♪♪
Good afternoon.
Thank you for coming and being with us today,
being with the Berkwatt family today to celebrate Lewis' life.
My name is Jeremy Gagneau.
I was a teacher at BCS here for a long time,
and Lewis and I met because we were neighbors.
So, you know, the first time I met Lewis,
I was really impressed with, well, I think what impresses us all,
how many children he has, right?
So I got to say, I myself have four children,
and when our fourth came along, you know, before when I had three,
I'm like, you know, I have a lot of children.
But when I had four, I thought, wow, I am rich in children.
And then I met Lewis, and I realized I was just middle class.
I hadn't yet reached.
If I really wanted to be rich, I was not even halfway there.
So that was the first thing I noticed.
The other thing was this, he was so anxious and willing
to enter into friendship with me.
And so we invited, we went on a walk.
And the other thing that was really impressive to me,
we went with all the kids,
and I was so impressed with the way his children
all just wanted to listen to what it was that we were saying.
My children are much more interested in their phones
than they are in my conversations a lot of times.
So watching Lewis' children listen intently to our conversations,
no matter how deep or what subject we choose to go,
was such an impressive thing about Lewis.
I'll always be touched and impacted by his role in my life.
You know, one of the other things, I was really,
there was a period of time, and still even today,
where I really started to believe that when Jesus came,
it wasn't only just a significant experience in the history of man,
but it was the experience in the history of man,
that it changed culture forever.
And I remember telling this to Lewis.
And what he did is he pulled a book from his bookshelf,
and he said, you should probably read this.
And man, it was amazing.
It was actually a book about the Anabaptists,
and it became one of the formative books in the way that I think about the world.
And I was so blessed by his willingness to share that with me.
You know, my last experience with him was
when we decided to move, my wife and I are moving to South Carolina.
It's the first big move as a couple.
We've actually been in Reading for the last 20 years.
You know, his family reached out and said,
whatever we can do, we're willing to help.
I was just so impressed with that too, you know.
So that's Lewis for me.
One thing I wanted to talk to you guys about before I leave the stage here
is that one of the traditions in the Berkwatt family is on Father's Day,
the children write, they create Father's Day cards for their dad.
They just talk about what he means to them.
And so today, the family would like you to invite you to do the same.
On your seats, you'll see cards, and you'll see markers.
And so we'd like you, as the service progresses,
to be thinking about Lewis and his impact on your life,
what you saw, what you experienced for yourself,
and to write that down on the card.
And at the end of the service, when we're all enjoying ourselves together
and celebrating his life,
we encourage you to put the markers in the back bucket,
and there's a basket of marked cards over there.
Okay? Thank you.
All right, I'm going to turn the service over to, I believe, the worship team.
Will the worship team come on up, please?
Hey, hey, would you guys want to stand and worship with us a little bit?
I love you Lord, for your mercy never fails
All my days, I've been holding your hand
From the moment God awakened, until I laid my head
And I will stand, in the goodness of your hand
Oh my wife, you have been great
Oh my wife, you have been so, so good
With every breath that I have made
Oh I will stand, of the goodness of God
I love your voice, you have led me through the fire
I will stand, in darkness now, your voice I know I heard
I know you as a father, I know you as a friend
I will stand, in the goodness of your hand
Oh my wife, you have been great
Oh my wife, you have been so, so good
With every breath that I have made
Oh I will stand, of the goodness of your hand
Your goodness is running out, it's running out today
With my life laid down, I'm surrendering now, I'll give you everything
Your goodness is running out, it's running out today
With my life laid down, I'm surrendering now, I'll give you everything
Your goodness is running out, it's running out today
Oh my wife, you have been faithful
Oh my wife, you have been so, so good
With every breath that I have made
Oh I will stand, of the goodness of God
Don't let me down
You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down
You are the way, you're the way
Oh, you are the way, you're the way
You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down
Oh, I know, you're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down
Oh, you are the way, you are the way
Oh, you are the way
Oh, I've heard a thousand stories of what they think
You're like what I've heard
A tender whisper in the dark
In the dead of night
And you tell me that you're pleased that I'm never alone
You're a good, good father
It's who you are, it's who you are
It's who you are and I'm proud of you
It's who I am, it's who I am
It's who I am
Oh, and I've seen many searching for answers
Far and wide, but I, we're all searching for answers
Want me to pray hard cause you know
Just what we need before we say a word
You're a good, good father
It's who you are, it's who you are
It's who you are and I'm proud of you
