Confirmation
Confirmation Sunday
8/14/11
Text: Matthew 15:28
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is a special day in the lives of these six young people sitting on the front row. For today they will stand before you, the congregation of Saint John, and publically confess the faith that they were given by the Holy Spirit when they were baptized as babies.
That is why I have put on the front cover of our service folder today the same cover that we use when we have a baptism. This is certainly not a graduation. And these young people are not becoming members of the church today. That happened at each of their baptisms when each was baptized, for it was then that the Holy Spirit entered into each one of them, as the pastor poured water on their head while saying, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” It was in that act, all done by the power of God, that the Holy Spirit came into each one of them making them a member of God’s Christian Church.
Today after making their public confession of faith they will receive alone with the rest of the confirmed members of this congregation the most wonderful gift of God; his very body and blood for forgiveness, salvation, and everlasting life. This, just like their baptism is something God does entirely on his own.
I am talking to you about this today because you will hear as you get older all kinds of wrong thinking concerning the Lord’s Supper. You need to understand and believe that what takes place in the Lord’s Supper is not something I do, anyone else does, or that you do. It is a gift from God just like your baptism was a gift from God. It is all God’s work for us. Martin Luther the founder of Lutheranism wrote in a confessional paper on the doctrine of consecration; consecration is when the pastor says the words of Christ before communion, that is quoted in the Solid Declaration which is part of the Book of Concord.
Which, by the way, I as a pastor have sworn with a solemn oath to uphold and teach since it is the true explanation of God’s Word. It states:
“This command and institution of his (that is Jesus’ command and institution) have the power to accomplish this, that we do not present and receive simply bread and wine but his body and blood, as his words indicate: “This is my body, this is my blood.” So it is not our work or speaking but the command and ordinance of Christ which make the bread the body and the wine the blood, beginning with the first Lord’s Supper and continuing to the end of the world.”
We also read in Luther’s Large Catechism which is the adult version of Luther’s Small Catechism that, “Even though a scoundrel receives or administers the sacrament, it is the true sacrament (that is, Christ’s body and blood), just as truly as when one uses it most worthily. For it is not founded on human holiness but on the Word of God. As no saint on earth, yes, no angel in heaven can make bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood, so likewise can no one change or alter the sacrament, even through misuse. For the Word by which it was constituted a sacrament is not rendered false because of an individual’s unworthiness or unbelief. Christ does not say, “If you believe or if you are worthy, you have my body and blood,” but rather, “Take, eat and drink, this is my body and blood.” Likewise, when he says, “Do this” (namely, what I now do, what I institute, what I give you and bid you take), this is as much as to say, “No matter whether you are worthy or unworthy, you have here his body and blood by the power of these words that are connected to the bread and wine.” Mark this and remember it well. For upon these words rest our whole argument, our protection and defense against all errors and deceptions that have ever arisen or may yet arise. ”
When you don’t know God’s Word or what our Lutheran forefathers taught concerning the Lord’s Supper, it is an easy thing to believe that the pastor must have something to do with making the bread and wine the body and blood of Christ. It is easy to think that it must be something he does or believes. This false understanding leads to all types of false understanding concerning the Lord’s Supper.
You must remember that, as the Book of Concord states it is not something I, those who assist me, or you, cause to happen. It is all God’s work and in that work he is offering you forgiveness, salvation, and life. Since it is a gift of God the Lord’s Supper should be taken when it is offered in our worship service, for to not do so, is to reject God’s gift to you.
According to our Lutheran teachings, I can only think of four reasons as to why a person who has been baptized and confirmed should not take the Lord Supper when it is offered in our worship service.
One is that you don’t believe that it is the body and blood of Christ given for forgiveness, salvation and life.
Second you should not take it if you believe that the Lord’s Supper is something we do, as the Roman Catholics, and many other Christian denominations believe.
Third, you should not take it if you are living in unrepentant sin, for you are not sorry for what you are doing. To take the Lord’s Supper is to mock it.
Fourth, you should not take it if you don’t think you need forgiveness, for to take it just like the first is to make a mockery of God’s gift. Martin Luther would say that if you feel that way you should put your hand on your chest and see if your heart is beating. If it is you are a sinner in need of forgiveness.
On the other hand if you, like I, am a poor miserable sinner who is struggling with sin then you should take the Lord’s Supper each time it is offered for what better gift from God can you receive than the assurance of forgiveness, salvation, and life eternal.
