Confirmation – what does it mean?
To confirm something means to verify the truth of a
statement or action made by someone else.
e.g. Harry confirmed that
what Linda said was true. The dog belonged to her.
The referee
confirmed that the ruling on the field was right – it was a touchdown.
The President
confirmed the news that the hostages had been released.
In church, when we speak about Confirmation, we refer to a
special event in the lives of our young people. Confirmation is the process of
verifying the promises that parents made when their children were baptized.
So the process of Confirmation begins with Baptism.
What is Baptism?
People have been baptized in the Christian faith for almost
2000 years. When the first Christian churches were formed, people who believed
in Jesus were baptized in local rivers, household pools, and even in the sea.
Water is an essential part of baptism because it represents so many important
things in our lives.
Think about what we use water for in our own lives and
community.
We use water to: ________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Water is essential to our lives. Without it, we would die.
We drink water and use it to clean ourselves on a daily basis. It is basic
ingredient in all of our food. It is used for building our homes, schools, and
churches. Generations ago, most Christian churches were built over or beside
small streams – can you think why?
_________________________________________________________________________________
Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan by John the Baptist.
Most people were baptized at that time to cleanse themselves of their sins, in
order to make them clean and holy before God. Jesus was sinless, so why was He
baptized? It was to confirm that He was the Messiah, the Son of God.
Let’s a watch a video of Christ being baptized
Baptism of Jesus –
The Bible – the Series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKr0HfruNBk
Where did the baptism take place?
________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Why did John hesitate to baptize Jesus? ________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Because Jesus underwent baptism, His followers believe that
they should also be baptized. This special event is called a SACRAMENT in Christian churches.
In the Presbyterian Church, we believe that there are two special sacraments
because Jesus participated in them. One is Baptism; the other is
_________________.
When Christians are baptized, they make promises to serve
God and pledge their faith in Jesus. They vow to follow Him and to become
servant members of His Church. In the PCUSA, when people are baptized for the
first time, they are asked to make the following promises:
1.
Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you
turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world?
Answer: I do.
2.
Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as
your Lord and Savior, trusting in his grace and love?
Answer: I do.
3.
Will you be Christ’s faithful disciple, obeying
his Word and showing his love?
Answer: I will, with God’s help.
Why are people asked to make these promises before they are baptized?
How are they expected to keep those promises?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
When parents bring their children or babies to be baptized
in church, they are asked these questions:
1.
Do you desire that your child be baptized?
Answer: I/We do.
2.
Relying on God’s grace, do you promise to live
the Christian faith, and to teach that faith to your child?
Answer: I/We do.
3.
Do you promise, through prayer and example, to
support and encourage your child to be a faithful Christian?
Answer: I/We do.
After the parents make these promises, the minister asks the
congregation to make this promise:
Do you, as members of the church of Jesus Christ, promise to
guide and nurture this child and all other children in our midst, by word and
deed, with love and prayer, encouraging them to know and follow Christ and to
be faithful members of His church?
The congregation stands and answers: We do.
Why do you think we ask the congregation as well as the
parents to make promises at a child’s baptism?
_______________________________________________________________________________
How are those promises kept by the parents? How are those
promises kept by the congregation?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Do you remember how we defined the word ‘Confirmation’
at the beginning of our lesson?
_______________________________________________________________________________
So, you see, the process of Confirmation begins with the
promises made by your parents and the congregation at your baptism. By going
through this special process, you are verifying that the statements which were
made at your baptism have now turned out to be true.
For centuries, in every nation on Earth, millions of young
people have confirmed the promises that their parents when they were baptized
as children. If they were babies or infants, they really didn’t know what was
going on; if they were older, they still didn’t fully understand what was
really expected of them. You are going through the process of Confirmation in
our church at a very important time in your life. We want you to understand
that your parents, families, and your church love you deeply and wish to
support, help, and encourage you as you go through this next big important step
in your life.
Before we finish, we are now going to watch another video by
a Confirmation class from Davidson College. The young people made this video
last year and based it on the Apostles Creed, which is something we will also
discuss during our lessons.
“I Believe” –
Confirmation Class 2015 – Davidson College – The Apostles Creed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRy1vTDJ1b4
Your Bible assignment for this week is to read the first two
chapters of the Gospel of Mark and to complete the question sheet. Bring it
back to our next meeting.
Finish with prayer.
No comments:
Post a Comment