Darrel Richard "Rich" Hovde

Darrel Richard "Rich" Hovde

A True Son of God

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Memorial Video is set to the music of the song "Revival" from the Revival in Belfast CD.
Revival Lyrics

I hear the voice of one crying - I hear the voice of one crying
Prepare ye - Prepare ye the way of the Lord

I hear the voice of one crying - I hear the voice of one crying
Prepare ye - Prepare ye the way of the Lord

Make His path straight - Make straight His path in the wilderness
And let His light shine - Let His light shine in the darkness
And let Your rain fall - Let Your rain fall in this desert

I hear the voice of one crying - I hear the voice of one crying
Prepare ye - Prepare ye the way of the Lord

As sure as gold is precious and the    honey sweet
So You love this city and You love these streets
Every child out playing by their own front door
Every baby laying on the bedroom floor

Every dreamer dreaming in their dead-end job
Every driver driving through the rush hour mob
I feel it in my spirit feel it in my bones
You're going to send revival - Bring them all back home

I can hear that thunder in the distance
Like a train on the edge of the town
I can feel the brooding of Your Spirit
Lay your burdens down - Lay your burdens down

From the preacher preaching when the well is dry
To the lost soul reaching for a higher high
From the young man working through his hopes and fears
To the widow walking through the veil of tears
Every man and woman every old and young
Every father's daughter every mother's son
I feel it in my spirit feel it in my bones
You're going to send revival - Bring them all back home

I can hear that thunder in the distance
Like a train on the edge of the town
I can feel the brooding of Your Spirit
Lay your burdens down - Lay your burdens down

ohhhh - Revive us - Revive us - Revive us with Your fire

From the preacher preaching when the well is dry
To the lost soul reaching for a higher high
From the young man working through his hopes and fears
To the widow walking through the veil of tears
Every man and woman every old and young
Every father's daughter every mother's son
I feel it in my spirit feel it in my bones
You're going to send revival - Bring them all back home

I can hear that thunder in the distance
Like a train on the edge of the town
I can feel the brooding of Your Spirit
Lay your burdens down - Lay your burdens down

ohhhh - Revive us - Revive us - Revive us with Your fire
Revive us - Revive us - Revive us with Your fire
Revive us - Revive us - Revive us with… Your… fire…

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Drawing by Rich of Dad's Race car

Drawing by Rich to his Dad

Drawing by Rich to Mom - Instructing her on how to draw

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Family Reflections
Presented by Jason Hovde

Good Morning,

I am privileged today to be able to share with you about my big brother. We have many fond memories about Rich, his sense of humor, and also his thankful spirit. Rich was very creative, and he could take anything apart and figure out how it works. He also could build anything he put his mind to. As a teenager, he built a working pinball machine, with bumpers and everything. He even charged me & Cherie to a quarter to play it! I have a story about Rich?s sense of humor. He liked to play little jokes on Cherie & me, and I remember on one summer day Cherie has been eating salted sunflower seeds out of a Dakota Kid bag. We were out in the yard and Cherie went in for a few minutes, and while she was out, Rich put a grasshopper into the bag of seeds. I think he only meant to scare her by it being in the bag, but what happened was Cherie poured some of the seeds into her mouth. She started chewing, and the grasshopper started moving. You can imagine how surprised Cherie was and she spit out the grass hopper and the seeds.

Another funny thing that happened to Rich was a time when he had two really bad days when nothing would go right. It started with a Martha Washington Geranium. Mom was proud that she had this beautiful Geranium and had put it on the table in the porch. Rich walked in and threw a ball at me, but I ducked, and the ball hit the Martha Washington and it along with all the dirt and the pot crashed to the floor. Well, this made Mom angry, but she very calmly asked Rich that he was to clean up the mess. So Rich got the shop vac and vacuumed up the mess. Later that night, Mom and Dad were at a FGBMFI dinner at the International Inn. Mom always told us not to call unless of an emergency. (This was before everyone was carrying cell phones) So when she was told she had a call on the house phone, she wondering what was going on that someone would call her there. She went to the phone and it was Rich. He said it was raining very hard and his basement room was taking water very quickly. So mom told him to start vacuuming up the water with the shop vac, and that they would deal with it when they got home. They got home and discovered that there were two reasons that the water came in. First, Rich had mowed the lawn earlier that day and forgot to put back the drainpipe, so the water from the gutters was flowing right into the window wells. Second, the windows were open. So Rich was in the doghouse so to speak and after getting the rest of the water vacuumed, Rich had not emptied the dirt from the Martha Washington and the shop vac canister was now filled with mud. 

