Good morning. It must be a good
time to turn off your phone or put it on silence if you have
one. I want to welcome everyone to this memorial service today
for Linda Sue Hume, born May the 19th, 1949, in Shreveport,
Louisiana. And she went home to be with
her Lord February the 20th, 2024. She was preceded in death by
both parents, Louis James Llewellyn and Dorothy Ann Thompson Llewellyn. And she is survived by her husband,
Bob Robert Hume, her daughter, Melinda Taylor Callahan, and
her husband, Mike, and her son, Jonathan Hume. She also leaves
behind her grandchildren, Levi Taylor, Ella Taylor, Caleb Matlock,
Hannah Matlock, Noah Matlock, Mara Matlock, Chase Callahan,
Lauren Nader, and Darla Faulkner. And she's also survived, we know,
by many multiple nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews. I want to read a passage of scripture
to us, first of all, We've come, as I said, for this memorial
service, but it's a time also of worship. We want to worship
our God and our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ today. The words
of the patriarch Job years ago, the Lord gave and the Lord has
taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I'm reading from Revelation chapter
five. And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven
horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent
forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book
out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And
when he had taken the book, The four beasts and four and twenty
elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps
and golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of the
saints. And they sung a new song, saying,
Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof,
for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood. out of
every kindred and tongue and people and nation. And has made
us under our God kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld and I heard the
voice of many angels round about the throne and the beast and
the elders and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000
and thousands of thousands. As I'm reading these words, thousands
times 10,000 and thousands of thousands, I'm thinking that
our sister Sue is one of those thousands there today around
the throne. Saying with a loud voice, worthy
is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every
creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the
earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them,
heard I saying, blessing, and honor, and glory, and power,
be unto him that setteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb
forever and ever. And the four beasts said amen. And the four and 20 elders fell
down and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever. May the Lord
bless his word to all of us here this morning. Now, if you will,
let us bow our heads in prayer. Our Father, we come before Thee
today, first of all, Lord, to give Thee thanks that once again
we may gather together to worship Thee. And Father, we do thank
Thee this morning for the memory of Sue, Father, what she meant
to all of us who knew her, to her family. We pray, Father,
especially for them that You will give them the grace and
strength that they need at this time, the comfort that only you
are able to give. Father, we are so thankful today
that we, because of your son, because of the Lord Jesus Christ
and his finished work, that we have joy and peace in our hearts
knowing that our sister, your child, is there with you today,
that she's safe, safe in the arms of Christ. And Father, we wouldn't want
her to have to come back here for any reason. We're so happy,
so thankful for the hope that we have today from your word
and from the work of your son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. For these
things I ask in Christ's name, amen. Now if you will, let's
turn to hymn number 17. Come thou fount of every blessing. Come, thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melody of sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above, Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon
it, mount of thy redeeming love. Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither
by thy help I've come, and I hope by thy good pleasure, safely
to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God, He to rescue me from danger interposed
his precious blood. Oh to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be. Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel
it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, oh, take and
seal it, seal it for thy courts above. At this time, Sue's granddaughter
Ella and her grandson Levi are going to come and make some remarks. concerning their grandmother. Get my eyeglasses real quick. There you are. Good morning,
everybody. First of all, I just want to
say a huge thank you to everybody that's showing up today. You
look great. We love seeing your smiles around.
It just means a lot to have everyone here to support us. So this is
my sister, Ella Taylor. She makes me a really proud brother.
And I'm sure a very proud Nana as well. So, good morning everyone. My name is Levi Taylor. We are
the two grandchildren of Mrs. Linda Sue Llewellyn Hume, though
we like to call her Nana. First off, I'd like to thank
you all for being here today to remember our grandmother.
Your continued support is recognized and greatly appreciated during
this difficult time. Over the past couple of months,
many people have been courteous to ask me how I've been doing
since her passing away. And if I've talked about it with
you, you've probably heard me reference an unexplainable piece.
And then I might have tried to explain it to you anyway. But
that's because when I think about my Nana's passing, I just can't
help but imagine a marathon runner crossing the finish line and
rejoicing. After all, the race has finally
been finished. There's no doubt in our minds
that our sweet Nana is dancing with the Lord in heaven today
and worshiping him for all that he is. If you knew my nana well, you'd
agree with me when I say that being with her was like a breath
of fresh air. Looking back, I can remember spending many nights
at my nana's house, often accompanied by ginger ale and Triscuits.
