Difficult, difficult day.
It is so important that we're together
on a day like this, though.
So appreciative of you guys coming and showing
your support for the Downs and walking with them
through this difficult time.
Today, we've come together to, well, frankly, cry.
And we'll probably laugh, because to think
about Glenn Jr. is to laugh.
So full of joy and celebration.
But also to miss him, to celebrate,
to remember a man of great humor and joy,
a loyal and loving son and brother, a noble man,
a good friend who went to be home with his Savior
and Lord Jesus on October 19, 2021.
And so grief is a journey.
And it is our prayer, my prayer for you,
that you'd experience His grace, God's grace,
as you walk the road of grief.
The way I define grace, sometimes it's
just a Bible word we don't think much about.
But for me, it's got two components.
One is God's undeserved love for us, that He loves us
and we've done nothing to deserve it.
But also His power to transform us,
His power to transform grief.
He says that tears come in the night,
but there's joy in the morning, that He gives beauty for ashes.
And part of the journey of grief is this transformation of it
into something we can live with and deal with.
I want to pray for you, and I'm going
to pray an ancient prayer, a 2,000-year-old prayer.
It's in your New Testament.
And it's about God meeting His people with grace.
And so I'm going to pray some of this out of Ephesians for you.
And then I'll add a few of my own words as well.
But would you bow your heads and just
kind of set your attention or your focus
on the Lord in this moment?
So Heavenly Father, we are here and ask
for your grace and your comfort.
Like the Apostle Paul prayed thousands of years ago,
I pray for this group of believers
that out of your glorious riches,
you may strengthen them with power in their inmost being.
If you could just take a moment.
Lord, that's really true.
Would you please strengthen the downs, the family and friends
in their inmost being by your power and your authority?
And I pray for this group of people
that we, being rooted and established in love,
we might have power to know the depth of your love,
that how high your love is, how wide your love is, how deep,
how all-consuming your love is.
And so I pray for that power to know
the depth of your affection and love,
that you are for them in these moments.
Amen.
Well, on behalf of Glenn's family, his father and mother
Glenn and Shauna, and his sister Brooke,
and his grandmothers Barbara Cameron and Evelyn Downs,
his grandfather Oscar Downs, and his aunt Tammy,
I want to welcome all of you and express your appreciation
for them, right?
Your gladness that they are here to support them and stand
with them on this bitter day.
And to the family, I know I'm speaking for the rest of us
when we say we want to be here for you, not just today,
but in the days and weeks ahead, because I know
you're on a journey of grief.
And a lot of us have walked this road as well before.
And we're carrying keys, compassion
to walk with you in this difficulty.
Yes, today.
Yes, in the weeks and the months and the years to come.
And I would just say a moment just real quickly.
If you've ever grieved a loved one,
sometimes you're afraid to bring up the loved one again,
because you don't want to make the wound worse.
It doesn't.
If you remember a great Glenn story,
it might be tough to hear, but people want to hear how he
impacted, how he ministered to you,
or just some little wonderful story that you have about them.
And most of you knew Glenn, but you may not know each other.
So this is an unusual thing I do at services.
It might be unusual for you, is I
like us to take a moment to say hello to those
that we're sitting around.
And so would you just take a moment
to stand and greet each other?
Let the folks around you know your name
and how you're connected to the Downs family.
We'll just take about two or three minutes to do this.
So say hello to each other.
It's tough to support people when we don't actually
know who we're sitting with and spending time with.
Thank you.
Good to see you.
Are you well?
Yes.
Very well.
Hello.
How are you?
I'm good.
Yes?
Good to see you again.
May the Lord bless you.
May God comfort you.
He will.
Amen.
All the best.
Yes.
Amen.
Yes.
Thank you, everybody.
Beautiful.
I forgot to mention the brothers and sisters, Danny and David, and Karen as well.
That's the family that's also super appreciative that you're here.
My name is Dan Fairley, and I've been here for 30 years, and since 91 when I came, I
think you guys were here before me, if I'm not mistaken, somewhere around that time.
I got to meet you guys in the early 90s when I arrived at Bethel, and the Downs have been
instrumental in just what I gently call the golden years of Bethel at some level, just
a ton of quality people that are around, and it's great to see you.
And I just got a chance to spend some time with, we had a service for Marilyn Seth who
passed away as well, so I was just with a bunch of other amazing folks from our body
of believers, and it's a privilege.
Bethel's been a church going on for about 70 years.
We're heading into our 70th anniversary, but so many people in this room were so impactful
and important to key seasons of this time, and so that's how I know the Downs, and I
just look with great fondness about all the strength you guys brought to the house, all
the laughter, all the joy, and the number of people that were connected to Jesus because
they were connected to you guys.
It's a beautiful, beautiful heritage, and it's been so important in the life of this
city and this community.
One of the most beautiful parts of being part of God's family, a member of this community,
is that we get to do grief together as a journey.
It takes time to move through, and it's work really that we tend to try to do alone, but
it must be done with other people.
It just must be done with other people.
Grief isn't something private we do alone, but we do it with family and friends, and
we will miss Glenn so deeply and so often, but when the people of God come together,
and you're a larger group like this or just one-on-one, and celebrate someone who ran
the race really well and ran it with joy and conviction, it's hard because Glenn's a young
man, but there is a joy as a fellow believer that he finished the race with excellence
and leaned into the tape, living his life with conviction and compassion.
So we can't, with somebody like Glenn who you know has put their faith in Jesus, you
can't help but kind of say what I know Jesus has already said to Glenn.
You know it too if you've walked with Jesus.
He looks at the beloved and says, well done.
Well done, good and faithful servant.
Enter your master's happiness.
And so one day I'm going to hear those words.
I know many in this room long to hear those words from King Jesus, and it brings me comfort
to know that he's heard those words from the Savior already.
And God's not afraid of our sadness or our confusion.
In fact, the New Testament teaches that God the Son, Jesus, became flesh and blood that
he might experience life as we experience it.
The book of Hebrews tells us that in his love he wanted to know what it is to grieve, and
we see this at Lazarus' tomb, to know what it is to be able to empathize with our weaknesses
so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest.
In other words, part of the thing we celebrate at Christmas with his incarnation, God becoming
flesh, is his capacity to actually know what it's like to walk in our shoes and to have
empathy for us.
And then the scripture goes on that explains this and then says this, let us then approach
God's throne of grace with confidence.
How come?
So that we might receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
And you guys, we're in a time of need.
And so again, we ask for grace.
I love being a believer.
I think Jesus is teaching the meaning of life.
I think he's the smartest man that ever lived, not some hillbilly from Nazareth, but actually
God the Son, and he taught us how we should live.
And he has said so many promises about the afterlife, about all that God has for us as
well.
But as a Christian, sometimes I think we kind of skip too quickly to that and we don't spend
time in the grief and realizing that it is a tender, tender thing.
thing when death touches somebody that we love and I recently reread a poem about life
and grief and the sacredness of our love and how vulnerable our love makes us.
