Funeral for Robert Weetra (3 April 2018)

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: John 3:16
Theme: God Loved The World


Dear family, friends, and loved ones of Robert (Bob), and especially you; Flo,

God is the creator of life, and He receives it back to Himself. The God who made the universe and every creature in it is the same God who knows every human soul intimately. He values life above all things. The Bible says, “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”1 All the earthly days for Bob Weetra have now been completed. His journey among us has ended. But his time in eternity has just begun. As we gather today in grief, we also give thanks to the all-merciful God that Bob is now at peace.

There’s hardly a better time than Easter to reflect upon the death of a Christian. When the women went to the tomb on Easter morning Jesus was not there. They were met by an angel who told them that He had risen from the dead. Think of how stunned and dumbfounded they were! They had seen Him nailed to the cross. They knew His lifeless corpse was taken off the cross and laid in a tomb. They had come to prepare His body with the proper burial ritual. Now they find the grave is open and empty. Soon they would see Him face to face. Soon their hearts were filled with joy and love.

Dear friends Jesus’ resurrection proves that He has power over death. The devil could not defeat Him. Death could not hold Him. His own resurrection means that it’s a simple thing to raise believers. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”2 Unless Jesus comes back first, we all must pass through death. But it’s just a transition to the life beyond. God doesn’t leave us to work things out for ourselves. He sent to us His Son. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”3

God doesn’t leave things to chance. He knows how powerless humans are. Once our relationship with God is severed by sin, only He can fix it. No one can ever be good enough, righteous enough, holy enough to impress God. We cannot make up for our own sin. Jesus paid the price when He was crucified. We are freed from the punishment we deserve because Christ took it. He died in our place and on our behalf. That’s the only way the gates of heaven could be opened. That’s the only way our relationship with God the Father could be restored. Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”4


Heaven is not a made-up, mythical place. It is another existence. It is on a higher plane. It is the place where God’s love permeates everything. It is an existence in which sin will no longer be present. There will be no hatred, evil, pain or distress. The Bible says, “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”5 There will be light and joy and peace, and indescribably vibrant life.

Bob had an active life. He saw a fair part of this area of the world, working at Iron Knob, and later here in Loxton, and living several different places. Much loved, he was a great blessing to many people. God made many promises to Bob. Believers are part of a bigger family. They are given an inheritance in the heavenly kingdom. In baptism the Holy Spirit makes these promises to all believers. Spiritual blessings are more important than all the materials possessions we will ever have.

In this life, the greatest thing we have after God’s own love is the love of other people. No matter how many people God puts in our lives, each one is always unique. That means when someone dies, a very specific loss occurs. Grief is never easy. Flo, for you and others who were close to Bob, life will never be the same again. Someone irreplaceable has been lost. That leaves a gap, an emptiness that must be somehow dealt with and adjusted to. May our gracious God give you the love, comfort, and support you need.

God tells us to focus on His promises. Through Jesus He has proven how much human souls mean to Him. Remember Jesus’ own words, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”6 Even when we are grieving, we can give thanks to God. Bob is now at rest. We need not worry about him anymore. The Bible says that nothing can separate believers from the love of Christ. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +

Christian Burial of Robert Edwin Weetra
3 April 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Psalm 139:16 2 John 11:25-26
3 John 3:16-17 4 John 14:6
5 Revelation 21:4 6 John 3:16-17