We'd sit together and watch mysteries on television, and if we were
lucky, Ella and I might get our bedtime pushed back for one more
episode of Bones. Another Nana tradition was the
yearly back-to-school shopping trip that we did as kids. Near
the beginning of this tradition, Ella and I would go together
with Nana to do our shopping. However, due to our respective
boredom with each other's shopping habits, it's safe to say that
that didn't last too long. So from then on, we each got
our own full day to hang out with Nana, get some shopping
done, and grab lunch together. And if Ella's trips were any
like mine, you could always count on listening to 97.1 country
legends. Whether it was Johnny Cash's
A Boy Named Sue or Angel of the Morning by Juice Newton, it wasn't
hard to remember which songs were her favorite, if you know
what I mean. Speaking of which, I'd like to
share a small story from the day of her passing that I found
somewhat comical, as if Nana was giving me a little wink from
heaven. After Nana joined the Lord on
the morning of February 20th, we walked downstairs to the lobby
of the hospital and just sat down for a moment to gather our
thoughts. Then, not too long after we'd found a spot to sit
down, here comes Juice Newton singing Angel of the Morning
through the lobby speakers in the hospital. I couldn't help
but crack a smile in that moment as I thought about our regular
country legend sing-alongs and the touch of irony in the song
being about an angel of the morning like my Nana. I'd like to close
with a scripture that I found fitting for today. 1 Thessalonians
chapter 4 verses 13 through 18 says, brothers and sisters, we
do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death,
so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have
no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and
so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen
asleep in him. For the Lord himself will descend
from heaven, will allow and command, with the voice of the archangel
and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will
rise first. After that, we who are still
alive and are left will come up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the
Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another
with these words. Thank you. I'm going to share something
that I wrote as I reflected on what I've learned from my Nana's
life and what I think she would want to say to each of us if
she ever got the chance to. Each thought is based on some
of my favorite aspects of her life and personality, featuring
even some lines that are direct quotes of hers that I compiled
from memories or Facebook comments. It's centered on a line that
she used often for me personally, but my hope is that you will
be able to insert yourself into that plea of hers, remembering
just how much she loved you. I lived a life marked by faith.
Weeks of routine, years of uncertainty, all knit together by the gentle
hand of a gracious father. My smile is a result of years
of learning to trust God, that all things work together for
good for those who love God. When she feels as though everything's
unraveling, just remind her of this, encourage her to smile,
and tell Ella that her Nana loves her every once in a while. I
pray that my life may be an example for you of the joy of the Lord
and the wild spark of a flame. Travel the world with ambition.
Zipline over the Royal Gorge. Ask that guy for a ride on his
motorcycle. Who knows? Maybe you'll be with him for
the next 52 years. Whatever you do, do with an authentic heart
and an untamable spirit, one that shines even brighter than
my blouses. Although her hair is not red,
she's got that same spark and style, so let it fly freely and
tell Ella that her Nana loves her every once in a while. Yeah. I know that it's hard to be the
ones left behind. It's hard to understand, but
it really was my time. I cherished every moment with
my family, both gifted and chosen, and I loved you all with truly
so much pride. You may be tempted to dwell,
to cry, and sit still, but darling, I'm dancing up here, so keep
dancing for me there. I know that she misses the way
I got to cheer her on with a smile. So please tell Ella that her
Nana loves her just every once in a while. R.C. Johnson is going to come
and read a portion of scripture for us. I know Melinda had several. from which to choose. And Marcy,
you? I'm going to stay right there. OK, that's fine. I love this smile. I chose John 6, 63 through 69. It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The
words that I speak to you are spirit. They are life. But there
are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning
who they were who did not believe and who would betray him. And
he said, therefore, I have said to you that no one can come to
me unless it has been granted to him by my father. From that
time, many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve,
Do you also want to go away? But Simon Peter answered him,
Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. Also, we have come to believe
that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Let's turn now in our handbooks
to hymn number 477. 477. Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucified, Knowing not it was for me He
died on Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace
was free. Pardon there was multiplied to
me. There my burdened soul found
liberty at Calvary. By God's word at last my sin
I learned Then I trembled at the law I'd spurned Till my guilty
soul imploring turned to Calvary Mercy there was great and grace
was free. Pardon there was multiplied to
me. There my burdened soul found
liberty at Calvary. Now I've given to Jesus everything. Now I gladly own in mass my King. Only sing of Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace
was free. Pardon there was multiplied to
me. There my burdened soul found
liberty at Calvary. Oh, the love that drew salvation's
plan. Oh, the grace that brought it
down to man. Oh, the mighty gulp that God
did spend at Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace
was free. Pardon there was multiplied to
me. There my burdened soul found
liberty at Calvary. I'd like to read a passage of
scripture this morning and speak from it from Mark chapter 10.
