A Bible Teacher’s Worshipful Memorial Service

For all he was a man of slight build, Don Bauman packed an enormous punch into our lives. We said farewell to him on Saturday, in a memorial service that left us all rejoicing at what Don Bauman taught us.

When I told his wife, Inez, how much I enjoyed the service, she beamed. “It was a worship service, wasn’t it? That’s what Don wanted.”

Could there have been any better way for a man who loved the God, the Bible, and singing?

Don retired in 2010 from more than 50 years of teaching Bible study into the debilitation of Parkinson’s Disease. Inez stayed by his side, a loving caregiver, and a variety of people regularly visited him.

One of them was Doris, who regularly took the notes from our Tuesday morning Bible study to share.

(We smiled to think Don’s final study was on Women of the Old Testament).

As long as it was the Bible, Don was happy.

  “Bible study for me is a joy. The Bible show me my God and what He’s done for me; the love He has for me, what He did for me on the cross and what He still does in my life today. You learn to worship as you read the Bible. I don’t know what kind of person I’d be if I didn’t have Christ in my life. Studying the Bible helps me grow.”

Don knew Parkinson’s would take his life and so he planned his memorial service long ago.

He wanted the focus to be on Jesus, not on him.

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So, what Bible passages does a man who taught for so many years want in his service? He started with scripture: Psalm 95: 1-7.

Our choir sang it as rendered in The Venite from the Order of Matins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2KYFhk5-Hc

A lifelong Lutheran, he wanted a statement of Faith, and he used Martin Luther’s Explanation of the second Article of the Apostles’ Creed from the 1529 Small Catechism:

 “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, Son of the Father from eternity and true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, saved me at great cost from sin, death and the power of the devil, not with silver or gold, but with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. All this He has done that I may be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and sever Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally.”

I’d never attended a funeral or memorial service that included the Apostle’s Creed.

Yet, it seemed like the right thing to do.

Don liked to understand what he read, studied and believed.

 “It’s easy to just read the Bible, but not get anything out of it. I try not to leave a passage until I’ve got the answer in my own mind of what it means, otherwise it’s too easy to skip over.”

The other Bible passages were familiar, and to the point: Psalm 23 (The Lord is My Shepherd); Romans 11:33-36 (Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!); 1 Corinthians 15:55-58 (Oh, death, where is your victory?) and John 11: 25-27 (Jesus: “I am the resurrection and the life”).

Don played musical instruments, sang and had an impish and clever sense of humor. His musical choices were traditional, much like the stringed group he led for many years, and included He Lives, Rock of Ages, Jesus Lover of My Soul and Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me.

We also sang classic hymns. Holy, Holy, Holy, Beautiful Savior and finished with I Know that My Redeemer Lives.

Don lived a full and rich life, devoted to his family and his God. He served his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ for more than 50 years, pointing them back to their Creator and their Savior.

Well done, good and faithful servant.

Thanks for a morning full of worship, even as we wiped away our tears. Click to Tweet

I’ve written before about music for my funeral.

What music and Bible passages would you want at your memorial service? Click to Tweet