It's who I am, it's who I am
It's who I am
You're a good, good father
It's who you are, it's who you are
It's who you are and I'm loved by you
It's who I am, it's who I am
It's who I am
You are perfect in all of your ways You are perfect in all of your ways
It's who I am It's who I am
It's who I am You are perfect
You are perfect in all of your ways You are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways It's who I am
Through everything we know You are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways You are perfect in all of your ways
It's who I am
O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him Christ the Lord
Let's sing that again, it's beautiful
O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him Christ the Lord
Praise God from whom all blessings flow Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above the heavenly host Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Praise God from whom all blessings flow Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above the heavenly host Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
We sing Amen
Amen
We sing Amen
One more time, just the voices.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him, above ye heavenly hosts.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
The pastor that was overseeing our service said that he felt like the Lord gave him Psalm
112 as a mission for our lives, and so we embraced it and taught it to our children.
Praise the Lord. How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments.
His descendants will be mighty on earth. The generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in His house, and His righteousness endures forever.
Light arises in the darkness for the upright. He is gracious and compassionate and righteous.
It is well with the man who is gracious and lends. He will maintain his cause and judgment.
For he will never be shaken. The righteous will be remembered forever.
He will not fear evil tidings. His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is upheld. He will not fear, until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries.
He has given freely to the poor. His righteousness endures forever.
His horn will be exalted in honor.
The wicked will see it and be bent. He will gnash his teeth and melt away.
The desire of the wicked will perish.
So if you'll join me in prayer. Lord, we just thank You so much.
The blessed assurance that we have in You, Lord. God, that's the song that just kept coming to mind.
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.
Oh, God, we just thank You so much that even in this place where we mourn the loss of someone
who meant so much to us, that at the same time we can sit in Jesus' presence
that we live in a kingdom that is a kingdom built on love, God.
Yes, Holy Spirit, it is an honor and a privilege to worship You even today in this moment.
And a reminder of how You set things up for our success.
Well, there is no greater honor than to worship You.
And a reminder of how You set things up for our success.
Well, there is no final loss, God, but only victory in Your name.
But only victory in Your name. Thank You, Jesus, for saving us, Lord.
We just thank You for Your sacrifice that allows us that victory, Jesus.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Thank you so much for worshiping with us.
You know, it's a huge part of the Birkwad family's life,
and so we just want to make a huge part of this.
I'm going to let Myra come up and introduce the speakers.
Each one is speaking a different part of Lewis' life.
So, Myra, you want to come on up?
Hello, and welcome. Thank you, everyone, for attending in person or on Zoom or YouTube.
I'm very, very thankful for all the love that we've been surrounded by.
At this time, I'd like Pat Blewett to join me on stage.
He's from Simpson University, one of Lewis' former colleagues and friends.
And also Elizabeth Birkwad, our oldest daughter.
And we're just going to sit up here and and talk to you about Lewis and some good stuff, okay?
And my brother Nathan, too. I'll bring him up.
Yeah, come on up. He's my pastor, my advocate.
Squishy.
All right, so yes, the homemade cards that you're welcome to continue to write and participate with.
They are some of a flavor of the Berkwatt family, and so it's like just sitting around
in the family room and talking and being together. So I'll try to make this
relaxed and enjoyable. The verse on the screen is actually like our motto, like you saw the
children give our mission, and our motto really was, though, to seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to us. So we, Lewis and I, were given that
before we were married, and it's definitely a strong part of our family and the legacy that
Lewis has given us. So I want to be real with everybody. I don't really want to talk about Lewis
in the past. Past tense is not how I want to talk about him, and I don't feel like I was finished
with that man at all, but that's the raw me, and it's okay if you all are bringing raw you to this
family meeting. We're just in it together, and we're surrounded by Jesus, and that is the best
thing that Lewis and I had in common. He loved Jesus, and I love Jesus, and that was just what
bound us. I would encourage you to stop for a minute and think about what did you maybe have
in common with Lewis, and whether you're in the room or on the other side of the camera,
and maybe think about who it is that you're grieving and you're honoring.
