Rehrer's Memorial Service
Good evening! Here is a memorial service message after the death of Bethany and Amy, Bill and Pam Rehrer in a tragic car accident in Texas. They were all believers and are now in Heaven with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know it may be a lengthy post but please read.
Dearest Matt, Kara, Bjorn, Majesty and Plews,,
It is Sunday evening here in Madrid. As a church family we have cried tears and cried out to the Lord for the three of you as well as the others of your family who are grieving at this time. We phoned all the churches where Majesty ministered in their three weeks here in Spain to tell them of the sudden Homegoing of your loved ones. As we would describe Bethany the response was almost unanimously, “Oh, the girl with the smile”. We did not know Bill, Pam and Amy nor do we know Matt and Kara but God gave us the privilege of knowing Bethany for the three weeks she was here in Spain. In those few short weeks Bethany conquered our hearts with her sweetness and her love for the Lord.
Yesterday we phoned our Spanish pastor, Iñaki, to tell him of Bethany’s homegoing. This morning our church service was precious. It was a memorial service for Bethany. Let me share with you what took place. You may not feel like reading all of this right now but maybe later on you will be able to do so and we trust that then God will use it to encourage you and give you strength to face the days ahead without your precious loved ones. May knowing that a Christian community in Spain grieves with you and prays for you bless you today.
The service began with the singing of Majesty. I’m sure the translation in Spanish is very similar to that in English. Following that one chorus, pictures of Bethany and her time here in Spain were shown on the screen. Then followed Iñaki´s sermon entitled: A Funeral Sermon in Memory of Bethany. What follows is a translation of that sermon:
We began this week with the terrible news of the terrorist attack in London and we end the week with the very sad news of the traffic accident that took the life of our sister in the Lord, Bethany Rehrer together with her parents, Bill and Pam, and her sister, Amy. Bethany served the Lord among us just 20 days ago, living in the house of Dennis and Mari, and traveling with Larry and Rosana, singing in this very place where I stand today.
Do you know what the problem is with the death of Bethany? Why does it perplex us and make us especially sad? I know that you know the answer but let us say it with complete frankness. The problem with the death of Bethany is triple.
In the first place, it disturbs us especially because it is the death of a young person, full of life and full of goals and dreams not yet fulfilled and this is always more painful.
Secondly, it disturbs us because it is the death of a believer in Christ who was serving the Lord and who had concrete plans to dedicate all her life to serving God in the years ahead. Yesterday on the The Master’s College Web page, under Majesty, I read a short biographical note of each member of the group. In Bethany’s note she expressed her desire to dedicate her life to serving the Lord through the ministry of music. Her boyfriend, Bjorn, who also served here in Spain with Majesty in June, was in India and Bangladesh on Friday, serving as part of a mission team. He is considering preparing himself to possibly serve the Lord in that part of the world as a doctor someday. Most likely, Bethany would have gone with him, to one of the poorest areas of the world, to serve the Lord. Therefore, we know that Bethany was not a girl who thought of the future in egotistical terms. She had wonderful plans of service to others and to God, and that leaves us all the more perplexed.
In the third place, her death disturbs us because it was an absurd traffic accident. It is a death that we feel makes no sense. She didn’t die on the mission field giving testimony of her faith; nor did she die after a long illness which could have been an example to others of confronting adversity; nor did she die after many fruitful years of service to the Lord. Her death was sudden, in a traffic accident, and we ask, “Why?”
We ask that question because we like to know the territory we walk, to have answers, to know why things happen. But the truth is that we do not know and this humbles us; it puts us in our place; it shows our ignorance and our smallness; and if it wasn’t for the mercy of God it would even cause us to doubt the Lord.
God is in Control
In response to those who question our faith in moments like these our only response is that found in Psalm 115:2-3:
Why should the nations say, “Where, now, is their God?”
But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.
This may seem to some an easy answer that helps us to get on with our lives, but the truth is that we, as Christians, simply rest in the sovereign will of a God who, being the Father of those who have been redeemed by Christ, has the absolute control over the universe in which we live. And to say this is to say something very important.
Because this means that that which the world calls a terrible accident, a fatality that provokes despair and discouragement, a tragic coincidence before which they can only curse the bad luck, is not for us. For us it is the specific will of God; it is the mysterious design of a God who loves His children, but whose ways are often very difficult for us to understand. Romans 11:33-34 says:
Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His
Counselor?
