+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Hebrews 13:5
Theme: God Will Never Leave You
Dear candidates for confirmation; Ben, Joel, Shannon, and Levi,
The marvelous thing about Christianity is that even when we fail, God forgives; even when we mess up, God gets it right. He makes things right through Jesus. And he does it for eternity. That’s what the Bible calls grace. Your whole Christian life is about living in and understanding this grace.
It is unlikely that any of you remember your baptism because you were all baptized as infants. It’s unlikely that any of you remember being born either. You were also born as infants. But not remembering being born doesn’t change who you are. You have a birth certificate, it has your name on it and it tells you who you belong to. It says who your parents are. You didn’t decide to be born. God gave you parents and He gave you to them.
As an infant you didn’t decide to be baptized either. God gave you new life when the Holy Spirit gave you the gift of faith and made you part of the family of the true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But you did decide- or at least agree in some sense- to prepare to make a public confession of your faith on this day. You came each week to study the Bible and the catechism to grow in your knowledge of God’s Word and faith. In other words, your presence here shows that you think it is important to identify yourself with the Christian faith. It’s nothing to take lightly. You are soon to make a promise; a public promise to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the teachings of the Bible as you have learned them through Luther’s Small Catechism.
Now maybe the time has been, or will come when you are struggling at school, with friends, or at home. Maybe others have ridiculed you for your faith- these challenges won’t go away as you get older. You may wonder about the purpose or meaning of your life and how things will all work out. But you have a God that can do more than you could ever imagine. And God says, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”1 Christ died for your sins.
Today is only one day in your Christian journey. It’s an important day, but only one day. And if I, or the church has given you or your family the impression that everything is now done and dusted, that we’ve crossed all the i’s and dotted all the t’s, if you see this a hoop you’ve now successfully jumped through, then I have failed you. This is just one step along the way. It’s not a coincidence that Christianity was first called “The Way.” The way is Jesus every day of every week of every year.
When you make your promise today you will be invited to take greater responsibility and have greater privileges in the life of the church. It begins today with receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion. I encourage you to be in God’s house to receive it regularly, seriously, and cheerfully. I encourage you to live joyfully the life of faith the Holy Spirit has given you. And may God bless you from this day forward as you journey with Him to the time and place you will meet the Saviour face to face. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday of Advent
Confirmation Sunday
12 December 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Hebrews 13:5
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