This morning after the service each of the confirmands will be given several gifts from the congregation. The first will be their Confirmation verse which God has led me through thoughtful prayer to pick out for you. It would be good to memorize it, for, as I have heard from many older people, some of which were on their deathbed, it will be a blessing to you, as their confirmation verse was a blessing for them.
The second thing the confirmands will receive will be a cross from Thrivent Insurance Company. The cross is a wonderful symbol of faith that you should put on the wall wherever you are living. Display it, so that all who see it will know of your faith.
The third thing the confirmands will receive is an ESV Lutheran Study Bible. This leather bound Bible is without a doubt one of the best study Bibles ever produced. It will be a big help in understanding those sometimes tough words of God. The Holy Spirit in which you will make confession of later will use the words in this Bible to strengthen your faith, to guide you through those rough patches of life that you, as all of us have, will face. It is your firm foundation. It should become a lifelong companion, for you are not through learning God’s Word. You started when your parents first read Bible stories to you, continued in Sunday School, and confirmation classes. It will continue through out your life. Your faith journey with the help of this study Bible will be wonderful and fruitful.
That is why starting next week we will be offering to the confirmands a Bible study group on Sunday morning designed especially for them that they should attend, as we all should be attending Sunday morning Bible studies each week.
I know sometimes, just like adults you would probably rather sleep, or do anything besides come to Bible study. I know that. I have been there, done that when I was your age. But remember this. Is it God or Satan that wants you to stay away? It is one or the other. God wants you to learn all you can about him and his will for you. He knows that the more you know about him the deeper your faith will be and the better it will be for you.
Satan on the other hand will do all he can to keep you from learning about God and his will for you, for he knows that when someone does not know the Word of God he or she is fair game for his lies. Who will you listen to?
Our Gospel lesson for this morning is a great example why we need to know God’s Word. It is obvious by her crying out to Jesus that she knew God’s Word. Whether she had just heard of him, or read of him, or at one time heard him teach we don’t know. But we do know she believed in him otherwise she would have never followed him that day crying out, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David my daughter is seriously oppressed by a demon!” She believed because she knew Jesus, the Son of David.
“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David”, is our plea also, for without his mercy, as shown in Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the forgiveness of sins, and Word of God we would not know of his wonderful love. His mercy is our mercy. Amen.
8/14/11
Text: Matthew 15:28
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is a special day in the lives of these six young people sitting on the front row. For today they will stand before you, the congregation of Saint John, and publically confess the faith that they were given by the Holy Spirit when they were baptized as babies.
That is why I have put on the front cover of our service folder today the same cover that we use when we have a baptism. This is certainly not a graduation. And these young people are not becoming members of the church today. That happened at each of their baptisms when each was baptized, for it was then that the Holy Spirit entered into each one of them, as the pastor poured water on their head while saying, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” It was in that act, all done by the power of God, that the Holy Spirit came into each one of them making them a member of God’s Christian Church.
Today after making their public confession of faith they will receive alone with the rest of the confirmed members of this congregation the most wonderful gift of God; his very body and blood for forgiveness, salvation, and everlasting life. This, just like their baptism is something God does entirely on his own.
I am talking to you about this today because you will hear as you get older all kinds of wrong thinking concerning the Lord’s Supper. You need to understand and believe that what takes place in the Lord’s Supper is not something I do, anyone else does, or that you do. It is a gift from God just like your baptism was a gift from God. It is all God’s work for us. Martin Luther the founder of Lutheranism wrote in a confessional paper on the doctrine of consecration; consecration is when the pastor says the words of Christ before communion, that is quoted in the Solid Declaration which is part of the Book of Concord.
Which, by the way, I as a pastor have sworn with a solemn oath to uphold and teach since it is the true explanation of God’s Word. It states:
“This command and institution of his (that is Jesus’ command and institution) have the power to accomplish this, that we do not present and receive simply bread and wine but his body and blood, as his words indicate: “This is my body, this is my blood.” So it is not our work or speaking but the command and ordinance of Christ which make the bread the body and the wine the blood, beginning with the first Lord’s Supper and continuing to the end of the world.”
