First Baptist Church Litchfield
Betty Nail Funeral Service 10/23/2026
  • Blessed Assurance

      • Psalm 23KJV1900

      • Psalm 23:title–6NIV2011

  • Because He Lives

      • John 14:1–6CSB

      • John 14:1–6CSB

  • Clouds & Our Great Savior

    The familiar hymn "When We All Get to Heaven" sings:
    “While we walk the pilgrim pathway, Clouds will overspread the sky; But when traveling days are over, Not a shadow, not a sigh.”
    The fear of death makes for cloudy days. Some of you here today feel the clouds hanging heavy. But hear me: Jesus Christ shines brighter than death's darkest cloud.
    Betty Nail walked the pilgrim pathway for ninety-five years. She saw her share of clouds. But through every one of them, Betty held to a deep trust in the goodness and the sovereignty of God. She believed that the Lord does all things well, even when we cannot see how. She was faithful to God and faithful to her family, and that faith did not waver in her final days.
    I am reminded of Nap Clark, a pastor from Starkville, Mississippi. He had the heartbreaking task of preaching his wife's funeral after only six years of marriage. She died of cancer. He knew of her illness before they married, yet he chose to walk with her through suffering. After the service, someone said, "You must be a great man." Nap replied, "No, I'm not. But I have a great Savior."
    That's where I want to focus your eyes today: not on Betty, not even on our grief, but on the Savior. Betty would want it that way. Jesus is great because He is God in flesh, lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, and rose again in power. And all He requires of you is faith: faith in His life, His death, and His resurrection.
    Nap found comfort in many things about Jesus, but when he buried his wife, one truth stood out: the resurrection. The same truth comforts us today.
    In John 11, Jesus says:
    "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die, ever. Do you believe this?"
    To feel the weight of this promise, remember the story:
    Lazarus, Jesus' friend, fell ill and died.
    Jesus delayed coming, so that His disciples, Martha, Mary, and you and I could see His power over death.
    Martha went straight out to meet Him and spoke her heart plainly: "Lord, if You had been here, my brother wouldn't have died." Jesus did not rebuke her honesty, knowing he had plans to lead her to a greater truth than her present reality.
    Jesus told Martha: "Your brother will rise again." She thought He meant the last day, but Jesus said, "I AM the resurrection and the life."
    Jesus wept with Mary, showing us that death is our enemy.
    Then, at the tomb, He commanded: "Lazarus, come out!" And death obeyed. Lazarus walked out of that tomb.
    What I find as remarkable is the man who walked out of that tomb did not receive half-restoration. Lazarus didn't stumble out as a zombie. He was restored, body and soul, by the word of Christ, a foretaste of what is in store Betty, and for those who love Jesus.

    A Martha Kind of Faith

    I cannot read Martha's part of this story without thinking of Betty. Martha did not hide her concerns or whisper them to others. She went directly to Jesus and said what was on her heart. And she was humble enough to listen when He answered.
    Betty had that same kind of faith and that same kind of character. She was not afraid to speak her mind, but she was humble enough to reason together for the sake of truth.
    I remember a season when our church was going through a difficult transition. Betty was not happy with some of the decisions I was making. Plenty of conversations were happening around town, over coffee at Jubelts and elsewhere, and not many of them were helpful. But Betty had the gumption to come to the church and tell me herself. She loved this church too much to stay silent, and she respected the truth too much to talk around it.
    I came to love her for that. Over the years we grew to respect one another, and Betty became someone I genuinely enjoyed listening to. One of my regrets is not spending more time with her, and I had the opportunity to confess that to her over the summer. I look forward to spending more time with her in the presence of Christ. My children visited her and loved her too. That is the fruit of a life rooted in Christ: honesty seasoned with grace, conviction held with humility.
    And notice what Jesus does with Martha's honest grief. He points her to Himself. "I am the resurrection and the life." That is where Betty's honest, sturdy faith always came to rest. So, along with the word of God, Betty’s life and faith commends us to act: to root your faith in Christ, realize your life in Christ, and rest in His resurrection power.

