Confirmed in the Faith

I am guessing that many of you have heard that Daniel  Barnes, Sarah Larson and Johnathan Seaver will be confirmed this Sunday as part of our worship service. This may be a new concept to some of you so I wanted to just give you a quick description of what this yearly event is exactly.

What is Confirmation? Good Question. Let me paint a picture to try and give perspective. 

I used to think that I knew a great deal about virtually everything; at least everything that mattered. This state of mind occurred for me about 40 years ago. Since then I have progressively come to know less and less, at least as a percentage of possible knowledge perspective. In other words, for every piece of additional comprehension I gain I realize six things that I have absolutely no mastery over.

At thirteen, I understood the best possible way to do many things and it just so happened that it was almost always the opposite method my  parents felt made the most sense. I knew that virtually nothing in the world was the same as it was 25 years ago, therefore I would need to assist [or correct] my parents if they were going to make it at all in the modern world. Ouch, I need to confess that I really was quite difficult to live with and I am thankful for parents with unparalleled patience.  

So, what does this have to do with Confirmation?

Well, there are things that we do know about God; they are absolute and always. There are other things that fall into mystery and we leave them in God’s hands. In Confirmation we try to find and understand the absolutes of God, knowing that the revelation will grow all through our lives We also try to know where to trust God and just rest in the fact that He loves us and always knows what is best. Confirmation is two years of looking at God, understanding more about God and ourselves, and finally confessing to us today that the ultimate answer to life is wrapped up in the life, death and resurrection of JESUS!

Confirmation is not…
        * A graduation from the Church
        * An ending to “Studying God’s Word”
        * A dry tradition that means virtually nothing

It is…
        * A celebration of faith and life that really matters
        * A continuation –both personally and congregationally from generation to generation
        * An invitation to trust in God; to serve Him today and always
        * A congregational event that recognizes the old Gospel is always NEW!

                                        Daniel, Sarah, and Johnathan
                              – You are God’s Beloved! How good is that?