We were talking a little bit about like my kids are now driving cars and they're like
bye mom dad and I'm like I mean am I biting my fingernails off like I may the angels be
everywhere with you in that car I'm just going to the store dad I know but so that our kids
are so like important to us they're so to be loving them is feel so vulnerable so incredibly
vulnerable so I'm going to read you this poem and this is a thousand year old poem by a
Jewish poet and philosopher but I was struck by the power of the words to capture again
our love for each other how wonderful it is how precious our love how sacred our love
for each other is and yet how utterly vulnerable it is to love and to give our hearts to each
other so this is the poem tis a fearful thing to love what death can touch a fearful thing
to love to hope to dream to be to be and oh to lose a thing for fools this and a holy
thing a holy thing to love for your life has lived in me your laugh once lifted me
your word was gift to me and to remember this brings painful joy tis a human thing love
a holy thing to love what death has touched the family has asked at that a song by casting
crows that the only the only scars in heaven be played as kind of a moment of worship for
us in contemplation that at times like this worship reorients us it like it's my world
has gone completely sideways and crazy what is my north star it is your presence in my
life it is the call that you have on my life and also it's a moment when we give God something
very sacred it they'll come a day Paul says when we will know fully even as we're fully
known but on this side of heaven we do have questions we have mystery we have pain and
the opportunity to like say I'm going to worship you in the middle of my frustration with you
in the middle of my cons the mystery that you are to me before the enormity of death
that's something we can only kind of give God on this side of the grave there will be a day
when he wipes every tear from our eyes but it's not today and here we can kind of stand in awe
of God's greatness and of his plan for us which includes more than this life but the life to come
and so we're just going to have this moment of worship and I invite you to listen to the words
of the song because I hadn't heard it until you guys wanted to play it and I thought I better
better watch this and you know and listen to it's quite powerful so let's go ahead and play that song
if I had only known the last time would be the last time
I would have put off all the things I had to do
you I would have stayed a little longer held on a little tighter
now what I'd give for one more day with you
because there's a wound here in my heart where something's missing
you and they tell me that it's gonna heal with time
but I know you're in a place where all your wounds have been erased
and knowing yours are healed is healing mine the only scars in heaven
and it won't belong to me and you
there'll be no such thing as broken
and all the old will be made new and the thought that makes me smile now
now even as the tears fall down
is that the only scars in heaven
are on the hands that hold you now
I know the road you walked
is anything but easy. You picked up your share of scars along the way. Oh, but now you're
standing in the sun. You fought, you fight, and your races run. The pain is all a million
miles away. The only scars in heaven won't belong to me and you. There'll be no such
thing as broken. And all the old will be made new. And the thought that makes me smile now,
even as the tears fall down, is that the only scars in heaven, yeah, are on the hands that
hold you now. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. For the hands that hold you now. There's not
a day goes by that I don't see you. You live on in all the better parts of me. Until I'm
standing with you in the sun. I'll fight this fight and this race I'll run. Until I finally
see what you can see. Oh, the only scars in heaven, they won't belong to me and you. There'll
be no such thing as broken. And all the old will be made new. And the thought that makes
me smile now, even as the tears fall down, is that the only scars in heaven are on the
hands that hold you now.
I'm so grateful for the artists, the poet, the songwriters that can capture our faith
and our pain all in one moment. A beautiful song that alludes to the scars that will be
in heaven are the scars from his crucifixion, his death for our sin. And that's the scars
that are spoken of in the song. And then like those, we will be healed, but because of what
he has suffered for us. And then hallelujah. Yah at the end of that word is short for Yahweh.
And then hallelujah is a declaration of praise in the midst of this difficulty and pain.
This song has an anthem of yet I will praise Yahweh. Yet I will praise God.
So the poet, the songwriter have captured this at Rings True, but also the Apostle Paul
was a bit of a poet as well. And when he was talking about this very, you know, these deep
matters as well, talking about how the Holy Spirit's innocent praise through us and for
us when we don't know what to pray through groanings and utterings and how in everything
that happens, God is working for our good, no matter what. He moves through these two
gigantic ideas as God is our advocate in our prayer life with him, that God's at work,
even in the difficult and in the great for our good. And then he moves to the resurrection.
He moves to the way that we are sealed up with the Lord so powerfully. So I'm reading
to you out of Romans chapter eight, verse 35. And there's a list of rhetorical questions
in here. And basically the answer is no and no one for those who put their faith in Jesus
Christ, who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation or distress or
persecution, famine or this nakedness or peril or the sword. But in all these things, we
overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height.
nor death, nor any other created thing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. And that is our deep conviction as people who put their faith
in Jesus, nothing will separate us from his love, not even death. And this morning, as I was praying
about these moments together and thinking about our time, I was reflecting on the fact that as
believers, we always have like colliding emotions on days like today, uh, in services like this.
But as a believer, I, I, I, the grief is real. I've preached my mom and dad's service,
you know, funerals. So I know the grief is real, but as a believer, there is a faith that erupts
in my heart in that what God has taught us about our destiny is true. He has prepared a place for
and that for the Lord and for the believer, death isn't the end. It is a doorway.
You got to know this, that death isn't the end. It is a doorway, the wild and passionate and
pursuing love of God that has been chasing Glenn Jr. down his whole life has finally,
and ultimately, and permanently apprehended him. He is in the presence of perfect love.
Those who put their faith in Jesus, who, and by faith in Jesus, I mean, we've trusted him with
our very lives and said, I'm not the boss. You're the boss. I'm done running. I want to come home.
Those of us who put our faith in Jesus, um, Christ, we have this destiny, this knowledge,
this conviction, and we sit here fully confident that Glenn Jr. actually has it off, has it better
off than we do this afternoon. That Glenn is actually beholding his beloved and is in a far
better place than we are currently. And that he has fought the good fight. He has finished the
race. He has crossed the finish line that one day every single one of us is going to cross.
And he has joined that great gathering of witnesses. Scripture tells us that
a great cloud of witnesses, a gathering of people who've gone before us, who are cheering us on
through this race of life. So we're going to have a time of sharing. We're just different
individuals who've been touched by Glenn and impacted by Glenn are going to be sharing.
And whenever I do a memorial for a believer, someone who's like, you know, said, hey,
Jesus is boss of my life. He's forgiven my sins. And, um, because I've put my trust in him, I,
because I've put my trust in him, I, we have a great confidence that like,
as I mentioned, Glenn is actually alive. We know there's been death, but it's a real deal
that he's more alive than you and I are. And again, at a funeral, our faith,
our faith says, hey, there's a deeper truth than the truth of death.
I'll put it another way. Both evil and death are not eternal. If they had a beginning
and they'll have an end. That's the reality map of scripture. That's the teaching of scripture.
Glenn has again, suddenly died, but the deeper truth is he's fully alive. And so when we speak
about Glenn today, and as people talk about him, I imagine you'll hear us using both he was,
and he is, because it's true that Glenn both was and is. And so we'll probably be fluctuating
back and forth as we talk. You two did a brilliant job writing a bio that I would love to share with
you about, um, Glenn. And, um, it's been my privilege to read this to you. And after that,
I'm going to read a letter from Glenn and Shauna. And again, anytime you guys want to,
you can jump up here. You know that, so I know you don't want to, but if you feel it, you're
welcome. So, okay, here we go. One of the best days of our lives is when our blue eyed baby boy
was born. From the time he was born, he was full of laughter and joy. Glenn developed a sense of
humor in his early years and quite often had everyone in the room in tears of laughter. He
loved joking. He loved to make people laugh. He loved creating happiness everywhere he went.
Can I get an amen on that? That's, that's true. And he would mimic Urkel from Family Matters.
Glenn would dress and spike his hair just to spend the afternoon making the whole family laugh.
Uh, and most of Glenn's report cards, uh, at least mentioned that he was well above average
in the area of comic relief, which actually didn't know was on most report cards. So you gotta,
you'd be pretty funny when the teachers are going out of their way to create a box and then check
it. Uh, when Glenn was small, he would often find himself in, in, um, in his room
on his knees, praying for his grandfather, Glenn Cameron to come to know the Lord.
