A SERVICE OF
CHRISTIAN WORSHIP
TO THE GLORY OF GOD
Commemorating the Life of
The Reverend Dr. John Reed Miller
July 25, 1997
The Reverend
Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III
“Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore; from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the Lord’s name is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens. His righteousness hath He openly showed in the sight of all people. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath visited and regained His people. He hath raised up a mighty salvation for us, as He promised through His holy prophets. He hath performed that which He promised in His covenant: that we, being delivered from our enemies, might serve Him in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life. Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name; for the Lord is good, and His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.”
Let us look to Him in prayer.
Beloved, we are gathered here in the presence of God and the whole company of heaven to offer to Him through our Lord Jesus Christ our worship, our praise, and our thanksgiving, to hear His word so that we may know more perfectly the greatness of God’s love, and be aware again of the comfort He has promised to those who love and serve Him; wherefore let us realize His presence with us now, seeing that we have a great High Priest that has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. Let us draw near in full assurance of faith. Let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us sing to God’s glory hymn No. 76, Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven.
[Congregation sings.]
Please be seated.
Dr. Miller left explicit instructions as to the Scriptures to be read at
this service of worship and to the songs to be sung in this service of worship,
and he wanted attention drawn to his Lord and Savior, the risen Jesus Christ,
and all praise be given to Him. So let us now draw strength and comfort from the
word of the living God as we read from the Scriptures of the Old Testament.
First, from Isaiah 25:
“O Lord, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee. I will praise Thy name; for Thou hast done wonderful things. Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth…. For Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall…. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all our faces; and the rebuke of His people shall be taken away from all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.”
And then, from Isaiah 26:
“Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. For He bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, He layeth it low; He layeth it low, even to the ground; He bringeth it even to the dust… Yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for Thee; the desire of our soul is to Thy name, and to the remembrance of Thee.”
And then, from Isaiah 35:
“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing…. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert…. And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not enter therein…. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
And then, from Psalm 84:
“Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house. They will still be praising thee. Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee, in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of Thine anointed. For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee.”
And then, from Psalm 86:
“Bow down Thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy. …Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for I cry unto Thee daily. Rejoice the soul of Thy servant, for unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Thee….Teach me Thy way, O Lord. I will walk in Thy truth. Unite my heart to fear Thy name. I will praise Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart; and I will glorify Thy name forevermore. For great is Thy mercy toward me, and Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.”
And then, from Psalm 34:
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears….O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. O fear the Lord, ye His saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him. …The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. … The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants, and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.”
And then from Psalm 30:
“Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness. For His anger endureth but for a moment; in His favour is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
[Psalm 23]
“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,
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 shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Jesus said:
“I am the good shepherd and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.”
Thus far, the word of the Lord. Let us pray.
Eternal God, before whom the generations of men rise and pass away, we come before Thee. As Thou hast sent us into this life, so Thou hast appointed a time for our departure from it; as Thou dost give, so Thou dost take away, that we may be mindful of our frailty and acknowledge the brevity of all things here. In this time of our loss, Thou alone canst be our consolation. Speak to us in the solemnity of this hour as we wait upon Thee with reverent and submissive hearts. Speak to us through the Scriptures of things eternal, and bring comfort, hope, and courage to Thy faithful people, O God of our salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[Choir: To God Almighty, Thanks and Praise]
And now we hear from the Scriptures of the New Testament.
Romans 8:
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. …And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified…. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, ‘For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Nay, in all these things we are 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.”
And then, from I Peter 1:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations; that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, Whom, having not seen, ye love; in Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls….For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot; who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”
Thus ends this reading of God’s holy word. May He add His blessing to it.
Would you take out your hymnals and turn with me to hymn No. 140. This hymn was one of Dr. Miller’s favorite hymns, written by the godly and humble Bishop William Howe, of the Church of England. I would point your attention to the fact that verses 1 and 4 are addressed to our Lord Jesus Christ, and they praise Him for the Scriptures. He is addressed as the word, the wisdom, the light, and the truth of God. Verses 2 and 3 describe the gems of truth which are in the word of God: how it reveals Christ; how it is our chart and compass for life; and, how we are to hold it up as a banner and a beacon to the world. Dr. Miller often meditated on the words of this hymn in his times of reflection and devotion and study. Let us now sing it to God’s praise – hymn No. 14, O Word of God, Incarnate.
[Congregation sings.]
2 Timothy 4:6-8
“A Present, Past, and Future Lived
for Christ "
Amen. Please be seated.
