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'''Tributes to O'Brien'''  

'''Tributes to O'Brien'''  

Tim Spradling, an O'Brien friend and Bethany member, recalled in an interview with the ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' the pastor's last Easter sermon in 2007, which celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His ultimate victory over evil and death: "His faith was that the Lord is in absolute control . . . Like any of the rest of us, he didn't want to leave his family, his church, his friends, but he had a deep abiding faith in the Lord that became even deeper in the last year and a half. When you face your own mortality, it's different. You have questions, but you get closer to the Lord, closer to each other, and stronger in faith. We still ask why, and a lot of whys won't be answered. That's where your faith comes in." <ref>Beth Pratt, ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' Religion Editor, "In his time here, Kevin O'Brien preached, lived the meaning of Easter", March 23, 2008, p. 2:http://lubbockonline.com/stories/032308/loc_260760659.shtml</ref>  

Tim Spradling, an O'Brien friend and Bethany member, recalled in an interview with Beth Pratt, the religion editor of the ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'', O'Brien's last Easter sermon in 2007, which celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His ultimate victory over evil and death: "His faith was that the Lord is in absolute control . . . Like any of the rest of us, he didn't want to leave his family, his church, his friends, but he had a deep abiding faith in the Lord that became even deeper in the last year and a half. When you face your own mortality, it's different. You have questions, but you get closer to the Lord, closer to each other, and stronger in faith. We still ask why, and a lot of whys won't be answered. That's where your faith comes in." <ref>Beth Pratt, ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' Religion Editor, "In his time here, Kevin O'Brien preached, lived the meaning of Easter", March 23, 2008, p. 2:http://lubbockonline.com/stories/032308/loc_260760659.shtml</ref>  

Delwayne Ivey, the Bethany youth minister who was named associate pastor after O'Brien's illness, called his mentor "an eternal optimist. . . . He was easy to get along with, full of grace . . . a man very strong in his faith; he never complained or blamed God. He just praised the Lord."<ref>http://lubbockonline.com/stories/032308/loc_260760659.shtml</ref>

Delwayne Ivey, the Bethany youth minister who was named associate pastor after O'Brien's illness, called his mentor "an eternal optimist. . . . He was easy to get along with, full of grace . . . a man very strong in his faith; he never complained or blamed God. He just praised the Lord."<ref>http://lubbockonline.com/stories/032308/loc_260760659.shtml</ref>