Sermons from February 2024 (Page 7)

Janet Carter Schwarz Memorial Service May 17, 2019 (died May 6) Obituary: Janet Carter Schwarz, 54, of Wichita, KS entered into the presence of her Lord and Savior on May 6 following a courageous battle with brain cancer.  She was born August 18, 1964 to the late Betty Jean (Crouch) and Billy Roy Carter of Dallas, TX.  Beloved wife of Frederick Kipp Schwarz, Jr. for 31 years, loving mother of Frederick Kipp “Trey” Schwarz III (Oklahoma City) and Benjamin James Schwarz (Seattle). Beloved…

Lois Joy Thomi Funeral May 20, 2013. Introduction:  We are here today in loving memory of Lois Joy Shultz Thomi, child of God, wife, mother, aunt, friend, and encourager par excellence.  On behalf of Diana and the rest of her family, I want to thank you for coming and for all your expressions of kindness and grace.   In recent years I have had the distinct honor of being Lois’ pastor here at First Evangelical Free Church, but a pastor who has known…

Mary Hunt Evans Weber Funeral March 10, 2008 (died March 3) Note:  Mary Weber and her husband George were dear friends of ours in St. Louis.  I was unable to return to St. Louis for George’s funeral in 2014 due to scheduling problems, but I was honored to officiate at Mary’s service in 2008.   Obituary:  Mary Hunt Evans Weber died on Monday March 3, 2008. Beloved wife for 45 years of George Weber III; loving mother of Laura Weber Malzahn (Bryan), George ‘Skip’…

Nap Easterbrook Memorial Service, October 19, 2021 (died October 15) Note: During my first year as pastor of our fledgling congregation in St. Louis, a couple showed up one Sunday who changed the course of my ministry.  Nap and Phyllis Easterbrook were obviously broken and hurting and were desperately looking for spiritual refuge.  I had always believed the church should be a hospital, so I welcomed them, but I knew very little about what it meant to be a spiritual trauma surgeon.  For three…

Richard Schumacher Funeral May 28, 2011 (died May 21) Note:  Richard Schumacher was a leading layman, and eventually a valued staff member, at First Evangelical Free Church in St. Louis.  Though I had been gone from the church for seven years when he passed away, I was invited to bring the message at his funeral and was delighted to do so. Message:  It is an enormous privilege for me to participate with these other friends of Richard in this memorial service today.  I loved…

A Tribute to my Father I wrote this tribute and it was read by my brother Joel at his funeral service in Siloam Springs, AR. Dr. Roger J. Andrus was born on October 17, 1915 and died on December 13, 2006.  He and my mother celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary one week earlier.  My dad was over 91 years old, which seems like a miracle since he nearly died of a heart attack thirty-three years ago. He had bypass surgery twice, endured countless…

Ruth Scheer Memorial Service January 10, 2022 (death January 4, 2022) Obituary:  Ruth Dieffenbacher Scheer entered her heavenly home on Jan. 4, 2022, after 95 years of glorifying her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, here on this earth.  She was born on Dec. 13, 1926, to Clyde and Edith Dieffenbacher and learned to play her accordion before she was ten.  She graduated from Wichita North High School in 1944 and from Wichita University in 1948 with a major in English and with minors…

Sandy Stout Funeral September 18, 2021 (died September 10, 2021) Note: Sandy Stout and her husband Joe came to our church in the late 1970’s and became dear friends of ours.  Joe owned the Jeep dealership in Wichita and generously provided me with new Jeeps on several occasions to take to Colorado on vacation. Sandy was one of the few in our church family who succumbed to the Covid epidemic.    Obituary:  Sandra K. “Sandy” Stout, 82, loving & devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and…

Stan Nelson Funeral July 16, 2010 (died July 13) Note:  Stan Nelson and his wife Margaret came to First Free Wichita during my first pastorate here during the late 70’s.  He was the owner of Joyland, the lone amusement park in the area, and he gave us free tickets to bring our son Eddie to the park.  Needless to say, Eddie really liked Stan.  He passed away a year before I retired.   Obituary:  Stanley Roger Nelson was born on June 24, 1923 in Mr. Vernon,…

Timothy Meddings Funeral April 29, 1994  Prayer:  Our Father and our God, we come to you today as needy people.  Our hearts have been made very tender this week as a precious child of yours has left us and entered your presence.   Teach us once again that “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His saints.”  Help us to say with Job, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Dear Savior and Master, who…

Wink Nolte Service March 7, 2020 (died on March 3)  Note:  Wink Nolte was a very special friend of mine.  He was a member of First Evangelical Free Church of Wichita for nearly 40 years, and his daughter Susan has been a valued staff member for many years.  Obituary:  Winthrop H. Nolte was born on June 8, 1933 at Milwaukee Hospital, Milwaukee Wisconsin, to Clifford Simpson Nolte and Katherine Morton Nolte, he was the middle child of three.  He had two sisters Susan…