Before I read the scripture, I just want to mention that Melinda
told me that she had found in Sue's notes the hymns that she
would like for us to sing here this morning, and those are the
hymns which we are singing. and that she would also, if I
was still alive, and I am, bring a plain gospel message,
she said, a message about her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I was privileged and had the
responsibility of being Sue's pastor for as old as Melinda
is. So you can ask her how long that
is. The ladies were bringing some
pictures and fixing up the fellowship hall for us to go into in a few
minutes after the service. And they brought Sue's Bible
and placed it on one of the tables, an open Bible. And I had to pass
by that table several times in the last A couple of days, the
first day I passed by, I looked down and I saw a sermon outline
about Christ's powerful blood, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first point was, I know it
was my message, his blood speaks better things than that of Abel. It speaks forgiveness. His blood
gives access. We have access into the holiest
of holies, into the presence of the Father. His blood cleanseth
from all sin. And the fourth point, his blood
brings the far off nigh, and we were all far off from God. I passed by a different day,
a second day, and I couldn't help but look again. And at the
top of the opposite page from where that sermon outline was,
I saw that she had marked a star in the top of the page and then
a star alongside two scriptures. And the star at the top of the
page she had written The way that God saves me is by his grace. And then a star at that verse
that Marcy read just a few minutes ago from John chapter six, Lord,
to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life and we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the
son of the living God. Well I thought about a message
and the Lord laid this passage on my heart this morning from
Mark chapter 10 verses 17 through 22. And when he that is the Lord
Jesus when he was gone forth into the way there came one running
and kneeled to him and asked him good master what shall I
do that I may inherit eternal life. And Jesus said unto him,
why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that
is, God. Thou knowest the commandments,
do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear
false witness, defraud not, honor thy father and mother. And he
answered and said unto him, master, all these I have observed from
my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved
him and said unto him, one thing thou lackest, go thy way, sell
whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven and come take up the cross and follow me. And
he was sad at that saying and went away grieved for he had
great possessions. I have four points I want to
make this morning, four groups of words from those texts that
we just read. First, the first group of words,
two words, eternal life. Eternal life. We hear from this
young man who came running to the Lord and kneeled before the
Lord and he asked him about this matter of eternal life. You know, the Bible is very clear. The Word of God teaches in no
uncertain terms that when a person's physical life ends here, when
it ends here in this world, that doesn't mean that that person
has ceased to exist. Not at all. We will all leave
this world at God's appointed time. And I heard one of the
young people just a minute ago, quote, Sue, as mentioning the
fact that her time had come. And when we leave this world,
this body will remain here and it will turn back to the dust.
But our souls, that is you, you will not cease to exist. Every
one of us, there's an appointed time out before all of us here
this morning, and none of us know when that time will be.
We know the scripture says that it is appointed unto man once
to die, but after this, the judgment. But when that time comes, and
it came for Sue in February the 20th of this year, When that
time comes, then you, that is the real you, not your body,
not this tent, not this tabernacle in which you have dwelt for however
many years the Lord gives you, but you will either go into a
place of joy and glory or you will go into a place of woe. There's only two places, according
to the Word of God, according to our Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ. In Luke chapter 16, he told about
two men. And these two men, their circumstances
could not have been any different. One was very rich, one was very
poor. One evidently had a life of health
and ease, everything that that money could buy, the other man
had relatively nothing in this world. And yet, both of them
died, and one went to be with the Lord, went to be with the
Lord in glory, and the other one went into a place of torment,
a place where he said, I'm tormented in this flame. There's only two
places where people go when they leave this world. I know men
like to think, well, you know, we're like animals. And the soul
of an animal goes to the dirt. Yes, that's true about an animal,
but not about a man or a woman into whom God has breathed the
breath of life. A soul. Eternal life, this is what this
man was interested in. And I hope every one of us here
this morning also are interested in this matter of eternal life,
eternal life. The Apostle Paul, he was assured
and knew that when his life ended, he spoke of it as a departure. You go out to the airport and
you see one big screen out there and it has departing flights
and arriving flights. And Paul spoke of his demise
as a departure. And he said this, to depart and
to be with Christ, which is far better. Sue has left this world,
but she is with the Lord. She hasn't ceased to exist. I
heard a sermon many years ago by a preacher who was preaching
the funeral of a believer, and he had three points, and I like
these points. I just mentioned them to us this
morning. Where is she? That's a good question,
isn't it? Where is she this morning? While
we're sitting here, where is she? Where is she? She's in that mansion, that father's
house in which there are many rooms. That's where she is. The second point was, what is
she doing? She's praising the Lord. Now,
her grandchildren use the term dancing, but I assume that's
part of it too. It's dancing, it's happy, it's
praising God. Praising Him, that's what she's
doing. And his third point was, how
did she get there? How'd she get there? That's very important, isn't
it? How did she get there? She got there through her Savior.
