June 7, 2026

Matthew 9:9-13

Christ is Risen, He is risen indeed Alleluia! We are here today because of this truth. Today as we celebrate what God has done in the lives of these five young people. We are here today to tell a story and it’s a story that began at the baptismal font. At the baptismal font all of you received the promise of God’s forgiveness for the very first time. That promise of God was applied to you and that’s a day you probably don’t remember. I would bet you don’t remember a thing about that day. But we do, your parents can remember bringing your kids to the waters of baptism in a moment of tiredness and nervousness as you brought a newborn to the font. And in that moment, parents of young children, you made a commitment as parents, to raise your children in the faith of their baptism. And your sponsors stood alongside your parents and they joined their voices to that pledge as they promised to lead a godly life, to give you an example, to pray for you, to make sure that you were trained in a way that led you receive the Lord’s Supper. And today we celebrate as that story unfolds. And I’d like to acknowledge the other group of people that stood up and made a vow. And that vow was to keep the words that God gave us in the great commission to make disciples by baptizing and teaching. And this congregation has walked with you.  Since that time, we have been blessed to be part of your training. That training has led to today, your confession of faith. Today the story that we gather to hear is the story that involves you but really it is a story about what God has done.

One of the first things we talk about in the baptismal liturgy is that we are, as human beings, born sinful. We are condemned in that baptismal liturgy until God acts, until God steps in, until God gives you the faith to receive and believe the promise of Christ. It is that promise that you have been raised all these years and it is this promise that you will confess in just a few minutes.

You have been prepared for this, so what’s the job of the church? Forgiveness. The job of the church is forgiveness and this gift of God was granted to you at the font when you received the promise of God with the water of baptism and this forgiveness, this promise of God, is given to you every time you hear His gospel message. This promise of forgiveness will be given to you when you receive the body and blood of Christ in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. He will be present and He will forgive you and He will wash you clean. And this is so important for you to hear, because every day of your life you will need this gift.

Confirmation is a big deal. It’s a really big deal at Hope. It’s a big deal because everything is draped in red. Red. Confirmation class is year after year and we take it seriously and we celebrate it. And all of these people behind you today, here to be with you, is that you have received the grace of God. Today what was said for you 13 or 14 years ago, you will say for yourselves. You will speak the words of faith that God has given to you and that parents have nurtured and for which your sponsors have prayed.  And because of which an entire congregation has walked with you these years of your life as you’ve grown in the grace which was given to you in your baptism. And my young bros and sis it doesn’t stop here. This is an important day in your life and it’s an important day in the life of our congregation. But for you this day, is a continuance of what God did for you at that font. Today, you will become adult members of this congregation. Today you will stand on your own two feet and with your own heart and voice you will confess the faith God has given to you. And it’s that faith, in God’s forgiving word, in the work that Jesus did for you on the cross that makes all the difference.

In our gospel reading appointed for today, we see Matthew. The writer of the first book of the NT. And we first find him at his tax booth. Jesus saw him sitting there and He called Matthew to follow Him. He rose and followed. Just like that. Jesus called a person in Matthew who was just sitting there, he didn’t even matter to most people, but who mattered to Jesus. Everybody matters to Jesus. You matter to Jesus. Always know that you matter to Jesus, He called you, you are His, you are baptized. Now continue to follow Him all the days of your life.

In our second reading for today we heard from Paul. Paul was one of the most important characters of the NT. You know him, he wrote 13 books of the NT, because of Paul we have the teaching of the church. He was a man who persecuted the church, who hunted down Christians, who imprisoned them, who stood by as the first martyr of the Church was stoned, Stephen, and gave approval of his execution. He is going on the road to Damascus and he’s going there for a very specific reason, to find men and women who believe and confess Christ as their Savior. And on the way God steps in. God acts. He acts in a way that’s totally different from what you experienced at the font. He acts in a law way, He breaks Saul down, He introduces Himself to Saul with a blinding light that leaves Saul blinded. And as Saul follows God’s direction, a direction that’s also given to a disciple named Ananias. God opens up Saul’s heart and He does that with a forgiving word. And we hear Saul is baptized and then immediately we are told that Saul goes out into the synagogue and he begins to tell everybody who will listen that Jesus was the Son of God.  The man who was a persecutor of the Church, the man who stood by and gave approval to the execution of Stephen, the man who was there to hunt down Christians so they would be in prison, he changes just like that. And that gift of HS that Saul was given in his baptism is the same HS God gave to you in yours and everyday, as you grow in this grace that you have been given, God will give you opportunities to proclaim with your life that Jesus is the Son of God. That through Jesus Christ the sins of the world have been punished and paid for and by faith in our Savior salvation is freely given, this is the faith into which you were baptized, this is the faith you will confess today.

We are very proud of you, pride is a weird word to use in Church but we are thankful for what God has done from the font to this moment. And as people who love you…Parents, teachers, pastor, elders, sponsors, and a congregation who stands behind you, we can’t wait to see what God will do with your life and your faith as you step on from this day. This is for you, a new beginning as you step out as God’s people and proclaim that salvation is found in no one else.

The message today, that we gather around, the message that makes all the difference, the message today that you confess and points you, everyone to an eternal promise is the Easter message that we proclaim together. Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!