This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it Isaiah 6 says in the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up and his train F the temple unfortunately all of those who
Are standing if you can just please be seated and perhaps after the worship we can continue greeting the family they are indeed a loving family and they would embrace you so after the worship we can continue embracing the family and all of God’s people shouted amen we will now have the scripture Old
Testament by Dr Julius scrubs and the New Testament by Dr Faris Harris when the children of Israel were in Babylonian captivity they had a short dialogue with God a part of which is recorded in Isaiah chapter 40 I will read beginning at verse 27 it’s the opening of this aspect of the
Dialogue why do you say oh Jacob and speak oh Israel my way is hidden from the Lord and my just claim is passed over my God have you not known have you not heard the Everlasting God the Lord the creator of the ends of the Earth neither faints nor is
Weary there is no searching of his understanding he gives power to the weak and to those who have no might he increases strength even the youth shall faint and be weary young men shall utterly fall but they that wait upon the Lord they that hope in the Lord shall renew their
Strength they shall Mount up with wings like eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint the word of the Lord in Paul’s letter to the church at Rome Paul’s seeks to encourage them in the midst of their expression of their faith in God against Great
Odds in Romans chapter eight Paul pin these words as what has been coined as the Believers Triumph what then are we to say about these things if God is for us who is against us he did even spare his own son but offered him up for us all how will he not
Also with him grant us everything who can bring an accusation acquisation against God’s elect God is the one who justifies who is is the one who condemns Christ Jesus is the one who died but even more has been raised he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us who
Can separate us from the love of Christ can Affliction or anger anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword as it is written because of you we are being put to death all the day long we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered no in all these things we are
More than Victorious through him who loves us for I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers things present things to come not powers nor height nor depth nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus amen I’m finding myself had a loss for words and the funny thing is it’s okay the last thing I need is to be hurt but to Hear what you would say word of God say would you pour down like rain pour down like rain washing my eyes Wasing my your majesty to be still and know and that you’re in this place in this place please let me stay in rest me stay in rest in your holiness
Hol word of God speak speak Lord Speak Lord Speak Lord Speak Lord I’m finding Myself in the midst of you beyond the music beyond the noise all that I need is to be with you and in the quiets I hear your voice say word of God speak poured down like rain pour down like washing my eyes to see my eyes to see your majesty To be still and know still and know that you’re in this place please let me stay in rest in your Holiness word of God speaks word of God speak which you pour down like rain pour down like washing my eyes to seeing my eyes to see your Majesty to be still and
Know that you’re in this place please let me stay in rest stay in rest in your Holy Name Hol yes in your Holiness I’m finding my myself myself at a loss for words And the funny thing is it’s okay before I do the tribute for my brother Bill Houston I have two resolutions reading uh acknowledging the first and reading the second from Huntsville City Schools presented by Dr Clarence Sutton superintendent Huntsville City scho uh Board of Education reading the one from
The Fellowship of Faith Church we the pastor Elders deacons Deaconess associate ministers and members of The Fellowship of Faith Church pause to celebrate the homegoing of Deacon William lyd Houston we thank God and join in celebration of our beloved brother Deacon Houston who caught the mantle of our Lord and Savior by setting
A high Mark and by his diligence and persistent love verified by God and for fulfilling his call and service glorifying God Deacon Houston not only took the mantle but gave dignity and was inspired by the Holy Spirit and enhanced the office of the elders and deacons Ministry by his service and commitment
Our church and Ministries have prospered by his dedicated service and commitment Deacon Bill Houston and Deacon Dorothy working side by my side giving dignity and service to this church in Ministry and one of is one of the reasons TFC have a meaningful impact on our community and service because of his sincerity
Commitment and service to this church our Ministries are better we dare not Retreat for the standard has been set in our need to be sensitive to aware of and discipline to the standards of discip discipleship are all given thrust by the greater things than these shall ye do as spoken from John
14:12 Because He Lives we can face tomorrow with greater assurance and confidence that we shall meet and the greater day is our expectation for there will be the rejoicing we commend the family to God and commit the soul of our departed brother unto God who whose presence Deacon William Lord Houston now
Enjoys we thank the Houston family for Lending us the services and Christian Life of our brother Deacon Bill Houston a deacon and Christian man of God we are prayerfully done by the order of the entire church uh TFC church family Elders deacons Deacon associate Minister and Pastor into thy hands we commend his
Spirit p teacher Troy IL Garner on a personal level bill and I would not just friends he was a buddy and an amazing person in my opinion a true man of God can meet you where you are in life and can lift you up to a
