We call it “Confirmation Sunday” – the day that our 7th or 8th graders join the church.   To get this far they’ve had to endure six sessions of study with John Payne and myself, a Saturday night lock-in, lead a worship service, complete and hand in some homework, and be examined by Session as to their Christian faith and knowledge of the church.  And today they will stand before you, the congregation, and profess their faith for all to hear.  That’s the best part of all for them because they get presented with a Bible and a cross once they confirm their faith.

Hidenwood has been doing Confirmation Sunday for decades now.  Why?  Why do we make such a big deal out of confirmation?  After all, isn’t it just a graduation ceremony… they’re graduating from a six week course of study…heck, there are people in this church who graduate from much longer courses than that!  I would suggest that what is going on here is much more than a graduation ceremony.  What is going on here is the profession of faith by nine young people in our church.  And in the eyes of the church there is nothing more vital or more precious than to plant seeds of faith and then to see them take root and grow.  What we are witnessing here today is something that parents, grandparents, Sunday school teachers and youth leaders have been nurturing and even praying about for years.  And today we get to witness the fruit of their labor – the expression of faith.  These young people are finally old enough to speak for themselves, so we’ve invited them to do just that, and what they have spoken is music to our ears…they’ve spoken words of faith.  They have stood up here before us all and said “We believe.”  And there is nothing sweeter to the ear than to hear someone say “we believe” for the first time…profession of faith is like the Hallelujah chorus.

    The church after all, is primarily in the business of belief.  That’s what we’re about…that’s why we’ve come to be known as believers.  And it’s been that way since the earliest days of the church.  It’s why the gospels were written – to convince non-believers.  John’s gospel isn’t shy about admitting as much: “These things are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son f God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”  And Paul’s epistles are about nurturing and sustaining faith in small congregations he’s recently set up.  So the people and their book are about believing.  That’s why we mark this day and why we enlist the tireless efforts of Sunday school teachers each week.  That’s why we invest so much in Christian Education and why in large part, we are searching for an Associate Pastor who will nurture our youth.

It’s a worthy business we are in because the very life of the church depends on it.  I don’t want to rain on this happy occasion but consider this:  the church is never more than one generation away from extinction!  If the next generation does not embrace the faith as these young people have done today, there will be no church of tomorrow.  But equally important as the survival of the institutional church is the wellbeing of our children.  Beliefs are essential to life.  Beliefs give us identity, give us a sense of mission, they give us focus and drive.  Beliefs define our potential.  If you know what a person believes, you can predict fairly accurately what they are capable of!  It’s true!

If a person believes that they are hopeless – no good, dumb as a stick you might predict that they’ll never make it out of high school.  If a person believes that God has given them the gift to dance and when they dance they feel the pleasure of God…you might predict that person will become a dancer.  If a person believes that Jesus is risen and they have witnessed this and believe his message is to share not only with the Jews but also with the Gentiles, you might predict that such a person might become an Apostle (missionary) to the Gentiles, as Paul did.  Our beliefs inform our mission and our potential in life, which is why the church is so intent on instilling beliefs - we want people to reach their full, God-given potential as children of God.

And think of the potential of a church that is able to stand up as one and confess its faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.  Fred Craddock tells the story of preaching a sermon one day in church and after the last hymn a young man came forward and said that he wanted to become a Christian and join the church.  Well, it caught Fred a little by surprise, but he had everyone sit down and he asked him to come forward and profess his faith.  The first question he asked the man was this:  Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God?  The man replied “I believe that Jesus is my Lord and Saviour.” Well, it wasn’t quite what he’d asked but he continued anyway, and after the service Fred asked the man why he had answered the way he did.  He said, “I come from a military background - I’m not really sure what it means to call Jesus the Messiah, but I know what it is to take orders.  Is that okay?”  Of course it is.  

When we stand up and profess that Jesus Christ is Lord, we are saying that we are not, and that we take our orders from him.  Imagine the potential of a church that is listening to and acting upon the commands of Jesus Christ!  That’s the potential of Hidenwood.  And today we have eight more young people who have stood up and joined us in that profession of faith.  That’s cause for rejoicing - our potential is increasing.  

    I encourage you young people to live; wearing those crosses you’ll be given.  Wear them not just on Sunday mornings but all the time.  Wear them so your friends can see them and if they ask you why you have a cross on, tell them why.  Don’t be afraid to tell others about your faith and beliefs…you don’t have to hammer them over the head with them like Pat Robertson but neither should you be afraid to say “this is what I believe.”  It’s hard to do, I know, because some people mock those who stand for something.  It’s easier to be vague and non committal  than it is to take a stand…but do it anyway.  What good is faith if you don’t stand for it?

    And to you who are mentors, know that your job doesn’t end here today, in fact it’s just beginning.  Know that these young people will be watching you out of the corner of their eye.  No pressure, most of what they learn about the faith walk won’t be what they’ve learned from John and me in the last 6 weeks, but what they see in you.  I hope you will be good mentors and show by example what it means to be disciples – walking faithfully and being involved.

    I hope we will all encourage each other on this road of faith…so that we all grow to be bigger people.  Some of the biggest people I have ever known are Christians who have lived their faith…Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Teresa, Jean Vanier, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandella, to name some of the more famous ones…but there are lots more who are not so famous.  My list includes Torrence Storey, Gertrude Noble, Irene Miller, and Chuk Jurchuk.  I bet you have a list too.

So welcome on this road of faith, Confirmands…it’s not necessarily an easy road but it will grow you into people of size.  And ultimately it is the only road worth travelling.  This too I believe.

Amen