I've observed a common thread among people who I've talked to who are grieving the loss of Lewis,
and it's this. The very man we want to run to and talk to about this situation
is the one we are grieving.
It feels like an oxymoron, like a huge contradiction. Lewis was an amazing counselor.
His gifts blessed others to help them learn about themselves and about God Almighty.
If you could divulge with Lewis on the experiences of dealing with the loss at this magnitude,
I can assure you that he would do two things.
He would remind you that God is sovereign. God is sovereign, and he would ask questions.
So many of you know he would ask questions.
Lewis was an avid learner, and he was a man of many questions. He thrilled at learning and
probing and digging to find answers. I encourage you to ask questions about this tragedy.
Ask of others. Ask of yourself. Ask of God. I just ask that you keep all the questions
in the frame that God is sovereign.
Another common thread that many have expressed is that Lewis loved them like a stand-in father.
Someone commented and called him Daddy Lewis.
In the next few minutes, I truly hope that you encounter the father heart of God
because Lewis loved that way.
In my public statement, I mentioned two of the three things that Lewis stood for the most,
family and faith. He had faith long before he and I met. His faith started when he was in
kindergarten. He heard the story of Paul's conversion, and he repented and believed.
Lewis would tell of his own salvation experience. He would tell of his own
conversion, and he repented and believed. Lewis would tell of his own salvation experience
while giving great emphasis on the light that Paul saw. I have asked Lewis's friend, Pat,
to share what Lewis's faith looked like in recent months and years.
years and how Lewis continued to draw attention to that light in the world.
Like Myra said, Lewis had a simple faith.
It was just straightforward, just who he was.
Perhaps if I could use a verse, obedience is better than sacrifice would be the definition
of Lewis as we saw and got acquainted.
What did that look like?
Can I suggest that his faith made him counter-cultural?
He was counter-cultural and most of you saw that with 10 kids running around.
In higher education, we're far more sophisticated in some of those kinds of things.
Lewis didn't care.
Lewis knew what God told him to do and that was it.
Nothing else mattered.
He was counter-cultural and was significant in that role.
Another part of just that counter-culture, he was trained on the East Coast in a Southern
Baptist seminary as a church planter, a good Southern Baptist.
What happens?
The Lord whispers in his ear, you guys need to move the family to California so that you
can attend Bethel.
Counter-cultural at the core of it, that's Lewis.
I enjoyed these years getting acquainted with him.
Because he was counter-cultural, he didn't accept anyone's position on anything.
He didn't necessarily tip his hand as to where he was.
He just simply went, oh, that's interesting.
That's what you think, okay, that's okay.
That was Lewis and he made a safe spot for everyone to grapple with their issues and
to be able to come to their own conclusions.
He was not willing to follow any of the current evangelical trends.
He knew what he knew from the word.
He knew what he knew from the spirits prompting and that was it.
He didn't need anything else.
He and Myra just worked from there.
How do we raise our family?
I could go on and I need to stop with that one.
His faith helped him with personal balance in life.
He had the ability to not get so caught up in one aspect of life that he missed other
things.
I want to just share one of those.
This was our Lewis and I were doing a summer reading project together.
He had tons of stuff he needed to do for his education and other kinds of stuff.
This is what he wanted the two of us to read through this summer.
The Emotional Healthy Leader, Setting Boundaries.
Now I thought I was the mentor in this relationship, but my guess is from the title that he suggested,
he was being his counselor self and helping me.
That's part of his act of faith.
His faith in those kind of settings always ended up, because we met together about every
two weeks, and the standard question that would always be there, no matter what the
topic was that we were on, so what is the Lord teaching you today?
What is the Lord teaching you today?
Over and over and over and over, that was Lewis.
