans 5:1-11 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, {2} through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. {3} And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, {4} and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, {5} and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. {6} For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. {7} Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. {8} But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. {9} Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. {10} For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much

9 more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. {11} But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 6:5-11 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. {6} We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. {7} For whoever has died is freed from sin. {8} But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. {9} We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. {10} The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. {11} So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:31-39 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? {32} He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? {33} Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. {34} Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. {35} Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? {36} As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered." {37} No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. {38} For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, {39} nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 14:7-9 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. {8} If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. {9} For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 1 Corinthians 15:12-26 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? {13} If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; {14} and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. {15} We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ--whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. {16} For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. {17} If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. {18} Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. {19} If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. {20} But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. {21} For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being;

10 {22} for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. {23} But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. {24} Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. {25} For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. {26} The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. {8} We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; {9} persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; {10} always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. {11} For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. {12} So death is at work in us, but life in you... {17} For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, {18} because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. {2} For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling-- {3} if indeed, when we have taken it off we will not be found naked. {4} For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. {5} He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. {10} Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. {21} He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. {7} I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. {8} From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

11 1 Peter 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, {4} and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, {5} who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. {6} In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, {7} so that the genuineness of your faith--being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. {8} Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, {9} for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 John 3:1-2 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. {2} Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. Revelation 7:9-17 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. {10} They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" {11} And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, {12} singing, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." {13} Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" {14} I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. {15} For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. {16} They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; {17} for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelation 21:2-7 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. {3} And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; {4} he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." {5} And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are

12 trustworthy and true." {6} Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. {7} Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. Gospels (New Testament) Matthew 11:25-30 At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; {26} yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. {27} All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. {28} "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. {29} Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. {30} For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 18:1-5 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" {2} He called a child, whom he put among them, {3} and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. {4} Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. {5} Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. Luke 11:9-13 "So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. {10} For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. {11} Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? {12} Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? {13} If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 13:18-22 He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? {19} It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches." {20} And again he said, "To what should I compare the kingdom of God? {21} It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened." {22} Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. John 4:5-14 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. {6} Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. {7} A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and

13 Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." {8} (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) {9} The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) {10} Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." {11} The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? {12} Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" {13} Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, {14} but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." John 5:24-29 Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life. {25} "Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. {26} For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; {27} and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. {28} Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice {29} and will come out--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. John 8:31-38 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; {32} and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." {33} They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, 'You will be made free'?" {34} Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. {35} The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. {36} So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. {37} I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. {38} I declare what I have seen in the Father's presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father." John 11:17-26 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. {18} Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, {19} and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. {20} When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. {21} Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. {22} But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." {23} Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." {24} Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." {25} Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, {26} and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

14 John 12:23-26 Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. {24} Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. {25} Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. {26} Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. John 14:1-7 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. {2} In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? {3} And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. {4} And you know the way to the place where I am going." {5} Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" {6} Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. {7} If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

15 Sample Listing of Familiar Funeral Hymns/Songs: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God... ELW #504 Abide With Me... ELW #629 Above All... P.Baloche, L.LeBlank/Integrity s Hosanna! All People That on Earth Do Dwell... ELW #883 All Things Are Possible... D.Zschech/Hillsongs All Who Believe and Are Baptized... ELW #442 Amazing Grace... ELW #779 Baptized in Water... ELW #456 Blessed Assurance... ELW #638 Children of the Heavenly Father... ELW #781 *Christ Is Risen! Alleluia!... ELW #382 Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing... ELW #807 Crown Him With Many Crowns... ELW #855 Eagles Wings... R.Morgan/Hillsongs Ever More... J.Houston/Hillsong Faith of Our Fathers, Living Still... ELW #812 For All the Saints... ELW #422 Give to Our God Immortal Praise... ELW #848 Guide Me Ever, Great Redeemer... ELW #618 *Hallelujah! Jesus Lives!... ELW #380 Holy Spirit Rain Down... R.Fragar/Hillsong Music How Great Thou Art... ELW #856 *I Know That My Redeemer Lives... ELW #619 If You But Trust in God to Guide You... ELW #769 Jesus Calls Us, O er the Tumult... ELW #696 *Jesus Christ Is Risen Today... ELW #365 Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee... ELW #836 Leaning on the Everlasting Arms... ELW #774 Let Us Ever Walk With Jesus... ELW #802 Lift High the Cross... ELW #660

16 Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word... ELW #517 Love Divine, All Loves Excelling... ELW #631 My Faith Looks Up to Thee... ELW #759 My Hope is Built on Nothing Less... ELW #597 *My Redeemer Lives... R.Morgan/Hillsong *Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds... ELW #367 O Christ the Same... ELW #760 O Christ the Same... WOV #778 O God Our Help in Ages Past... ELW #632 O Master, Let Me Walk With You... ELW #818 Oh, Happy Day When We Shall Stand... ELW #441 One Way... J.Douglass/Hillsong Rock of Ages... ELW #623 Shall We Gather at the River... ELW #423 Shout to the Lord... D.Zchech/Hillsong Son of God, Eternal Savior... ELW #655 Soon and Very Soon... ELW #439 The Church s One Foundation... ELW #654 The Lord s My Shepherd, I ll Not Want... ELW #778 The Potter s Hand... D.Zchech/Hillsong *The Strife Is O er, the Battle Done... ELW #366 *Thine Is the Glory... ELW #376 Touching Heaven Changing Earth... R.Morgan/Hillsong Music We Were Baptized in Christ Jesus... WOV #698 What A Friend We Have in Jesus... ELW #742 When Peace, Like A River... ELW #785 You Who Dwell in the Shelter of the Lord (Eagle s Wings)... ELW #787 * = Songs of Resurrection, Easter, New Life