Many times, when his grandfather would come to the Christmas musicals—here at Bethel,
we used to do it upright with the Christmas musicals—Glenn would always sit next to him
and would tug on his shirt, asking him if he wanted to go forward and accept Christ as his
Savior. Although it took 15 years, Grandpa Cameron did receive Jesus as his personal Savior and Lord.
When Glenn was 12, he took a two-month vacation, or the whole family took a two-month vacation,
traveled the western states and Canada while crossing the Canadian border and being put
through the paces by the border agents. They were finally given the green light to proceed,
but Glenn, being a jokester, rolled down his window and yelled,
Help! I'm being kidnapped! just as they were pulling out.
I made a note to ask you if I could, like, what happened? Did they just let you go?
Or just like, You're good, kid.
Glenn always loved big trucks and the mud. His folks purchased him his first four-wheel-drive
Toyota truck with a lift kit. He came home one night, parked it, went to bed.
And when we saw it the next morning, when Glenn and Sean saw it the next morning,
covered from hood to tires in mud and straw, I think it was you, Glenn, asked,
Where did you find all this mud? Where'd all this mud come from?
He's very excited and proud tone. He said he informed me that he had found a great construction
job site that had just had the best mud and straw for Burr Brodies. When I asked him the location,
he proceeded to describe to me what ended up being our number one client subdivision
that we were providing the windows for.
Needless to say, we informed our son to never share that he had found a great construction
job site with anyone other than us. Glenn had the opportunity to spend the summer in Hawaii
and with Coach Franklin, where he began his love of surfing. And needing to sustain himself,
he had a little extra money. He landed a job washing dishes at a local restaurant.
However, upon arriving back home, he informed us that there was a job in Hawaii,
he informed us that that career was over. And the restaurant business was just off the table.
In later years, Glenn moved to Southern California with Dave and Rita Langland and his good friend
Andy, where they spent many days surfing, getting a tan and well, just trying to slow down the
process of growing up. This was great fun and a great time in Glenn's life. And unfortunately,
all good things must come to an end and Glenn had to stop eating Top Ramen and earn a real living.
And his great friend and mentor, Dr. Lewis Allen provided that opportunity for him. Lewis hired
Glenn to work at his optometrist practice. And this was a great experience for him,
as Lewis was a huge influence on his life. And he was someone that Glenn thought the world of.
Glenn loved to go to professional baseball games and visited six different ballparks. He also liked
to go to the shooting range, snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing and hiking. And another
of his passions was computers. He was hired by Realty.com, where he got a taste of that field
firsthand. He gleaned tremendous knowledge while working there, decided to further his education,
going back to college, where he earned his degree in IT technology.
Glenn had found the job of his dreams when he was hired right out of college by
Mark, Mark, I should ask how to spell your last, say your last name.
Zemmur? Mark Zemmur in 2-0. To say he was excited about this opportunity is an understatement. Glenn
was true, truly loved this job and felt incredibly blessed to be part of it, of the team there.
What were some of the, one of the best characteristics of Glenn was giving his heart
to people. And if someone was in need, no matter who it was, he would give them the shirt off his
back. He was always eager to help people in any way he could, no matter the personal cost to himself.
Glenn would seek out opportunities to bless others. And Glenn's kindness was a key to
understanding who he was. He was always looking out for others, making sure no one was left behind.
He was simply who he was. He would, he would make, he would never make a best,
a friend based on their importance or their status or how they could be used to elevate
him personally. Glenn was a selfless person and his parents loved him very much for that.
He valued friendships most of all in his life, always wanted to bring joy and happiness to
others. He's extremely loyal. And when someone you could always count on in any situation,
he found great satisfaction in seeing other people succeed.
And I thought this was beautiful. He loved being part of other people being promoted.
One of Glenn's
Noble accomplishments was a notable accomplishments was his job at two nil.
He was constantly excited about all the things that he was learning
and loved the team that he was working with, as well as the great boss
that he had in Mark.
He took his job very seriously and wanted to excel in every area
to improve the company in any way he could.
And he was very careful, grateful for the projects
that the company entrusted to him and allowed him to use his skills on.
And finally, some of the most defining moments of Glenn's life
were spent over time, spending spending time with his grandpa, Cameron.
He taught Glenn many life lessons as well as a great deal about the outdoors.
They would fish the Sacramento River together.
They'd shoot guns together and talk about things that were important,
things that mattered in life.
Glenn spent many summers in Montana with his grandparents,
where he learned to love the outdoor life and immerse himself
in the beauty of God's creation.
Thank you.
So for those of us that only, you know, knew Glenn in a snapshot.
So beautiful to take the time to kind of paint a portrait of him.
We know it's just a little bit.
And we'll get to hear more about him from how other people saw him
and in some of the and in the video presentation we're going to have.
I do want to read to you a letter from mom and dad.
At this point.
From the time you were born,
you've brought so much joy and love to our lives.
We loved your funny sense of humor in the way that you love to make others laugh.
You have one of the kindest hearts that we have ever known,
and your love and concern for others is beyond measure.
There is no greater pride for a parent than to see their children
have a soft heart and to continually put others before themselves.
We absolutely feel that we are the luckiest parents in the world
to have a son like you.
You always made us proud.
We cherish all the fun times that we spent with you,
all the Giants games that we attended, the Lakers basketball games
with the front row seats sitting on the floor.
Once the Lakers game started, you never stopped screaming in excitement.
All the wonderful memories that we had in the Montana cabin.
This is where your love for outdoors developed.
You mastered your shooting skills with your grandpa Cameron
and developed a wonderful relationship with him learning about priorities
and what things were are important in life.
And he carried those lessons throughout your life.
I remember at a young age, your interest in music.
You love grabbing the drumsticks and pounding on your dad's drums
for what seemed like hours soon after you picked up the guitar
and mastered it in no time.
I'm going to really miss the jam sessions we had and how you put up
with playing the oldies with you, with you, with you, mom,
or with your mom.
We are sure you are showing the angels a new beat or two.
And we are going to miss you making fun of our computer skills.
Probably would have been delighted.
All of you trying to download that link.
The irony.
You letting us win at video games.
Well, it's not so powerful.
That's a great son right there.
And all of your jokes.
We're going to miss your smile, your laughter and your kind heart.
Mostly, we're going to miss you, son.
A day will not pass.
An hour will not flee that we will not be thinking of you.
Goodbye for now, our precious son, until we meet again
on those streets of gold.
Love, Mom and Dad.
This time, we're just going to have a video presentation
with some pictures and I think some music.
If I told you my story, you would hear hope, they wouldn't let go.
And if I told you my story, you would hear love, it never gave up.
And if I told you my story, you would hear life, but it wasn't mine.
If I should speak, then let it be of the grace that is greater than all my sin.
Of when justice was served and when mercy wins, of the kindness of Jesus.
It draws me in. Oh, to tell you my story is to tell of you.
If I told you my story, you would hear a victory over the enemy.
If I told you my story, you would hear freedom that was won for me.
If I told you my story, you would hear life overcome the grave.
If I should speak, then let it be of the grace that is greater than all my sin.
Of when justice was served and when mercy wins.
Of the kindness of Jesus that draws me in. Oh, to tell you my story is to tell of Him.
This is my story. This is my song. I'm praising my Savior all the day long.
For the grace that is greater than all my sin.
Of when justice was served and when mercy wins.
Of the kindness of Jesus that draws me in.
Oh, to tell you my story is to tell of the grace that is greater than all my sin.
Of when justice was served and when mercy wins.
Of the kindness of Jesus that draws me in.
