Whitsunday - The Feast of Pentecost - 5-31-09

The Church Season of Pentecost
The Day of Pentecost, One Year Series
The Confirmation of Jared Arthur Owen
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (May 31, 2009)

“I will pour out My Spirit”

Readings:
Psalm 143
Genesis 1:1-9
Acts 2:1-21
John 14:23-31

Sermon Form Deductive

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Grace, Mercy, and Peace be to you from the Father,
and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The text for today’s message will be from the 2nd lesson, the Book of Acts, the 2nd chapter, especially the following verses:

[St. Peter said,] “this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’(Acts 2:16-21)

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Jared Owen

God’s richest blessings to you on this your confirmation day! This is an exciting day, isn’t it I’m certainly excited for you and there are many people here today that are excited for you and love you very much. All the hymns we sing today in this service may not be familiar but they all speak to the focus of this day and even more than that, the importance of Christ in your life. This is an important day, whether you realize it yet or not, one of the most important days of your life. As your Pastor, Jared I am very proud of you, as your brother in Christ, I pray it’s a day you’ll always remember.

You follow in a long line of my confirmands. Well, maybe that line is not so long but this year I am again proud to say that you are to be congratulated that you arrive here today at the very top, graduating first in your confirmation class.

Many of you will remember that last year I started a tradition to help you and all future confirmands remember their confirmation day. And that tradition is this, I have written a sermon that is especially for you. The congregation, will overhear most of this sermon, but there are parts that I have written especially for you personally, as a pastor to a beloved confirmand. I will deliver most of the sermon out loud. But there are other parts from the pastor to you specifically, those parts I will not read aloud, I will give those parts to you in a separate letter. Sometime later this afternoon when you get around to reading through this sermon yourself, you’ll get to read those other parts for yourself.

I pray that from time to time you’ll take this sermon out and read it again. I want you to know and recall what you have done in preparation for this day and what you’re doing this morning, reflects a wonderful relationship which did not start today, yet it is for your entire life.

Hear then Jared, what our Bible text expresses for you today,

In the Book of Acts St. Peter repeated words spoken by the prophet Joel. And in those words Joel talked about the last days when God would pour out His “Spirit on all people.”(v. 17) And when we hear words like “last days” everyone wants to think about some spectacular crashing end of the world that will happen far off in the distant future. And maybe that’s what the people who first heard Joel thought too. Especially after years had passed they became complacent, and tired of waiting. It’s very hard to wait especially when what we are waiting for the means which will end everything in this world, that has been bothering us, hurting us, causing us pain, or depression. We just want all that to come to an end. But, really the focus of those words from Acts are not to be feared, they are not words from something unexpected to come. Yet thoughts of the end of all time still trouble us all. On the Day of Pentecost the disciples were very fearful. Yet the Holy Spirit was poured out on them and would remind them of all that Jesus said. So, before your mind draws you to the end, the Holy Spirit brings you to faith, and therefore draws you to the beginning.

That's why we have Pentecost. But Pentecost is not over. Yes, the Holy Spirit came and reminded the Apostles of what Jesus said. But the Holy Spirit comes to us too. He breathed faith into you Jared when you were baptized, and by faith you believed in God. The Holy Spirit worked through your parents because they brought you to your baptismal waters. And I could probably go back quite a few generations and a multitude of your family for whom the Holy Spirit has worked faith, many of those people are with you here today.

So the Holy Spirit continues His work to this very day. He breathes faith to His people by working through lowly people like us to bring people to faith. If you think about it, and I know you think about a lot of things...the Holy Spirit breathed faith in you when you were baptized.

But if I ask you now if you stopped breathing that day, you would say, “Of course not.” Nor would you ever say, that I breathed on that day but I don’t need to breathe anymore. Nor would you say I was thirsty, I but now I don’t thirst anymore. And knowing you Jared, you’re probably thinking what you said last week before I ask you a question. You said, “I know where you’re going with this Pastor.” But, I’ll finish my thought anyway. On your baptismal day you were marked as one redeemed by Christ the crucified, today you will eat the true body of Christ and drink His true blood which will renew and strengthen your faith. And though our eyes can not see it, nor our tongues taste the difference, we believe that Christ comes to us in Communion, because...He said IS and that is what He meant, this IS His true body, this IS His true blood. Eat and Drink this Holy Supper of our Lord as often as you can Jared, it is here that you are given a foretaste of heaven, indeed it is heaven on earth. The Apostles heard Christ say it and they believed, the Holy Spirit tells us now and we believe it too.

For we have all have witnessed what was written by the Apostles, that the Holy Spirit was sent on the Day of Pentecost to give us faith. The Holy Spirit points us to our salvation which was won by Jesus Christ. Our faith is strengthened by the Holy Spirit who reminds us that Christ came into this world and He did not fear death, for He went even to the cross suffering an unimaginable death so that we might live. And as you also know because of this free gift of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, we are also called to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all those who we meet. Rejoice in your salvation already won and tell the Good news of Jesus Christ.

Today, Jared is your confirmation. Today is not a beginning, nor is it an end to your learning of God’s Word. Today and every Sunday is Easter. Today and every Sunday is Pentecost. Today and everyday the Holy Spirit reminds us of Christ’s words. Indeed, the Holy Spirit brings us Christ’s words which were your confirmation verse, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16) The Holy Spirit does not give just for a time, as the world gives. The Holy Spirit proclaims Christ and for you Jared and all who believe in Him, He gives the promise of eternal life. Amen.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

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