A SERVICE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP
Giving Glory
and Thanks to God for the Life of
Robert C. Cannada, Sr.
July 10, 2007
The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan, III, Senior Minister
The Reverend Dr. James M. Baird, Senior Minister Emeritus
The Reverend Mr. Brister H. Ware, Minister of Pastoral Care
Dr. Duncan: We are gathered together in the presence of God to remember His sovereignty in death, as in life; and to seek His word of comfort for our hearts. Jesus said,
“I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.”
Let us worship God. Let us stand and sing together No. 699, Like A River Glorious.
[Congregation sings.]
Dr. Baird: Amen. Let us pray.
O God our Heavenly Father, we gather here at a worship service and claim Thy presence as the true and the living God. We thank Thee, our heavenly Father, that in this service, led by the family there is a peace that passes all understanding. So often in such memorial services, it is a place of sorrow; but here today we rejoice, for there is a glorious river of peace that flows through heaven, and Bob has it now. And we ask Thee, dear Father, through Thy Son, the Lord Jesus, that You would say again to Thy people,
‘Peace I leave with you; My peace give I unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you; My peace give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there Ye may be also.’
Prince of Peace, we love You, and we thank You for what You do for us in this life, but especially when we come to the end. Thou art the Prince of Peace. We glorify You, we praise Thee on this day. Hear our prayers—O Father, hear our prayers and come amongst us, for our prayers are in the name of the Holy Lord Jesus. Amen.
Gena Everitt, Soloist: “Jesus Loves Me/Jesus Loves the Little Children”
Dr. Baird: In the years ago, when Dave was breathing his last, Bob Cannada read this to him—to his son. And when his beloved wife, Inez, was passing, at the very end, this is what Bob read to his beloved wife. And when Bob was breathing his last, his sons read this to Bob. This Psalm will give you some insight to how Bob thought about God. What kind of a God is He? It also gives you insight into what kind of a man Bob sought to be, and what he tried to live by. This is the word of God, Psalm 139:
“O Lord, You have searched me and known me,
You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path, and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You hem me in behind and before,
And lay Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
“Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
And the light about me be as night,
Even the darkness is not dark to You;
The night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to You.
“You formed me in my inward parts;
You knitted me altogether in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You when I was being made in secret
And intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
And in Your book were written every one of them,
The days that were formed for me, when as yet there were not of them.
“How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with You.
“O that You would slay the wicked O God;
O men of blood, depart from me!
They speak against You with malicious intent.
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with complete hatred. I count them my enemies.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my thoughts;
And see if there be any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.”
Gena Everitt, Soloist: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
The Reverend Mr. Ware: I’m here because I was a product of the Christian Education program in this church. Mr. Cannada came and piloted us through those critical teenage years—crucial. And it was my privilege to serve toward the end of my ministry with him.
The family has chosen Romans 8, and then a passage from Revelation.
Romans 8:28-39:
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; And whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is
against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge
against God’s elect? God is the one who justified; who is the one who condemns?
Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right
hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, ‘For Thy sake we are being put to
death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ But in all
these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am
persuaded that neither death, not life, nor angels, not principalities, not
things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any
other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Many, many times, Psalm 139 was read to Bob—I never called him ‘Bob’ in my life!—Mr. Cannada! But at the moment when he was called by the Lord into glory, at the moment of his passing, this passage from Revelation was being read to him. It’s from Revelation 21, verses 1-7. The family said, “Let’s read something about heaven.” And as they were reading this, he passed into glory:
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His peoples, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; neither there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’ And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’ And He said to me, ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.’
May God bless this holy word. May we pray.
Lord God of hosts, we would not honor any man, but lift up Thy holy name. And yet, Lord, we are overwhelmed with gratitude to You, with deep appreciation for Your servant, Bob Cannada. We try to recount and enumerate our thanksgivings to Thee. We thank Thee, Lord, for the many years – twenty some-odd – Thou didst use him as a Sunday School Superintendent here. People like me, and hundreds of others received a blessing. We memorized the Scripture; we learned to love Thee. We thank Thee, Lord, for that.
We thank Thee, Lord, for Reformed Theological Seminary. We praise Thee, O God, for doing what no one thought could be done, and for moving in Bob and others. We praise Thee for that, Lord, and give Thee all the honor, but with deep gratitude.
We thank Thee, Lord, for Twin Lakes Retreat Center. Who would have dreamed we could have it? But we thank You again for Thy servant Bob’s vision on this.
Lord, we thank Thee for the work in the PCA and our Book of Church Order. O Lord, we rejoice in this.