Oh, to tell you my story is to tell of Him.
This is my story. This is my song. I'm praising my Savior all the day long.
I raise a hallelujah in the presence of my enemies.
I raise a hallelujah louder than the unbelief.
I raise a hallelujah. My weapon is a melody.
I raise a hallelujah. Heaven comes to fight for me.
I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm.
Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar.
Up from the ashes, hope will arise.
Death is defeated, the King is alive.
I raise a hallelujah with everything inside of me.
♪ I raise a hallelujah ♪
♪ I've watched the darkness flee ♪
♪ I raise a hallelujah ♪
♪ In the middle of the mystery ♪
♪ I raise a hallelujah ♪
♪ I fear you lost your hold on me ♪
♪ I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm ♪
♪ Louder and louder you're gonna hear my praises roar ♪
♪ Up on the ashes of where I'm from ♪
♪ Darkness has faded, the king is alive ♪
♪ Sing a little louder, sing a little louder ♪
♪ Sing a little louder, oh sing a little louder ♪
♪ Sing a little louder, in the presence of my enemies ♪
♪ Sing a little louder, louder than the unbelief ♪
♪ Sing a little louder, my weapon is the melody ♪
Thank you for taking the time to put that together.
I know it's, it's tough going through those pictures
and it kind of wonderful and super tough, yeah.
He had quite the variety of outfits.
I think my favorite one was the clown one.
I'd love to hear the story behind that one, that's fun.
Well, I wanna go ahead and move to a time of sharing
and Mark Holt, spiritual leader who knew Glenn
since he was a young boy is gonna come
and just begin our time.
So to welcome Mark Holt as he comes.
Thank you.
Hi, Glenn, Shauna, Brooke, family.
You know, I knew the Downs when we were here at Bethel.
We did music together and it was so much fun.
We just had great times.
But that's when we first met the family.
But then we all left Reading and went down
to help Dave and Rita Langland when they started
the church down in Southern California.
And that was about 20 years ago, I think.
And there was actually where I think we got
to know Glenn Jr. more.
And he immediately became like a part of our family.
And he was like a big brother to my three kids.
He was a little bit older than me.
I think he was the same age as Tiffany.
And they were constantly playing together,
constantly hanging out together.
Many times Glenn would come over and eat
with us at the dinner table.
We didn't make him a tax deduction or anything.
But he just became a part of our family
and because he was such an easygoing kid
and just a fun person to be around.
Like everybody said, he was fun.
And he loved people.
He really did love people.
It doesn't matter if you're young,
doesn't matter if you're old.
And I remember my wife Mary's parents
and Dave Langland's parents would be with us a lot of times.
And Glenn Jr. would just call them grandma and grandpa.
And they loved that, you know.
But he just loved people.
And Glenn, he did love to do things for people.
He would pick up my son Cannon from work,
not from work, but from school a lot of days
when I was not able to go pick up Cannon.
And when Cannon started,
my son started working at Realty Track.
I mean, Glenn started working at Realty Track
and it got Cannon a job there.
And that was a great job for Cannon.
Another kid that hung around with us was.
There was Jeff Kingma, who later became,
married my daughter, Tiffany.
But he would hang around with us,
and he needed to learn how to drive a stick shift.
And so Glenn, in his truck,
showed him how to drive a stick shift,
and they had a lot of fun bouncing
and jerking around the neighborhood roads.
But Glenn, he really did love doing things for people.
At a moment's notice, he would,
yeah, I'll do that for you.
And there's a couple of funny stories
I wanna share briefly.
It was a nice sunny day in California,
and Cannon and Glenn wanted to just go out
and drive around and listen to music and just hang out.
And so I let them use one of our cars.
And now you have to realize,
the car was parked under a carport.
And you had to be careful when you backed out,
because there was a pole supporting
the carport right there.
And so I had some close calls, myself backing out.
But anyway, Glenn backed the car out,
and the bumper started pulling off.
And he immediately got out of the car,
and he hit the pole,
and he actually, his knuckles were bleeding
because he was so upset with himself.
But Glenn was such a good kid,
I could not even get mad or upset with him at all.
And so Cannon called me and explained what happened.
I says, well, is the bumper still on?
He says, yeah.
I says, well, just make sure it's secure,
and just go out and have fun.
And it's no big deal, we'll deal with it later.
But he just, you know, that was,
I just thought that was funny.
Oh, it would have been a funnier story
if the carport had fallen down on them.
Or even funnier was when he hit the pole.
But Glenn loved to skateboard.
You know, he was always on a skateboard.
And he would always look for new places
to find a skateboard.
So he went to this middle school,
and it had a great parking lot.
It was big, and it had a nice slope to it,
and so he could get a nice long ride in.
And so he was driving around that parking lot,
just checking it out.
And all of a sudden, this young kid opened his pickup door,
jumped in, and sat down right beside him.
And Glenn looked at him, he was startled.
You know, what's this young kid jumping into my truck for?
And then he realized it was my younger son, Clark.
He didn't know that he went to school there.
And my son, Clark,
because I was late picking him up that day,
he thought that I had called Glenn to come pick him up.
So, but we still laugh about that story.
We had a good laugh when they told us,
and we still laugh whenever we talk about it.
And then, you know, it always seems so wrong
that children pass away before their parents do.
And a few years ago, Clark, our son, passed away.
And I remember Glenn and Brooke, he was in the hospital,
and you drove all the way from Redding
down to Southern California to pray for him
and to minister to us.
And I'm so grateful for that.
That was incredible.
And, but knowing that our kids are with Jesus,
it takes away what the Bible calls that sting,
the sting of death.
It takes a little bit of that away,
even though it's very sad and very hard to go through,
it does take away that sting.
And I know that Clark was there in heaven
with many others to greet Glenn when he came.
And I don't know if they have a skate park there in heaven,
or even if they skateboard,
but I know that Clark and Glenn
are having some good times there.
And so Glenn and Sean and Brooke,
I wanna thank you for the gift of your son and your brother.
And he was a real blessing to our lives.
And we have many fond memories,
and we'll continue to remember him and talk about him
and keep his memory alive, so.
And then Jared, are you here?
Here comes Jared.
One of Glenn's best friends.
Thank you.
Sorry.
I honestly don't know if I can do this.
Glenn is the definition of a friend.
I don't know how else to describe him.
And then Lewis Allen, friend and mentor, welcome, Lewis.
As I was preparing for this day.
I was reminded of the many conversations Glenn Jr. and I had about life.
That is conversations about Christ, singleness and marriage, schools and jobs.
Conversations that were truly deep and meaningful.
I have known Junior since he was a kid at Safe Harbor Church in Orange County.
You see, Glenn Sr. and Shauna were pillars at Safe Harbor.
So when they moved back to Redding, I truly missed a relationship that was forged.
However, much to my surprise, Glenn Jr. moved from exciting Redding to dull Orange County.
And it was at that time a relationship between Junior and I began.
To place everything into perspective, I saw him as a son.
And that was easy to me to form that image because I had witnessed the Christian foundation
that Glenn Sr. and Shauna had set into motion with respect to their kids.
So for me, that was easy because of that foundation.
So I immediately hired him and he also lived with me while working at my practice.
I trusted him completely.
I trusted Junior, even allowing him to drive my car, my Corvette, my Z06 Corvette.
Billy Jr. was an excellent driver.
He obeyed the law of the road.
He always drove below the speed limit, at least while with me.
So when he asked me one evening to drive my car to grab a bite to eat, I had no problem.
So I gave him the keys and 15 minutes later, 15 minutes later, he returns without food
but with a yellow piece of paper.
