11
Apr '19

What Does My Confirmation Mean to Me?

Posted on Apr 11, 2019 in General | 979

11
Apr '19
by Chris Graves, Will Thorbhan, and Jack Hoerth
 
Confirmation is a period of spiritual growth and instruction for a young person, usually in middle school, where they learn about the Christian faith, grow in knowledge of the Bible and in relationship with God, and ultimately “confirm” the faith as their own and are “confirmed” as members of the church.  Zion’s confirmation program, like most other Lutheran churches, is a two-year program that takes place in middle school.  I am the coordinator of Zion’s confirmation program and teach some of the classes.  Other confirmation class teachers are Pastor Jason Hoerth and Don Hoffmann.  While the Rite of Confirmation is certainly a milestone in the faith life of a young person, it is not intended to be a “graduation” in any way.  In fact, it is quite the opposite: a commitment to a lifelong journey of growth in the Christian faith, of knowing God more personally and understanding His Word more clearly and deeply. Each year, confirmation students write an essay about a topic related to the Christian faith and instruction.  This year, the topic was “What does my confirmation mean to me?”  The essay is intended to encourage kids to think more deeply about their faith and be prepared to share knowledgeably on some aspect of it.

 

Witness Essay by Will Thorbhan:

My confirmation means to me that you shall be baptized, read the bible and believe in God. Some spiritual gifts that I want are knowledge, bravery, and to stand up to bullying. You should know that when you die you will go to Heaven because God gave his only son Jesus to die for us. You should always listen to God. You should follow God’s law. You should follow God’s word. You should worship God. You should pray when you do the wrong thing or the right thing. The Holy Spirit gives each and everyone a different gift that they should use wisely. You should say your amens. You need to forgive others as they forgive you. Appreciate what he did for you. God only blesses those that forgive, and he curses those that don’t. You need to love him because he loves you. We know how to listen to God. God works with us a lot.

My favorite thing to me about my confirmation is that I am baptized, read the Bible and believe in God. This is important to me because it is what I believe and it helps me tell other people that I know what I believe.

 

Witness Essay by Jack Hoerth:

My witness essay is about my favorite bible verse. Which is Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.

The reason why I picked this verse is because I am going through my teen years, so I have to make some key decisions in my future. Where to go to college? What job? Who to marry? This verse says that God will take of that for me. What is his ultimate plan? I don’t know yet but I will find out the answers to all those questions. The key to making God-pleasing decisions is to ask yourself: In which direction is God leading me? I need to listen to God in these next few years and even after that.

The context for this verse is that Jeremiah is writing letters to the exiles and he says in verse 10: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill my promise and bring you back. The Israelites did some very bad things: worshiped other gods, sexual impurity, and lots of other bad stuff. But when they were exiled God forgave them and still loved them and this verse says that God will give them back everything because he loves them.

God will fulfill his promise to me and all Christians just like to the Israelites. The purpose of the exile is so that we see the need for a Savior and we know that God will take us to a better place than the first when we die. God will also lead us through the desert and provide for us, we don’t have to worry about anything. Because God’s plans will not harm but prosper us until he fulfills his promise and takes us to heaven.