Service for Scotty Calhoun

Service for Scotty Calhoun

20 April 2018

 

Song: He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands played over the speaker system

Prayer & Scripture Reading: Psalm 121

Psalm 121: ¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does 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 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on 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 forth and forevermore.

Eulogy/Obituary: Mr. Scott Calhoun (Scotty), 58 of Tyler, passed away Tuesday, April 17, 2018 in Tyler. He was born October, 16, 1959 in Tyler to Sammy Joe Calhoun and Martha Gentry Calhoun.

Scott was a member of Calvary Baptist Church, Tyler, TX (I was told that Scotty and his family were the 1^st folks to join Calvary when Calvary relocated to its currently location. That they actually drove downtown to the old facility just for the purpose of joining, knowing they were moving south to Old Jacksonville Hwy. The Obituary reads that Scotty lived at Breckenridge Village of Tyler.

Scott was preceded in death by parents, uncle, Paul Gentry, grandparents, Joe and Gladys Gentry and Park and Jessie Calhoun. He is survived by his loving family including his uncle, Bill Gentry and wife Peggy of Lewisville; aunt, Alice Arnett and husband Don of Emmet, AR; cousins, Sherry DiPatri, Dick Gentry, Teresa Klembara, Lisa Ormsbee, Linda Aull, Kathie Cobb and Cindy Allen; and numerous friends from Breckenridge Village of Tyler.

Prayer by Pastor Fred

Song: Nearer, My God, to Thee

 Message: Psalm 139.13-18

This afternoon we’ve come together to celebrate. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there is mourning at the loss of Scotty Calhoun. But there is celebration, too. Why? Why is there celebration?

1. We celebrate God’s incredible love for us.

Psalm 139 is a Psalm of Praise, which highlights the wonderful works of God. They’re really too incredible to actually wrap our minds around.

¹         O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

                ²         You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

                ³         You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

                ⁴         Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

                ⁵         You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

                ⁶         Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

Consider how God knows us. He knows the simple things and the complex things. He understands what we’re thinking before we even form the words to say.

ill.: When I would visit with Martha and Scotty, I have to say, there were times I didn’t understand what Scotty was saying or what he wanted. Not with Martha, she would know and she would ‘translate’ for me or explain to me what was going on. I have to say, her wisdom and experience were invaluable. She knew Scotty so well.

Do you ever wonder about your own life? Does God truly understand? Does he really know? Let me encourage you today and say yes! Even better than a mom knows her child, even deeper than a wife knows her husband, God’s knowledge of you and your life is mind blowing: v6 reads: Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

Transition: We gather here today to celebrate God’s incredible love us. We also gather to celebrate God’s incredible grace toward us.

2. We celebrate God’s incredible grace toward us.

Read with me Psalm 139.7-12; ⁷ Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

⁸         If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

⁹         If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

¹⁰         even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

¹¹         If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

¹²         even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

Consider then, according to the Psalmist, that wherever we go or wherever we are, God is with us. You’re never alone. Sam and Martha had an incredible plan. Sam worked while he was alive and Martha carried it over to completion. They were watching out for their boy. I feel positive they knew pretty much everything about his coming and going. And, they made sure that when they were gone, there would be someone watching over him, too. But, as believers, they knew that God was watching over him. There is no place on earth he could go that would ever take him out of God’s care.

As a preacher, my concern would be that you know this amazing principle, too. God’s Holy Spirit, once it enters us upon the invitation of the heart, never leaves us. There is no place you can go where God is not there with you also. I know, that is a double negative, but it just doesn’t sound the same worded differently. If you don’t know Christ, my plea would be that you would.

Transition: We’re here today to celebrate God’s incredible love for us, his incredible grace toward us and thirdly…

3. We celebrate this wonderful life that God has given us.

¹³         For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴         I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

¹⁵         My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶         Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷         How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸         If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

                                       I awake, and I am still with you.

This part of the passage focuses on the word formed.

• You formed my inward parts
• Your eyes saw my unformed substance

Even before the sperm and the egg came together to create the first cell known as us, God knew us. God saw us before we came to be. That is mind blowing! He formed our inward parts together. Get that, now, intentionally forming every part of us to make us who we are. And we’re perfect the way God makes us.

There is more here, though, consider this third use of the word formed:

• That all of my days (and your days) were formed for me (and for you), and written down in God’s book before even my (or your) first day came to be.

There is a scene in the Matrix where Neo goes to visit the oracle. The oracle says to Neo – don’t worry about the vase. He turns to look for the vase and bumps it. It falls and breaks. He apologizes for breaking the vase and she says: I told you not to worry about it. Then, she says: What’s really going to cook your noodle later is: would you still have broken it if I hadn’t said anything.

Did you know nothing is going to happen to you today that God doesn’t already know about?

Ill.: I had plans to be at the San Antonio Zoo today. My wife and I were invited home for a family get together, that our family has every Easter. This was the closest weekend when the most of us could be there together. Think about this, now: I made plans to be at the San Antonio Zoo. But while I was making those plans, God knew where I’d be and what I’d be doing.

Have you ever heard the quip: if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.

