Sermon Tone Analysis

Opening remarks

On behalf of Hazel’s family I would like to thank you for joining us this afternoon, as we are here to honour the memory, celebrate the life and grieve the loss of Hazel Shaw

And to the family I would like to say, on behalf of myself, my family and LBWC we are so sorry for your loss.

Hazel will be missed by so many.

By all accounts Hazel was a great women , wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, teacher and friend, so the pain and sorrow you feel today is very much to be expected.

Hazel loved her family.

She especially loved her grand children, give or take one gnome.

If you are not familiar with the gnome story I highly recommend asking the family after the service.

She loved her games, especially bridge.

I was told she had a bridge crew that she was especially close to.

she played the piano and knit, and loved to travel.

When asked about favourite locations the family recalled the time she went to Dollywood, and also the cabin they had in Shediac at Parlee Beach, as well as the Rockies and the Lord Tyrell Museum she saw while visiting Jim out west.

Hazel also enjoyed reading.

This probably comes as no surprise to the multitude who knew Hazel as Mrs. Shaw the teacher.

From what I was told she was a firm teacher, life long teacher, giving spelling test to Fancies well into adulthood.

In fact in honour of Hazel I tried my best to make sure my message today contained no spelling errors or grammatical errors.

I fear if she were to grade it I still would lose some points.

When asked to describe Hazel these are the words her family used, “He was a Worker, selfless (he would drop anything in order to help someone), He had a quiet strength, very loving, and he showed how much he cared through her actions.”

I asked the family if they would describe Hazel for me and these are the words they gave, “Stubborn, Teacher, Fun, A procrastinator, but good at it.

She was feisty.

She wasn’t afraid to tell you what she thought.

She always had a listening ear.

She was quick witted, creative and stern”.

Hazel had a lasting impact on everyone who met her and today as we celebrate the life she lived, and recall the stories and the lesson she taught us we will see a lasting legacy in the hearts and minds of everyone she touched.

Clearly Hazel’s legacy will live on for many years to come, as he will always be remembered for her love for her family, and all the wonderful memories and stories that will be shared throughout the years.

At this time let us pray…

Matthew Palmer, one of Hazels grandsons is now going to come and sing The Old Rugged Cross.

As in every stage of life there is great value in seeking the word of God.

May these words bring comfort to your heart and hope for tomorrow.

The Lord is my shepherd;

    I have all that I need.

2 He lets me rest in green meadows;

    he leads me beside peaceful streams.

3 He renews my strength.

He guides me along right paths,

    bringing honor to her name.

4 Even when I walk

    through the darkest valley,

I will not be afraid,

    for you are close beside me.

Your rod and your staff

    protect and comfort me.

Matthew is now going to return to sing to us Amazing Grace

5 You prepare a feast for me

    in the presence of my enemies.

You honor me by anointing my head with oil.

My cup overflows with blessings.

6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me

    all the days of my life,

and I will live in the house of the Lord

    forever.

Let us pray… I will be concluding the prayer with the Lord’s Prayer and you are invited to join me.

I will be using the terms debts and debtors.

O Lord our God, we ask that the Holy Spirit apply the sacred words of Scripture and the thoughts of the message to our hearts this day.

Speak to us the guidance and direction which you know we need.

Help us to imitate the virtues of the one taken from our midst, and to shun the errors.

Prepare us in life for the moment of death and for the victory which is possible beyond death through Jesus Christ our Lord who taught us to pray by saying…

Our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done

In Earth as it is in heaven

Give us ther day our daily bread

and forgive us our debts

as we forgive our debtors

and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever Amen.

Message

As I was preparing for today and trying to think about what I could share that would in someway honour the memory of Hazel and would also bring Glory to God I couldn’t help but think about her life as a teacher.

When I was meeting with the family Francis, Jim’s wife, was telling me a few different stories about Mrs. Shaw.

Apparently Francis had Mrs. Shaw if grade four.

By her own addition Francis was a bit of a teachers pet.

She recalled this one story where her and another girl were supposed to sing together but the other girl kept trying to get Francis bumped from the song, but how Mrs. Shaw stood up for her bluntly telling the other girl Francis is singing too.

She also told about how even as an adult Hazel would ask her how to spell things, even though she already knew the answer, because she never lost her desire to want to teach.

Hazel was a life long learner and teacher.

And although Barb didn’t always want to admit Mrs. Shaw was her mother, because of how strict she could be, looking back it is clear not only was Hazel a good mother, she was also a good teacher who had a lasting impact on her students.

In that way Hazel reminds me a lot of another teacher whose life is recorded in the Gospels.

Jesus was also a life long teacher.

His students, we call disciples, referred to Him as Rabbi which was their way of acknowledging Him as a teacher.

It is like how we refer to our teachers today as, for example Mrs. Shaw.

It is a sign of respect, and clearly Jesus students respected Him, much in the same way Hazel’s students respected her.

Also like Hazel Jesus was also a life long teacher.

Jesus did not stop teaching even when He was hanging on the cross the words of Christ has taught us so much, but His teaching didn’t end there, after being killed in His thirties, Jesus spent only three days in the grave, and when he came out He continued with teaching those who would call Him Rabbi, and He continued to teach right up to the day He ascended into the heavens to be with the Father.

During His time on earth Jesus taught us what love looks like.

He taught us how to forgive those who wronged us, and He taught us what was to come after we left this world.

He taught us about the Kingdom of heaven for those who who belong to Him will receive a home and the right to be called children of God.

He also taught us about the consequences of rejecting God, and how so many will follow that path and how it leads only to destruction and pain.

But with all Jesus taught there is one lesson we must all learn and that lesson is found in

What lesson must we all learn?

There is only one way!

Me: I was told that aunt Hazel had a way of just telling it like it is.

She could be blunt and very matter of fact, but you never had to guess what she was thinking.

We: Maybe there is a lesson in that for all of us.

Too often we beat around the bush and in doing so sometimes people misunderstand or misinterpret our coded language.

Maybe we could all take a lesson from Hazel and with tact learn to be a more direct.

Ok so we understand different times call for different approaches but,

God: this was definitely the approach Jesus took here in this passage.

When talking to His closest students and friends Jesus laid it all out on the line.

There is only one way to heaven, and that is through Jesus the One we call Christ.

It is by having a relationship with God through the Son who died on the cross for us, there is no other means nor any other name by which we can be, strike that by which we must be saved.

You: Now you might here that and think, that is crazy.

And if that’s the case you wouldn’t be alone, but the fact that Jesus said it is not up for debate.