Higher level if you really listen to his comments I know most of you can relate the things uh bill was interested in doing with you on a person personal level he here are just a few from my personal list we took a trip to the shooting range and target practice with
Several Firearms we took trips to our youth sports activities and kept track of them as they progressed in high school and Beyond I have open invitation to join him for hunting and fishing excursions we often talked about family yard projects Church projects and most most importantly accountability to
Family and Church in July during my wife J’s hospitalization bill called regularly and checked in to see how we were doing and if anything was needed always with an uplifting Spirit we delivered communion to Our Sick and shut in family members so what is a friend a friend is someone who we
Feel connected to and who is there for us in in some way a relationship that is stable a longstanding bond a positive relationship it’s Cooperative it’s helpful and more importantly it’s reciprocal meaning I’m there for you and you are there for me Bill showed me just
What a true man of God is in his actions therefore I know without a doubt what Jesus said in John 14 2 and three I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you you I will come again and receive you unto myself
That where I am you may be also so it is my challenge to pick up that same mantle and to see my brother in the Eternal realm thank you that’s good thank you good afternoon my name is Diane Hasty and I had the privilege of working for Bill at Challenger Elementary School
Bill Houston was my boss he was my friend and he was my mentor and since Tuesday my mind has just simply been a wash in memories of our time together at Challengers Bill once shared that when he came to Challenger he was apprehensive about how he would be received little did he know
That as teachers we shared that same apprehension as to how we would be received it didn’t take long however for his kind heart his warm smile and his infectious laugh to win the love and respect of teachers students and parents he became a rock star in our community however you couldn’t be around
Him very long at all without knowing who he was he was unashamedly a man of Faith he was a devoted father and husband and he was destined to be an educator he was an encourager and cheerleader to his faculty at Challenger he saw skills and talents in his staff
That we often didn’t realize were within us he supported his faculty and he gave us the most important gift an administrator can give his teachers the opportunity to teach and that is more r than you may think Bill was a servant leader who worked alongside us and with us he was
Never too busy for a parent a teacher in distress or a student that simply needed a smile and a hug bill was my mentor he encouraged me to pursue a path in administration he would often tell me you can do this you need to do this he provided me with
Leadership opportunities on and on the job administrative experience and when I finally decided to give Administration a go I always got a pep a pep talk before the interviews and he would say Hasty put on your new blue suit and do what you do you got this after he retired we would talk
Periodically and he followed my career from teacher to assistant principal and finally principal always supporting and encouraging me every step of the way and when we chatted we would trade grandparent brags for just a bit and get caught up on our Ames and somehow during our talks the conversations always made
Their way back to our time at Challenger he loved his time at Challenger he loved our parents our students and our community we would talk about what a special place Challenger was and still is and without fail he would always say those were good times and I would say
Yes sir they were he would say we did some good things down there and I would reply yes sir we sure did one of my Fondest Memories of bill was the way he conducted our fifth grade culmination AKA graduation c u ceremony teachers would Usher students into the
Program and when the program was over the students would lead us out I’m sure that isn’t unlike practice at other places but there was a simple symbolism and hope for the future in that traditional processional and recessional and before the recessional as he ended his comments to our fifth graders and
Wished them well as they culated on to the Middle School his last words to students were job well done class dismissed so Bill as our hearts break at your departure from this life you fought the good fight and you finished the race and it’s with a tremendous amount of
Love respect and gratitude that we say through our tears Mr Houston job well done class dismissed good afternoon to the Houston family I thank you for the invitation to come and participate in the homegoing celebration of my friend and brother Bill Houston I thank you for the Friendship
Our families have shared down through the years I’m honored to have this opportunity to come and just share a few thoughts about my my friend and brother our friendship span some some 25 30 years or so uh bill is is well known and celebrated in this community for his
Humanitarian work I’ve had the pleasure of serving with Bill and various organizations uh we were fraternity Brothers Alpha F Alpha Fraternity Incorporated and members of The 100 black men of America let me just pause and ask all the alpha Brothers if you just stand and be recognized
Thank you you may be seated and if uh if you remember the 100 black men of America Incorporated uh would you please stand okay I see a few thank you when you think about manly Deeds scholarship uh Love For All Mankind Bill embodied all those qualities which made him the consumate Alpha Man
He served with honor and distinction bill was also involved with the 100 black man of Huntsville the focus of the 100 is mentoring the mono is what they see is what they’ll be that was a motivating factor for Bill as he committed himself to personifying to be the type of man
