¶716 THE FUNERAL SERVICE
[The minister may use the following order of worship at the church or chapel.]
OPENING SENTENCES, such as
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.”
“The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no evil shall touch them. They are in peace.”
“In his favour is life, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
“Like a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him.”
“For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
INVOCATION
O Eternal God, our Father, from whom we come and to whom we go, grant us the favour of Your divine presence at this time in our earthly pilgrimage; assure us by Your Spirit that the one we serve, even Jesus, has conquered death and is alive forevermore; enable us to view our temporal lives in the light of the eternal; and so may our spirits grow calm and our vision clear. Through Christ we pray. Amen.
HYMN (by the congregation, musicians, or organist)
OBITUARY AND/OR TRIBUTES
OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES
Psalms 23, 90, 121
NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES
John 14:1-6; I Corinthians 15:35-49; II Corinthians 5:1-5
INTERLUDE (use a hymn with which the congregation can identify)
SERMON
PASTORAL PRAYER
HYMN
BENEDICTION (not used if the service is to continue at the graveside)
— – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Interment Service
[Any or all the following Scriptures may be read.]
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).
“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last He will stand upon the earth;… then from my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold…” (Job 19:25-27).
“For we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world” (I Timothy 6:7).
“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).
“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going. Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me’” (John 14:1-6).
[Then shall the minister say]
Inasmuch as Almighty God, in His wise providence, has received from this world our deceased brother/sister/child, we therefore commit this mortal body to the ground, looking for the resurrection in the last day and the life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose Second Coming in glorious majesty to judge the world, the earth and the sea shall give up their dead; and the mortal bodies of those who sleep in Him shall be changed, and made like unto His own glorious body, according to the mighty working whereby He is able to redeem all things unto Himself.
[The minister may pray extemporaneously or use the following]
The Collect
O merciful God, you are the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life, in whom whoever believes shall live, though they die, and whoever lives and believes in Him shall not die eternally. We humbly beseech You, O Father, to raise us from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, that when we shall depart this life we may rest in Christ. And we pray that at the resurrection on the last day we may be found acceptable in Your sight and receive that blessing which Your well-beloved Son shall then pronounce to all who love and fear You, saying, “Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.” Grant this, we beseech You, O merciful Father, through
Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.
Benediction
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