Are you someone who questions God’s plan for your life? I hope you won’t and I hope you don’t. Because we never know why things happen the way they do.

I’m often time confounded by the world’s smartest people who will spend millions of dollars to send a probe into space to look for life out there on Mars or some other remote part of the Universe. And yet, these same smart people will not choose life when it comes to people who aren’t like them. They miss the fact that we’re all made the way we’re made for God’s glory.

Did you know that in the last 30 years, the life expectancy of someone born with Down syndrome has increased from 25 years to 55 years. Medical advances have created the possibility where babies can be born without heart defects, colon and intestinal problems, cleft lips and cleft palates. Surgery can actually be done in the womb and there are no physical scars when the child is born! And still, with all of these technological and medical advances, the smart people out there are working to stop these children from ever being born. And worse, there is a movement to end their lives prematurely.

States are moving at an alarming rate to approve euthanasia for those whose lives are lived outside of the ‘normal’ boundaries.

Listen, God’s blessings come in all shapes and sizes. Most of the blessings we receive are from those gifts we would have never expected.

I want to take this moment before I close to give a shout out to Breckenridge Village and the wonderful people who work there. You folks are the best. May the Lord continue to bless your ministry to our families! Do you let youth groups and volunteers come help? What a great mission project for your church. What an opportunity to pull out your check book and donate to a Christian Cause that truly blesses others.

Closing:

Once upon a time, there was a farmer in the central region of China. He didn’t have a lot of money and, instead of a tractor, he used an old horse to plow his field.

One afternoon, while working in the field, the horse dropped dead. Everyone in the village said, “Oh, what a horrible thing to happen.” The farmer said simply, “We’ll see.”

He was so at peace and so calm, that everyone in the village got together and, admiring his attitude, gave him a new horse as a gift.

Everyone’s reaction now was, “What a lucky man.” And the farmer said, “We’ll see.”

A couple days later, the new horse jumped a fence and ran away. Everyone in the village shook their heads and said, “What a poor fellow!”

The farmer smiled and said, “We’ll see.”

Eventually, the horse found his way home, and brought with him another horse that had been out in the wilderness. Everyone again said, “What a blessed man.” He lost his horse and now he has two!

The farmer said, “We’ll see.”

The farmer’s son went out to break and train the new horse when he was thrown and broke his leg. Everyone in the village said, “What a shame for the poor boy.”

The farmer said, “We’ll see.”

Two days later, the army came into the village to draft new recruits. When they saw that the farmer’s son had a broken leg, they decided not to recruit him.

Everyone said, “What a fortunate young man.”

The farmer smiled again – and said, “We’ll see.”

Moral of the story: We have no idea what the circumstances we find ourselves in today will be for us tomorrow. There’s no use in overreacting to the events and circumstances of our everyday lives. We must trust that God has “formed our days” and written them down in his book – before even one of those days came to be. We must trust that God is going to glorify himself in and through our lives. And we have evidence of his goodness in the life of Scotty Calhoun. We are better people because we knew him. Both he and his family have profoundly influenced our lives for the good.

Prayer:

Song: How Great Thou Art

Nine Heartfelt Things Pastors Would Like to Say to Their Church Members

In researching for my message this week, I came across a blog by Thom Rainer. I thought I’d share it with you guys…

Nine Heartfelt Things Pastors Would Like to Say to Their Church Members.

1. “When you criticize a family member, you hurt me deeply.” Please understand that neither my spouse nor my children are employed by the church. Do your best to treat them as regular church members, and do not place unreasonable expectations on them.
2. “I will have bad days, and it will show at times.” A pastor is supposed to be “on” all the time. But it is difficult. I know there are times I speak out of turn. I know there are times when I’m too tired to listen well. I will try not to show my bad days, but I will slip at times.
3. “Not all of my sermons will be ‘home runs.’” I wish they were. But with the number of different messages I have to prepare and preach in a year, I won’t always be the stellar preacher you want me to be. Indeed, I won’t always be the stellar preacher I want to be.
4. “I am sensitive about my salary.” There are few people who work in a place where everyone in the organization is the boss. That is the nature of church work. But when you make disparaging comments about my pay and my related work, it cuts me to the core.
5. “I struggle when the church numbers are down.” I know I shouldn’t. I know I shouldn’t derive my worth based on attendance and offerings. But when attendance declines or offerings drop, I question my own leadership at the church.
6. “I would love a true friend in the church.” I’m talking about someone who would let me be myself, someone who wouldn’t mind if I let my hair down. It seems like everyone wants me to put on my pastor face all the time.
7. “Please don’t criticize me or ask me to do something right before I preach.” I put many hours into sermon preparation. I have prayed with intensity about the message. Please don’t tell me the worship center is too cold right before I preach.
8. “I cannot show up at every place all of you would like me to be.” I jokingly told a pastor friend that I wish I could be omnipresent, and he laughed and agreed. I love you church members, but it is physically impossible to be all the places you expect me to be.
9. “I hurt deeply when good people don’t defend me.” Every leader will have his or her critics; and that is certainly the case with pastors. I don’t expect to be immune from criticisms. But what hurts me the most is the silence of “good” members when I am attacked unfairly. Please say a kind word about me in response to the negativity you hear. Don’t let the few critics dominate the conversation.