That our youth will uh look up to and IM mentoring young people was what Bill did on a daily basis while he was in the school system as he served as a teacher and principal when he was at First Missionary Baptist uh we served together in the Brotherhood organization and we
Also served in the chorus during Mother’s Day we would typically uh sing special music for the ladies of the church I remember one Mother’s Day uh bill came in uh with his with his guitar he sang and played a special tribute to all the mothers that were in service
During that day now Bill did a uh he did a very moving and and a special song and uh he did it masterfully I mean he was full of compassion U very uplifting that that was Bill that’s that’s the kind of person bill was he was thoughtful and
And he was kind he was a jovial kind of guy always friendly and and cheerful someone that you can easily be friends with with uh he was a joy to be around he never met a stranger bill was the big was a real deal okay he was down to
Earth always uh made you feel at ease bill was a was a gifted multi-talented individual I mean he he wore many hats he was a Christian husband father grandfather educator tutor Mentor coach chauffeur entrepreneur the list goes go on I’m I’m reminded of a passage of scripture uh when I think about Bill
Philippians 4:13 which is which is one of my favorite passages I can do with all things through Christ who strengthens me Bill had his physical challenges as you know but But as God gave him strength he was able to endure to overcome and persevere and continue
On with the fight he was a living example of God’s goodness faithfulness and Grace his greatest Talent his greatest gift his greatest joy was the love for for Dorothy and the children he was truly a family man he loved his family at the end of the day there was no place like
Home bill was a proud strong black man who Ser who took seriously his responsibilities as being the priest and head of his household we hear a lot of talk the days about uh aente fathers uh uh deadbeat dads men who advocated their responsibility to the family Bill leaves a legacy of family
Values and morals in Joshua chapter 24 and Joshua said to all the people choose ye this day whom you will serve but as for me in my house we’re going to serve the Lord he carried out his Priestly duties he prayed and cared for his pment as in the
Days in Joshua so it is with us today as men we have the responsibility to prepare our sons and daughters to be worthy and to have a desire to serve the Lord the Lord has entrusted them to us and so we will be held accountable to
Them Bill did that by being present in their lives by being a mentor by being a role model as a family man and Bill was there for his family he provided the support structure that they needed he was present and accounted for so in closing let us let us follow the example
Of Bill and and let us sty to be present and to be accountable for and accountable to our families so my friend I say farewell you’ve earned the right to rest in peace as was already said you fought a good fight you have finished your race and you have kept the faith I
Will see you on the other side to the family may God bless you may you be strengthened and may you be encouraged thank you to the pastor pit Associates to the family and all the wellwishers friends it is indeed an honor and opportunity for me
To say a few words about The Life and Legacy of my friend Bill Houston I might use two verbs in referring to Bill I might say he was and I might say he is so that’s how I see him he Wass and he still
Is but I would be remiss to try to speak to bill in isolation of the family uh no man’s an island and Bill family and this family Houston family and our family were one of those best I I don’t remember how we met I just remember when they were uh
First came to Alabama ANM University and uh dth has a little forign car she just drove around all just as fast she could go stick shift know I just you know go and so somehow we met some kind of way we were their seniors to to them but
Things that we were so important that they had the same Cod values that we had and took us a long time to develop them and they were young couple those Co values was church home family and education those are the basic values wind up and we begin to talk and
That became our adopted family and what we did they did our pride and joy was was uh the daughter we had grandkids and and we everywhere they went they went we had a great relationship with this family and that was so important to us here was a family young family
Growing up with a set of values that we feel make successful during this time uh we had a great professional relationship with both Bill and and Dorothy uh believe it or not I retired and Dorothy became my boss during that time I I was in charge of the
Technology and we developed the first home page for Alabama andm University and uh we was trying to say what can be exciting at that time we just completed the gym the new football field so we want alumni to have a chance to look at this new football field how
Could we do this on homepage so do said guess what you know Bill’s a pilot I said pilot how you get to be a pilot at this age we hadde Bill and Bill and one of our technician flew across it at night during the game and took pictures after
Pictures I said bill by soon come down cuz he can run the gas but this is the first indication I had of his thing about flying that was some 25 years ago bill was flying at that time took those pictures and I so it of course reversed darthur got tired of being Vice
President and she went back to teaching I was de down I become her boss and I hope that I was as kind to her as she was to me family the thing I enjoyed most about this family they did not send their children they took them the record stands for itself ask
Katie no matter where she he went he wherever it was they would have supported James William are the same so as I close just on the family side I want to say that our relationship as a family has been over the years and it strengthened us to the highest during my