We also read in Luther’s Large Catechism which is the adult version of Luther’s Small Catechism that, “Even though a scoundrel receives or administers the sacrament, it is the true sacrament (that is, Christ’s body and blood), just as truly as when one uses it most worthily. For it is not founded on human holiness but on the Word of God. As no saint on earth, yes, no angel in heaven can make bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood, so likewise can no one change or alter the sacrament, even through misuse. For the Word by which it was constituted a sacrament is not rendered false because of an individual’s unworthiness or unbelief. Christ does not say, “If you believe or if you are worthy, you have my body and blood,” but rather, “Take, eat and drink, this is my body and blood.” Likewise, when he says, “Do this” (namely, what I now do, what I institute, what I give you and bid you take), this is as much as to say, “No matter whether you are worthy or unworthy, you have here his body and blood by the power of these words that are connected to the bread and wine.” Mark this and remember it well. For upon these words rest our whole argument, our protection and defense against all errors and deceptions that have ever arisen or may yet arise. ”
When you don’t know God’s Word or what our Lutheran forefathers taught concerning the Lord’s Supper, it is an easy thing to believe that the pastor must have something to do with making the bread and wine the body and blood of Christ. It is easy to think that it must be something he does or believes. This false understanding leads to all types of false understanding concerning the Lord’s Supper.
You must remember that, as the Book of Concord states it is not something I, those who assist me, or you, cause to happen. It is all God’s work and in that work he is offering you forgiveness, salvation, and life. Since it is a gift of God the Lord’s Supper should be taken when it is offered in our worship service, for to not do so, is to reject God’s gift to you.
According to our Lutheran teachings, I can only think of four reasons as to why a person who has been baptized and confirmed should not take the Lord Supper when it is offered in our worship service.
One is that you don’t believe that it is the body and blood of Christ given for forgiveness, salvation and life.
Second you should not take it if you believe that the Lord’s Supper is something we do, as the Roman Catholics, and many other Christian denominations believe.
Third, you should not take it if you are living in unrepentant sin, for you are not sorry for what you are doing. To take the Lord’s Supper is to mock it.
Fourth, you should not take it if you don’t think you need forgiveness, for to take it just like the first is to make a mockery of God’s gift. Martin Luther would say that if you feel that way you should put your hand on your chest and see if your heart is beating. If it is you are a sinner in need of forgiveness.
On the other hand if you, like I, am a poor miserable sinner who is struggling with sin then you should take the Lord’s Supper each time it is offered for what better gift from God can you receive than the assurance of forgiveness, salvation, and life eternal.
This morning after the service each of the confirmands will be given several gifts from the congregation. The first will be their Confirmation verse which God has led me through thoughtful prayer to pick out for you. It would be good to memorize it, for, as I have heard from many older people, some of which were on their deathbed, it will be a blessing to you, as their confirmation verse was a blessing for them.
The second thing the confirmands will receive will be a cross from Thrivent Insurance Company. The cross is a wonderful symbol of faith that you should put on the wall wherever you are living. Display it, so that all who see it will know of your faith.
The third thing the confirmands will receive is an ESV Lutheran Study Bible. This leather bound Bible is without a doubt one of the best study Bibles ever produced. It will be a big help in understanding those sometimes tough words of God. The Holy Spirit in which you will make confession of later will use the words in this Bible to strengthen your faith, to guide you through those rough patches of life that you, as all of us have, will face. It is your firm foundation. It should become a lifelong companion, for you are not through learning God’s Word. You started when your parents first read Bible stories to you, continued in Sunday School, and confirmation classes. It will continue through out your life. Your faith journey with the help of this study Bible will be wonderful and fruitful.
That is why starting next week we will be offering to the confirmands a Bible study group on Sunday morning designed especially for them that they should attend, as we all should be attending Sunday morning Bible studies each week.
I know sometimes, just like adults you would probably rather sleep, or do anything besides come to Bible study. I know that. I have been there, done that when I was your age. But remember this. Is it God or Satan that wants you to stay away? It is one or the other. God wants you to learn all you can about him and his will for you. He knows that the more you know about him the deeper your faith will be and the better it will be for you.
Satan on the other hand will do all he can to keep you from learning about God and his will for you, for he knows that when someone does not know the Word of God he or she is fair game for his lies. Who will you listen to?
Our Gospel lesson for this morning is a great example why we need to know God’s Word. It is obvious by her crying out to Jesus that she knew God’s Word. Whether she had just heard of him, or read of him, or at one time heard him teach we don’t know. But we do know she believed in him otherwise she would have never followed him that day crying out, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David my daughter is seriously oppressed by a demon!” She believed because she knew Jesus, the Son of David.
“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David”, is our plea also, for without his mercy, as shown in Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the forgiveness of sins, and Word of God we would not know of his wonderful love. His mercy is our mercy. Amen.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 2:02 PM
|
0 comments
