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Topical Index: Word of God |
Confirmand Confessional Service
April 30, 2006
Pastor: Paul D. Nolting
Hymns: 745; 775; 283; 798:1
WELCOME in the name of the Lord our God whom we are to praise with all of creation!
Pre-Service devotion: Psalm 148
Pre-Service prayer:
O Lord God, our dear heavenly Father, as we enter into Your presence this day, may we approach Your throne of grace with hearts filled with humility and thankfulness. You have delivered us from sin, death, and hell through our Lord Jesus Christ. You have brought us to faith and allow us to confess that faith as the Spirit moves us. You have filled our lives with untold blessings, and our present and futures depend upon Your continued blessing. Be with us this day and bless especially the confirmands who will share with us this day important truths from Your Word. Amen.
This morning is the second of two services in which this year’s confirmands will present God’s Word to you. There are ten confirmands, four participated in last week’s worship and six will participate in this morning’s service. Both services—today and last week—will focus on worship and how we worship God through the liturgy of our worship service.
We begin our service with a "Trinitarian" Invocation to identify the one, true God whom we worship!
When we say refer to God as “the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” we are talking about our God as all three persons, because He is a “triune” God. That means that there are three individual persons, but one God. He is the one and only God. He wants us to believe in Him and only Him. That is why He says in the 1st Commandment, “You shall have no other gods!”
God the Father is the Creator of everything. The Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) God is an almighty and powerful God, because He can do anything and everything. He made us and everything else. He is very smart, for He made all of the things we find on earth and throughout the solar system. He wants us to do His will and fulfill His commands. He is Someone we should fear and love every day. God is all-knowing, for He knows absolutely everything—past, present, and future!
Our God is a caring, faithful Spirit, who loves all of us. He gave his only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in view of all our sins and evil doings. We are saved when we are led to put our trust in Jesus as our Savior. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
The Bible calls the Holy Spirit our “Helper” and “Comforter.” He brings us to faith in the one, true God and keeps us in that faith. The Bible says, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
We should pray, praise, and give thanks to God every day for everything. Our God is brave and honest. He was brave enough to send His Son for us, and He has never lied. He is completely trustworthy. We know from the Bible that this is most certainly true!
After the Invocation we include in our worship liturgy a confession of sins. We do this for we sin every day and need God’s forgiveness. Sin separates us from our God. Yet in Christ we have the forgiveness of sins, which provides the solid basis we need to approach our God as Father within our worship and in life. In our confession of sins we are assured of God's precious absolution, which should fill our hearts with joy and confidence!
Having confessed our sins and having received the Lord’s absolution, our liturgy turns to the praise of our Lord. Chris Koch will explain why.
We praise God for His grace and every blessing!
Forgiveness of sins is the fact that God no longer holds our sins against us. God can do this, not because our sins don’t matter, but because He sent Jesus to be our Savior. Jesus lived a perfect life and then gave up His life on the cross to pay the ransom necessary to remove our sins. When we are led by the Spirit to repent of our sin—that is to be sorry for them—we can be assured that our sins have been washed away. John wrote, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
We should praise God for this because He was loving enough to forgive us for sinning against Him. If we don’t think we need forgiveness or if we think it is expected to Him to forgive us, we should compare our lives to the Ten Commandments and see all that we have done against God. We sin a lot every day. Seeing this, it is remarkable that God is so loving and keeps on forgiving us. Because of this love we should continue to praise Him.
We should praise God for everything—our family and friends, our food and clothes, our health and happiness. Without Him we wouldn’t even exist, much less receive all of these things. Therefore, it is our duty to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. We are, after all, His children. The Bible says in Galatians 3:26, “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
We should praise God every day and in everything we do, because we could not do anything without God’s blessing! The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” We should strive to include God in all of our daily activities.
Pastor: Praise the LORD!
Cong: Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him in the heights!
P: Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts!
C: Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars of light!
P: Praise the LORD from the earth,
C: You great sea creatures, beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl,
P: Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth,
C: Both young men and maidens, old men and children.
P: Let them praise the name of the LORD,
C: For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven.
P: Glory be to God!
Our Scripture lessons today will focus on the two Christian sacraments. The first will focus on Baptism and the second on the Lord’s Supper.
God uses Baptism as one of His “means of grace”
Christ instituted baptism when He told His disciples to baptize all nations in the name of the Triune God.
The word “baptize” means to apply water in a ceremonial manner. The water can be applied in any way.
Christ wants all people to be baptized. He said, “Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…and teaching them” (Matthew 28:19)
Before we baptize adults we instruct them in God’s Word, so they know what baptism means and are not asking to be baptized for the wrong reason.
We baptize infants because Jesus wants us to. They are sinners and need forgiveness, Jesus’ promise is for children too, and they can believe.
Any Christian can perform a baptism.
Christian congregations ask their pastors to perform baptisms so that everything is done in an orderly way.
Baptism receives its power and ability to create and preserve faith from God’s Word.
Through baptism, the Holy Spirit creates in us a will and power to drown our old Adam and to live a new life. Paul it Titus calls it “a washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5)
Our “old Adam” is our sinful nature, which also causes us to do sinful things.
