Appendix D
Dad’s Memorial Service
April 01, 1998

Celebrating the Presence of God's Protection, Direction, Goodness, Grace,
Mercy, and Peace in the Life of
REV. JOHN MOERMAN
April 1, 1998
2:00pm
Emmanuel Community Church
Edmonton, Alberta

Prelude
Hymn - We Praise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer (334)
Invocation Prayer
The Family Remembers
Scripture Readings From Psalms
Worship	Shepherd Of My Soul
Faithful One
There Is A Redeemer
The Family Remembers
Scripture Readings From Psalms
Hymn - Face To Face (128)
Hymn - Near To The Heart Of God (35)
The Family Remembers
Scripture Readings From The Gospels
Worship	As The Deer
Father In Heaven
Thanksgiving Prayer – John Opmeer
Scripture Readings From Revelation
Meditation on John 5:24c - "He has passed from death to life."
Hymn - What A Day That Will Be (314)
Doxology and Closing Prayer - Jim Moerman
Postlude

We as a family would like to extend our heart-felt thanks to all of you who have come today to honor the memory of John Moerman, and also for demonstrating your love for us in all your caring and support - thank you.

Pastor John's Life

On Saturday, March 28, 1998 our husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather went to be with his Father in heaven.  Rev. John and Corrie Moerman had just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on March 22, 1998 with family and about 170 friends.  A similar celebration was held in Mayerthorpe on March 14, 1998.

Dad died suddenly while doing what he loved - cleaning a chicken coop for his newly acquired chickens.  Up to the time of his death he was active in the Lord's work, counseling, teaching, and preaching.

John and Corrie Moerman were married in The Netherlands and came to Canada in April of 1948.  From 1948 to 1953 he worked for various farmers in southwestern Ontario.  During those 5 years he helped in the founding of several congregations, including First Reformed Church in Chatham, Ontario, where he was an elder.  Murray, Jack and Anne were born.  In 1953 he entered college and seminary in Holland, Michigan to follow God's call into the ministry.  John was born in 1956.  Dad was ordained into the ministry in 1958 and became pastor of First Reformed Church in Galt, Ontario.  Jim was born in 1960.  Upon receiving a call from First Reformed Church (Emmanuel) in Edmonton, he moved his young family west in 1961 - the same year Andy was born.  From 1961 to 1970 Dad served in Edmonton during which time the congregation was relocated from 111 Avenue to it's present location in north-east Edmonton.  From 1970 to 1976 Dad pastored in Monarch, Alberta.

While in Monarch, God chose Stacey and Russell to become part of our family. Dad needed to take two years off and lived in Mayerthorpe from 1976 to 1978, and then back into full time ministry serving Grace Community Church in Surrey, B.C. from 1978 to 1986. 

Upon "retiring" they moved back to Mayerthorpe. The last nine years of Dad's life have been very active consisting of hobby farming (cows, chickens, and gardening), preaching, and teaching occasionally in Edmonton, Mayerthorpe, Neerlandia, and Barrhead; and writing letters to MPs, MLAs, and newspapers. Dad also just completed his memoirs which he worked at diligently for the past few winters.

Our father was a true "man of God" with a pioneering spirit.  His love for the Lord Jesus was always paramount in his life and his zeal for spreading the gospel never wavered.  We will all miss him until we're reunited in Glory!

- His Children
Songs

Shepherd of my soul, 
I give you full control
Wherever You may lead, 
I will follow
I have made the choice, 
To listen to Your voice
Wherever You may lead, I will go

Faithful One, so unchanging
Ageless One, You're my Rock of Peace
Lord of All, I depend on You
I call out to You, again and again (2x)
You are my Rock in times of trouble
You lift me up when I fall down
All through the storm
Your love is the anchor
My hope is in You alone

* * *

There is a Redeemer 
Jesus, God's own Son
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, 
Holy One
Thank You, O my Father, for giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit 'til
The work on earth is done

When I stand in glory
I will see His face
There I'll serve my King forever
In that Holy Place

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after Thee
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship Thee

You alone are my strength, 
My shield
To You alone 
May my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You're my Friend 
And You are my Brother
Even though You are a King
I love You more than any other
So much more than anything

I want You more than gold or silver
Only You can satisfy
You alone are the real joy-giver
And the apple of my eye

* * *

Father in heaven, how we love You
We lift Your name in all the earth
May Your Kingdom be established 
In our praises
As Your people 
Declare Your Mighty Works

Blessed be the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
Blessed be the Lord God Almighty
Who reigns forevermore
* * *

Meditation
By Murray Moerman

Friends, we are grateful that you've chosen to join with us today. We've gathered to give thanks and glory to God for the ...... of God to John Moerman, our friend, encouragement and example, husband, father, opa, uncle, pastor, friend.