Period of believe that this family was there for me and they are still there for me so we are as a family Dorothy Bill and James and kti we are there for you let me just tell you how special just one thing my granddaughter Lauren was at Duke University and she was pledging
AKA and so daughter heard about it daughter got on the plane and flew all way to dur got her car and R and pin my granddaughter my daughter granddaughter is eternally grateful for that act of kindness that’s the kind of family we have experiened with them let me tell you
Deth Bill the rest of you bement does not take a vacation and he had has no time for him but the Lord is able he is able and he is faithful I’m a living witness put your TR in the Lord let me get on Bill case now you know Bill Houston was a
Character bill and I I don’t know what how we got going but we got going some kind of way well I guess is one of the things is always had a seat the welcome table now if you knew the Houston they were like Gypsy they just move every week
I’ve sat at five different tables at five different houses I always had a seat at the welcome table bill would call me uh we’ll get to this but Bill called me he said DOC come on out here let me fix breakfast for you Bill get up and cook breakfast with me
Because I was going to work in in our relationship there there must be some some glue or something that keep you going to make life interesting there were three things that I think that solidified our relationship bill was an avid Hunter the second I was a junkyard
Junkie I couldn’t get rid of getting out of the junkyard and the third thing we had a common interest in flying so let me did with the first one Bill said doc you need to go hunting I said bill I laid my rifle down where I left
Korea but did I stop Bill Bill start collecting guns so every gun bill got he had me out hustling old guns for him come by the house we clean them up I still didn’t go hunting he took me to the rifle range and now we shot bullets but the the
Thing was amazing the last time went there’s a man with a machine going out there I said bill I thought everybody had AKA 41s that closet but some of them got machine guns too so my thing with the hunting a deer I always got my part of the deer I never
Hunt for one but I still got some deal me Dar said still got some deal me so so we had a great relationship with the hunting the second thing is I was interested in cars I had a little business called Harvest use Auto Parts but I think I was a junkyard junky more
Than anything else and I try to get Bill interest in junk Bill say I’m not interest in junk so I finally got him into a car a truck CU and some he began to collect some cars and fix some old cars he came to my place he said why you have so many
Cars I had I never crush cars until I got about 150 I just stack them up stack them up and and Bill said well what you going to do with them I said well I get tired of I sell them well I never crush cars until I got about
10050 200 and then I said Bill I’m you know we got to help me get some more so we had that relationship I I knew more about CS but we had that relationship that so I got got us going the third thing was the flying as I said my first
Indication that bill could fly when he flew across second the pictures Bill had some health issues that prevented him from passing the the medical exam he came one day and said you know I think I’m going back to fly and Bill gave up all the pills and everything so
He could pass the exam to fly that was a sacrifice then I knew he was really committed to Flying I tried a few years before and I gave it up but he convinced me this something we need to do so Bill and I begin to fly out of Executive
Airport hunson airport he became certified on three single Indian aircrafts three single IND aircraft and the thing is We enjoyed the flying now he was particular about flying before he left the ground there was 12 items he checked all everything and when we got in a plane there was another 15
It check before he even turned the motor on he just and he always had me a set of good earphones so we could talk and the most interesting thing when we leave the ground control would tell us it’s time to get to the runway and then we took on
The the traffic control and the the greatest thrill for me was going down the runway and Bill be get getting it going and you know and I said Bill we 45 55 he said what we going to pull up I said keep going bill at 75 we go up and
What a what a feeling that was gliding in the eye we got up in the sky and run around and look and and just a great Recreation our flying with Recreation our greatest flight was at with going down to stockville see ktie uh we got that morning got up and got
All our gear together and we went and flew all the way to Corin Mississippi when we got to Corin Mississippi the the traffic control from Memphis said now you on our control and we went down and came back my last bill and I talked about moving to the next
Level and he said let’s move up we’ve had three of these let’s move to the twin engine and Bill had two practice with the instructor on the third practice he said Doc it’s your time go four of us went out three of us went out to load the
Plane and when we got the instructor they said we overweight so one person had get off the plane so a friend go off and I stayed on so we had a great plan so that was my last flight the flight of Bill Bill a two engine plane was not where Bill want to
Go I had the opportunity uh to fly a private jet to New York and bill came out to see me off and bill went to the pilot he said can I sit down in your seat Bill sat down in the seat I don’t know if he prayer now then he came out
He said take a picture of me with this flight this was Bill ultimate goal to move to that level not the twoyear flight we talked about motor but to that he was committed to his passion few days ago I thought about the and I just like to a few verses from Henry Woodworth