And we pray that his vision, Lord, for the country in connection with the use of the Declaration of Independence might someday find fulfillment in the restoration of our deepest and best beloved values in this country.
O Lord, Bob was a sinner, and we are sinners! But we praise Thee that Thou, by Thy mercy, chose to use him, to give him a spirit of courage. We thank Thee that when he was called back to the Korean Conflict, and somebody’s signature was needed to sign for the building— a million dollars…twenty million dollars today—he signed! And we enjoyed that old building for all those years, and now we have this beautiful new building. We thank Thee that he saw it, Lord, and that he could rejoice in it.
We thank Thee for his family, for the way Thou art using them, Lord, in glorious ways with the seminary and with Campus Crusade for Christ, and with other ways to Thy glory and honor in this church and in this state.
We thank Thee, Lord, for his work with the law firm, Butler-Snow, for the responsibility and respect that that firm carries.
And Lord, we just want to thank Thee with all our hearts for Thy servant, and we pray that these dear children, and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, might remember the precious things which Thy servant Bob loved and taught, and lived. And we give Thee all the glory. Lord, some of us know we wouldn’t have this First Presbyterian Church like it is –it would just be a shadow – had Thou chosen not to have given us Thy servant, Bob Cannada. And we thank You profoundly for it, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
May we turn in our hymnbooks now to the Hymn 691, It Is Well With My Soul.
[Congregation sings.]
Romans 8:28-39; Revelation 21:1-7
“I Saw a New Heaven and a New Earth”
Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III
Amen. Please be seated.
There’s so much that we could say about the life and character and accomplishments of Bob Cannada; again, as Brister has reminded us of many of them already, the reason the family requested, for instance, that Jesus Loves Me would be sung today is because he was the Sunday School Superintendent at First Presbyterian Church for many years. He had a deep love for the children of this congregation. He wanted them to know the Bible, and he wanted them to know the Lord Jesus Christ, and the family thought it would be a very appropriate thing for the words of Jesus Loves Me to be sung during this service of praise to God.
For those of you who have known Bob for many years, especially the last ten or fifteen years, if you’ve known him very well and had many conversations at all with him, you’ve talked with him a little bit about The Declaration of Independence! He’d love to talk about The Declaration of Independence. We could go on and on, but if we say too much more about Bob, I’m afraid he’d get up out of that casket and speak to me personally in private, because he’d want the focus of our hearts today to be on his Savior and on the gospel, and that’s exactly where we’re going to go.
So if you have Bibles…or if you don’t, you can take up the pew Bibles in front of you and turn to Revelation 21:1-7. In the passage that Brister has already read for us, you’ve already heard that the family read over and over—Barry lost count of the times he read Psalm 139 to his Dad, but just in the few minutes before his Dad passed into glory, Barry said, “Let’s read about heaven.” And he turned to Revelation 21 and read from this great passage.
Now that’s wholly appropriate not only for today, but if you’ve received a letter from Ric from the seminary, you’ve probably seen him close that letter with these words:
“For a new Reformation now, and the joyful hope of the new heavens and the new earth to come.”
And that’s what this passage is about, that joyful hope.
The last two chapters of the book of Revelation unveil the final and most beautiful theme of this book. In fact, the last two chapters of the Bible revisit the first three chapters of the Bible, and tell us how the story ends. If you want to know how the consummation of all things is going to come to pass, just pick up the Bible and look at Revelation 21 and 22, because it tells you the story ahead of time.
In Revelation 21, we’re told of the new heavens and the new earth. Remember the creation of the heavens and the earth was described for us in Genesis 1, but the new heavens and the new earth are described for us in Revelation 21.
In Genesis 1, the sun and the moon are created, but in Revelation 21, we’re told that in the new heavens and the new earth we won’t need a sun and a moon, because the light of God and of His Son, the Lamb, will supply all the light that we need.
In Genesis 3, paradise is lost; but in Revelation 22, paradise is restored, and it’s better than ever. In Genesis 3, we meet a crafty devil; but in Revelation 20, we meet a condemned devil.
In Genesis 3, fellowship with God is broken; but in Revelation 21, we have described for us the communion with God that He had always intended for Himself and for His people consummated, and it will never ever end again.
In Genesis 3, we find access to the Tree of Life denied, cut off because of the sin of Adam and Eve; but in Revelation 22, the right of access to the Tree of Life is restored to all of those who rest and trust in Jesus Christ.
This beautiful picture of the new heaven and the new earth described for us here in Revelation 21:1-7 invites us to think about three things, and I want to do that with you just very briefly today.
