“We Are All Witnesses”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen. Kurt, Chancie, Cooper, Chloe, Garrett; the text for your Confirmation
sermon is from today’s Reading in the Book of Acts. In the first ever
Christian sermon, St. Peter says, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are
all witnesses of the fact.” “We Are All Witnesses.” St. Peter was an eyewitness to the life,
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. With his perfect life, Jesus makes
up for all your faults and failures; with his sacrificial death on the cross,
Jesus pays the penalty for all your sins and wipes away all your guilt in the
eyes of God; with his resurrection from the dead, Jesus assures you that you
will have eternal life. “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” Jesus says,
“Trust in God; trust also in me. . . I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
. . For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and
believes in him has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” St. Peter later beautifully summed up the Christian faith this way, in
today’s Epistle Reading: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can
never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you.” Your parents and sponsors were witnesses as you were baptized into
Christ. “Through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit”
your sins were washed away, you were given the gift of faith and born again as
children of God. Today, we are all witnesses as you confirm your baptisms. We are
all witnesses as you personally profess faith in Jesus. We are all
witnesses as you promise to live your lives for him. We are all witnesses
as you pledge to be faithful to Jesus for your entire lives. Over 100 years ago, Dr. C.F.W. Walther said this in a Confirmation
sermon: “You have declared yourselves ready today to swear eternal
faithfulness to your Savior. But ah, already many a child has knelt at
this altar, wetting it with his tears, and with trembling voice and tear-filled
eyes has said, ‘Yes, I will remain with Jesus, with His word, with His grace,
with His Church; nothing . . . shall separate me from Him, and—before the next
year the child had already left his Savior. Ah, with deep sadness I think
today of so many dearly beloved confirmands upon whose head I have laid the hand
of blessing in this holy place. . . I thought that even if no one else remains
faithful, surely these will. . . But what happened? Where are they
now? The fire of faith and love kindled in them has died out; they are now
[spiritually] cold and dead . . . they have left Jesus . . .” Today, we are all witnesses as you commit yourselves to Jesus for life.
What will we be witnesses of in the years to come? Like Dr. Walther, will
we be sad witnesses as you drift away from Christ and his Church? Will we
be sad witnesses as your attendance at church and communion becomes less and
less? Will we be sad witnesses as you live an ungodly, immoral life,
bringing shame on yourselves and the name Christian? Will we be sad
witnesses as all your pledges and promises of faithfulness come to nothing and
the fire of faith in you dies out and goes cold? Will we be sad witnesses
as you leave Jesus? Or, will we be glad witnesses as you remain ever faithful to Jesus?
Will we be glad witnesses as you remember the Sabbath and worship in the house
of God? Will we be glad witnesses as you accept Jesus’ invitation and come
to his Holy Supper? Will we be glad witnesses as you conduct yourselves in
a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ, bringing honor to him with godly,
Christian lives? Will we be glad witnesses as you join with Christian
spouses and commit your own households to serving the Lord? Will we be
glad witnesses as you bring up your own children in the training and instruction
of the Lord? Will we be glad witnesses as you remain faithful to Jesus
even if you move away from this community and congregation? Will we be
glad witnesses as the promises and pledges you make here today are fulfilled in
your lives? The hymn that we will sing after your Confirmation today has a special
meaning for me this year. A few months ago when my 91-year-old Mother was
hospitalized and near death, I asked her if there were any hymns she would like
me to sing for her. When she was confirmed the class would all memorize a
hymn and sing it together for the congregation. She asked me to sing her
Confirmation hymn: “Let me be Thine forever, my faithful God and Lord.”
Over 75 years later, Mom still remembered that hymn, and quietly sang along.
A few days later at the moment she passed away us children were gathered around
her bed singing for her that hymn: “Give me Thy constant blessing, and grant a
Christian death.” So that was one of the hymns we picked for her funeral. Mom and Dad were confirmed together in 1936. Over 75 years later
Mom not only still knew their Confirmation hymn, she was still living it, and
finally she died peacefully in the faith that she confessed so long ago on her
Confirmation Day. Now Mom and Dad are singing the Lord’s praises together
again, in heaven: “Let me be Thine forever . . . ” We are all witnesses. Will we be sad witnesses, or glad
witnesses? Jesus says, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. . .
remain in Me. . .” That is what you are promising Jesus today: You will
remain in him. “We Are All Witnesses.” Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
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