Wrong fell s of Life tell me not mon phenomenal life is but an empty dream for the soul is dead that Slumber and life is not what it seem lives of Great Men often remind us we can make our lives sublim us and depart and leave behind us footprints on the signs of
Times a few days ago deal left his fruit prints on the wings of a do and the wings of do carry his Spirit to Eternity Christ said that he that believe in me shall not die but fo have life Everlasting and the old son getting up in the morning fire well
Fire well my friend when we get up early in that morning it be fire fire let us thank you for our relationship and giving them this opportunity [Applause] Amen Thanks everyone for coming today to celebrate the life of my father I’d like to share three promises um to remind us of the love of God as we speak on the life of my dad uh the first promise is that God promised that eternal life is
To know the Father and Jesus made that statement knowing that today we’d be reflecting on the life of my dad and that we would find strength in the fact that our dad was already experiencing eternal life as he lived in the love and in the will of God the second promise is
That while living in the will of God God promises our dad that if he dies daily then he’s crucified with Christ and when crucify with Christ it’s no longer him that is living but Christ that is living in him and it’s not a statement about religion it’s a statement about
Relationship um between my father our father and the King of Kings because Christ lives in than our dad than by faith he too is a Son of God and we praise God that he promised that as we are his sons and daughters than if we
Are his sons then we are Heirs of God and if Heirs of God we are joint HS of Christ the third promise is that uh God promises that if we are absent from the body then we are present with the Lord and I believe that completely and
It is an honor for our family that our dad has been called home our dad will be remembered for a lot of things and my hope is that he’ll be remembered as one of the sons of God he taught us a lot of things but the
Biggest lesson he gave us was uh his example of selfless christlikeness it wasn’t something that he said it was how he lived his life and he took us as his children and he showed us by example how to live as men and women of purpose and of
Vision so we praise God that through through Christ death is dead and that we will never lose our dad we grab hold of the promise that neither death nor life nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate our dad from the love of
God and we are closer to him today than we’ve ever been as we are all one day closer by faith to entering into the perfect rest of God when Jesus was on the cross he told the thief that on the same day he would meet him in Paradise so we rest in
Absolute confident in our heart that our dad’s left last breath here led to his first breath in eternity and I want to reflect and just uh imagine for a little bit how beautiful that moment would have been that my dad got to experience uh to see
The father smiling at him and waving his hand saying come sit at my right hand and it is an honor that we uh and and that is an honor that we uh accept as those who will follow in his footsteps I was speaking with uh Uncle Richard his his only brother uh
Yesterday and he mentioned uh as he was looking at it that our dad died on the same day that his mom died and um some would call that coincidence and I would say that it’s a perfect ending to the Earthly life of our father uh you know what are the odds of
That and I want to finish with a fourth promise there’s a promise that says that we are God’s handywork and that original word handiwork in Greek was POA so actually it translates that we are God’s poem and as we remember the life of our dad and the inspiration that he was to
So many I want to give God glory for the poem that he wrote that we got to experience as the life of Bill the husband of Dorothy the father of myself James and Katie and most importantly Bill the Son of God I want to end in
Prayer father fill us with more faith so that each of us live a life that honors you may each of us work out our own salvation with fear and trembling and confidently look deaf in the Faith with full faith look deaf in the face that
With full faith uh that what you did for Christ you what you did for our dad you will do for each of us and carry each of us into eternal life with you thank you for every promise that you’ve given us and that each of these promises are ours for the taking amen
Um my dad was always there when I needed him from driving nine hours to Notre um to watch me run a race that only lasted 20 minutes just for him and James to turn right back around and drive the nine hours back to hunsville um you know I feel like he was always
There when anyone ever needed him my dad made me into the resilient woman that I am today he taught me how to never give up and always push forward and I never forget all the track practices and the conversations we had and the trips to the gas station after practice to get
Us lushy for making it through I’m truly blessed that I’ll be able to still experience my dad in this life through his acts of service and through the love that he left behind from the cracked bathroom towel that he helped me put back together to the emergency car kit
In my car CU it always turns off cuz I leave it running um through all the songs that I can still listen to that he would sing throughout the day I’m happy that my dad and my mom taught me about faith and that he’s in a better place and I really
Am just Overjoyed to have all of you here today and that um everyone here traveled alongside my dad at some point in life and I see see a pece of my dad and all of you and I know that his legacy and his love will live [Applause]
Forever uh hey everyone my name is James I just want to say uh thanks for coming out uh it’s awesome to see the the community that uh my father has built around himself um and just you know propelling ourselves through life I hope the lessons that uh he’s taught you and