I. Life in this fallen world is over.
First of all, in verse 1, we hear this:
“I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth
passed away, and there is no longer any sea.”
What John is telling you there is that life in this fallen world, with all its fear and pain and trouble and sorrow, is over when the new heaven and the new earth comes.
He describes for you the passing of the first heaven and the first earth, and in the verses following, he tells you several contrasts between life now and life then.
Now there is the sea. The Hebrews were famous for many things. They were great fighters. They were great occupiers. They were great writers and singers. But they were never known as sailors, and they feared the sea. It represented something that was dangerous and mysterious, and also something that separated people. John says here that in the new heavens and the new earth, there will be no sea, and no death, and no mourning, and no weeping, and no pain, and no curse, and no night.
Remember the words of the psalmist in Psalm 139, where darkness represented that which brought fear and uncertainty, but God brought light to dispel that darkness; and John is saying that in the new heavens there will no longer be that fearful darkness, for God will be our light. The point that John is making is that life in this fallen world is over. As glorious as things are here (and they are glorious), as wonderful as the accomplishments that could be recounted in the life of Bob Cannada are, yet there was much pain here for him. Many of you here know the Lord Jesus Christ because of the witness he gave. But who would have wished on Bob and Inez, and on Rick and on Barry, that they would bury a son and a brother. Yes, the Lord used that for great good, but such is this fallen world that we live in. It is a world of tears. Who would have wanted to see the parting of Bob and Inez in this life, as much as they loved one another? How they ministered to us, and how their witness and the witness of their family has encouraged us! But who would have wished that? In that new heavens and that new earth, there will be no more partings, no more tears, no more mourning. And John is reminding you of that in verse 1.
II. New Jerusalem comes down from heaven.
Secondly, in verse 2, he’s reminding you of something else. Notice what he says:
“And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”
As John pictures the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven, what is he telling you? He is reminding you once again that this new heavens and new earth cannot be achieved by men. Salvation cannot be earned or deserved by what we do. It has to be given as a gift from God. And you know that’s ultimately the difference between the message of the Lord Jesus Christ and the message of all other religions in the world. Every religion in the world but the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ teaches you good advice. It gives you good advice. It says this is a dangerous world, it’s a spiritually dangerous place, and we’d like to give you some good advice on how you, too, can get to heaven.
Christianity doesn’t give good advice, it gives good news. It gives good news about something that we could not achieve for ourselves, but that only God could give through His Son in Jesus Christ, and John is reminding you of that in this picture. The new heavens and the new earth, the new Jerusalem, come down. We can’t achieve it. We can’t create it. We can’t attain it. It’s given as a gift of God through His Son. Even as He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world to bear our sin and to accomplish our salvation, so the enjoyment of that salvation is all the gift of God. And so the new heaven, the new Jerusalem, comes down to us. John’s just reminding you again that this cannot be achieved by men: God must send it down.
That was a very precious message to Bob Cannada, because Bob Cannada would have told you he was a sinner in need of a Savior, and that Savior was the Lord Jesus Christ. He had not earned or deserved salvation through all of his accomplishments. It had been given to him as a gift through Jesus Christ, received only with the beggar’s hand of faith stretching out to the Lord to receive a gift that he could never ever earn or purchase, or deserve. No, God must give us salvation. That’s the good news that is given to us in Jesus Christ.
III. The covenant realized – To be there with God.
And then, thirdly, as you look at verses 3-7, and as the new heavens and the new earth are described:
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them there, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them….”
Then again we read these words in verse 7:
“He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will
be My son.”
The whole point of this is to be there with God.
Remember what Jesus had told His disciples? That in His Father’s house [John 14:1-6…look at it sometime – maybe today]…that in His Father’s house were many mansions, and He was going there to prepare a place for them; that where He was, there they would be also. The whole point, you see, of God’s redeeming plan, is that we would be there with Him.
Douglas McMillan, the great Scottish professor of church history at Free Church College last century, as his mother was dying of cancer (and he was not a Christian at that time) …she would ask him to read the Bible to her as a way of witnessing to him, really. She wanted the comfort of the words of Scripture, but more than that, she wanted him to become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so in the last week of her life, she asked him to read to her from John 14:1-6. And he read that passage, and she said, “That’s enough, Douglas.” And he said, “Mom, I can read more.” And she said, “No, that’s enough, Douglas. But I do want to ask you a question.” He had just read of this place which God was preparing for her, and this invitation from Christ to be with Him forever, and she said to Douglas, “Douglas, let me ask you one thing. Will you meet me there?” Her hope was that he would be there with her.
