Standard Christian Graveside with Military Honors

Joseph _____

 Friends, We are here for the grave side service of Joseph _____, who left this life on Tuesday to be joined with God in heaven. 

Psalm 23 

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. 

Committal 

Heavenly Father, we thank You this day for Your precious, eternal, and unchanging Word. We thank You that You are, to us, the Rock of Ages and the great I AM. In the midst of our natural sorrow, we thank You for Your supernatural comfort and grace. In the face of death, we thank You for Your gift of eternal life. In the face of separation, we thank You for the eternal reunion we so eagerly anticipate. We thank You for Joe’s life here on this earth. We acknowledge that Joe is rejoicing, even now, in Your very presence, enjoying the blessings of Heaven. Father, we commit his remains, we rejoice in the fact that his spirit is even now with You, the Father of all. We anticipate the day when spirit and body shall be united again at the coming of the Lord, and we find great comfort in knowing that we shall forever be together with the Lord. We thank You Father, that in the days, weeks, and months to come, these realities and the abiding presence of Your Spirit will especially strengthen, sustain, and comfort Joe’s friends and family. IN JESUS’ NAME, AMEN. 

 We will now begin military honors 

 (To be said as flag is being folded) 

 This banner of love and devotion, is a living memorial of the courageous thoughts of Joe _____, who we have come here to honor today. The blue field represents the sky that overlooks our land and denotes the watchfulness of God the Eternal. The red stripes tells us of the blood, sweat and tears that has been offered and conquered by our service member’s devotion to the responsible freedom of his country. The white strips bodily proclaim the peace that he helped bring to our future generations. This is his flag. This is our spiritual heritage. Receive it with the tears or our minds and the faith of our hearts. Amen 

After Military presents flag: 

This concludes our service at the graveside. Please pay your final respects and then return to your vehicles. God bless you and have a safe journey.