Most pastors do indeed love their church members. But most pastors have a challenging work, one that is impossible without God’s strength.

 

Honoring the World Cup with a Manu Ginobili Dunk!

Professor Grant Horner’s Bible Reading List

This system is a great way to read through Scripture. I’ve used it before and highly recommend it. I’ve read two chapters in the two longer sections and can read through Scripture in roughly 150 days…

Tyler Morning Telegraph – New school will cater to students who learn differently

Tyler Morning Telegraph – New school will cater to students who learn differently.

So excited about this new arm of Venture, which will help students with learning differences. Thanks Wendy and Jamie for all you do…

Before and After D-Day: Color Photos From England and France

I’m not sure how this works, but I’ve found something someone else did and wanted to share. I’m amazed at this generation – the ‘Greatest Generation’ as Brokaw calls them. So much of my perception of WWII is viewed through hazy black and white photos and movies. These photos are absolutely astonishing. Enjoy, as you remember…

My Philosophy of Ministry

Some time ago, I began teaching a Bible Study Class on Sunday morning. The topic for the summer was Membership Matters. After finishing the introduction, the members of my class asked me to post my lesson online. I thought that was a good idea and so here it goes.

Basically, the introduction to the class is an overall statement of my philosophy of ministry. I’ve never hidden the idea that I am no ‘typical’ pastor. I do not like the ‘Cruise Ship’ mentality of many churches today. Travel to any town and you’re likely to find churches that focus their growth upon one of two different things:

• A Personality
• A Program

Some folks go to a church because they like the pastor or the student pastor or any one of the great men serving in the church. Others go to a church were there is a dynamic program. They love the worship service or the Choir program. Maybe they like the youth ministry that a church has. The only problem with organizing your church around a personality or a program is that the dynamic of a church can change with the change of that position or program. If it doesn’t change, then you have churches like the former congregation at the Crystal Cathedral with all of one type of people. When it did finally change, the church went out of business.

Most churches try and follow a successful church, which isn’t always a bad idea (after all, they are successful). But doing that has left a lot of churches with broken down buses or puppets in the attic. The last couple of decades have left a lot churches pursuing the Saddleback or Willow Creek model. Now, I’m not trying to be critical of Rick Warren or Bill Hybels, these men have done an incredible job. However, our mandate comes from Scripture, not The Purpose Driven Church. Not only do we find our mandate there, but we find everything for establishing our purpose.

One more thing (not to rant), but not only is our mandate there, but we find that a local church body isn’t about programs or personalities (with the exception of the personality of Jesus). A local church is an organized group of believers. Read that again! They meet for corporate worship, gather in smaller groups to be discipled, serve the greater body with their gifts and take their message to the world. Simple. As a matter of fact, we find our purpose (as a body) is to ultimately do one thing: Image the glory of God. Let me ‘splain.

In Genesis 1, God created. And, it appears that he loved everything he created (And God saw that it was good (1.10). And everything he created, he created after it own kind. Every zebra was created each according to its kind (1.11; 21).  However, when God came to the time he was going to create man he said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness (1.26).”  (emphasis mine) But it only takes two chapters for Adam and Eve to mess things up. Basically, the chose a distorted image of what they thought they wanted.

In Genesis 3, the serpent told them, “you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” And, they fell for the lie.

The next time we see this purpose of imaging God is in the people of Israel. Matt Schmucker writes:  God, in his mercy, had a plan to both save and use a group of people for accomplishing his original purposes for creation—the display of his glory. In Exodus 4 he even calls this nation his “son”(vv. 22-23). Why a son? Because sons look like their dads. And they follow in their father’s footsteps. Sons image their fathers.

This really becomes apparent when God takes his children to Sinai. He gives them his precious ten commandments. Does this one sound familiar: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth (Ex 20.4).”  But they, too, didn’t listen. The exchanged the image of God for things made of gold (a golden calf).

Only when we see Christ come along do we see the perfect image of God. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power (Heb 1.3).  Paul writes in Colossians: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  And a little further down in that chapter he writes: For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (1.15,19).  Now Jesus is our perfect example of imaging God. We’ve failed time and time again, but not Jesus. Hebrews reminds us that we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (4.15).

Now, enter the church. Listen to God’s plan: For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Rom 8.29).  Did you catch that? We are to be conformed to the image of Christ. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Cor 3.18).  And again, Paul says: Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator (Col 3.9).

And that is the purpose that I see for the church: Imaging His Glory. Our ultimate purpose is imaging his character, his likeness, his image, his glory.

This bit of information might lead you to understand why we have set our purpose and process in place.

Quandary and a Mountain Goat

This past month, Lisa and I spent some time hiking. I actually got a chance to summit a couple of 14ers (4-14ers, 1-sub, and we drove up Pike’s Peak!). When I got to the top of Quandary Peak, I met a mountain goat. So, I thought I’d share a couple of photos. You’ll see him to my 3 o’clock, behind me about 40 yards. The other photo is an close up shot.