And he takes that yellow piece of paper and he says a couple of choice words and throws
it on my desk.
Yes, it was a $450 speeding ticket.
He then looks at me as if I was going to pay for it.
And before he could utter a word, I said to him, you better tell your dad about that.
Girl, I'm just your boss.
I'm your roommate.
Yes, and I would miss him.
I would miss that sense of
At first, I was not going to go into detail, but because Pastor said it was okay, I will.
There was a couple of texts that he would send me.
Well, one such text was, I smashed a bug, and I thought of you.
Just thought of a punching bag, and I thought of you.
Finally, I would miss the conversations about family and about Christ.
Shauna, he delighted in those jam sessions.
He would brag.
He would tell me about how exciting, how overjoyed, and how overwhelmed he was when he was with
you.
Glenn, he enjoyed those deep conversations of life.
He respected, loved, appreciated you.
It was a genuine, heartfelt love.
He expressed that to me each time he met.
Brooke, even though you were a brat, he looked after you.
I don't think that you really knew that behind your back, he was protecting you, so he made
sure that all your friends were respecting you.
And Brooke, he adored your kids.
He simply loved your kids.
It was beautiful for me to hear him speak of how much he loved them, how much he bragged
about them upon meeting them.
And yes, there's our conversations about Christ.
One of the last texts I received from him, which was only a short time ago.
His text read, and I quote, I wish the country would turn back to Christianity.
Glenn and Shauna, I want to say this last thing.
I'm a single man, never been married, and don't have any biological kids.
And I wanted to thank you for loaning him out to me, because he opened my heart to receive
love, to be that surrogate father, that temporary father, and it was such a blessing to be around
him.
Yes, because of that Christian foundation, it was there.
And that is what made it easy, so I want to thank you, the family, and his heritage.
Thank you.
That's beautiful.
It's a good thing you didn't know that story about the carport, Lewis, when you were loaning
out your vet.
And then Glenn's boss, Mark's going to come and share with us for a few moments.
So I was actually lucky enough to have been introduced to Glenn by Jared Harrington, and
we spent a lot of time commuting from Orange County up to the office in L.A. together.
And Glenn, I'm going to tell a little story that I hadn't written down, because Glenn
was a joker, and he brought so much love and joy.
One of my favorite parts of my day at the office is when Glenn would silently walk by
my office and flip me the bird.
And I never let him win in video games, but when we heard of Glenn's passing, I called
everyone together and shared the following thoughts, which I'm humbled to share with
you today.
We've been blessed to have worked with Glenn for the past nine years.
His sudden passing robbed us of a dear friend, colleague, and mentor.
Glenn's commitment and character were a constant reminder of what makes our lives sacred.
In a calcified time, he was intellectually honest, willing to engage in well-intended
dialogue to explore ideas and challenge beliefs.
His humility, candor, and integrity created safe space to engage in those conversations,
and his open-mindedness allowed him to consider other points of view without prejudice.
Glenn fundamentally understood the humanity which unites and binds us all as equals.
He was always ready to lend a hand, an ear, or a heart.
Glenn's character was that great.
Glenn built deep relationships with many of us over the years.
He was genuine, considerate, compassionate, loyal, and authentic.
And we loved him for it.
I can't think of another person that I would want my children to emulate.
As I reflect on how so many of us felt about Glenn, I couldn't help but think of his family,
his parents, Glenn and John, his sister Brooke, his niece and nephew, and his community.
All of you who helped shape and develop Glenn.
And it made me think of Paul's words to the community in Corinth, if I may, 1 Corinthians 13.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding
gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship, that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient.
Love is kind.
It does not envy.
It does not boast.
It is not proud.
It does not dishonor others.
It is not self-seeking.
It is not easily angered.
It keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
And while words don't do justice to the loss this world has suffered with Glenn's passing,
I want to share a few memorials from the lives that Glenn touched through his actions.
The words of people from Argentina to India to Denmark and home.
I only have positive things to say about Glenn.
He was a pleasure to work with and always supportive, even when we had nine hours difference
in working days.
My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.
Glenn understood the human condition like few others did.
He was playful yet strong, light yet deep, and had an incredible work ethic.
Rest in peace, my friend.
Until next time.
Glenn was a great guy, and I really enjoyed working with him.
My thoughts are with his family and everyone that was lucky enough to know him.
He was a gem.
It hurts so much to hear this news.
Glenn and I sat next to one another for much of my time, and I couldn't have asked for
a better desk mate.
Glenn was one of the funniest and hardest working people I have ever known.
His passing is a tremendous loss.
He was the definition of a giver.
He never thought twice if you asked him for help, opinions, or advice.
Lots of love to Glenn's family.
And while the wound of Glenn's loss is deep and painful, we hope that the love he's brought
to so many lives brings you some comfort.
It's a testament to the love that you engendered in Glenn, and it's a testament to a life he
lived with love.
And that love does persevere.
That love does not fail.
That love lives on forever with all of us who have been blessed to know Glenn.
And so Glenn lives on with us.
Thank you.
Beautiful.
It's high praise.
One of the funniest and hardest working people I know.
That doesn't often go together.
It does in my life, of course.
And then Chuck, Glenn's brother-in-law is going to come, and you can read a letter.
All right.
Let's see.
Chuck, you're going to read a letter?
You're going to read a letter?
Chuck?
Chuck.
Thank you.
So let's read this letter now.
And I have it here for you.
Yeah.
Is that right?
Or you can just share what's on your heart.
I wasn't sure what you were going to do.
This letter is from my wife, Brooke.
To my dear brother, as I sit down and write this letter to you, I am filled with so many
emotions.
You are someone I always looked up to and admired.
Going through your old pictures brought us such a joy that it's hard to explain.
When we were little, Mom and Dad...
lived in a two-bedroom home, and that meant one thing,
we had to share a room.
When mom would give me a bottle before bed,
I would scooch over my crib by your bed
and throw the bottle at you.
I always wanted to be near and pester you
as much as I could.
But like a brother, you would let me.
Some of our fondest memories
were the long road trips to Montana,
where we would watch TV and play hide and seek
in the back of the Suburban.
When we finally got to Nana and Popo's cabin,
we would ride our quads for hours,
dig holes and watch the lightning dance across the sky.
One specific day, we were riding our quads
and sliding on the gravel roads,
and we pushed our luck
and went right into a barbed wire fence.
We were cut up from the fencing,
but you told me we would be okay,
and you told me to be tough.
When our parents and grandparents
took us to the hospital to get stitches,
all we wanted was to be together
and to make sure the other was okay.
That's the type of man my brother grew up to be,
always making sure that others
were taken care of first before himself.
In tough times, he would be honest and right the wrong.
He was a man of integrity and loyal as the day is long.
One of my greatest memories was my brother meeting me
and our children, Piper and Easton.
Both of our kids are pretty shy,
and they could take a little to warm up to someone.
Piper and Easton loved Glenn,
and instantly they became the best of friends.
It was so special to see your heart filled with love
for our children and watch my 35-year-old brother
cuddle and play with both of the kids.
The night before my brother left to return to Colorado,
we watched a John Wayne movie.
Our daughter Piper grabbed her blanket,
binky, and snuggled up right with you.
One of the last times I spoke with my brother,
Piper grabbed my phone and said,
I love you, Uncle Glenn.
One last thing I would like to share
is a dream I had the night I found out
my brother had passed away.
That was a rough night with a lot of various emotions.
I cried out to God to please let me see
my brother one more time.
That night, I'd only slept for two hours,
but I had a wonderful dream.