We would have held this time of remembrance in our living room but there are so many friends who we'd want to share this with that we have met here in one of the congregations dad loved so much, but we're going to pretend that this is our living room.
We will sing, read scripture, family members will share. We will grieve, we will rejoice in God's goodness and afterwards, in the fellowship hall, we will offer an open mike so any of you who would like to can participate in that way also.

I'll introduce some members of the family as they contribute but we'd like to let it flow simply, informally....

Opening prayer - Walter Opmeer

Hymn - We Praise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer (334)

The Family Remembers
Jack & Grace
Anne & Henry
Scripture Readings From Psalms
Ben Moerman
Worship
Shepherd Of My Soul
Faithful One
There Is A Redeemer

The Family Remembers
John & Jeanne
Jim and Babette
Scripture Readings From Psalms
Sharon Moerman

Hymn - Face To Face (128)
Hymn - Near To The Heart Of God (35)
The Family Remembers
Andy and Terry
Murk and Stacy
Scripture Readings From The Gospels
Rebecca Earle
Worship
As The Deer
Father In Heaven
Thanksgiving Prayer
John Opmeer?
Scripture Readings from Revelation
Naphali Moerman

My father has chosen seven words of Jesus to be carved into his tombstone. The stone has not been erected, but in a few days you will be able to see it for yourself. The words of promise are from John 5:24 and are also the testimony of dad's faith in the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ. The words are these: "He has crossed over from death to life."
Let me read the context:

John 5:24-27

What does this mean?

It appears that John Moerman passed from life to death. That's what people are saying. That's what it looks like. Last Saturday Dad ran some errands, felt fit, was cleaning out his chicken coup - and died, so unexpectedly to us all, with his boots on.

What did Dad mean - what did the Lord Jesus mean - with these words of testimony "he has crossed over from death to life" when it looks like Dad crossed over from a healthy, vigorous, productive earthly life to stillness and death?

Two things:

First, dad crossed over from death to life while yet in this life. When dad was a teenager before the war he was "born again." Jesus said: John 3:14-17

When we turn our trust from our strength, our goodness, our righteousness to trust in Christ alone who was lifted up on the cross for us - we are forgiven, born from above, and the eternal life of God begins to change us increasingly into the character, image and mind of Christ.

We still sin and fall short, and Dad like all of us needed and thanked God for His grace every day, but Dad was - from that point of trusting Christ - a new creation, born from above, having set his affections on those things that are eternal, unseen and above.

That relationship with Christ - Christ in him and he in Christ - made all the difference in Dad's earthly life - Dad begin to go against the flow of this world, living and speaking prophetically, preaching the cross and resurrection, welcoming Christ's life to flow and be expressed through his and mom's earthly life in a 1000 ways.

Some of his children have given testimony to the way Dad's commitment to Christ has affected them. Dad increasingly became a man of prayer, faith, hope, courage, obedience.

Dad had passed from the death-dealing sin nature he had inherited by birth from Adam, to the life-giving nature of Christ, given him through faith in that great exchange between heaven and earth made by Christ on the cross. There Christ gave us His righteousness in exchange for our sinfulness as we fully surrender and repent before Him.

There is a second way in which "He has crossed over from death to life." Dad referred often to the words of his earliest known ancestor William Peter Moerman who died in1648. William wrote:

"Attentive reflection concerning this sad, suffering and embattled world: When Spanish cruel rabble tormented all of Flanders so much that no lion could have brought about greater cruelty; besides this we were plagued by a severe famine, even as the falling upon us of a severe pestilence. I, being very young was forced to flee for my life, seeking to rescue myself from certain death."

This world of sin, which appears to be life, is really a world of war, suffering, injustice and death. From this world - about which Dad bore no illusions - Dad has crossed over to true, eternal, divine life with his Heavenly Father, who called him home. We can't entirely understand this, but it's true.

Dwight L. Moody, the shoe salesman who led 1,000's to Christ, once said: "One day you will hear that D.L. Moody is dead. Don't you believe a word of it. On that day I will be more gloriously alive than I have ever been."

John Moerman, the man who milked cows, pastored churches, and confronted Nazi armies and Canadian politicians in this world - is now, and ever will be, more alive, so unspeakably alive - that all that appeared to be life in this life, is in comparison death.
"He has crossed over from death to life."

And you can too.

I John 5:11-12

Are you a fully devoted follower of Jesus? There is no more important decision that you can make today and follow through on for the rest of your earthly days than is this decision. It is Christ who transports us from death to life, comforts, carries us and gives us His peace in this world and in the true life to come. 