Not knowing about the mud, mom told Rich to empty the water from the shop vac. Naturally, the closest drain was the easiest place to empty it, so Rich dumped the muddy water into the shower stall. Later, while getting ready for church, Rich ran from the bathroom to announce that the shower had backed up and now the bathroom was flooded. At this point, Rich was really in the doghouse with Mom, but he still wasn?t done. He went to iron his shirt for church, and proceeded to melt the design on his shirt onto the iron, which ruined the iron. Mom of course dealt with all this very calmly. And if you believe that she was calm, I have some oceanfront property in Rugby I?ll sell you cheap.

We are grateful for these moments we can remember and look back on to remember Rich. But Rich also left us all with some character lessons that we can all use. First, Rich had a grateful heart. He was touched by the smallest gift or gesture. He would cherish things like a hunting knife from Grandpa, or even some old electronics that someone would give him. Rich held on to these gifts and to acts of kindness and he was truly touched by them. Recently, Mike told Rich how happy he was to have him around again. Rich was so touched that he told several people about what Mike said. He took pleasure in simple things, he was proud of his inventions, his truck, his camper. He was happy with what he had. I don?t remember any time that Rich wished for wealth or a fancy car, or a big house. He looked forward to spending time with family, and he loved climbing the towers.

Finally, I want to share with you the changes Rich had made in his life in recent years. After battling alcohol for many years, he had attended Teen challenge and started to study God?s word. He decided to give in to Jesus and with that, made an amazing transformation in his life. Now all he talked about was trying to keep looking up. The radical change was a testament to what God can do when we let him. 

Rich learned what he needed to do to change his life. The Bible says in Isaiah 59:2 ?But your iniquities have separated you from God; your sins have hidden his face from you that he will not hear.? Rich realized his way of living was keeping him from God. But he learned what Jesus said, ?I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.?and Paul wrote in Ephesians

2:8,9 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith ? and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God ? not by works, so that no one can boast. There was nothing Rich could do on his own, but he merely had to accept Jesus? promise. The Bible says, ?Believe on Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.?I know that Rich would want his story told, of how he found salvation through his belief in Jesus Christ. Our family believes in the saving power of Jesus? death and resurrection.

A year and a half ago, my Grandma died. Rich was an encourager to all of us then, he told us we didn?t need to cry for Grandma, because she was with Jesus and we would see her again. The crying was for us, not for her, he said. He would want us today to rejoice for him, that he is now with his Savior, and with the relatives that went before him.

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Eulogy

My Child…
You may not know me, but I know everything about you …Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up …Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways …Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered…Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image …Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being …Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring …Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived …Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation …Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book…Psalm 139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live …Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made …Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb …Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born …Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me …John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love…1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you …1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your Father …1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could …Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father …Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand…James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs …Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope …Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love …Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore Psalms 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing …Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you …Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession …Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul …Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things …Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me …Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart …Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires …Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine …Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager …2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles …2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you …Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart …Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes …Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth …Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus …John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed …John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being …Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you…Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins …2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled …2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you…1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love …Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me …1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again …Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen …Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father …Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is…Will you be my child? …John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you …Luke 15:11-32

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Funeral Sermon Notes
Rich Hovde

7-25-2008

Pastor Bob Adkins

Spiritual Life Christian Fellowship
Christ Centered, Holy Spirit Empowered, Love Focused

First let us remember that we are gathered here today not because Rich has died, rather, we are gathered here today because Rich has lived; We are not here to honor the death of a man we all loved so dearly, we are here to celebrate the life of this wonderful man who has touched so many lives, in so many ways.

I only had the privilege of meeting Rich once, however during my visitation with the family this past week I have come to know him well. Those of you that have had earthly fellowship with Rich can assuredly testify of his Love for God.

Rich has gone on to his eternal reward and is enjoying eternal life with his Lord.

As family and friends, we all share in our grief over the loss of father, son, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, friend and fellow Christian. Each of us will go through the stages of grief in our own way and in our own timing. It would be inappropriate for us to console one another in grief by indicating that this untimely death was somehow Gods’ will or to tell another in their grief that God took his life so Rich could be with God now. You see, it is not god that wills early death to any of us, this is the work of the father of lies himself. But even so, we can rejoice in the fact that Rich is now in fellowship with his Saviour, Jesus Christ, and sharing in the almightily Love of God in ways we can only strive to obtain.

As we go through the stages of our grief, time of denial, anger – possibly even with God, bargaining, depression and ultimately acceptance please strive to think of  how Rich would desire us to look upon his death.

Let us consider: What would he want us to do today and in the days to come? How would he desire us to act in our grief? Those of you that know him will agree with me when I say, that he would want us to follow God and the instructions God has given us in the Bible.

What does the Bible then tell us?