That was his faith.
His faith helped him shepherd people who were not always looking for a pastor.
Some of you knew him because he wasn't a pastor.
He was a safe person to go to.
I watched him this spring while they were living in their little trailer down in Red
Bluff when a death took place in that little community.
What did the community do?
They said to Lewis, Lewis, you're the closest thing we have to a pastor.
Could you put together a memorial service?
We talked our way through those kinds of things, and Lewis and the family became this
shepherd to a whole community.
but wouldn't have gone to a church anywhere,
but they were there for that experience.
So he cared for folks who were looking for a safe spot.
That was his exercising of faith.
One last thing, and I need to shut up
because I've already taken more time than I'm supposed to.
Lewis encourages our faith
so that we can follow his model and his example.
I really am not excited that Lewis beat me
to the pearly gates, you know?
But he's there before me, and knowing Lewis,
he's gonna be there to welcome each of us on through
when it's our turn to come.
That was his expression of faith.
Wow, no wonder I love that man.
As his wife, I can testify that he loved scripture.
He had just bought a new Bible that he was going through.
I still receive notices on his phone
for verses highlighted on certain days.
He was a prayer warrior too.
Within minutes of the accident,
I was being notified on his phone that it's time to pray
because Lewis valued stopping to pray
as well as constantly interceding.
Is anyone learning things about Lewis that you didn't know?
Yeah?
Well, here's some more.
Lewis did not like to run,
but he did like to kayak, swim, and fish.
Lewis was a night owl.
Lewis said he drank coffee because it is filtered water.
Lewis liked to make homemade ice cream and homemade pizza.
Lewis didn't deal well with blood and guts.
However, he was a midwife for just a few minutes
when our youngest child was born quickly.
Speaking of children, here I have Elizabeth,
our oldest daughter, to tell us
about Lewis's love for family.
Thanks.
Capturing the essence of my dad and his heart for family
in a few minutes or a few words is impossible.
I could write books, and maybe I will.
He was one of my truest, deepest, bestest friends ever.
He was so good at what he did as a husband.
He was so good at what he did as a dad,
and he brought that to so many of his relationships.
So I said it would be impossible to tell you all about this,
but I'll try.
My dad loved deeply, and he loved fully.
He was a all or nothing, go big or go home kind of guy,
and he was so committed to us.
As he taught us, he took time for us,
he knew us, and he led us.
He taught us about God, and he modeled our heavenly father
in a way that I'm still clinging to, especially right now.
He was so aware of the fact that the example he set
as a dad was how we were gonna see God the father,
and he owned that, and the foundation that he laid
in our hearts is the reality
that we're all living with right now.
He taught us to love Jesus, to seek his voice,
and to follow no matter what the cost,
and he modeled that by example, too.
He taught us responsibility, diligence, and decision making.
He and my mom always said, we're not raising children,
we're raising adults, and it worked.
He taught us to dream big without limits.
Even in the last few weeks, I had a conversation with him,
and he was like, okay, so you've got your job
in a dream industry, and so now what do you want
to grow into, what's next?
And I've literally been working for like five months.
Go big or go home.
And he taught us spontaneity, and he taught us fun.
For my dad, any and every moment was a perfect moment
for a picnic or a party.
He could make anything mundane.
Might be making dinner.
Might be grocery shopping.
I'm telling you, grocery shopping with my dad
was so much fun.
But he could walk faster than all of us,
including my six-foot brothers.
So it might be grocery shopping.
It might be fixing the truck.
But anything he did, he turned a moment into a memory.
And he mentored us in those moments.
He made us laugh in those moments.
He took every single opportunity he had to be our best friend.
And he took time for us.
I seriously have no idea how my dad could
be the associate dean of student services
and work more than full time and invest
in a beautiful, thriving marriage
and raise 10 children and get a PhD and everything else
that he did.
I was like, I'm just trying to work a full time job
and volunteer a little bit.
And you're just killing it.
I don't know how he did that.
But in the middle of all of those roles that he played,
he took time for each and every person in his family.
And that's just one of the things that stands out to me
from 23 years with him.