Let's pray:
Father, we thank you for the race run well by John Moerman in the sight of us all. We thank you for his example, the grace you gave him, his prayers for us, his prophetic courage, and faithful love for You and for us. He has arrived at his eternal destination and we are left to follow and await being re-united with him on that day when those who hear Christ's word and believe "cross over from death to life." Help us to be faithful as John was faithful. And for those who are not following Christ, Father, may this be the day they decide for this world and for eternity, to trust Christ alone and follow Him, heart, mind, soul and body from the cross to the day of resurrection. In Jesus name, Amen.

God bless you all.

Choruses
Jim - Doxology

And now,
May the grace that is all-sufficent,
    the mercy that endureth forever,
    the peace that passeth all understanding,
    the joy that is unspeakable and full of glory,
    the hope that maketh not ashamed and fadeth not away,
keep us in Christ Jesus until the day breaks and the shadows flee away and we see Christ face to face and are like Him. Amen.

Fellowship Time Following:
Jack MC
Components:
15 mins "mix & mingle"
Opening remarks (welcome, thank you etc.)
Give thanks for food
Open Mike
Solo: Sara Moerman
Closing prayer and thank you
Unstructured "mixing and mingling"

Committal Service Order

Holy Cross Cemetery (Resurrection section, in Faith casket)
Pallbearers: Chris (or Matt?) and Ben, David and Chris, Jon and Naomi, Naphali and Bethany
Gather, in order mom requests
Chairs, children sit with mom in turn
Scripture:
* Rev. 1:4b-8 (Reader: John Moerman)
* John 5:24-30 (Reader: (John van Leeween)
* I Thess. 4:13-18 (Reader: Babette Moerman)
* I Corinthians 15:35-44 (Reader: Cousin John Moerman)
* I Corinthians 45-53 (Reader: Jack Moerman)
* I Corinthians 54-58 (Reader: Henry van de Vliert)
Prayers: (Murray starts, all can add, Jim ends.)
Words to and by the Family
* ....
* Melanie "My Hero"
Hymns: (duplicated, read?)
* God, Our Help in Ages Past
Words of Release (Murray) - flowers on casket?
* When the Trumpet of the Lord Shall Sound

Benediction: (Murray)
"May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in Him, so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)
"May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify us through and through. May our whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls us is faithful and He will do it." Amen. (I Thess. 5:23-24)

Reading/sing? "Blessed be the Tie that Binds"
Closing Prayer: (Jim)
Stay as long as we will, leave at will.....

Committal Service

Scripture Reading - Revelation 1:4b-8
"Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by this blood and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be!  Amen. 'I am the Alpha and Omega,' says the Lord God, ' who is , and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.' "

Scripture Reading - John 5:24-30
" ' I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.  I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God  and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.  And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out - those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.  By myself I can do nothing;  I judge only as I hear, and my judgement is just, for I seek not please myself but him who sent me.' "

Scripture Reading - 1Thessalonians 4:13-18
"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.  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.  According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud 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 be caught 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 each other with these words."

Scripture Reading - 1 Corinthians 15:35-58 (divided between 3-4 readers)
"But someone may ask 'How are the dead raised?  With what kind of body will they come?'  How foolish!  What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.  When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.  But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he give its own body.  All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh , animals have another and fish another.  There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.  The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead.  The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is natural body, there is also a spiritual body.  So it is written: 'The first man Adam became  a living being,' the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.  The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.  As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.  And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Listen, I tell you a mystery:  We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  When the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Prayer(s)

Hymn - O God, Our Help in Ages Past
O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home!

Under the shadow of Thy throne still may we dwell secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone, And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God, To endless year the same.

A thousand ages in Thy sight are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night, Before the rising sun.

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guide while life shall last, And our eternal home.

Hymn - When the Roll is Called up Yonder
When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time will be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.

Refrain:
When the roll is called up yonder, When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder, When the roll is called up yonder I'll be there.

On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of His resurrection share;
When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.

Let us labor for  the Master from the dawn till setting sun,
Let talk of all His wondrous love and care;
Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder I'll be there.

Benediction by Murray - 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

"May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in Him, so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify us through and through.  May our whole spirit, soul, and body by kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The One who calls us is faithful and He will do it.   Amen."

Hymn - Blest Be the Tie That Binds
Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above.

Before our Father's throne We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, Our comforts and our cares.

We share each other's woes, Each other's burdens bear;
And often for each other flows The sympathizing tear.

From sorrow, toil, and pain, And sin we shall be free;
And perfect love and joy shall reign Through all eternity.

Closing Prayer by Jim.