There's only one way, through His substitutionary work for
His people on the cross. That's how she got there. You
know, eternal life, people have the idea, well, when you die,
when you cease to breathe here in this world, then eternal life
begins. No, no. If you're saved this
morning, if you know Christ this morning, you have eternal life. You have eternal life. Eternal
life is knowing God. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ
said in John 17 in his prayer. He said, this is eternal life. To know thee, that is God, the
only true God, and your son, whom you have sent. There's only
one way to know God, and that's through Christ our Lord. Eternal
life is knowing him. That's one reason the gospel
is offensive. Now, what is passed off today
as the gospel isn't offensive, but the true gospel is offensive. And one of the things that is
offensive about the gospel is it comes by revelation. God reveals
himself unto his chosen people. He makes himself known. And I
wouldn't ask anyone today, are you saved? Are you saved? That's the way people so-called
evangelism today. No, no. Do you know God? Do you know God? That's the question. And more importantly, as the
apostle Paul says, does God know you? So that's the first group of
words, eternal life. And then a second group of words,
there's none good but one. There's none good but one. These
are the words of the Lord in response to the young man's addressing
him as good master. He came running to the Lord and
kneeled and said, good master. What must I do to inherit eternal
life? And the Lord said, why callest
thou me good? There's none good but one. Now, most of us preachers, we
usually say, well, he wanted that man to recognize that he
is God. And he was speaking to God when
he said, good master, Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. He's the son of God, who in the
fullness of the time was made of a woman, made under the law,
that he might redeem his people from the curse of the law. Most
of the time, I said, us preachers, that's what we say. We say, well,
he wanted that man to recognize. Don't call me good unless you
know who I am, that I'm God. Now, that's true. That's true. But think about this. Think about those words. If I said this, you could just
brush that off. If any other man said that, you
could just brush that off. Forget about it. But know these
are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is none good. Well, obviously, obviously we
recognize that the Lord's standard is different from man's standard. What is the Lord's standard?
To determine if a person is good or if there are none good. Well, if you look back to chapter,
I'll read it to you, Mark chapter 12, our Lord said, Those are profound words, aren't
they? Let them soak in to you. This is the Lord God from heaven
declaring, there's none good. That means all of us, we're included. There's none good. God's standard of measurement
is different. And it's given to us here in
verse 30. And thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment.
And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. Now, that's God's standard. And by God's standard, there
is none good. Now, man has a standard, obviously,
by which he determines who is good and who's not good. One thing about man's standard,
it's always changing. It changes from generation to
generation. It changes from culture to culture. It changes from country to country,
and one thing about man's standard, no matter in what country, at
what time, what culture, it will never say what the Lord Jesus
Christ said. It will never say, man's standard
will never say there is none good. It won't do that, because
it will judge people by other people and works by other works. And some works are what we call
good, and no doubt they are. And some people are good, moral
people, no doubt about it, no question about it. But that's
not God's standard. God's standard is perfect holiness. Now, our Lord sent this man.
to the commandments. That's my third group of words. Thou knowest the commandments.
And this young man, he knew the commandments. He could have quoted
them off like just as easy as you know your phone number. Thou
shalt not, thou shalt not, thou shalt not. He knew the commandments. He could have rehearsed those.
But what he didn't know, And he said, I've kept all those.
What he didn't realize is the law is spiritual. It doesn't
deal just with outward actions, but the law deals with the heart,
with the thoughts, the intents of the heart. There's none good. No, not one. You know, the Apostle Paul in
the letter of Romans, and he's showing how that the whole world,
and by the whole world, of course, he means Jews and Gentiles. We're all included. We're all
guilty before God. But you know, he includes three
more words in that. When he said, there's none righteous,
no, not one. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. Nobody can somehow squirm out
of that. No, not one. When the Lord saves the sinner,
and I've had some preachers over the years tell me, I think that
may have been Saul of Tarsus. that young man that came running
up to the Lord in the passage. Well, I don't believe it was
Saul of Tarsus, but I do believe that Saul of Tarsus would have
responded the very same way that this man responded. Master, all
those things I've kept. I've kept all those things. He
was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, that is Saul of Tarsus. Oh, he
could have said that. But this man didn't need a savior. That's what it boils down to.
