(The below was from an email that Tim Conway sent to his church, after reflecting on the graveside service, which occurred after the above video.)

Brethren, I wish I were a poet…then I might be able to paint an appropriate picture of the scene we witnessed there in that small rural Missouri cemetery last Saturday.

It is autumn in Missouri.

It struck me as fitting that Bob’s journey here came to an end even as the leaves that were so recently budding forth in Spring, are now also coming to their end, some hanging red, yellow, and brown upon their tree waiting to be blown from their tree by the wind…while a myriad of others blow across the ground like a wave upon the ground.

The day also was coming to an end as the sun was dropping low in the mostly overcast sky…twilight at hand…so the day of Bob’s earthly pilgrimage has come to an end.

There was a typical green tent set up over the grave site. One side was enclosed…it was the side on the south as a strong wind blew warmly from that direction, ahead of a cold rainy front that was pushing in from the West. The kind of high clouds that precede a storm covered the broad November sky. The Jennings family sat and stood along that closed side of the tent, in front of the casket…that casket that Bob’s sons had made with their own hands.

There may have been two hundred people there…or maybe one hundred…most dressed in suits and ties and dresses. All stood motionless…in silence. The wind blowing. The dry leaves giving the type of sound they give when the wind blows through them. One of the trees nearby is already barren. The oak tree beside it will hold onto its dead leaves until spring…as oaks do…so it was able to speak in the silence.

It was growing dark.

Out there among the woods and farmlands of the cemetery a lone voice broke the silence and overshadowed the song of the wind in the leaves lifting up the words of “Be Still My Soul”.

Then there was silence again as a hired man who likely knew not our dear departed Brother, worked to move flowers and plants and then Bob’s body was lowered into the ground before us all.

The casket slowly sunk…wind blowing.

On that casket, Bob’s sons had put these words: O grave where is your victory, O death where is your sting? Clint stood at the head of the grave watching his beloved fellow laborer’s physical body descend down into it’s temporary resting place with those words of triumph witnessing to the fact that this grave must one day give up it’s contents.

All were dismissed. Terri came forth from the tent with her sorrows overruled by a broad smile. As the family and friends consoled and spoke in soft tones…the clunk of the vault cover could be heard falling into place and sealing all it’s contents within.

Those words Bob spoke at the end of his sermon here were played at the funeral. They undoubtedly drifted through the thoughts of many as we made our way away from that little cemetery:

“…press on…my love to you, my love to you….fare well…ooooh…good bye…there’s no good bye…we’ll see you in a little while, you won’t be far behind me…”

• There will not be a visitation prior to the funeral.
• After the funeral there will be a procession to the cemetery located at Smithton.  The cemetery is one mile south of the west end of Smithton.
• After the burial there will be a meal provided at the Sedalia Middle School.

“The most important thing in life is to be ready for death. So ready to die that when it comes time to die all you have to do is die. There is a here and hereafter & either in heaven with Christ or banished in hell.” – Bob Jennings (Preached at a Funeral in 2008)

This morning at 11:53 a.m. Bob fell asleep (1 Thess. 4:14) and has finished his course and departed to be with the Lord.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. – 2 Timothy 4:7-8

(Funeral service will be this Saturday, the 10th, the location is pending.)

Article:  Dear friends, I submitted the following article to the local newspaper.  Someone reported they said it was the 2^nd most-read.  That could be taken either way, that is, a lot of folks would like to see me gone, or else are concerned about my leaving!  I pray it is concern for their souls.

Pastor bids a final farewell
Terri and I moved to Sedalia with one
child in 1983 to pastor a new church
which has met at Highway M Chapel
since 1987. Alas, pancreatic cancer
showed up two years ago. Apart from
divine intervention, I’m near the end of
the road. Permit a farewell to my dear
community.

In the almost 30 years we have raised
our five children, lived our lives, gone in
and out of the businesses, talked on the
sidewalks, preached indoors and out,
and I’ve written maybe 300 letters to the
editor. This appears to be the last. The
song writer says, “Time, like an ever-rolling
stream, bears all its sons away.”
Especially being a Christian, I’ve
known that life is brief, death is certain,
and an appearance before the judge of
all the Earth is coming. Yet, my life is
more of a “disappearing vapor” than I
imagined. Indeed, the one great thing in
life is to be ready to die. It is simple, but
big.

Yes, I’d like to stay on with my family,
with my church, and with the souls of
men to try to serve. But God’s will is
sovereign. And, I am ready to die, in that
I was saved from my sins by the grace of
Christ 41 years ago. Heaven is OK!
This world is passing away, ruined by
sin. There is no fix to all the misery. A
new president cannot fix the land. Hospitals
remain, law courts remain, the jail
house remains, the military remains,
and tears will continue to fall.