When I was five, six, and seven, he was working full time.
And he was in seminary full time,
worked on that Baptist degree we talked about.
And I remember how he would regularly
take time to drive me to the mall
and ride escalators with me.
And we'd ride the ones that go up.
We'd go backwards.
And the ones that went down, we'd go up.
And we just had the best time.
And he'd take me to the department store.
And we'd count the pockets in the purses
because he knew I loved numbers.
And now, as an adult, he still took time for me.
In fact, he gave me more.
He never expected me to be self-sufficient.
He never said, you're 23.
You've graduated college.
You should have this figured out.
Go have fun.
No.
He might be deep in a doctoral deadline.
But if I came to his study and needed to talk,
he would stop for hours until he had heard me out,
asked me questions, and sorted life out.
And if I needed to do it again in a week,
he'd do it again in a week.
If I needed to do it again the next day,
he'd do it again the next day.
He always took time for us.
And he knew us really, really well.
I was talking to someone recently.
And they noted how my parents saw each of their 10 children
as individuals.
And they never saw us as the kids,
like the collective of 10 people that live in our house.
We were individuals to him.
He knew where each of us were, who each of us are,
and what each of us needed.
He could ask, how are you?
And if we gave a general answer when something was going on,
he knew the difference.
And he would kindly probe until we were talking.
He knew our skills.
He knew our passions.
He knew our dreams.
And he championed us.
He believed that we could, whatever
it was that we wanted to do.
He loved us very deeply.
And he led us to love the same.
This has been true for all of our lives.
When my parents were just dating, they began this tradition
that when one of them says, I'm sorry, then the other one says,
you are forgiven and free.
And it's not, you're forgiven, now pay me back.
It's not, you're forgiven, I'll bring it up later.
It's, you're forgiven and you're free.
And they brought that into raising each and every one of us.
And to this day, when someone says, I'm sorry,
the other person says, you're forgiven and free.
I even wrote a song about it.
He loved it.
Before any of us kids were ever even born,
my parents decided that we were all going to be best friends.
And they raised us for it.
And again, it worked.
They taught us conflict resolution.
They taught us how to have fun.
They taught us how to value what each of us carried.
They taught us how to respect each other's differences.
They decided we were going to be best friends before any
were born, and it worked.
And they were goal-driven.
They were connection-driven.
My dad was really good at what he did.
And I could go on and on and on, but I won't do that.
Save that for the book.
Now, as I look back on the last two weeks, I see the fruit of my dad's love and my dad's leadership.
When our mom told my siblings that my dad wasn't coming back from the wreck,
we all cried hard.
And we hugged each other even harder.
And we worshipped harder still.
The songs that we chose for the worship set tonight were the songs that we sung that night
when my mom came home from the hospital and my dad did.
And we sang like our lives depended on it while we held each other with tears running down our cheeks.
We were loving Jesus and we were loving each other really, really deeply.
Just like my daddy would.
As we have come home, as we have returned to church, as we have begun the healing journey,
we have continued to love Jesus and we have continued to love each other.
Lastly, my dad loved deeply beyond our family.
Many of those who have been on his staff team at Simpson are here today
and they could testify to the way that he taught them, he took time for them, and he knew them.
He always kept a box of tissues in his office because he knew that someone would come in,
someone would need to talk, and they would end up crying.
There have been many individuals who have hung around my dad and his family
and then would say, can you adopt me?
And yes, many of them were at least as old as my dad.
You see, yep, it was like this.
You see, my dad was a father from the heart and he was so committed to our family
and he was so committed to the family of God.
And this came out in everything he did and in everyone he loved.
My dad loved deeply.
No shame in tears.
I just want to say, glory up.
Glory up.
For the testimony of my children and for every testimony that's represented
because of anything Lewis has done, glory up.
I'm going to pass the mic to my brother.
He has some words and scriptures there.
It's hard to pick, hard to pick.
But God has blessed him, so I'll let Nathan speak.
And back to the questions that Lewis was always asking.
What is God teaching you today?