I know the that uh he taught myself and my siblings uh will continue to uh you know live through us uh as we as we uh matriculate through life if you will uh thanks again for coming [Applause] Out Family on behalf of myself and the praise team we extend our love and all the sympathy um on Sunday mornings Deacon bill would lead us in prayer on Sunday mornings and when we would leave we have to leave the medicine Church to come here he would always be at the door and
As we would go out he would tell us thank you for what you’re doing for the fellowship of Faith thank you for creating an atmosphere year of worship and you you did a great job to always tell us that on Sunday mornings we leave it and that be spilled in our hearts of
His earnestness that he gave to us Praise Only imagine what it’ll be like when I walk by your Side I can only imagine what my eyes will see when your face is before me I can only Imagine I Can Only Imagine to be surrounded by Your glory what will my heart feel will I Dance For You Jesus or in all of you be still will I stand in your presence to my knees will I fall will I sing h Hallelujah will I be able to speak it
All I can only Imagine I can only [Applause] Imagine I can only imagine when that day will come and I find myself standing in the sun I can only imagine when all I will do is forever forever worship you I can only imagine m I can Only imagine to be surrounded by Your glory what will my heart feel will I Dance For You Jesus or in all in you be still will I stand in your presence to my knees will I fall will I sing Hallelujah will I be able to speak it all I can only imagine
Yeah I can only Imagine I can only imag And all of God’s people said Amen to the friends to the family to the helps ministry music Ministry Min leaders of the fellowship of Faith to all of the clergy all of the clergy please stand all of the clergy please stand all of the clergy please stand awesome
Awesome I see our lustrous president here we thank you for your presence on today president Williams thank God for Dr Scruggs thank God for Dr Harris again I greet you with the joy of Jesus let us pray let us pray in fact before we pray put those hands together
Come on give him some praise give him some praise yes yes we thank God for the life of William llo Houston let us pray father we thank you for gifting us gracing us with Deacon Bal we thank you how his life touched a lot of people his Winsome
Personality again just pause just to say thank you now as we eulogize him May the words of my mouth the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight oh Lord our strength and Our Redeemer and as PA said as the word of the Lord go
Forth may it have free course and may you be glorified and your people edified in Jesus name let everyone say Amen to Dr Houston to James William and Katie and Bella we thank God for you Psalms 55 Psalms 55 verse 6 Psalms 55 verse 6 and I said oh that I had
Wings like a dove for then I would fly away and be at rest someone said the measure of a man is measured by the lives he touched and Deacon Bill Houston definitely touched a lot of lives a deacon bill as a father Deacon Beal loved his beautiful brilliant wife and their three amazing
Children he embraced with excitement being a Granddad he was thrilled with his son’s wife and very impressed with his daughter’s fiance we live in an era as you know of single parent homes more specifically single parent moms but Deacon B broke that mold he was an involved dad he was
A dad that made a difference he was an involved Dad we always talk about proverbs 31 wife but dickon Beal was an Ephesians 5 husband to hear his wife and kids speak pleasantries of Deacon be is amazing it speaks of the type of man he truly
Was 2 Samuel chapter 3 verse 38 says and the King said unto his servants know ye not that there was a prince and a great man fallen in the Day of Israel a great man a prince of a man fell in Huntsville by the name of Deacon William Lloyd
Houston B deacon bill as a friend Deacon bill was not only a great Deacon but he was a great friend God sends people into your lives for reasons and seasons and I thank God for God sending into our lives Deacon bill because you do know that having a friend is a gift
From God it’s a blessing from God and that’s what Deacon bill was to all of us he was a blessing he was a gift from God every Sunday morning R routinely he would call me on his way to 8 a worship at our Madison Campus and he would
Always ask me what I wanted for breakfast he always kept my office stock with Gatorade as a friend he would regularly call me and laughter would often result from our conversation he was indeed not only a great Deacon but he was indeed a great friend and our friendship extended
Before and Beyond The Fellowship of faith I was a staff minister at First Missionary Baptist he was an assistant principal at Johnson High School a principal at Ed White and at Challenger and he would often call me when he was at Ed White to come and read to the
Children the students at Ed White I said make sure you give me a book you know that’s that’s pretty simple you understand I can read but it’s challenging reading the students I can say as Jonathan said of David in 1st Samuel 2018 of Deacon Bill Thou shalt be
Missed he will be missed in the city as an educator he influenced a lot of staff and students in Huntsville he befriended a lot of people with his Winsome personality he was from Columbus Ohio he resided in Nashville but he was planted in Huntsville he will be missed in this
City he will be missed in this church as a deacon he was very faithful he went above and beyond his leadership role a deacon Congregation of care serving praying working that was Deacon bill every Sunday during the invitation he would lovingly welcome candidates during the invitation to Christian discipleship