Psalms 116: ¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

What is precious for God is not death, absolutely not. God does not rejoice in the effects of sin or the curse of sin. The original sin in the garden of Eden is what resulted in death – the curse of Sin. Gods’ original plan for man was for us to live in the Garden of Eden which contained the tree of Life. After death then entered into the equation, then a new plan for us to obtain eternal life became necessary. To this end,  God, in the resurrection on the person of our Lord Jesus Christ has conquered death and holds full dominion over death, God hates death;

So what then is precious to God? It is the natural death of his saints. Why? Because we then enter into a new realm, free of sickness, heartache, pain & sorrow eternally being in the presence and joy of the Lord. Here in our presence we have the honor of one of the Lord’s precious saints – our brother, Rich. He was, and still is; a servant of the Most High God and Rich was and still is precious in Gods’ sight.

The word saint is not used to describe a person who is perfect; it is used to describe a fellow brother or sister in Christ. In fact,  the early Christians would address each other as saints. To be a saint does not mean one is perfect, it simply means that our sins have been forgiven, it means that we who are saints enjoy a special relationship with the Lord God – and like our brother Rich, it also means we will live again in the resurrection, forever in the presence of God.

1 Corinthians 15:51-57 Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ O death, where is thy sting? O grave , where is thy victory? ⁵⁶  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the book of 1 Corinthians Paul tells us how each of us experience at least one kind of birth, and for those who are believers, as our brother Rich is, two births: The physical and then the spiritual. We see that there is a perishable body, a physical birth that each of us experience, and with those that give their life over to Jesus Christ there is the spiritual birth…what Paul calls the imperishable. He tells us that it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. We all here know Rich in his natural body, and in time we will know his in his spiritual body. Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly what having a spiritual body means, but we can be assured of this: There is no doubt that we will recognize Rich and he will also recognize us. We will visit, we will laugh, we will all be together again in the full presence of God.

Now Paul tells us that we are not to be ignorant, like those who have no hope. What he means is those people we know who, sadly and painfully, think that this right here is the end. They would say, sorry Rich, this is the end of it all. Ignorance is certainly not bliss, it is despair. Rich and I had conversations where we talked about eternal life and the certainty that our spiritual life is a reality. Rich was no fool. You know him, he wouldn’t be taken in by ignorance, or by a loss of hope. In fact, the family shared with me Wednesday evening of how Rich was so proud that he now had a place of his own for the first time in his life. He was so thankful to Gods’ blessings that made this a reality in his life. You  may think, praise God – at least he enjoyed a great blessing from God on this earth before he went onto glory. But I wonder if we would have been this proud and thankful for the things Rich was enthuastically thankful for. You see, the place that Rich was bragging about for most of us we would have been complaining about. It was a small, years old camper that he put a major investment into, $200.00 purchase price and the cost of materials for him to fix it up by himself. This story made me know Rich more than anything else that I have heard about him to date. This spoke to me of his humility, grace, love of live, and most of all Love and thankfulness to his Heavenly Father. This truly encompasses of what it means to be a true “son of GOD”.

Let us examine his life more closely. How did Rich live up to the Biblical instructions of how one should conduct themselves as a true son of God.

·         He loved the Lord and loved to talk about the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:5 (KJV) And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

·         He knew the truth about Christ.
John 11:25 (KJV) Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

·         He knew where he was going.
John 14:1-3 (KJV) ^{Jn 14:1 (KJV)} Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. ² In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

·         He Believed
John 3:17 (KJV) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

·         He has a new home.
Philippians 3:20-21 (KJV) ^{Php 3:20 (KJV)} For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ²¹ Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

We can share in that same hope if we know Christ, and believe, and ask him to save us.

1 Peter 1:3-5 (KJV) ^{1Pe 1:3 (KJV)} Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

And God will comfort us until we see his again.

Revelation 21:4 (KJV) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

What does it take to know Christ and the power of his resurrection? Could it be as simple of living a good life? Or is it very hard to obtain and therefore we must do many great works so we ensure we make it to heaven. Actually it is neither of these.

What does scripture tell us?

Romans 10:9 & 13 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

1 John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

So consider this, What can you do to best celebrate the Life of Rich?  That has a simple answer. Become a Son of God!

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Graveside Service:

Prayer - Pastor Bob Adkins

Psalm 23

^{1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.}

^{2           He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.}

^{3           He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.}

^{4          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.}

^{5      You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.}

6      Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,  and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord  forever.

Internment

     In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our brother Darrel Richard Hovde; and we commit his body to the ground; earth to earth; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord has blessed him and kept him, the Lord makes his face to shine upon him now in the heavenlies and he now abides in eternal peace, evermore to be with the Lord. Amen.

Prayer - Pastor Ken Nelson

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