Confidence That Leads to Great Reward :: Hebrews 10:35-39 :: Funeral of Kelly Eugene Niemann

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Dear Susie, Erin, and Jacob ... dear brothers and sisters in Christ ... friends, family ... Hallelujah! Christ is Risen! 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text for our meditation comes from Kelly’s confirmation verses in Hebrews chapter 10.

We gather here today in the wake of great loss. Kelly Eugene Niemann died suddenly Monday, April 6, 2026. When death hits us like this, especially when it’s someone who is dearly loved in the community, it creates great instability. Our dear Susie, who shared 50 years of marriage with him, didn’t sleep the first night after Kelly’s death because she didn’t want to wake up to his loss. But our text from Hebrews was written for moments just like this. 

The Hebrew congregation that heard our reading for the first time also were experiencing distress, loss, temptation to despair ... much like we feel today. They too were wondering, who will we turn to for comfort? Many undoubtedly were unsure where to turn. 

So the evangelist gave us the answer: It’s all about Jesus. Do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward, he announces. For you have need of perseverance so that having done the will of God, you may receive what is promised. 

1.

What is this confidence? It is not a confidence in our own strength, our own health, or our own ability to navigate this world, our ability to get it done the right way. It’s confidence in the Word of God ... in Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God ... who was born without sin, lived without sin, and died for our sin before rising again into eternal life. And the result should give you great confidence. He saved you ... and Kelly. Your death became his death. His life is now your life. Now we need only to await the great reward, our eternal life. This is the confidence we are not to throw away.

This confidence gives us a boldness to speak what we know to be true ... that there is not a reward on earth that is better or greater than the Gospel ... the Gospel that Jesus alone did things the right way, the only way, the great high priest’s way and, in so doing, he delivered our salvation. Jesus had no need to make atonement for HIS sins. That’s because he had no sin. And because it would take only a perfect sacrifice to atone for your sins ... for Kelly’s sins ... Jesus died for us. He paid the ultimate price, giving up his body and blood in our place on a cross. Then in his death, he gave us Sabbath rest, and, just as he promised, he rose from the dead on the third day for your justification. Hallelujah! He is risen! ... 

Christ has made you and me and Kelly right with God. He brought us into good standing in the community of God. Apart from this good news, we would otherwise have no confidence that leads to boldness and perseverance ... unbridled steadfastness ... so that having done the will of God, you may receive what is promised. 

That confession is always based on confidence ... a confidence that just says ... It is so with God! ... And if I want his reward, I will stay steadfast ... steadfast to a belief in Christ ... a belief in him, who ... although given into death and to the darkness of his own mortality ... still says, Father, your will, not mine! Into your hands I commend myself. 

2.

Kelly most certainly had confidence in God’s Word on this matter. Having received the gift of Holy Baptism on April 5, 1953, Kelly never set aside his confidence that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. We were buried therefore in him through baptism into death so that just as Christ was raised out of the dead through the glory of the father, in this way, we also might walk in the newness of life (Rom 6:3-4).

In Holy Baptism, Christ took Kelly's sins and gave him rest. That’s why he confessed his faith on May 29, 1966, and why he confidently held on to that confession all the days of his life, teaching it to Susie and his sons, Erin and Jacob. And it’s why you too should have confidence.

The new life carries us through hard times. Kelly was no exception. No one said confessing Christ would be easy. Our confession exposes us to abuse and affliction ... sometimes for some pretty simple things ... like dropping everything to care for someone else. 

Kelly was good at that ... dropping everything to care for someone else. There was never a time when I needed Kelly that he wasn’t at my door, most often within 15 minutes of my call. I am sure he did the same for most if not all of you. That was a small part of the reason we all learned about Kelly Time. Whereas Kelly Time could be maddening to the world, that was often the result of Kelly simply insisting on doing things the right way, taking care of the people he loved the right way. And there’s no doubt he loved you.

3.

The Good News here is that God loves you more. Don’t lose confidence in that. Remember your baptism. While you and I are called to lift high the cross in following Jesus, when our faith falters, we still have a God who always is faithful. He will establish you and guard you (2 Th 3:3). Whereas we often face hard struggles ... Kelly persevered, knowing that the grave is not the end. Knowing that the Coming One ... Jesus ... has already broken the power of the grave. Knowing that in a little while, he will come again ... he won’t delay. And then he will raise the dead and take us to be with Him forever. 

Have confidence in this. The wait may feel long, but in the scope of eternity, it is a very little while. So the righteous one will live by faith. ... We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, the evangelist concluded, but we are of those who have faith and preserve their souls ... because ... Hallelujah! He is risen! ... Death cannot defeat Christians. Those who remain faithful until death will receive their crown of life given to them and paid for by Jesus who has triumphed over the grave. They will stand in that innumerable throng before the Lamb forever. This is the glorious Gospel confidence that all Christians share in this dying world: Death has been defeated by Jesus, and those who believe in Him will live forever.

And someday soon, Kelly Eugene Niemann will be too ... in Jesus’ name

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