I want to tell you a little story that Ric and Barry have shared with me about a signal that their family has been using in the last few days. The Cannada family through the years…one of the common things that they have shared between parents and children was for one person to squeeze the other person’s hand three times, signaling the message, “I love you.” And then the second person was to return the squeeze twice, signaling “How much?” And then the first person was to squeeze really hard to show how much they loved one another. Well, when Ric got to know the Jim Wilson family of Trinity Church in Montgomery, he found out that they had a family tradition that they even used in business. That whenever they prayed before a meal or at other times, they’d all hold hands, and at the end of the prayer or the blessing, they’d squeeze three times to say “I love you.” And whoever was around the home or the office would join in with them.
Well, Ric was invited to participate in Jim Wilson’s funeral, and he suggested to Claude McRoberts, a son of this congregation and the pastor of Trinity Church in Montgomery, that at the benediction or the closing prayer, he would invite everyone in the congregation to hold hands and squeeze three times and say “I love you” in honor and memory of Jim. At the funeral, Ric preached a message especially to Jim’s twelve grandchildren, and the final message from Jim to them had been to “Be there.” Jim talked and read a lot about heaven in the final few months before he died, and this was an easy way for him to talk about heaven and to challenge his family and friends. And so after the service, the Wilson family was sent baseball caps and desk paperweights with “Be There” written on them. The Wilson family decided to add “Be There” to the end of the blessing and prayer activity of holding hands and saying “I love you,” so that whenever you’re around the Wilson family now for a prayer, they hold hands and they squeeze three times to say “I love you,” and then they squeeze two more times to say “Be there.” Jim died in 2006, and so did Elliot Belcher. And at the end of Elliot’s funeral, Ric asked everyone to hold hands and after the prayer to squeeze three times, saying “I love you,” and then to say (two more times), “Be there.”
Well, Mr. Cannada had heard about this from the
Wilson funeral, and he started using it with his own family, especially at
blessings before meals. They had attended Elliot Belcher’s funeral with Barry,
and at that time Dad said to the family (with mostly Barry’s family present)
that he wanted to follow that practice and to remind each other to
“Be There.” He said he wanted to do it as a new Cannada family tradition, and so
they’ve been doing that since Christmas…and prior to Mr. Cannada’s stroke. That
was very, very important, as you know, because in these five hard months, Mr.
Cannada’s not been able to talk. And so the way the family could communicate was
through squeezing of hands. Very often, when he could just shrug his shoulders
or smile, or raise an eyebrow, it was hand signals through which the family
would comment. When he was too weak to respond in any other way, the last way
that he could respond was to squeeze hands with that one good left hand, and say
“I love you.”
The very last communication the family had from Bob before he finally fell asleep and didn’t wake up, was when they squeezed the hand “I love you,” he returned not three squeezes, but two: “Be there.” That’s the message that John is giving to you in Revelation 21. Don’t miss it. Be there.
How? Jesus tells the secret in John 14:6:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man comes unto the Father, but by Me.”
Be there.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, it is such a joy and a comfort to us to think of Bob departing this world in the company of those who loved him, and going into the company of those who love him…for Inez and Dave, because they trusted in Christ, were there waiting for him. But more than that, his Savior, who loved him and shed His own blood for him and a multitude that no man can number, was there waiting for him. And all that is left for us to do is to make sure that we’re there, too, at that great reunion. Grant this to us, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Let’s sing to God’s praise from No. 358. It’s a prayer to Jesus: For All the Saints.
[Congregation sings.]
During the Benediction, I’d invite you to join hands along with the Cannada family, and say to one another, “I love you.” And then, exhort one another: “Be there.”
Receive God’s blessing.
Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, until the day break and the shadows flee away. Amen.
A SERVICE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP
Giving Glory and Thanks to God
for the Life of
First Presbyterian Church July 10, 2007
Jackson, Mississippi 11:00 a.m.
The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III,
Senior Minister
The Reverend Dr. James M. Baird, Senior Minister Emeritus
The Reverend Mr. Brister H. Ware, Minister of Pastoral Care
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Prayer of Adoration and Invocation Dr. Baird
The Solo — “Jesus Loves Me” Gena Everitt, Soloist
The Pastoral Prayer Mr. Ware
The Hymn No. 691 — “It Is Well with My Soul”
The Hymn No. 358 — “For All the Saints”
The Benediction
The Postlude
Member of this congregation since January 27, 1946
Ordained as a Deacon — January 26, 1947
Ordained as an Elder — May 27, 1962
________________________________________________
Interment at Lakewood Memorial Park