So we do not known why certain things happen, but we known that they do not happen by chance, and we do not curse this chance, nor do we lament bad luck, because we know that God our Father has complete control over the lives of His children.
God has a Purpose
We also know something else that is of great comfort in the face of life and death. All things in the life of a Christian have a purpose, even those things that are most incomprehensible for us: the glory of our God and of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When Paul reflects on the mystery of the divine purpose, he doesn’t end his phrase where I would’ve ended, but he continues saying in verse 36:
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Deep down we all think that we are the protagonists of the universe; we all tend to think consciously or unconsciously that life revolves around us and our plans. But moments like these upon which we are reflecting on today remind us of something very important that we just read in Scripture: this universe is from Him and through Him and to Him; this universe has a Ruler and has a purpose. We are of the Lord and we have been redeemed for His glory. In Romans 14:7-9 we read:
For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord;
therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end
Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead
and of the living.
We are the Lord’s. Our life and our death belong to and have as their purpose to bring glory to Him, and this should fill us with joy because God, the supreme good of the universe, means that our life and our death have a purpose that is more elevated and noble than we can ever imagine – to serve and glorify God.
So we know at least two things that should be a comfort for us in midst of our sorrow: nothing happens by coincidence or by accident to the Christian, but all is by the hand of Him who said in Matthew 10:29-31.
Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall
to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head
are all numbered. Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than
many sparrows.
Secondly, the purpose in our lives and in our deaths point to the glory of Him to whom we belong and who is the true protagonist of the universe. In I Corinthians 6:20 we read:
For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
Accidents do not exist in the lives of Christians. Our God does all things according to the design of His will. As well, our lives and our deaths have a higher purpose which is to give glory to God. And there is a third thing that offers us comfort this morning:
We Will Live Eternally With Christ
The death of our dear sister, Bethany, reminds us that the fear of death is not something only the elderly or ill experiment, but it falls as a shadow over the healthy and young. The universal fear of death is born in the lack of assurance regarding that which awaits us after death.
The true problem that death presents is the threat of the absence of a significance that is ultimate and personal for us. If death is the end of all our goals, dreams, memories; if it is the end of all the love we feel for our loved ones; the end of our personality, then our life really will not satisfy us. We know that we live and die for God; that we were created for His glory. But God Himself created us with a desire to live eternally with Him; to see the end of old age and the pain of death and to live a full and eternal life where we will discover the ultimate purpose of things and rejoice together with our Creator.
If this hope did not exist, we would faint. After all we would look at the death of our loved ones and our own death with discouragement. But what joy and what a contrast to read at this point the words of the Apostle Paul, a man who had not built his faith on fairy tales or myths but on the foundation of a personal relationship with the risen Lord, and having seen God’s power working in him and through him. Paul, at his age and facing great risks, saw his proximate death and wrote with a firm hope in II Corinthians 4:16-5:8:
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner
man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for
us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the
things which are seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things
which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent which is our
house is torn down; we have a building from God, a house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed
with our dwelling from heaven; inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found
naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we
do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be
swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who
gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and
knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord – for
we walk by faith, not by sight – we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather
to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
Brethren, how fantastic is the assurance that we have as Christian in the Lord. Death is without a doubt a traumatic experience, but for us it is also the door to eternal life, the moment we meet Christ face to face. We are left behind here on earth sad because of the death of Bethany and her family, just as Christ was saddened by Lazarus death. But we know that they are in the presence of the Lord, and that one day we will all be clothed in glory to live in a renewed universe and life eternal.
Conclusion
Therefore, brethren, we know that we are in the hands of a good God; that our life and our death are for His glory and that finally we will one day be at His side free from the weight of sin and of death.
The deaths of Bethany and her family cause us to remember that we should be prepared to go into the presence of the Lord at any moment. Bethany has presented herself before the Lord having dedicated her last months of her life to glorify the name of God with the gifts God had given her, using them in His service. The Lord decided to call Bethany into His presence knowing that His daughter had plans for her future that included a life dedicated to serving Him in India, Bangladesh or wherever He would lead, renouncing many things to serve Him. If He called us could we say the same? Or would we be found living for ourselves and making our own plans? I do not doubt that one day, when we see things from God’s perspective, we will better understand his design.