Every Sunday you could see him raising his hands he would give me healthy suggestions and observations that would make our church more healthy and better and I would often tell him thank you for truly caring just last Sunday he told me he says PT he said says the fellowship
Wait he called me Troy but you understand he says Troy The Fellowship of faith is my home this is not just a church I go to this is my home and tears rolled down my eyes he he he didn’t mind serving cleaning working Etc he would pick up the guest preachers
He just simply loved serving we started our Capital stewardship campaign here at the church and I told Deacon bill and I told the congregation that he was the reason why you see all of these Renovations and repairs going on at the church and it’s
True he was he would tell me we need to do the facial boards we need to fix the roof we need to fix the floor the women’s bathroom and we did every Pastor needs a deacon Bill Houston sometimes when I would get to the church early to go over my sermon
When Deacon bill was there I did more talking to him than preparing for my sermon so I knew what time he would normally get to the church I would get to the church a little bit earlier so I could prepare Deacon beill had a lot of gifts
And he utilized those gifts for the glory of God I mean he could literally sing he could pray he he could play musical instruments he even wrote songs and I was in awe of just how gifted Deacon bill was he will be missed in this church he will be missed by His
Companion his lovely wife Dorothy Houston of 40 plus years what a model marriage indeed they had come on let’s celebrate that let’s celebrate that he truly loved his wife honored his marriage and adored his children it can beill handle success well they both had successful careers but Deacon bill was always humble with
It if you understand he will be missed by His companion and children he will be missed by his children children again he was a very proud dad he was proud of his children to his son’s William and James he admired you for your entrepreneurial Endeavors one day I was talking to
Deacon Bill I said man I really love those newly renovated homes in Five Points he said really I said oh yeah so one day he picked me up and said I want to take you to Five Points I want to show you something as we were going down
In Five Points I said that’s the house right there I was talking about we pulled into that house and he said that’s my son’s house additionally we he showed me pictures of his son’s hotel in Tahoe where there were real literal Bears outside he was very proud of his sons to
His daughter Katie you definitely were the apple of his eye he would brag on you all the time your track days at Mississippi State your home Etc I would tell Deacon bill you know every day I run two miles and Deon Bill said two miles that’s nothing Kaye used to run
Eight he will be missed by his children as David said of Nathan in 2 Samuel 208 or as Jonathan said of David in 2 Samuel 2018 Thou shalt be missed see Deacon bill as a man of Faith deakon Beal had a relationship with the Lord he knew the word over in Acts it
List deacons Steven Phillip porus nicar teeman Paramus and Nicholas verse eight says of De of Deacon Steven full of faith and power de had great wonders and miracles among the people I can say that of Deacon Beal he was a man full of faith and power and did great wonders
And miracles among the people D Deacon be taking flight running and swimming are my hobbies I run and swim daily Deacon Bill loved deer hunting he he also loved flying airplan planes as you know flying was a favorite pastime of Deacon bill so let’s just call him Captain
Bill last Wednesday Captain Bill Deacon bill called me and said let’s go flying he knew I feared it he said let’s go flying I said dick and Bill uh and& him got a game today at 11: and he was smooth with it he said what time does the game start I said man
He said I’ll have you back in 45 minutes I said I don’t want to be late you understand he used to say let’s go to Murphysboro for lunch I said that’s all right that’s all right he would often take David Mattis with him and I was never envious of that relationship you
Know he would often say PT or Troy I I’m training so I can take you to the football game he was again proficient in single engines and wanted to train for a double engine so he could take more passengers and I would often say to him man with
The football team I can be to where we going in an hour I’ll just see you when you get there but he was always thinking about others homiletically since Deacon Beal loved flying I wanted to use this motif of flying to eulogize Deacon billal so I found this passage in the Psalms that
The Holy Ghost gave me unction to function Psalms 55 and6 and I said oh that I had wings like a dove then I fly away and be at rest David wrote this Psalm during a time of his son’s absalon’s Rebellion absolon murdered amnon David’s oldest son David’s second oldest son had
Already died so absolon was next to assume the throne David had to flee to Jerusalem David is experiencing trouble from abson who is plotting against him and from his friend a hiel who is rebelling or betrayed him and Jerusalem the city that he was in they were revolting to usurp his authority so
David wanting to uh escape the stress the pressure writes in verse six and I said oh that I had wings like a dove for then I would fly away and be at rest number one one you can clearly see the difficulties David said and I said oh David is being pursued by his
Enemies and he says with a sigh oh David is having difficult times he says oh his own son plotted against him his own friend betrayed him so he says oh Jerusalem is revolting against him David size says oh when I got the call from Dr Houston regarding Deacon B I like David said
Oh and we all have some oh moments because there are some difficulties in life number one the difficulties number two the dove verse six says that I had wings like a dove for then I would fly away David is using a dove as a word picture of escaping from the