If you have your Bibles, I would invite you to turn with me to the book of II Timothy, Paul’s second letter to his faithful servant and son in the Lord, Timothy – and chapter 4. Please turn with me there. II Timothy 4, and we’ll read verses 6-8. As you’re turning there, I would simply mention again that Dr. Miller did not wish attention to be focused on himself in this service, but on the Lord God, the risen Christ, and the beauty of the gospel of grace. And so I want to take this opportunity to open the word of life, to remind Christians of the precious promises of God, and to challenge you to walk in it and to take courage in it; and I want to hold out the gospel to any who have not truly and personally embraced it. And so let’s hear from God’s holy and inspired word in II Timothy 4, beginning in verse 6:
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Thus ends this reading of God’s holy and inspired word. May He add His blessing to it. Let’s look to Him in prayer.
Our Father, as we break forth the bread of life, we ask that by the Spirit You would apply it to our hearts; that You would give us a sense of rejoicing for the work that You have done in Your faithful servant; that You would teach us from the truths of Your word; that You would give us strength and comfort and encouragement from the example of faithful men in times past; that You would prepare us for the living of these days. Cause us to sit under this word, and for it to search us out, and by the Spirit thus to be made strong in our life in Christ. For we ask it through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Christians live simultaneously in three tenses: present, past, and future. In this passage, Paul, who himself was in the shadow of imminent death, is giving words of instruction and exhortation and encouragement to Timothy, his son in the faith. Paul is conscious of the nearness of his death, and so he leaves with Timothy his last thoughts on the first things of life. And we are reminded when we read these verses that Christians live simultaneously in three tenses – present, past, and future. The present, you see, is but a border for both past and future. It is there that they intersect.
Now let me ask you these questions: How are we living in these tenses? What are we living for? Who are we living for? Paul’s words here about his life and hopes contain jewels of spiritual wisdom for us all, and the example of his life and of our beloved Dr. Miller’s point to the truth and the reality of the gospel. I’d like to share with you today two or three great lessons that we learn for the living of this life from God’s holy word.
I. The Christian must live daily
in light of his end.
The first one is this, and we learn it in verse 6: The
Christian must live daily in light of his end. The Christian must live daily in
light of his end; there will be a day when this life as we know it will come to
a close. We must live daily in that light. Our present must be lived in light of
that future reality. Paul says,
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.”
Paul lived a life of sacrifice. On occasion he lists for us some of the things that he gave up and some of the things that he endured for his Lord, but we can only anticipate those as a partial list of what Paul gave up for his Lord. He lived a life of sacrifice. What was his motivation for endurance? How did he see his way to the end through those trials and tribulations? He had his eye on the end. We know, even in his words to the Philippians, he was wrestling between the love of his ministry and the end that he longed for. To depart, he said, was better, for to depart was to be with Christ. That was his end, but he knew that it was Christ’s will that he sacrifice and minister, and so he waited patiently for God to reveal the time of his end. But here in this passage, Paul feels the shadow of his departure, and as he awaits his hearing before the emperor, he says, ‘The time is now, Timothy. The time for my departure has come.’
Paul had an awareness that that time had come, and so he had an acceptance of it, a peace about it. He was restless about that time when he wrote to the Philippians about being torn, but now he is resigned and ready to embrace the time of his departure. We have heard that in the last days of Dr. Miller that he, too, seemed to sense that his time had come, and he was ready for departure. He had fought the good fight, he had kept the faith, and he was ready to embrace what the Lord held in front of him and that which his eye had been on for all the days of his life.
Are you living for Christ in the present? Is that what you’re looking for? Is that your goal? Is that your aim? Are you living sacrificially for Him? And you say, ‘But it makes sense for ministers of the gospel to be thinking about that; that’s their job! They’re to live religiously, they’re to live sacrificially, they’re to live doing things for Christ.’ But is that not the description of everyone who is joined to Christ? Is that not the description of every Christian, of every believer? That every believer lives looking for Christ, every believer lives working for Christ, every believer lives sacrificing for Christ? We may not all do it in the same way, but we are all His, and we are to live with that end in view.
Every Christian, Paul tells us, is to live sacrificially. Every Christian is a sacrifice. What did Paul say in Romans 12? That we are to present our bodies, our whole selves, to God, as a living sacrifice, in light of all that has been done for us in Jesus Christ.
To you ministers who are here today, and especially to those of us who benefited from the counsel and the mentoring of Dr. Miller, we are reminded by Paul’s words about his departure that we always stand on the lonely cutting edge of a new generation of ministers. There will come a day when those who led us to Christ and those who nurtured us in the faith, and those who gave us an example of what manly godliness was, will pass away.
Five years ago in September, my father went home to be with the Lord. I still remember the sense of loneliness, the sense of wondering what I would do without the wise counsel of that godly Ruling Elder. I still remember those thoughts running through my mind for the first time—and they’ve run through my mind many times since then. All of us as Christians live on the cutting edge of a new generation, and those who built us up in the faith pass on from the scene and go home to be with the Lord. That demands that we are ready for the challenges, and that we will follow in the way of their faith and their belief, and their piety, and that we will pass on to another generation what they passed on to us.