My closing exhortation to fellow-
Sedalians is that Christ is the only hope.
Make sure you have Him. That’s all one
can have, ultimately. All else is stripped
away. He will fix you; He will fix it all. He
conquered the grave. I go down with a
glad shout, “O grave, where is your victory?”
When the Lord Jesus returns I
will rise again with all the Christians to a
new heavens and new Earth. There is a
heaven to gain; there is a hell to shun.
Farewell to all. It has been a well-spent
journey here in Sedalia.

Robert C. Jennings, co-pastor, Hwy. M Chapel, Sedalia

Over the past two years, some have urged me to pray 1) importunately, that is, to pray to God desperately and persistently.  Some have urged that I pray 2) resignedly, that is, very simply to leave my state of affliction with God and resign.  What do the scriptures say?  We find both.  I have done both.  I know those who have counseled me would agree to both.

Importunate prayer:

• Jacob:  Jacob wrestled with God, “I will not let you go unless you bless me,”  Genesis 32:26.  He got the blessing.  Why?   Persistence.
• Moses:  Moses broke all theology.  God told him, “Let Me alone…that I may destroy them.”  But Moses entreated the Lord anyway and the Lord “changed His mind,” Exodus 32:11-14.  Why?   Moses’ persistence.
• King Joash:  Joash was reproved by the prophet for not striking the arrows to the ground more, as it is written, “So the man of God was angry with him and said, ‘You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times,’” 2 Kings 13:19.  He did not push it hard enough.
• Bartimaus: Everyone told blind Bartimaus to be quiet.  But he “cried out all the more,” Matthew 20:31.  He was healed.  Why?   Persistence.
• Hemorrhaged woman:  A woman with anhemorrhage broke through the opposition and got in touch with the Lord, as it is written, “After hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak,” Mark 5:27.  How?   Persistence.
• Canaanite woman:  This courageous woman prevailed and received demonic deliverance for her daughter after 1) silence from Christ, 2) after the disciples’ displeasure, and 3) after being called (in effect) a goat and a dog by the Lord.  How?   Persistence.
• The widow:  This woman got what she wanted even though the judge was unjust, Luke 18:1f.  How?   Persistence.
• The friend:  He got bread loaned to him from a friend for a friend, not because of the friendship, but “because of his persistence,” Luke 11:8.
• Your faith:  The Lord Jesus gave the centurion these amazing words, “It shall be done to you according to your faith,” Matthew 9:29.

Resigned prayer:

• Paul:  “Concerning this (thorn in the flesh, a demon, an angel of Satan) I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me,” 2 Corinthians 12:8.  Paul was denied, but given compensating grace.  He was “well content.”
• Paul:  He was “hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart.”  But he was content to remain and serve the saints, Philippians 1:23f.
• The Lord Jesus:  After strong cryings and tears to escape the cup, Hebrews 5:7, yet He resigned with these famous words, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will,” Matthew 26:39.

Ultimately we must rest right there, knowing that we are God’s property, bought with a price, and our times are in His hand, Psalm 31:15.  Anything further and we would lose our mind trying to twist God’s arm and wondering if, if, if we’d only done more what could have been.  And the Spirit of God is a promised helper, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, Romans 8:26.  My love, Bob J.

Gates of death: Psalm 9:13  Be gracious to me, O Lord; See my affliction from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death…

Gates of Zion (church): Psalm 9:14  that I may tell of all Your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation.

Gates of hell: Matthew 16:18  I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Gates of pearl / heaven: Revelation 21:21, 22  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls … blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.

Jesus already entered the gates of glory / heaven: Psalm 24:7  Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in!

Make sure right now that you enter the right gate – the narrow gate, not the wide gate of false profession: Matthew 7:13,14  Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Trip:  Terri and I had hoped and prayed for one more trip together, especially to see newly married James and Bethany in their ‘new’ house in San Antonio along with all the saints.  It began to appear impossible, but faith came and the next day (Wed., 29^th) we were on the road, and we met with the saints at Denton, TX, that night, arriving in SA the next afternoon.  It was so special to gather with the church on the Lord’s Day.  Everything in the temple said, “Glory” (Psalm 29:9).  We arrived back Monday night, none too soon as internal bleeding had come back, but I’m so thankful to say that it was soon healed.

Casket:  Jared’s came about 3 p.m., and the boys, Jared, Zachary, and Evan, after some solemn tears together, began building the casket, and finished with some joy – O grave where is your victory?  Raymond and Jaben spray painted the handles, we swept up, the family sang Abide with Me, and we said good-bye, purposing to be on our way with work to do.  Great realities!  Without Christ, all would be very dark.  With Him, all is filled with hope – the resurrection, heaven, sinlessness, 2^nd coming, the presence of Christ who so loved even me.  There will be one more trip for the Christian.

ERCP procedure:  We gave the ok on another throat job  which revealed, 1) the stent was not clogged, 2) the pancreas tumor had grown back already, 3) the cancer in the liver, the pancreas tumor, and the water retention were blocking the bile duct and intestines, and 4) the duodenal burn from the radiation had healed.   So there was one good point.