In the meantime, we must know that Bethany’s death was not a fortuitous event, but it was by the will of God, according to His inscrutable ways and for His glory and the glory of His Son Jesus Christ. Bethany, Bill, Pam and Amy are now with the Lord, with joy unspeakable that we can barely imagine. They are contemplating Him who does all things for the good of those who love Him, and all this has been possible because of another death, the death of God Himself – God made flesh who came to pay with His own life our sin. He came to give salvation free and to give a sense of life and death to all those who repent of their sin and put their faith in Christ Jesus, who paid the punishment we deserved.
As we remember with pain but with hope the death of Bethany, Bill, Pam and Amy, we are going to proclaim the death of Christ who by His sacrifice gave us the gift of hope and a sense of life and death for all those who believe in Jesus. We will remember this now as we partake of the Lord’s Table together.
After the Lord’s Table we sang several songs. One was directly from Romans 8:34-39; followed by a song from Psalms 27:1-5. Bethany’s picture from the website was put on the screen a time of prayer followed. I wish you could’ve heard as various men led in prayer for Matt, Kara and Bjorn. When Jose Luis prayed he broke down completely as he prayed for Bjorn. The service ended by singing a song I haven’t heard in English but is called “Lord, Your Name is Exalted”.
After that song Iñaki asked me to read Bjorn’s email but I was unable to do so. Iñaki read it, translating as he went along. He also read the three Scriptures Bjorn included in his letter. As a benediction Iñaki read Psalm 23.
There were many tears and hugs among the church family. You may think it is strange that in such a short time each member of Majesty because so precious to us – that Bethany´s smile and sweetness would conquer our hearts but that was the case. There were several unsaved friends there. Our dentist particularly came because she had spoken to Bethany for quite a while. Isabel´s son is studying in Austin, Tx so they had that in common. We will continue to pray for you and that the death of your loved ones will bring much fruit for His glory and the salvation of souls both in Spain and in the USA.
If ever you can come visit we would love to have you in our home. God bless you and strengthen you.
In bonds of God´s love and grace,
Larry and Rose Anne Thornburg
Dearest Matt, Kara, Bjorn, Majesty and Plews,,
It is Sunday evening here in Madrid. As a church family we have cried tears and cried out to the Lord for the three of you as well as the others of your family who are grieving at this time. We phoned all the churches where Majesty ministered in their three weeks here in Spain to tell them of the sudden Homegoing of your loved ones. As we would describe Bethany the response was almost unanimously, “Oh, the girl with the smile”. We did not know Bill, Pam and Amy nor do we know Matt and Kara but God gave us the privilege of knowing Bethany for the three weeks she was here in Spain. In those few short weeks Bethany conquered our hearts with her sweetness and her love for the Lord.
Yesterday we phoned our Spanish pastor, Iñaki, to tell him of Bethany’s homegoing. This morning our church service was precious. It was a memorial service for Bethany. Let me share with you what took place. You may not feel like reading all of this right now but maybe later on you will be able to do so and we trust that then God will use it to encourage you and give you strength to face the days ahead without your precious loved ones. May knowing that a Christian community in Spain grieves with you and prays for you bless you today.
The service began with the singing of Majesty. I’m sure the translation in Spanish is very similar to that in English. Following that one chorus, pictures of Bethany and her time here in Spain were shown on the screen. Then followed Iñaki´s sermon entitled: A Funeral Sermon in Memory of Bethany. What follows is a translation of that sermon:
We began this week with the terrible news of the terrorist attack in London and we end the week with the very sad news of the traffic accident that took the life of our sister in the Lord, Bethany Rehrer together with her parents, Bill and Pam, and her sister, Amy. Bethany served the Lord among us just 20 days ago, living in the house of Dennis and Mari, and traveling with Larry and Rosana, singing in this very place where I stand today.
Do you know what the problem is with the death of Bethany? Why does it perplex us and make us especially sad? I know that you know the answer but let us say it with complete frankness. The problem with the death of Bethany is triple.
In the first place, it disturbs us especially because it is the death of a young person, full of life and full of goals and dreams not yet fulfilled and this is always more painful.