When Myra asked if I would be willing to share from scripture
and knowing Lewis' love of scripture, a question came to my heart and to my mind
and I wanted to go to scripture for the answer.
Lewis wasn't afraid to ask the difficult questions.
And in fact, it seemed like he ran headlong into the difficult questions,
oftentimes dragging you with him whether you wanted to go there or not.
Amen.
So in honor of Lewis and in recognition that we are all dealing
with some of those difficult questions today,
I thought we would take a look at what God's word says about just one,
which is, where is God in all of this?
To discover the answer to that question, I'd like to share a verse
that appears as a parenthetical statement explaining why Jesus
is in a position to give His gift.
of grace to us, which is something we're surely in need of today.
It reads this, now this, he ascended.
What does it mean but that he first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
He who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill
all things.
First we find that he, meaning Jesus, God's only begotten son, has descended.
He came down.
He left his rightful and perfect home to visit us here.
But this is more than a change of location, which Lewis knew a lot about.
It is a change of relation.
He has become accessible, available, and relatable.
This reminds me of my first encounter with Lewis.
Lewis came to the mountains of North Carolina for the long-awaited reveal as Myra's boyfriend.
He was driving an old Chevy truck, 67.
That was his pride and joy, second to Myra, of course.
I distinctly remember that it shifted from right to left because he was quick to offer
me a ride in it.
He instinctively knew that the way to get the blessing of Myra's little brother was
to get into my world.
I was a teenager and I loved cars and I loved music, so he merged the two and introduced
me to bands like White Cross and White Heart on cassette, if you know what that is, as
we rode along.
I was somewhat amused by Lewis, but equally impressed that he took the effort and interest
in spending time with me.
You might say that Lewis descended into my life that day.
There are countless stories here among us of Lewis getting into our world and into our
hearts with his confident, caring, inquisitive, and curious ways that reflect what God did
when he came from heaven to earth.
The verse we read explains that Jesus has been to the lowest parts of the earth.
Jesus also descended.
God was determined to get into our world, so to answer where God is today, we must not
only look up, we must look around, even in our grief.
Let me pause for a minute and say as a family member, an extended family member, we have
seen the evidence of Jesus through this family of God in amazing ways, and I thank you from
the bottom of my heart.
You know, I believe that Jesus coming and going to the lowest parts of the earth isn't
just true in regards to his location, but in regards to his experience.
There's no place we can go or experience we might have that is foreign or unfamiliar to
him, even this place we find ourselves in today.
We cannot go lower than he has been.
Our sorrow, grief, and sadness are not strange to him because Jesus wept.
He will not shy away from our confusion, our despondency, our pain, because he was a man
of sorrows, acquainted with grief.
In loneliness and isolation, we have his deepest empathy and understanding because he was despised
and rejected by men.
When we descend the father of lies.
whispers that we have gone beyond the reach of God's experience and existence, but Jesus has been here.
When we see the proof of his presence before us, this place of isolation is replaced with consolation.
Jesus was here, says the carving on a tree.
So right here, know him and be known by him.
He is no stranger here. He is well acquainted with this place. He is here.
But that is not all. He is also there.
After Jesus descended so that God would always be with us, he ascended so we could always be with God.
It was God's desire to restore and even exceed the fellowship with us that was forfeited by our sin.
So he carried and buried our sin in the grave and raised Jesus as one of us to give each of us access to his father and to our father forever by faith.
Just as much as we find comfort in God being here, we should have comfort that God is there.
The sky is not the limit. The grave is not the end.
We will see and what we see and know and feel are no longer the definition of what is real or final for humanity.
Because Jesus has ascended far above, our hopes can rise beyond anything we can ever imagine.
Not only can we mourn as those who have hope, but we can expect to see the end of what we hope for.
This was Jesus' plan when he said, I go to prepare a place for you that where I am you may be also.
In this life, Louis knew the presence of God with him, but now Louis knows the presence of himself with God.
But there is one more place that God still desires to be and that's, I believe, the final desire of Myra's heart, to honor Louis.
Jesus said in his preparation to leave this world that he would not leave us orphans,
but would send the Holy Spirit who he said dwells with us and would be in us.