Dr. Miller passed on to us such a legacy of the gospel, and now it is our job, my friends in the ministry, to play the man and take up the mantle, and to fight the good fight, even though he has gone on to his reward. For he has joined the cloud of witnesses, and they watch even now to see if we will be faithful to our Lord and Savior.
II. The Christian lives to die
well.
There is a second thing that we learn in this passage, and we
learn it in verse 7. We learn that the Christian lives to die well. The
Christian lives to die well—that may be a morbid thought to the people of this
world, but every Christian knows the truth of that in his or her heart.
You see, we live our lives conscious that our past is a testimony to us in the present of our departure. Paul says in verse 7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” From the present he moves his eye to the past, and he remembers his faithful service and he says, ‘Lord, I was faithful to You then, and I will die faithful to You.’
Our pasts can haunt us, can’t they? There are things that recycle in our memories that we sometimes wish we could forget. Or, our pasts can be friends to us. They can bring to us memories that strengthen us for the living of these days. We are building our pasts now. What will our pasts look like when we come to the day of our departure?
Paul was a man whose past could have haunted him. Paul was a man who could have died a tormented death. But Paul had found peace in the Lord Jesus Christ, and all the sins of his past apparently did not flood his mind in the hour of his departure. In the grace of God, he remembered only this: that he had fought the good fight; that he had finished the course; that he could look into the eyes of his awaiting Lord and Savior and say, ‘I have kept the faith. You called me from the most wicked practice - on the road of Damascus - into the service of Your gospel, and I have been tempted in many of the seasons of my life to abandon faithfulness to it, but I have never let go. I have kept the faith.’
Dr. Miller knew the testing of faithful ministry. Many of you walked with him shoulder to shoulder, in shadow as well as in sunlight. He was able to say in his last hours, in his last days, “I have kept the faith.” And to my minister friends, there is nothing sweeter that we can say at the end of our course than, “I have kept the faith.”
Dr. Miller knew many challenges in his life. Perhaps those who knew him and loved him best would have said that the deepest and darkest challenges that he faced were in the last days of his life in his illnesses. Dr. Miller was a healthy man, and he was a vigorous man, and he faced many trials physically in those last years of his life. There were many times when he was downcast. I well remember Mike Ross reporting to me the precious experience when John Gerstner, Dr. Miller’s old friend, had visited the seminary and went out to the nursing home to see Dr. Miller. Dr. Miller at first did not want to see him. He said, “On, no, Mike. I just couldn’t see Jack today. I just don’t have it in me.” Well, Jack Gerstner burst through the door, and Dr. Miller said, “Jack, I’m not doing well.” And Jack embraced him and said, “You are doing well, Reed, in Christ. He has laid hold of you, and He will not let go.” From the time of that despair and downcastedness, he went to a time of rejoicing, and his beloved son-in-law, Mark, reported to me just this last night that in the last weeks of his life, he shared with Mark that he had not had as much time as he desired to offer up petitions in prayer, because he had taken up so much in adoration to the Lord his God. He kept the faith.
“I have kept the faith,” Paul said. I have remained faithful to the truth of the gospel. I have kept believing. I have kept trusting. We’ll speak about that truth of the gospel in just a moment, but I want to call you to faithfulness. Are you planning to keep the faith? Are you preparing for that day when you will say, “I have kept the faith,” and await to hear the words of your Savior, “Well done.” Any of you who had the opportunity to go out and fellowship over a meal with Dr. Miller heard him say this many, many times: “We don’t want to be famous; we just want to be faithful.” He kept the faith, and he was faithful even unto death.
Priscilla and Christine, what a heritage; what a testimony! He kept the faith. And to all of us, what an example! What a resource of strength and encouragement for our walking in the faith! It’s a reminder to us how we need to draw from the examples and on the remembrance of faithful Christians and ministers of the past, as they have remained faithful to the end.
III. The Christian lives in the
light of future glory.
There’s a third and last thing that I would point you to in
this passage, and we find it in verse 8: We find this truth, that the Christian
lives in the light of future glory. We have come from our present, we have
contemplated our past, and now our eyes are turned to the future in verse 8:
“In the future…” [Paul says] “…there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Notice the confidence of the Christian here. Paul hasn’t the slightest doubt of his future. He tells us that this crown is laid up, and he tells us that his Lord will award it to him on that last day. How can he be so sure? Because of the gospel of grace, and because he has held onto Christ as his only hope…his “only hope in life and death”, as The Heidelberg Catechism’s first question so beautifully puts it. His only hope had been in the Lord. Had his hope been in his works, he would have been lost. Had his hope been in the purity of his own faith, he would have been lost. But his faith was not in his faith: his faith was in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Lord Himself. And because his faith was firmly focused on the object of his faith, his Lord, and because he knew his Lord to be truthful to His word, he had not the slightest doubt that the future glory was stored up for him.