The new man is the new spiritual nature worked in us by the Holy Spirit through the gospel.
The apostle Paul reminds Titus of the wonderful blessings of God’s grace bestowed through “the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit”—a reference to the Spirit’s work in Baptism.
The apostle Paul explains the origin, purpose, and significance of the Lord’s Supper, while encouraging the Corinthian Christians to be properly prepared to receive this assurance of their forgiveness.
Following the Scripture Readings we confess our faith by reciting one of the three ecumenical or universal creeds. Today we will do so by reciting the three articles of the Apostolic Creed, while we have the Confirmands recite Luther's explanation to those articles. Before that, however, we will have Christiana Schreyer explain that…
It is important that we confess our faith!
Faith is a simple trust in our Savior Jesus.
We confess our faith primarily to share the gospel through which the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of others to bring them to faith.
The Bible and common experience tell us that those who do not trust in God are unbelievers. There are many types of unbelievers. There are atheists who say there is no God. There are Agnostics who do not know what to believe and say there is no way to find out for certain. There are unbelievers who substitute superstitions for God, and idolaters who put their faith in false gods. There are deists and theists who believe in a superior being, but not that Jesus is God’s Son.
We should confess our faith in everyone, but especially to those who do not believe, because they may then become interested in what we believe and want to learn as well. It is important for us to confess our faith to those that do also believe. They should know how much we really care about God’s Word and how much we believe it. We can also confess our faith through prayer to God. Elijah confess his faith before Israel by challenging the prophets of Baal on whose God/god was better. Both Elijah and the prophets of Baal set up altars to their God/god. The true God/god was to set the altar on fire. Since Elijah knew the LORD would set his altar on fire, he let the prophets of Baal go first (for the first half of the day). The prophets of Baal set up their altar with wood, dry leaves, and other things that would easily burn. They then called upon Baal, but nothing happened. This went on for a great amount of time. Elijah mocked them and said to them, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, o he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” The prophets of Baal cried our for Baal, whipping themselves and bleeding, but the time had come, and the altar did not burn. Now it was Elijah’s turn. Elijah built an altar with twelve stones to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he put wood on top of the altar. He cut up the bull to be sacrificed and put it on the wood. He then dug a trench around the altar and dumped water over the sacrifice, the wood, and the altar until the trench was full of water. Then Elijah called out to the LORD that He might set it on fire, so the people would turn to Him again. The LORD sent fire from heaven and burnt everything up. The people then praised the LORD. Elijah confessed his faith to Israel and before the prophets of Baal.
It is important for us to confess our faith because we love our God who has loved us. We need to show God and others that we are afraid to spread His Word to others, for it is by listening to, understanding, and believing that Word that they too can enter the kingdom of God. Confessing our faith is important to Jesus, for He promised: “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)
INI
Text: Psalm 119:9-16
How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought you; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heat, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.
In Christ Jesus, who has given us His Word as a means of revealing to us and impressing upon us His grace, dear fellow redeemed:
Let’s see…would you try to plan a trip to Mr. Sydow’s wedding in South Carolina without consulting a map? I doubt it. Would you begin using your new cell phone without consulting the manual? You might. Have you ever consulted the directories they give you with your health plan? Good luck! Maps…manuals…directories—we are surrounded by information in our world aren’t we? In fact, life itself is supported and directed by the massive amounts of information provided by the DNA with in our individual cells. Should it really surprise us then, that God, who created this world including each and every one of us here today—a world filled with information, should provide us with information concerning Himself, His will, His ways, and His plans for us? Not really. God has done that through His Word—the Bible. The writer to the Hebrews informs us, “God who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (1:1-2). Jesus’ words are found in the Scriptures—all of those books listed by our confirmands last week and also this morning. Concerning those words the apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). GOD’S WORD IS intended to do all of those things, but its primary purpose is to be A PRECIOUS MEANS OF GRACE! God uses His Word to bring us the gospel message of His love for us in Christ Jesus our Savior! Through that word we find God, we are instructed by God, and we confess God!
The Psalmist begins our text by asking a question: “How can a young man cleanse his way?” We are not talking about securing the information taped to the mirrors in the school bathrooms, which remind the children that if they wash their hands for twenty seconds all the germs will be washed away. No, we are talking about a much deeper need for cleansing—the need for a spiritual cleansing of sin and guilt, which separate us by nature from our God. It is said that years ago before coal mines became automated, the miners would come out of the minds black as night—their clothes and bodies covered with a thick layer of dust. By nature we are covered with a thick layer of sin. How do we cleanse that sin from our souls? How do we remove all of the doubts with which Satan afflicts us and the sadness which can so easily overwhelm us in this sin-filled world? It won’t come off with soap and water. The Psalmist provides the secret with he says, “With my whole heart I have sought You.”