Difficulties of Life a dove Matthew 10:18 says be ye therefore wise a serpents but harmless as doves doves doves represent pure doves represent peace that I had wings like a dove for then I would fly away the wings of a dove would give him the ability to rise above the
Difficulties the dove it is a symbol of the Holy Spirit Matthew 3:16 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove the dove is a symbol of the holy spirit so these doves wings represent the empowering of the spirit maybe for you it’s a Temptation a trial trouble it
Is the spirit of God that allows us to rise above the difficulties of life it is the spirit of God that allows us to rise above the circumstances in Psalms 55 David did not internalize what was going on around him yes David was stressed but he also knew that he was
Blessed in verse one instead of David pouting he’s praying in verse two he talks about mourning in verse three he talks about uh being oppressed but he overcame in verse four he talks about the pain he was in in verse 5 he talks about being overwhelmed by fear in verse
Six he says oh that I had wings like a dove for then I would fly away the wings they represent the empowering of the spirit because again it is the spirit that empowers us to rise above the difficulties of Life the wings also represent the encouraging of the
Scriptures it is the scriptures that gives us encouragement in the midst of Trials the scriptures gives us Comfort hope in the word of God it is the scriptures that give us hope and joy in fact that’s what Advent is all about Advent is all about Hope joy and peace
And that’s what the scriptures give us the scriptures gives us hope the scriptures gives us joy the scriptures gives us peace These Wings they represent the empowering of the spirit but they also represent the encouraging of the scriptures Scholars say that these wings of the doves are Faith and prayer David
Says in Psalms 55:16 as for me I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me verse 22 cast thy burden upon the Lord and He Shall sustain thee and he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved the the wings of a dove they symbolize faith and prayer and
It cause us to rise above the circumstances the difficulties of life so number one the difficulties number two the doves then number three the Deliverance verse six Ends by saying and be at rest the word rest is Deliverance Deacon bill made his transition doing what he loved to do
Flying he took the wings like a dove and now he’s at rest Deacon bill has escaped all the difficulties of this world he’s at rest he he shared with me on Sunday just on Sunday his battle with blood clot but now he’s been delivered oh oh Lord he’s at
Rest dick bill I I can call him Captain Bill he took the wings of a dove and flew away the the the the plane may have crashed but it didn’t crash his soul he is at rest Matthew 1128 come unto me all ye that labor and are of heavy lated and I
Will give you rest Matthew 11:29 take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest for your souls Hebrews 4 and9 there remaineth therefore a rest for the people of God now this word rest is not
Chilling he can bill is not chilling in heaven I can surmise he’s worshiping in heaven this word rest in Hebrew is shakan and it literally means lodging permanently residing settled dwelling on Monday Deacon be took a flight in Madison County but he landed in another country a better country that is
Heavenly he he he he he he took a flight in this city but he landed in in another city whose foundations whose Builder and maker is God he he he he took a flight on Earth but landed in heaven because to be absent from the body is to be present
With the Lord he he he took a flight in immortality and landed in eternity he he he he he took a flight in the land where there is the Su in but landed in the land where we won’t need the Su in because we have the s o
In he he he took a flight on this side but landed on that side and right now I I I surmise he’s not resting but he’s worshiping come on Church put those hands together give him some praise one more time let’s celebrate let’s thank Jesus Jesus for gifting us
With the life of Deacon Bill good afternoon the psalmist said I will lift M eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help my help comes from the Lord and so as we prepare to leave this place let us look to the Lord in prayer God our father in the
Midst of such sudden and unexpected sorrow and unspeakable loss we turn to you for comfort and solace we ask you now to wrap your loving arms around this family this church and this community ease the ache in our hearts soothe the pain of separation and wipe away every tear grant us Lord the
Serenity to accept the things that we can neither change nor understand we heard in your word that the joy of the Lord is our strength and that weeping may indure for a night but joy comes in the morning and so God we cling to Eternal
Hope as we lift our eyes to look for the Morning Light Lord Let Your Presence be a source of refuge and strength as we go go forth now to navigate this difficult journey of grief we look to you to give us peace in knowing that you hold our friend and
Brother Deacon William Lloyd Houston senior in Eternal care and that your unfailing love will guide us through this time of mour Amen Love me Test All Rise except the family all rise except the family the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want he maketh me to lie down in Green Pastures he leadth me beside the Still Waters he restoreth my soul he leadth me in the path of righteousness
For his name sake y though I walk through the valley and shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me th Ro in thy staff they comfor me prar the table before me in the presence of my a day of rejoicing Viory We To a day of rejoicing We all See Theory for still will be The of to for the day reing will be We sh Victory Reing We Get to Of reing will Be Jus sing and Sh the Victory what a day of rejoicing back Me J will the victory We all there to Day ofing We Victory we get Toing Will GL Saw e
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