Dear Friends and Members of Shepherd of the Hills,
This weekend is Confirmation weekend. At the 10:30 Divine Service we will witness Alice Allen and Cassidy Byrd confirm their faith. Congrats to Alice and Cassidy and their families. After two years of faithful hard work they have studied all the books of the Bible and worked through the 6 chief parts of the Small Catechism. They are now confirmed members of the church and I encourage you to continue to invite them into the life and leadership of the congregation along with all of our confirmed youth. Please pray for Everett Byrd and Adeline Rust as they continue their next year of confirmation. Please continue to pray for Gregory Stephens, Gillian Stephens, and Titus Rust who are also confirmands as we look to continue to include them in the life and leadership of the congregation.
Confirmation weekend is a wonderful time for us to renew our commitment to the faith. Being faithful to God’s Word is a work of the Holy Spirit. It is a work done in us and through us as we hear His Word and receive the sacrament of Holy Communion, the true body and blood of Christ, the strengthening of our faith and the forgiveness of our sins. Come celebrate with Alice and Cassidy and their families in this wonderful milestone of faith.
Here are the questions and their answers you will hear from Alice and Cassidy this weekend. May they also be our answers.
Do you this day in the presence of God and of this congregation acknowledge the gifts that God gave you in your Baptism?
Yes, I do.
Do you renounce the devil?
Yes, I renounce him.
Do you renounce all his works?
Yes, I renounce them.
Do you renounce all his ways?
Yes, I renounce them.
Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty?
Yes, I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord?
Yes, I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?
Yes, I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Do you hold all the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God?
I do.
Do you confess the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, drawn from the Scriptures, as you have learned to know it from the Small Catechism, to be faithful and true?
I do.
Do you intend to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully?
I do, by the grace of God.
Do you intend to live according to the Word of God, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to death?
I do, by the grace of God.
Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?
I do, by the grace of God.
We rejoice with thankful hearts that you have been baptized and have received the teaching of the Lord. You have confessed the faith and been absolved of your sins. As you continue to hear the Lord’s Word and receive His blessed Sacrament, He who has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
In His Love and Service,
Pastor Rust