The same God of heaven who makes himself present all around us, leaving his trail and proofs and presence here on earth, wants to fill all things.
The same space that God preoccupied in Louis' life is the space he longs to have in yours.
He wants to fill all in all.
You may not feel worthy of God occupying the space of your heart, but you are.
The love you felt from Louis was evidence of the way God feels about you.
Do you know what Louis called me very early on?
Bro.
That meant a lot in a household growing up with two sisters and no brother.
That was his love for me.
If Louis were here today, I believe he would encourage and maybe even nudge or prod you to let God have that space in your life.
The way to do that is simple.
You simply open the door by choosing to believe in Jesus Christ, confessing that he is who he says he is, as Louis did.
This is called faith.
And when you put it in Jesus, Jesus puts the very presence of God in you, just like he did in Louis.
And so to honor not only Louis, but Jesus, the one in whom Louis now has the honor of being in his presence.
I would like to invite you for more.
moment to consider whether or not Jesus can fill all in all in you.
In the lowest place, in the highest place, that's where God is right now.
And so if you would take a moment and bow your head, close your eyes.
If you would say today in answer to the question, God, where are you?
Maybe today you just need to acknowledge, maybe for the first time, you are here.
You are meeting me right where I am.
Would you open up your heart and life to let the presence of God fill you as we all witness
the presence of God filling Lewis?
If you would do that today, the Bible says today is the day of salvation.
And I would love to invite you to let God fill your life right now.
You can simply pray this prayer.
God of all creation of heaven and earth.
We acknowledge that even in this, even in grief, you are here.
It is not a place that you shun.
It's the very place you came, not only to meet us, but to redeem us from.
And so Jesus, we welcome your presence and your spirit into every heart and life.
And so if you would pray, Lord Jesus, I invite you to fill up my life.
I acknowledge it's your desire to have every part of me.
And I welcome you to consume me in the way that you consumed Lewis in the way that we
witnessed not only filling his life, but the life of his family, even in the midst of grief.
I accept the free gift of salvation.
I accept that I am forgiven and free.
And from this day forward, I receive your presence and I confess you as Lord in Jesus
name.
Amen.
Jeremy's going to come as we complete this time.
Isn't the Burquot family an amazing family?
Kind of makes you want to be a part of the Burquot family, right?
You know, I didn't have a chance to talk to Myra about this beforehand, but I'm pretty
sure even though she has a lot of experience carrying human beings, she's not going to
be accepting any request to invite you into her womb so that you too can come out of Burquot
and be a Burquot too.
If you're a person who's a visual learner, I apologize for the trauma that I just put
you through.
So even though you're not, you cannot actually enter into the Burquot family, you've been
given an invitation to enter into the family of faith, which is a much bigger family.
You can be born again of the spirit, right?
And if you are a person who actually prayed that prayer with Nathan today, the Burquots
would love to talk to you about that.
They would love to pray with you more.
So let them know.
Feel free to come talk to them and pray with them about that.
Come feel free to share stories about Lewis that you know with them.
And if you need some deliverance from that picture that I just put in your mind, I'm
pretty sure they're all trained in sozo too.
So you can go talk to them that and they'll cleanse you of those thoughts that I just
put in your head.
All right.
So I just thought I was actually charged with keeping it fun here at the end.
I'm like, it's a funeral.
How do I keep things fun?
So I did my best.
I don't know if she knew there was going to be visual trauma involved, but you know, that's
so bad.
So we're going to actually end with a good time because that's what Lewis would have
wanted.
So there's actually root beer.
We want to invite you all to enjoy root beer flow to the back.
Please don't forget the cards that you actually have in front of you.
You guys have all been given Father's Day cards and you would really bless the family
if you actually took the time and wrote something encouraging about who Lewis was to you, leaving
them in the back box and the nursery would really appreciate it if you took those markers
and put them back in the corner so that they have something to do with the two-year-olds
again on Sunday.
Thanks, everybody.
Is there anyone forgetting anything?
Okay.
You're dismissed to go have some root beer floats and come talk to the family.
Thanks for watching!
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