In my dream, I saw my brother's face
and his shoulders in the clouds.
His face was filled with joy and happiness.
His smile was so pure, like his blue eyes.
There was no sorrow, heaviness, or struggle.
He was beautiful and filled with love.
I reached out to Glenn as if I was pulling him back
to Earth.
I saw Popo's hand grabbing his shoulders
to pull him back into heaven.
But before he was pulled back,
he smiled and shook his head no.
In this moment, I woke up and realized two things.
My brother was so happy and filled with God's love
that it would be selfish to want him back here on Earth.
Looking at my brother and the beauty that surrounded him,
I was able to feel and see how God looks at us.
The verse that I have thought of every morning
since his passing is Psalms 34 through five.
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks in his holy name,
for his anger is for a moment
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes in the morning.
Although you are not with us on Earth,
you are alive and hanging with your best buddy, Popo.
I love you, Glenn, and I rejoice in your perfect peace.
Joy has come to me every morning, knowing my legend,
my sweet brother is dancing with Jesus
and has no sorrow, no pain, just pure holiness.
I will miss you, and I promise to honor our parents
and make sure our children know and love their Uncle Glenn.
Love, your sister, Brooke.
Thank you.
Thank you, Brooke.
Thank you, Chuck.
And now Dave Langland, family friend and pastor.
I can go find a letter from Kenny.
I didn't get a letter.
Do you want me to read it, or?
Okay.
You can read it, bro.
Thank you.
This is from Kenny Bryant,
and he's known to many of you.
But he's a really good friend of Glenn.
Glenn Downs was my friend,
an unlikely friendship in some ways
since I was about 15 years.
older than him. We just connected. I knew Glenn from his younger days of hanging out with Andy,
Cannon, and my brother-in-law Jeff. But it wasn't until I moved to Redding, California
in 2011 that I really got to know Glenn. That first year in Redding was exceptional. My wife
and I were attending Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, and immediately Glenn reached out to me
wanting to hang out. We hung out every chance we got. I spent hundreds of hours with Glenn that
year. We had multiple common interests, music, guns, but especially disc golf.
We played a lot of disc golf. We played all the surrounding courses in Redding,
Anderson, and as far away as Weaverville. Sometimes Cannon would join us, or my sons River
and Zane and others. But there was one prerequisite. We talked about everything.
Disc golf takes a couple of hours to play, so we had plenty of time to talk.
We talked about politics, religion, guns, marriage, disappointments, forgiveness, and Jesus.
We also talked about unimportant things, like why no matter how many discs I bought,
I was still awful at disc golf. You can just hear Glenn razzing.
Joy, fun, and laughter were at the heart of our relationship. Glenn's laugh was absolutely
contagious. I learned over all that time that Glenn was one of the smartest, wisest, thoughtful,
kind, loyal, and hardest working people that I had ever met. I think Glenn considered me a mentor in
some ways, but I also learned some very important things from him. I learned new depths of grace and
mercy, friendship and loyalty, joy and laughter. But most of all, I learned how to just be myself.
I will miss my friend deeply, but I'm confident that I will see him again,
and we will play a lot of disc golf. Kenny Bryant.
I want to thank all of the people that shared, all of Glenn's friends, family that have shared
about him. So good to hear those stories, and Pastor Dan, the way he's presented just the
love God has for us, and the way he wants to minister to us and help us through this time.
And in fact, everyone did such a good job. You know, even Jared did awesome. Jared has my speech.
I was going to get up here and just cry and go back, you know. But everyone had such a heartfelt
way of sharing, and just a different part of Glenn that maybe each one of us didn't know
everything that he was up to. And I'm really glad, Glenn and Shani, you brought up that
Glenn's Urkel routine, because I remember that so clearly. And sometimes you feel,
come on, Glenn, you're going a little overboard, you know.
But it was so amazing. He was so convincing. It was almost a little, like, disturbing, you know.
But then imagine our shock when we found out he was a tech genius.
You know, Urkel becomes tech genius.
It was so great to hear the different facets of Glenn. And I know that the family knew him the
best, and they will miss him the most. All of us will miss him. And I know the family,
there's a big hole, you know.
Glenn was a great friend to my son. And Andy's watching from Virginia. And Rita's in Tanzania
watching, I think, if she's still awake. If not, she'll get the archive. It's probably about 2am,
3am there. But she was going to watch online. And they both wish so much they could be here.
In fact, I had to tell Andy, don't come. He wanted to come. I told him, don't come.
Your wife has four small children. It wouldn't, you know, you need to stay there for her.
But we love you guys so much. And I wanted to just share real briefly a scripture,
and just the thoughts the Lord put on my heart for you, Glenn, and Shauna, and Brooke, and Chuck.
This is something I believe the Lord wants you to be encouraged about.
First of all, Psalm 34, 18 says the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed
in spirit.
It's his word, you know, his promise to us.
God is near you.
He's probably, you'll feel him nearer to you at this time than maybe many other times in
your life.
And then Matthew 7, verse 24-27 is what I really felt in my heart to share with you.
And it goes along with what Pastor Dan was saying about the grieving process.
Because you have sowed God's word into your heart, Jesus' word into your heart, you're
prepared for this time.
And you don't need to be afraid of those feelings that come over you, that sweep over
you.
And the word says,
Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a
wise man who built his house on the rock.
And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house.
And it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish
man who built his house on the sand.
And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house.
And it fell.
And great was its fall.
And in a similar verse in Luke chapter 6, verse 46-49, it's the same passage essentially
except it adds that the wise man dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.
And I know, you know, we've had a long history together.
We've been in ministry together.
We've been friends together.
We've shared, your son, you know, he's stayed with us for a while and we just have many
common things and our understanding of the word is very similar.
And I just felt that the Lord is saying to you that you have made his word and your relationship
with Jesus the most important thing in your life.
And that you've built your life on this rock, on the foundation of his word and on your
relationship with him.
Jesus is that rock and his word, he is the word of God.
And that as you're going through the next several months, you know, Pastor Dan probably
would share this with you too, there's no time limit on how long a person grieves.
There's no, you can't rush it.
Sometimes you wish it would be over and they'll come back.
And sometimes I have ministered to people, they feel so frustrated.
Why do I, what's wrong with me?
You know, there's nothing wrong with you.
There's a big hole and God's refilling it and healing it.
But you are ready, you know, you're prepared.
Everything that you're going to have to go through and have gone through, God's going
to bring you through and you're going to stand.
And when the storm is done blowing, you'll be standing on that rock and you'll be even,
you know, stronger.
And the Lord's will be closer, you'll feel him closer.
And then there's one more scripture I wanted to share, well, one more of mine and then
Rita had one for you.
And that is from John 11 chapter 23 through 27.
And it's about keeping the eternal perspective and the things that were shared and the thoughts
that were shared really brought that out about Glenn being in that better place than
we are.
You know, I think of some of the people that are part of our church have passed away a
couple of years ago.
I'm like, you know, they didn't have to go through this whole COVID thing, you know.
Bless their hearts and left us here to deal with it.
But it's the story of Lazarus, Jesus and Lazarus and his interactions with Lazarus's sisters.
And I only share one portion of it.
It's where Jesus said to Martha, he said, your brother, Jesus said to her, your brother
will rise again.
And Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last
day.
And Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live.
live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die." It's kind of an interesting
construction in the language there, where he says that whoever lives and believes in
me shall never die. But before that he says, he who believes in me, though he may die,
he shall live. So when you're given and put your life and you've made Jesus your Lord
and Savior, and you've put your trust in the Lord Jesus, it's like you're in a place
where you can die, but you're not dead, as has been shared. And yet, our perspective
on this side of heaven is such of a loss. You know, there's this loss, but the reality
is Glenn is very much alive. Very much alive. Jesus made the comment that God is the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Not He was their God, but He is their God. They're alive. Glenn's
alive. And it's our challenge to continue to stay in that Word, stay on that foundation
that you've already laid, and let God bring us through this process. And that we will
see as we do that, you will see as you do that, you know, that there are better days
ahead for you. Even though it feels like, how can that be? And yet it will be. So finally,
Rita asked me to share this scripture from Psalm 116, verse 15. Precious in the sight
of the Lord is the death of His saints. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His
saints. You know, when I think of that, when one of His saints passes away, God is aware
of it. You know, when they die, God's aware of it. God's watching it happen. And it's
precious to Him. You know, to us, it's awful. To Him, it's precious. And He's, you know,
giving them into His presence. And He knows our pain. Jesus is acquainted with all of
our sorrows. And so He's the one we turn to in these times. But God encouraged me about
your solid foundation, and that God is going to bring you guys through this. And you have
so many awesome friends and family members. And as Dan mentioned, don't be afraid to talk
about Glenn. You know, we all want to talk about him.
Thank you, David. Thank you.
As we move towards closing our formal time, we're going to have like an informal time of
food and friendship and fellowship in just a few moments. But thank you, everybody that
shared. Beautiful. It's an opportunity to see Glenn through another set of eyes. It's so
meaningful, so important. Somewhere in Glenn's early life, somewhere on his life's journey,
somebody, maybe his mom or his dad, maybe a Sunday school teacher, told Glenn that God
loved him. And that God had been looking for him. There's parables in the Bible about
how the Lord is like a woman who has ten coins, loses one and tears her house apart trying
to find that one special one. There's stories in the Bible about He's got 99 sheep and one's
missing. So He leaves the 99 to go find the one. I remember being one of the 99 thinking,
why are you leaving and finding that guy? But that's the heart of God who says, I'm
not. The distracted heart of the Father says, somebody's not safe, somebody's not home,
and He's reaching for them. Glenn responded to that somewhere in his childhood and gave
his heart to Jesus. Somewhere he learned that the cross and the resurrection were God's way
of healing His creation and of renewing humanity. And sometime in Glenn's life, probably like most
of us who grew up in the church, gave his heart to Jesus ten times sometimes. I probably led my
kids to the Lord ten times, you know, at various times. But I think the Lord grabs ahold of you
that first time, by the way. That first time you go, I love you. I think I want to be with you.
Like, that's good enough for me. I think He grabs ahold of you right there and He's got
you held fast. But somewhere He kind of said a prayer, something like, Jesus, thank you. I'm
done trusting myself. I'm going to trust you. Forgive me for my rebellion, for running away.
I'm done running and I want to come home.
And I think Glenn's commitment, his connection with Jesus would just, he'd be thrilled if
you heard how much the gospel has impacted him and has shaped the community of believers.
And you said, today's the day I'm done running, I want to come home.
And again, it's as simple as a prayer and putting our trust in God.
Why is it so simple?
Because it was so difficult for him in his death and his resurrection.
And the Lord has gone to great measures, great lengths to call us home and welcoming
us home.
And I can tell you plainly, probably every Christian in this room would tell you, none
of us realized what we were signing on for when we signed up at some level.
You're like, wow, okay, this is pretty involved.
And so we never do.
And yet the Lord grabs hold of us.
We grab hold of him with like our timid little, you know, little baby hand and grab hold of
him.
But he grabs hold of us with that thundering hand of grace and says, I've got you, you're
mine.
And Jesus said, no one can snatch us out of the father's hand.
At funerals, we face deep things that we spend a great deal of time trying to ignore, life
after death and death itself.
But they are a moment just to say, hey, how's my connection with the Lord?
And I'd invite you to do just that.
For a while, it's not popular anymore, but for a while it was the term YOLO was out there,
right?
You only live once.
Not actually the gospel message, which is we live twice.
There is a life after this life.
And so I have a new phrase, YOLT.
You can go ahead and get a tattoo of that if you'd like, but you only live twice.
That when we organize our life, we're not organizing life just for this life because
we only live once.
We actually believe in life and his presence afterwards.
And that belief runs into this life and begins to shape who we are as we love each other,
love our neighbor, love our enemies and reach for those who sometimes disagree with us,
sometimes are disagreeable.
We hear the testimony of Glenn, a man who was able to do that.
He was able to think outside of himself, to think along with the imagination and the mind
of God in how he loves people and reaches for them.
And so in conclusion, just a reminder that just the good news of the gospel in Jesus
is that Glenn is not gone, but he's gone home.
And we will see him again.
He's not merely asleep, but wide eyed awake for the very first time.
That he has not reached the end of his life, but the beginning of eternal life.
And he is not dead, I tell you, but is really alive, truly alive for the very first time.
So let's close in prayer.
So God, you are big and we are small.
You are unlimited and we are limited.
You're infinite and we are finite.
We are humbled that in love you have stooped to conquer our hearts.
You have humbled yourself to become like one of us, to become close to us, to die on our
behalf, to be raised from the dead.
And so we, well, we look to you with eyes of admiration, Heavenly Father.
Eyes of admiration, eyes of appreciation and gladness.
Thank you.
You brought meaning and joy and purpose to our existence.
We honor your holy and beautiful name.
We do pray again for each one of us, but especially for the downs.
And with your eyes closed real quick, I want to tell you the service I was just at prayed
for us at this service.
It was a beautiful moment is in their grief and in remembering Marilyn Seth, they just
turned and said, Papa, loose a blessing on our brothers and sisters who are gathering
to remember and to grieve.
And so we're thankful for that grace, God.
We're thankful for the body of Christ, the love of friendship, the laughter.
And we're thankful that in you, the worst things are never the last things.
Amen.
Bless you guys.
Thank you for being here.
Go ahead and visit with the family.
And then they've graciously prepared a little meal for us as well.
And then all of us would be open to conversation and talk about Glenn.
If you'd like to find me and talk about the Lord, you can do that as well.
It'd be my privilege to speak to you about him.
Thank you.