Extension:  Also, he put in a stent extension to keep the bile duct open better.  Also, he gave me water pills which will help the swelling everywhere, at least for a while.  I have never been so weak, sick, and pained, as since last Wed. night.  I am now regaining strength and stability.

Time:  The doctor said, “You don’t have much more time – weeks.  If I were in your shoes, I would have made the same decisions, for conventional medicine has not seen the success you have had.”  I thanked him greatly for his help, and I told him of my salvation in Christ, and that heaven is all right.  He listened intently.

Eternity:  It is strange to look into a man’s eyes, knowing I’ll likely not see him again until the Judgment Day.  It is strange, so terribly ironic and real that because of Christ I was ultimately in an infinitely better way than he was.  If it is well with the soul, it will be well with the body in the end.  And there is an end here.  The world will end.  Christ will judge.  Christ will reward.  Christ will get the long-awaited glory.  The resurrection, immortality, heaven, home, being with the Lord Jesus – this is it, this is all, this is crucial.  I’m very thankful to be redeemed by faith in His precious blood, His death for me.  My sincere love to you all!  It is time to go to sleep.  Bob

I am not yet healed of the radiation burn on the duodenum.  But I have no doubt that I’d be dead if it were not for the cyber-knife which terminated the mother tumor on the pancreas.  My ankles and feet are swollen and we are seeing some swelling of the abdomen which might mean the cancer is getting started in the intestines as well.  It makes me appreciate the comment about God’s help for Old Testament Israel in their 40-year march, “Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years” (Deuteronomy 8:4).  Each day is such a privilege in serving Christ.

Meditation: Worthy

Christ is so outstanding, prominent, preeminent, incomparable, and worthy.  Philip Schaff (1819 – 1893) spoke of Christ so well:  “His zeal never degenerated into passion or rashness, nor his constancy into obstinacy, nor his benevolence into weakness, nor his tenderness into sentimentality.  He is justly compared with the lion in strength, and with the lamb in meekness. He was the most effective and yet the least noisy, the most radical and yet the most conservative, calm, and patient, of all reformers. He came to fulfill every letter of the old law, yet he made all things new. And yet this Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, he spoke words of life such as never were spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he has set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and sweet songs of praise, than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.”  In the end, all creation cries, “Worthy is the Lamb” (Revelation 5:12).  For us here and now, the call is death to self and all to Christ.  He is worthy, worthy of our all.  We will be ashamed of anything less.

Setback:  I am sorry to report that right now I am back to zero with a return of continuous cramping and irritable bowel from the radiation burn. I fasted till afternoon today and it helped to let the innards settle down.  I am trying to eat very slowly and small amounts.  I have little doubt that if I could just fast for some days, the burn would heal, but I do not have the metabolic strength to do that.

At Missionary School:  Last week I had the honor of speaking* again at the Ukrainian Church’s Missionary School here in town.  These are young folks from all over the USA, who come to spend their summer listening to a speaker each week and then to take a ministry/service trip at the end of the summer.  My feet and ankles got all the more swollen, the pains came back as soon as each day was over, and we did not see a ‘breakthrough’, but I found the joy of the Lord in the work.  Some friendships were begun perhaps, and they treated me with such kindness at the end.  My heart goes out to them all.  Terri was with me mostly and Evangeline some.  Also, we were able to take each noon meal there (Ukrainian food) and I had no problems!  It is the Lord.  This has happened so often on the Lord’s Day.  God faithfully makes a ‘window’ for me to get to the meeting.

*WED

• The New Birth, John 3.3
• Love: the Sum and Substance, Mat 22.34
• Rich in the Word (2 parts), Col 3.16
• Keep Seeking Things Above, Col 3.1
• Behold the Lamb, Jn 1.29

*THU

• God is Light, 1Jn 1.5
• Good Music, Mat 11.17
• Names Written in Heaven, Luke 10.20
• Acquiring Wise Counsel, Pro 1.5
• Paul Before Felix, Acts 24.25
• The Authority Principle, Mat 8.5

*FRI

• Death Better than Birth, Ecc 7.1
• You Became an Example, 1 Th 1.6
• Useful to the Master, 2 Tim 4.11
• Events Happening at the Parousia, 2 Th 2
• When You Come Together as a Church, 1 Cor 11.18
• The Sin of Omission, Jam 4.17

Meditation:  One of the first things said about the Lord Jesus was that He would “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).  The Lord not only saves us in our sins, but then progressively from our sins.  Before cancer I was getting loose; I had trouble with over-eating like never before in my Christian life.  This cancer has well taken care of that.  I can say…

• It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes (Psalm 119:71).
• He who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin (1 Peter 4:1).
• Those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines and scourges (Hebrews 12:6).

I’m not saying this cancer is all because of that, but I am saying the Lord well knows how to purify His people – and victory over sin is one of the proofs that our Christianity is real.  “Without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).  The Lord bless you, my dear friends.