Secondly, it disturbs us because it is the death of a believer in Christ who was serving the Lord and who had concrete plans to dedicate all her life to serving God in the years ahead. Yesterday on the The Master’s College Web page, under Majesty, I read a short biographical note of each member of the group. In Bethany’s note she expressed her desire to dedicate her life to serving the Lord through the ministry of music. Her boyfriend, Bjorn, who also served here in Spain with Majesty in June, was in India and Bangladesh on Friday, serving as part of a mission team. He is considering preparing himself to possibly serve the Lord in that part of the world as a doctor someday. Most likely, Bethany would have gone with him, to one of the poorest areas of the world, to serve the Lord. Therefore, we know that Bethany was not a girl who thought of the future in egotistical terms. She had wonderful plans of service to others and to God, and that leaves us all the more perplexed.
In the third place, her death disturbs us because it was an absurd traffic accident. It is a death that we feel makes no sense. She didn’t die on the mission field giving testimony of her faith; nor did she die after a long illness which could have been an example to others of confronting adversity; nor did she die after many fruitful years of service to the Lord. Her death was sudden, in a traffic accident, and we ask, “Why?”
We ask that question because we like to know the territory we walk, to have answers, to know why things happen. But the truth is that we do not know and this humbles us; it puts us in our place; it shows our ignorance and our smallness; and if it wasn’t for the mercy of God it would even cause us to doubt the Lord.
God is in Control
In response to those who question our faith in moments like these our only response is that found in Psalm 115:2-3:
Why should the nations say, “Where, now, is their God?”
But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.
This may seem to some an easy answer that helps us to get on with our lives, but the truth is that we, as Christians, simply rest in the sovereign will of a God who, being the Father of those who have been redeemed by Christ, has the absolute control over the universe in which we live. And to say this is to say something very important.
Because this means that that which the world calls a terrible accident, a fatality that provokes despair and discouragement, a tragic coincidence before which they can only curse the bad luck, is not for us. For us it is the specific will of God; it is the mysterious design of a God who loves His children, but whose ways are often very difficult for us to understand. Romans 11:33-34 says:
Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His
Counselor?
So we do not known why certain things happen, but we known that they do not happen by chance, and we do not curse this chance, nor do we lament bad luck, because we know that God our Father has complete control over the lives of His children.
God has a Purpose
We also know something else that is of great comfort in the face of life and death. All things in the life of a Christian have a purpose, even those things that are most incomprehensible for us: the glory of our God and of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When Paul reflects on the mystery of the divine purpose, he doesn’t end his phrase where I would’ve ended, but he continues saying in verse 36:
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Deep down we all think that we are the protagonists of the universe; we all tend to think consciously or unconsciously that life revolves around us and our plans. But moments like these upon which we are reflecting on today remind us of something very important that we just read in Scripture: this universe is from Him and through Him and to Him; this universe has a Ruler and has a purpose. We are of the Lord and we have been redeemed for His glory. In Romans 14:7-9 we read:
For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord;
therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end
Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead
and of the living.
We are the Lord’s. Our life and our death belong to and have as their purpose to bring glory to Him, and this should fill us with joy because God, the supreme good of the universe, means that our life and our death have a purpose that is more elevated and noble than we can ever imagine – to serve and glorify God.
So we know at least two things that should be a comfort for us in midst of our sorrow: nothing happens by coincidence or by accident to the Christian, but all is by the hand of Him who said in Matthew 10:29-31.
Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall
to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head
are all numbered. Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than
many sparrows.
Secondly, the purpose in our lives and in our deaths point to the glory of Him to whom we belong and who is the true protagonist of the universe. In I Corinthians 6:20 we read:
For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
Accidents do not exist in the lives of Christians. Our God does all things according to the design of His will. As well, our lives and our deaths have a higher purpose which is to give glory to God. And there is a third thing that offers us comfort this morning:
We Will Live Eternally With Christ
The death of our dear sister, Bethany, reminds us that the fear of death is not something only the elderly or ill experiment, but it falls as a shadow over the healthy and young. The universal fear of death is born in the lack of assurance regarding that which awaits us after death.