So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only
Sing to Him, Church
And all the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Sing it
Great are You, Lord
And all the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Great are You, Lord
And all the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Great are You, Lord
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only
Sing
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only
We pour out our praise to You only
Applause
If I told you my story
You would hear hope
They wouldn't let go
And if I told you my story
You would hear love
That never gave up
♪♪
And if I told you my story
You would hear lies
But it wasn't mine
If I should speak
Then let it be
Of the grace that is greater
Than all my sin
Of when justice was served
And when mercy wins
Of the kindness of Jesus
That draws me in
Oh, to tell you my story
Is to tell of Him
If I told you my story
You would hear victory
Over the enemy
And if I told you my story
You would hear freedom
That was won for me
And if I told you my story
You would hear life
Overcome the grave
If I should speak
Then let it be
Of the grace that is greater
Than all my sin
Of when justice was served
And when mercy wins
Of the kindness of Jesus
That draws me in
Oh, to tell you my story
Is to tell of Him
This is my story
This is my song
I'm praising my Savior
All the day long
This is my story
This is my song
I'm praising my Savior
All the day long
For the grace that is greater
Than all my sin
Of when justice was served
And when mercy wins
Of the kindness of Jesus
That draws me in
Oh, to tell you my story
Is to tell of the grace
That is greater
Than all my sin
Of when justice was served
And when mercy wins
Of the kindness of Jesus
That draws me in
Oh, to tell you my story
Is to tell of Him
Oh, to tell you my story
Is to tell of Him
This is my story
This is my song
I'm praising my Savior
All the day long
I raise a hallelujah
Louder than the unbelief
I raise a hallelujah
My weapon is a melody
I raise a hallelujah
My weapon is a melody
I raise a hallelujah
Heaven comes to fight for me
I'm gonna sing
♪ In the middle of the storm ♪
♪ Louder and louder ♪
♪ You're gonna hear my praises roar ♪
♪ Up from the ashes ♪
♪ Hope will arise ♪
♪ Death is defeated ♪
♪ The King is alive ♪
♪ I raise a hallelujah ♪
♪ With everything inside of me ♪
♪ I raise a hallelujah ♪
♪ I will watch the darkness flee ♪
♪ I raise a hallelujah ♪
♪ In the middle of the mystery ♪
♪ I raise a hallelujah ♪
♪ I fear you lost your hold on me ♪
♪ I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm ♪
♪ Louder and louder you're gonna hear my praises roar ♪
♪ Up from the ashes hope will arise ♪
♪ Death is defeated the King is alive ♪
♪ Sing a little louder ♪
♪ In the presence of my enemies ♪
♪ Sing a little louder ♪
♪ Louder than the unbelief ♪
♪ Sing a little louder ♪
♪ My weapon is a melody ♪
♪ Sing a little louder ♪
♪ Heaven comes to fight for us ♪
♪ Sing a little louder ♪
♪ In the presence of my enemies ♪
♪ Sing a little louder ♪
♪ Louder than the unbelief ♪
♪ Sing a little louder ♪
♪ My weapon is a melody ♪
♪ Sing a little louder ♪
♪ Heaven comes to fight for me ♪
♪ Sing a little louder ♪
♪ I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm ♪
♪ Louder and louder ♪
♪ You're gonna hear my praises roar ♪
♪ Up from the ashes hope will arise ♪
♪ Death is defeated the king is alive ♪
♪ I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm ♪
♪ Louder and louder ♪
♪ You're gonna hear my praises roar ♪
♪ Up from the ashes hope will arise ♪
♪ Death is defeated the king is alive ♪
♪ I raise a hallelujah ♪
Just begin to raise your own hallelujah.
I can't do it for you.
There's a song written on your heart only you can sing.
And when you sing, enemies flee.
When you sing, prison walls come falling down.
When you sing, heaven invades the earth.
Raise your hallelujah.
Raise it like a banner.
Raise it like a flag, raise it in the middle of the storm.
Let it rise, let it rise.
Like a symphony to the king.
Everything to you Jesus.
We raise it up.
Yeah.
Let it rise, let it rise.
Sing a little louder.
Now we raise a hallelujah.
We raise a hallelujah.
We sing of the goodness of God.
I love your voice.
You will lead me through the fire.
And in darkest night, you were close like no other.
I've known you as a father.
I've known you as a friend.
And I have lived in the goodness of God.
Yeah.
And all my life, you have been faithful.
Whoa.
And all my life, you have been so, so good.
Every breath that I am able, oh, I
will sing of the goodness of God.
Yeah.
Your goodness is running out.
It's running out to me.
Your goodness is running out.
It's running out to me.
My life paid down.
I'm surrendering now.
I give you everything.
Your goodness is running out.
It's running out to me.
Your goodness is running out.
It's running out to me.
Your goodness is running out.
It's running out to me.
My life paid down.
I'm surrendering now.
♪ I'll give you everything ♪
♪ Your goodness running in case you're left in pain ♪
♪ And all my life you have been faith ♪
♪ And all my life you have been so, so good ♪
♪ With every breath that I am able to give you ♪
♪ Oh, I'm gonna sing of the goodness of God ♪
♪ I'm gonna sing, I'm gonna sing ♪
♪ Oh, God, and all my life you have been faith ♪
♪ And all my life you have been so, so good ♪
♪ With every breath that I am able to give you ♪
♪ Oh, I'm gonna sing of the goodness of God ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ With every breath of all my days ♪
And God, thank you for keeping it.
So now my last song, I would like you to sing
a song for your children.
And come on, Bob.
Eeny, meeny, miny
minya
mimy
miny
mini
miny
tiny
miny
tiny
mini
tiny
little
baby
itchy
Itch ...
because you're a good good father
it's who you are
and I'm loved by you
it's who I am
and I've seen
many searching for him
answers
far and wide
but I know
we're all searching for answers
only you provide
cause you know
just
what we need
before we
can say
we're
you're a good good father
it's who you are
and I'm loved by you
it's who I am
You're a good good father
it's who you are
and I'm loved by you
it's who I am
You're perfect in all of your ways
to love
You're perfect in all of your ways
to love
♪
Love so undeniable
I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable
I can hardly think
As you call me
Deeper still as you call me
Deeper still into love
Love, love
You're a good, good father
It's who you are
And I'm loved by you
It's who I am
You're a good, good father
It's who you are
And I'm loved by you
It's who I am
You're perfect in all of your ways
To love
Let's sing that again.
You're perfect in all of your ways
Sing it to me
You're perfect in all of your ways
To love
Amen.
That's great.
God, thank you so much that you are a daddy to us.
So much of our time as believers,
we can get lost in thinking that you are
just a book that we read.
You're a goal that we're trying to reach.
You're a place that we go to once a week.
You're a lifestyle.
You're some sort of worldview.
God, we can't lean on a worldview.
We can't cry to a book.
You're a father.
You're a good, good father.
And you're not loving us because we're good.
You're loving us because you're good.
God, the more we sing and the more we pray,
just remind us this is a conversation with a person.
A person that loves us,
that knows everything about us and loves us.
You deserve every breath that comes out of us.
Every word, every note we could ever sing is yours.
Thank you, God, that you're the one.
In Jesus' name, amen.
You give life.
You are love.
You bring light to the darkness.
You give hope.
You restore every heart that is broken.
Sing it to us.
Great are you, Lord.
Because it's your breath in our lungs.
So we pour out our praise.
We pour out our praise.
It's your breath in our lungs.
So we pour out our praise to you only.
You give life.
Sing it out.
You give life.
You are love.
You bring light to the darkness.
You give hope.
You restore every heart that is broken.
Great are you, Lord.
It's your breath in our lungs.
So we pour out our praise.
♪ We pour out our praise, we pour out our praise ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise to you only ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise to you only ♪
Sing to him, church.
♪ And all the earth will shout your praise ♪
♪ Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing, sing it ♪
♪ Great are you, Lord ♪
♪ And all the earth will shout your praise ♪
♪ Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing ♪
♪ Great are you, Lord ♪
♪ And all the earth will shout your praise ♪
♪ Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing ♪
♪ Great are you, Lord ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise to you only ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise to you only ♪
♪ Amen ♪
Sing.
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise ♪
♪ We pour out our praise ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise to You only ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise ♪
♪ It's your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise to You only ♪
♪ We pour out our praise to You only ♪
♪ It's Your breath in our lungs ♪
♪ So we pour out our praise to You only ♪
♪ We pour out our praise to You only ♪
applause
♪
If I told you my story
♪
You would hear
Dear hope, they wouldn't let go And if I told you my story, you would hear love that never gave up
And if I told you my story, you would hear life, but it wasn't mine
If I should speak, then let it be of the grace that is greater than all my sin
Of when justice was served and when mercy wins
Of the kindness of Jesus that draws me in
Oh, to tell you my story is to tell of Him
If I told you my story, you would hear victory over the enemy
And if I told you my story, you would hear freedom