He didn't need a savior. But Paul tells us in Romans chapter
seven that yes, before God revealed himself unto him, he could have
said, I've kept all those commandments. I'm not guilty of any of those
things. He could have said that, but
then he said, but when the law came to me in power. In other
words, when God the Holy Spirit made this word, this word of
God come in power to his heart. And then he realized, I'm guilty. I'm guilty. That every mouth may be stopped. That's what Paul says in Romans
chapter three. Every mouth may be stopped. Every mouth may be closed. There's none good. No, not one. That's right. Our mouths are
closed and the whole world is guilty before God. You see, this
man didn't need a savior. He took care of himself. And
I dare say there's some here this morning. And you're trusting in the fact
that you've kept these commandments. Well, let me tell you something.
No one ever has and no one ever will be saved by keeping these
commandments. Why? Because you can't keep them.
Oh, you can keep them outwardly, like this man, but in the heart. In Paul's case, it was that last
commandment, thou shalt not covet. Thou shalt not covet. Ever have a covetous thought
come up in your heart. That's the end. Man needs a savior,
doesn't he? He needs a savior. He didn't need one that day,
this young man. And the last group of words is,
he was sad at that saying. He was sad at that saying. What
was it that made this young man sad? It wasn't selling his possessions
necessarily. We know that many rich people
have been saved. Abraham was the father of the
faithful and one of the most wealthy men probably who's ever
lived in this world. It's not money, it's a love of
money that is the root of all evil. What was it that made this
young man sad? Well, I believe it was these
words, come. come." You know, faith, for by grace
are you saved. Like Sue wrote in her Bible,
I'm saved by the grace of God. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. But faith is presented in the
scripture under a number of different words or Analogies, taste, except
you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the son of man, you
have no life in you. He's not talking about literally
eating his flesh, cannibalism. But by faith, he's the bread
of life. He came down from heaven, the
living bread. And by faith, we lay hold upon
him. The same thing about looking. Look unto me, all ye ends of
the earth, and be ye saved, for I am God, and beside me there
is none other. That's faith, looking. Oh, taste
and see, the Lord is good. Yes. Come, that's another one
of those words. Come unto me. Look away from
yourself. Look away from your righteousnesses,
which the Bible says are as filthy rags. Come, look to me. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, burdened down, in other words, with a
load of guilt and sin. Come unto me. Look to me. Trust in me. These are all words
that mean the same thing. By faith, we are saved. Come,
come. This man would have to look away
from his obedience, his doings, and look to Christ who has done
the work of redemption. Come. And then he said, take
up that cross. That's surrender, isn't it? Surrender. Cross was, you know, people wear
crosses for decorations today, but crosses were methods of crucifixion,
execution, putting to death. Take up that cross, surrender,
surrender to me. And then the last words, follow
me, follow me, live your life. and surrender to me. Well, I
tell you, if you do, and if you have, then some preacher one
day, maybe like myself, will be able to preach your funeral
like I preached this morning Sue's funeral. with confidence, with assurance,
with thanksgiving. Why? Because her life, her life
preached her funeral. Her life. Who did she trust? Who did she look to? Who did
she serve? Who did she honor? Her life preached
her funeral. And what a message it was, right? What a message it was. We're
going to sing our last hymn, number 449, God Be the Glory. And I'll ask you to stand and
we'll be dismissed with the singing of the hymn. To God be the glory, great things
He hath done. So love to the world that He
gave us His Son. Who yielded his life and atonement
for sin, And opened the life, gave that omega win. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, to Jesus
the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done. O perfect redemption, the purchase
of blood, to every believer the promise of God, the vilest offender
who truly That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through
Jesus the Son, and give him the glory Great things He hath done. Great things He hath taught us. Great things He hath done. And great are rejoicing through
Jesus the Son. But purer and higher and greater
will be Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice, O come
to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give him the glory,
great things he hath done. Let me mention everyone is invited
to remain for fellowship and refreshments just through these
two side doors all the way back to the fellowship hall. We're
dismissed.