Sermon Tone Analysis

Confirmation, John 17:1-11, May 4, 2008

*“Walk in the Light”*

*Introduction*:  Levi, Dalton, Shannon, Kari, Zach, James, Sarah parents, grand parents, sponsors,  family and friends, Welcome!

Welcome!

This is a very special day here at Immanuel.

It is, as you know, Confirmation Sunday.

It is a day that we have longed for and that we have anticipated.

I have looked forward to this day, and I know that you young men and women and your parents have as well.

You have been taught the Christian faith by your parents, grandparents and sponsors.

Some of you have been taught the faith at our Day School.

You have attended confirmation class for two years, endured memory work, catechetical lessons, and my seemingly endless lectures.

You have been examined and confessed your Christian faith.

Through all of this you have been taught the most important thing.

You have been taught about Jesus, you’re Savior.

On this special day, you will be confirming the faith proclaimed to you on the day when you were baptized, the faith that God’s Spirit worked in you on that day so long ago.

You will be confirming the work of God in you as you confess your faith before God.

From the time you were baptized until today, Jesus has been with you, leading you, protecting you and teaching you about Himself.

He has taught you to walk with Him, to trust in him, to follow Him in faith.

During all these years most of the people behind you, and this one in front of you have kept you in their prayers.

Many of our prayers have been answered and we are celebrating that today.

But as important as it is to pray, we have often falter and fail in our faithfulness.

For this we ask God’s forgiveness.

But today, I want to remind you that there is one that prays for you.

HE never falters or fails.

His name is Jesus.

As always, I want our focus to be on Jesus.

If we want to know God, we must know Him.

In our Gospel lesson for today we hear His words.

We hear His prayer for you.

Jesus prayed, "For I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and \\ have come to know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me." John 17:8.

In this section of our Lord's 'High Priestly Prayer' we see the great love that our Lord has for His own.

In this prayer, He not only prays for His disciples, but He prays for us.

He prays for those who will believe in the future.

He prays for you.

Once again here is proof that Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life.

He is God in the flesh, sent into the world as the one and only Savior.

He comes with grace and truth to lead us to heaven.

Through His Word He calls us to faith in Him.

\\             As He works faith in us, we hold a special place in His heart.

So in His prayer, Jesus gives thanks for the love of His Father and the work of God upon the disciples who remained faithful to Him.

The ultimate work of God is that work of His which brings people to faith, believing and trusting in the work of Jesus Christ, thirsting for His righteousness.

This is the work of God in you.

Yes, Jesus prays for you.

Your parents, grandparents and sponsors have prayed for you.

Your teachers have prayed for you.

I have prayed for you.

We will all continue to do so.

Why, well even while we are celebrating your baptisms and this day of confirmation, there are dangers lurking for you in this world that is still plagued by sin, your own sinful nature, death, and the devil.

Yes, there are dangers.

We, who have lived a few years, know them well.

They usually hunt at night and in the darkness, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups.

Typically though, they hunt alone, slowly and silently stalking its prospective victim, trying not to be seen, until it get close enough and then with a burst of speed, it runs towards its prey, grabs it, and throws it to the ground.

It kills its prey by biting the back of the neck with sharp teeth or by holding its victim’s throat in its jaws until it suffocates.

If, during a hunt, the prey detects it’s presence and starts to run, the hunter gives up the hunt.

It prefers to prey on the weak, the sick and those that wander off alone.

Such is the way of the hunting lion.

Yes, even as we celebrate on this day, there are dangers that are lurking in the world for you, even a roaring lion.

This lion is not a hairy beast with a main, long tail, and sharp teeth.

He is not confined to jungles and wild savannahs.

This is a different kind of lion.

St. Peter, the disciple of Jesus tells us in the Epistle text appointed for this day.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful.

Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Resist him, firm in your faith…”(1 Peter 5:8-9).

Even as we celebrate today, this lion, the devil, roams around the world, seeking someone to devour.

For him there is no taster meat then a Christian.

He wants to hunt you down, chase you and sink his evil fangs into your very soul.

He wants to drain your veins of your life giving faith in Jesus Christ.

He yearns to grab you around the throat to silence your prayers and praise.

I cannot warn you enough.

The devil will stalk you with dark temptations.

He will prey on you as you wander away alone, as you isolate yourselves from the heard of the church.

He will wait for you to become weak when you neglect coming to church, neglect God’s word, and neglect taking communion…our Lord’s life giving, faith sustaining food.

He will come after you.

Not so good to be a wandering sheep with a lion like that prowling around.

So our Lord tells us, stay close to the heard of God’s church.

Stay strong and well fed on God’s word and sacrament.

As much as we celebrate this day, I also fear it.

I have had the pleasure of teaching you for the past two years.

But now I must stand back and fall to my knees in prayer as I watch you venture out into the uncertainties of this world.

But every parent has to do this at some point or another.

This too, is part of growing up.

It seems like you are on your own.

But you are not.

We remember that with God, you are never alone.

We are not without hope.

For the past two years, and all of your childhood, you have been developing a firm foundation in Jesus Christ.

You have been grounded in His Word.

His word is truth and life.

In Jesus Christ there is no need to fear.

You understand this.

That is why you chose the confirmation verses that you did.

You have all selected Bible verses that are important, and have special meaning for you.

How appropriate these verses are.

In them you proclaim the good news of Jesus to all of us.

Of all seven confirmation verses chosen, we hear the name of Jesus only once.

That is ok though.

This is because, for us as Christians, when we hear the name of God, we think of Jesus.

For if we are to know God and see Him we must see Him in the face of Jesus.

So what have our confirmands reminded us through their verses?