The true problem that death presents is the threat of the absence of a significance that is ultimate and personal for us. If death is the end of all our goals, dreams, memories; if it is the end of all the love we feel for our loved ones; the end of our personality, then our life really will not satisfy us. We know that we live and die for God; that we were created for His glory. But God Himself created us with a desire to live eternally with Him; to see the end of old age and the pain of death and to live a full and eternal life where we will discover the ultimate purpose of things and rejoice together with our Creator.
If this hope did not exist, we would faint. After all we would look at the death of our loved ones and our own death with discouragement. But what joy and what a contrast to read at this point the words of the Apostle Paul, a man who had not built his faith on fairy tales or myths but on the foundation of a personal relationship with the risen Lord, and having seen God’s power working in him and through him. Paul, at his age and facing great risks, saw his proximate death and wrote with a firm hope in II Corinthians 4:16-5:8:
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner
man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for
us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the
things which are seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things
which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent which is our
house is torn down; we have a building from God, a house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed
with our dwelling from heaven; inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found
naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we
do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be
swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who
gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and
knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord – for
we walk by faith, not by sight – we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather
to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
Brethren, how fantastic is the assurance that we have as Christian in the Lord. Death is without a doubt a traumatic experience, but for us it is also the door to eternal life, the moment we meet Christ face to face. We are left behind here on earth sad because of the death of Bethany and her family, just as Christ was saddened by Lazarus death. But we know that they are in the presence of the Lord, and that one day we will all be clothed in glory to live in a renewed universe and life eternal.
Conclusion
Therefore, brethren, we know that we are in the hands of a good God; that our life and our death are for His glory and that finally we will one day be at His side free from the weight of sin and of death.
The deaths of Bethany and her family cause us to remember that we should be prepared to go into the presence of the Lord at any moment. Bethany has presented herself before the Lord having dedicated her last months of her life to glorify the name of God with the gifts God had given her, using them in His service. The Lord decided to call Bethany into His presence knowing that His daughter had plans for her future that included a life dedicated to serving Him in India, Bangladesh or wherever He would lead, renouncing many things to serve Him. If He called us could we say the same? Or would we be found living for ourselves and making our own plans? I do not doubt that one day, when we see things from God’s perspective, we will better understand his design.
In the meantime, we must know that Bethany’s death was not a fortuitous event, but it was by the will of God, according to His inscrutable ways and for His glory and the glory of His Son Jesus Christ. Bethany, Bill, Pam and Amy are now with the Lord, with joy unspeakable that we can barely imagine. They are contemplating Him who does all things for the good of those who love Him, and all this has been possible because of another death, the death of God Himself – God made flesh who came to pay with His own life our sin. He came to give salvation free and to give a sense of life and death to all those who repent of their sin and put their faith in Christ Jesus, who paid the punishment we deserved.
As we remember with pain but with hope the death of Bethany, Bill, Pam and Amy, we are going to proclaim the death of Christ who by His sacrifice gave us the gift of hope and a sense of life and death for all those who believe in Jesus. We will remember this now as we partake of the Lord’s Table together.
After the Lord’s Table we sang several songs. One was directly from Romans 8:34-39; followed by a song from Psalms 27:1-5. Bethany’s picture from the website was put on the screen a time of prayer followed. I wish you could’ve heard as various men led in prayer for Matt, Kara and Bjorn. When Jose Luis prayed he broke down completely as he prayed for Bjorn. The service ended by singing a song I haven’t heard in English but is called “Lord, Your Name is Exalted”.
After that song Iñaki asked me to read Bjorn’s email but I was unable to do so. Iñaki read it, translating as he went along. He also read the three Scriptures Bjorn included in his letter. As a benediction Iñaki read Psalm 23.
There were many tears and hugs among the church family. You may think it is strange that in such a short time each member of Majesty because so precious to us – that Bethany´s smile and sweetness would conquer our hearts but that was the case. There were several unsaved friends there. Our dentist particularly came because she had spoken to Bethany for quite a while. Isabel´s son is studying in Austin, Tx so they had that in common. We will continue to pray for you and that the death of your loved ones will bring much fruit for His glory and the salvation of souls both in Spain and in the USA.
If ever you can come visit we would love to have you in our home. God bless you and strengthen you.
In bonds of God´s love and grace,
Larry and Rose Anne Thornburg
posted by Ty at 9:46 PM
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