    Root Your Faith in Christ

    Why did Jesus wait? Why let Lazarus die? Because faith mattered more to Christ than their comfort. He told His disciples plainly:
    "I'm glad for you that I wasn't there so that you may believe." (John 11:15)
    Betty understood this. Her trust in God's sovereignty meant she believed the Lord's timing was never careless, even when it was hard. She made mention of this when a tree limb fell on her house, forcing her and Lloyd to stay in the Litchfield Rehab Center. She told me that she would rather be home, but she knew God worked it out for her and Lloyd to be together, and she was thankful for that. For Betty, God was good and sovereign. Betty knew what Martha knew. When Jesus delays, He is not absent. He is working for our faith, for our good, and for His glory.
    Faith is always Jesus' concern. He asked Martha, "Do you believe this?" He asks you the same question today. What does He ask you to believe? Do you believe Jesus is your resurrection hope and eternal life? Your salvation from the wrath of God?
    "The resurrection of Christ is the most important article of our faith." John Calvin
    Jesus is not calling you to vague religion, not to trying harder, not to religious morality. He calls you to repent of sin and believe in Him. "The one who believes in the Son has eternal life." (John 3:36)
    If Betty could speak for just two minutes, and you know she would not waste them, I believe she would look you in the eye and say: "Trust Christ. Root your life in Him. Don't wait another day."

    Realize Your Life in Christ

    Jesus says: "The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live."
    That means eternal life begins now. Death cannot kill the believer's soul. For those who die in Christ, death is not the end but the doorway into everlasting joy.
    Jesus said: "I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance." (John 10:10)
    Ninety-five years is a long and full life. But death gave her the first breath of the life Betty now knows. In heaven with Christ you will experience life beyond your imagination: free from fear, free from sickness, deeper love, perfect joy. Psalm 23 promised it:
    "Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me… Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
    Betty trusted the goodness of God all the days of her life. Now that goodness has carried her home. D. L. Moody reminds us,
    "He only is safe for eternity who is sheltered behind the finished work of Christ." D. L. Moody, "There Is No Difference" (1880)
    Every person in Christ is safe in that promise today.

    Rest in His Resurrection

    Jesus not only claimed power over death; He proved it. On the third day, He rose from His own grave. And because He lives, we shall live also.
    Paul says:
    "Death has been swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:54–55)
    Death is not defeat. For those who are united to Christ, death has lost both its sting and its victory. Because Jesus was raised from the grave, every sinner who repents and puts his faith in Him will also share in His resurrection life. The empty tomb is God's guarantee that the grave is not the end, but the doorway into eternal joy with Christ.
    And this promise extends to you, if you will have it. For all who believe, Jesus has prepared not a shadowy spirit-existence, but a glorified body and a real, renewed creation. You were made to walk streets of gold, feast at Christ's table, and live forever in His presence.
    Paul writes in Philippians 3:20–21 that our citizenship is in heaven, from which we await a Savior who will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body. This promise assures us that we are not meant for a life of mere shadows; we are destined for a physical and joyful existence in eternity. A resurrected glorified body is a profound truth that compels us to live with purpose, aiming at the hope of renewal in Christ.
    The body we lay to rest today, weary after ninety-five years, will be raised strong and glorious. That is not wishful fairytale thinking. That is the promise of the risen Christ.

    How Should We Respond?

    Jesus' words to Martha echo now to us: "Do you believe this?"
    Do not trust in yourself or your good works to get to heaven. Trust the One who conquered death. Root your faith in Christ.
    Eternal life begins the moment you believe. Realize your life in Christ.
    If you are in Christ, death cannot hold you. Rest in His resurrection.

    Our Great Savior

    Nap Clark buried his wife with sorrow, yet with hope. Betty's family can do the same today. Death is real, but Jesus is greater than our greatest enemy.
    Nap said, "I'm not a great man. But I have a great Savior." Betty would say the same. She would not want us to leave here praising her strength, her candor, or even her faithfulness. She would want us to leave praising the Savior who gave her all of it. That is every Christian's testimony too. It can be yours, if you will trust Him.
    And one day, all who believe will gather at the Lord's banquet, free from sin, sickness, and sorrow. Then, oh, then, we will sing, with Betty,
    “When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, We'll sing and shout the victory!”
    Amen.

      • John 11:25–26CSB

      • Psalm 23CSB

      • 1 Corinthians 15:54–55CSB

      • 2 Corinthians 1:3–4CSB

First Baptist Church Litchfield
pastorjason.fbcl@gmail.com
217-324-4232
http://www.firstbaptistlitchfield.org/
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