That is the gospel, my friends: that you and I, though we deserve hell, may have glory and joy everlasting if we will but cast our hope and our trust on the Lord Jesus Christ, and believe in Him.
The future reality, you see, and the confidence of that future reality, the assurance of that future reality is not something that only exalted saints and apostles can know. It is something that every faithful Christian can and ought to know, if we will but study the truth and the power of the gospel.
Unbelievers, I would call on you this day to come to this assurance by embracing Christ in His glory and in His goodness. Receive Him as He is offered in the gospel. Trust in Him. Rest in Him. And know with confidence the security of your future.
And to you believers, remain in Him. Look for His appearing. Set your eyes on Him, and long for that coming. Pray with John, “Lord Jesus, come quickly.” Amen.
Dr. Miller preached a sermon once called “Jesus Christ: Now and Forever”. Many of you in this room heard that sermon. He concluded that sermon with these words:
“Whatever may have come to you in the yesterdays, whatever experiences may be yours in the tomorrows of life, know this: There is a Savior who is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Whatever changes, He will not change. Whatever is shaken, He will be the same. Whatever your sins, whatever your weaknesses, whatever your distress or heartbreak, you can count on Him, who changes not.”
And so you can. May the Lord bless His word.
[Choir anthem in response.]
Hear now these words from the word of God:
“I will sing unto the Lord, because He hath dealt bountifully with me. I have trusted in Thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation. As for me, I will come into Thy house in the multitude of Thy mercies, and in Thy fear I will worship toward Thy holy temple. Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, the place where Thine honour dwelleth. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek after: that I may dwell 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. The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore, my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. Into Thy hand I commit my spirit. Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. I trusted in Thee, O Lord; I said, ‘Thou art my God.’ My times are in Thy hands. O love the Lord, all ye His saints, for the Lord preserveth the faithful. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. In God is my salvation and my glory. The rock of my strength and my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, ye people; pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us.”
Psalm 116 was the Psalm which Dr. Miller’s father read on the day that he died. He has asked that we read it here:
“I love the Lord, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications.
Because He hath inclined His ear to me,
Therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live….
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yea, our God is merciful.
The Lord preserveth the simple;
I was brought low, and He helped me.”
“Return unto thy rest, O my soul,
For the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee….
I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices.
My flesh also shall rest in hope, for Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,
Neither wilt Thou suffer Thine holy one to see corruption.
Thou wilt show me the path of light.
In Thy presence is fullness of joy;
At Thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore.”
Thus ends the reading of God’s holy word. Let us pray.
Almighty and most merciful God, the giver of every good and perfect gift, we thank Thee for all Thy blessings to us, new every morning, fresh every moment, and more than we can number. We thank Thee for the gift of life itself, for the precious ties of kinship and friendship, for the joy of human affection and love. And in particular, we thank Thee today for our friend, our father, our father in the faith. And though Thou hast taken from this earthly scene and he is now in Your presence, his memory sweetens our life and his example challenges us to faithfulness.
We thank You, O God, for the grace of Your gospel, the gospel of Your dear Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have life everlasting. We praise, bless, and adore Thee for those whose trust rests in Him; and we adore You, O God, that He was crucified for our sins and risen for our justification, and that now there is no condemnation.
O God of comfort, grant Thy peace to those who trust in the Savior, and are bereaved today. Grant to them that peace which passes all understanding. Give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Strengthen their faith indeed that they may be able to say before Thee today and in all the days to come, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ We ask this, with unspoken prayers of all our hearts, in the name of Jesus Christ, our only Savior and Mediator. Amen.
[Choir: How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds]
“See Him as He is…” – now that’s an end.
Let’s sing to His praise and glory hymn No. 98, Now Thank We All Our God.
[Congregation sings.]
Grace to you, and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
John Reed Miller
July 25, 1997
Pastor First Presbyterian Church 1952-1968
The Prelude
The Call to Worship Dr. Duncan
The Prayer of Adoration and Invocation
The Hymn No. 76 - "Praise, My Soul, The King of Heaven
Old Testament Scriptures Dr. Duncan
The Choral Response - "To God On High"
The New Testament Scriptures
The Hymn No. 140 - "O Word of God Incarnate"
The Sermon 2 Timothy 4:6-8 Dr. J. Ligon Duncan
The Anthem - "And I Saw a New Heaven" FPC Choir
The Closing Scriptures
The Prayer Dr. Duncan
The Choral Response - "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds"
The Hymn No. 98 - "Now Thank We all Our God"
The Recessional - "O God, Our Help in Ages Past"