My dear friends, when the word of God is preached to you and me, it is imperative that we recognize that God is giving us the vital information we need to remove the stains of our sin and to regain citizenship within His kingdom. He invites us to see and to hear of His grace and blessing. We find God in His precious word! The Psalmist says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” When we come to know of God’s love; when we hear of the great lengths to which our Savior went to deliver our souls from death, we cannot but treasure that word in our hearts. Why is it that we ask the confirmands to memorize portions of Luther’s Small Catechism, significant numbers of Bible passages, and certain of our beloved hymns. It is so that they can hide His word in their hearts and so that it might serve to protect them from grave spiritual harm. Yes, GOD’S WORD IS A PRECIOUS MEANS OF GRACE!
Through that word we are instructed by God! The Psalmist writes, “Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes!” When the Psalmist speaks of the LORD’s “statutes,” He is talking about more than just the law—the do’s and don’ts of the Ten Commandments. He is speaking of God’s entire revelation—both law and gospel. If all we were ever to hear would be the demands of God’s law—“be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), and the judgments of that law—“the soul who sins shall die!” (Ezekiel 18:20)—we would cringe in fear of our heavenly Father, for who can fulfill His will perfectly? We would all be damned. But God does not demand perfection of us, for His Son Jesus Christ has provided that perfection in our place. God has declared us righteous for Jesus’ sake and has laid our sins upon His shoulders. He has given us freely as a gift that which we could never purchase. That is why the Psalmist says, “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches… (and) I will delight myself in Your statutes.”
That is why the Psalmist also promises, “I will not forget Your word.” Next Sunday our confirmands will promise with the help of the Holy Spirit to remain faithful to their Savior God. Today we have been and will continue within this service to review for you important teachings from God’s word. This is not mindless repetition, but we pray will be a thought-filled review of the most important teachings of the Bible for each of you. These teaching concerning the forgiveness of your sins, your creation, redemption, and sanctification, are vital for your spiritual health and future. Without them you would be lost. That is why GOD’S WORD IS A PRECIOUS MEANS OF GRACE!
With that word we confess God! The Psalmist says, “With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth.” We live in a world which denies our claim to know absolute truths, and which is much more comfortable if all religious expression and especially, it would seem, Christian religious expression is kept private. Our Lord, however, calls upon us to “preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15) and to “make disciples of all nations by baptizing…and teaching” (Matthew 28:19). You heard one of our young people quote Jesus words, which express the importance of our confessions of faith to Him: “Whoever confesses me before men, him I will confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).
My dear friends, confessing our faith is not to be and ought not be drudgery, but rather the natural result of a heart touched by the grace of God. God has reached out of eternity into time with His Son and the gift of His Spirit, so that we might look forward with confidence to an eternity of joy in heaven. This He has done, not because we deserve it, for we do not in view of our many sins, but by His grace and through His mercy. May God give us boldness to proclaim His truths and compassion as we apply those truths, as we seek faithfully to glorify the name of our Savior God. Amen.
After being assured of our forgiveness and hearing messages from God’s Word through the Scripture Readings and Sermon, we bring our offerings to the Lord. Those offerings are to be given with thought and care and involve much more than simply opening our wallets or writing out a check. Dylan Herme explains that…
We are moved by God’s love to be good stewards of everything God has entrusted to us!
Stewardship is the proper use of all of the things that God has entrusted to us—our time, our talents, and our possessions.
A steward is someone who takes care of somebody else’s property. The important thing about being a steward is to be faithful. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”
God created the whole world and everything in it. That means that we do not really own anything. It is all God’s and we are just taking care of what God has entrusted to us. King David explains in Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.”
We give offerings so that we can say “thank-you” to God and to Jesus for everything they have done for us. We do not deserve all of the blessings they give us, but they give us them anyway by their grace. As the Psalmist suggests, “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” (106:1)
We should give offerings with a free and willing heart. We should be happy to do so, for that is what really counts. If we give to the church with a bad attitude, God will not be pleased. Paul says, “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give a he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)
We give offerings to help do mission work and to keep our church and school running, so that we can teach other people God’s word. We hope God will use our ministry to bring salvation to many people.
We conclude our worship services with a benediction from our Lord and a final hymn of praise. Steven Herme will explain the significance of this final portion of our worship liturgy.
We depart our worship service after receiving the Lord’s blessing!
A “benediction” is a blessing from the Lord. There are several different benedictions. The two most familiar are the Aaronitic and the Apostolic. We find the Apostolic Benediction in 2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” The Aaronitic Benediction is written in Numbers 6:24-26, “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
This benediction emphasizes God’s many blessings, His graciousness, and His countenance—or attitude towards us. The name “LORD” is repeated three times to emphasize the one, true God—the Holy Trinity. In the benediction God promises to bring us His blessing and protection. It is similar to God’s promise in Psalm 50:15, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you shall glorify Me.” God reveals His love for us and gives us His grace and peace. In Philippians 4:7 Paul says, “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” God blesses us by giving us everything we have both physically and spiritually.
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Immanuel Lutheran Church 421 North Second Street Mankato, Minnesota 56001 |
Church Office: (507) 345-3027 Pastor Nolting: (507) 387-7035 Pastor Eichstadt: (507) 344-0898 |