Prayer For Funeral Service
Almighty God and Heavenly Father, You are the One Who made us by the strength of Your almighty hand. You crafted our bodies together in our mother's womb and scheduled every day of our lives here on earth. You rescued us from the miry pit and redeemed us from our rebellion. Thank You, that by Your grace and mercy You gave us new life in and through the wonderful Sacrifice of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Lord, we know that man has but a short time to live and that in the midst of life we are in death, for we came from the dust of the earth and our bodies also return to the dust of the earth. But we praise Your holy name that You are the Resurrection and the Life, and that he that believeth in Christ Jesus, though he die, yet shall he live.
Lord, as we face the reality of death in this world, we also glorify Your holy name for the blessed hope that is reserved for us in heaven, in and through the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Our dear Saviour died for us, was buried, and rose the third day, so that we too could receive newness of life in Him and live forever with You in heaven.
Loving Lord, we rejoice in Your victory over sin, death and the grave, and thank You that death has lost its sting and the grave has been robbed of its victory, through the precious name of Jesus, in Whose name we pray. Hallelujah!
Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, it is always hard to say goodbye to those that have died, for we know that they will be missed by so many who are left behind. But Lord, You also remind us that the death of Your saints is very special to You and we want to join together to thank You for life of this Your child, who was such an encouragement and wonderful witness of Your love and grace.
Thank You, Lord, for the blessings of this special person, whom we all remember so fondly, but who is now at rest in Your loving embrace. Thank You for their life and the many happy memories that we all share.
We pray that You will be a special comfort, to uplift and care for those that will feel the greatest loss. Help us to remember that although we are separated for a time, we will all rejoice one day when we stand together in Your presence. Thank You that the brief night of weeping will pass very quickly, and we will all be rejoicing in Your presence on that glorious morning when we will all be reunited in the hope that is set before us. In Jesus' name we pray,
Amen.
Our Heavenly Father, God of all mercy, we look to You in this moment of sorrow and bereavement. Comfort these dear ones whose hearts are heavy and sad. Will You be with them, sustain and guide them in the days to come. Grant, O Lord, that they may love and serve You and obtain the fullness of Your promises in the world to come.
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:2021).
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we come into this sanctuary of sorrow, realizing our utter dependence upon You. We know You do love us and can turn even the shadow of death into the light of morning. Help us now to wait before You with reverent and submissive hearts.
You are our Refuge and Strength, O Goda very present Help in time of trouble. Grant unto us Your abundant mercy. May those who mourn today find comfort and healing balm in Your sustaining grace. We humbly bring these petitions in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the gentle,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness' sake,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Our Lord we acknowledge your presence here, and come before your throne this afternoon as friends and family of Adrian Elm. We are here because we love him and miss him and we want to cherish our memories of him, we want to honor his life and honor him and support one another as we grieve his passing a passing from life here with us to everlasting life there with you O Lord.
God, thank you for Adrian! You formed him, you knew him, you walked with him through 80 years, and even now we have confidence that he is in your presence.
Thank you that you are a God of mercy, who promises to comfort us, particularly when we lose our loved ones, and so in these moments now, and in the weeks and months ahead, please bring comfort and mercy to us as we remember, and share fondly all that Adrian was to us.
In the mighty and holy name of Jesus we pray.
Amen.
God of life and death and life beyond death,
we gather together today all too aware of the fragility of life.
We gather today all too aware of the pain in the world,
and of the ways we may not respond to that pain.
We know that we are not perfect,
that we do not always live out Your love as we truly could.
There are times we carry guilt for things we have done,
for things we have not done but could have,
and for things that we only see in hindsight.
Some of this guilt is warranted, and some of it is not,
sometimes we take on things that are not ours.
To deal with the guilt we have earned and the guilt we place on ourselves, we need your grace.
As we open ourselves to you, naming in silence the times we think or feel that we have come short, move in our hearts, remind us that we live in Your grace, remind us that we are loved and forgiven and accepted.
...time of silent prayer...
Here is the Good News! Nothing in death or life separates us from the love of God. We are loved. We are accepted. We are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Amen.
God who creates and re-creates us,
God who laughs with us and weeps with us,
God who walks with us each step of the way, carrying us when our strength fails,
we gather today with hearts breaking with grief, with voices crying out words of lament.
And so we ask that you would move in and around us today.
As we gather to remember and say good bye to NAME,
be the shoulder we can cry on, the arm we can lean on,
help us to see through the veil of tears that there is hope
for life continuing.
Gracious God, as mysterious and wondrous as you are,
you are also a compassionate God,
as attentive as a hen with her chicks,
as tender as a mother with a newborn child,
as watchful as a shepherd with the sheep,
as protective as a father's warm embrace.
and so we come into your presence to grieve NAME's death,
asking that your Holy Spirit would be here to ease our pain.
As we give thanks for all that he/she added to the lives of those around her/him,
as we release our tears and anger,
as we say our good-byes, remind us that we are not alone.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.