March 13, 2011 | 8:00 a.m.

Confirmation Sermons 2011

Confirmation Class
Fourth Presbyterian Church

Micah 6:6–8
Mark 12:28–34

For Jesus, love of God and love of others is the core. Love, a term almost indefinable, is unconditional regard for a person that prompts and shapes behaviors in order to help that person to become what God desires. Love, when working properly, is both emotion and will, affection and action.

Scot McKnight
The Jesus Creed

How do you make up for a mess? We’re just eighth graders, so you have to cut us some slack. We’re clearly not perfect. Well, for most of us, I think presenting thousands of rams to God would probably be a little ridiculous. But it’s not the extravagance of a gift that makes it worthwhile. (Not that giving money to the campaign to rebuild the Westminster House over there is bad.)

What can we, as eighth graders, do to make a difference in our society? Well, let’s start with the small acts of kindness. Say you have a friend at school that isn’t having a very good year. They’re getting picked on and you see your other friends bully them. You need to be the bigger person and stick up for the small guy, no matter how big the big guy is. I can guarantee that this goes on in every one of our lives. You have to be kind and you have to be just.

Another example: say that you and your friend audition for a play together. If you get the leading role and your friend gets the tree in the background, don’t go and rub it in their face. You have to be humble and be a good friend.

Although these examples may seem petty and unimportant, it’s the small things in life that count. We eighth graders of this confirmation class can demonstrate these small, but important deeds, and hopefully we will become leaders and others will follow our example.
— Chris Quazzo

· · ·

We were given two passages and at least ten questions to spark our ideas for these sermons. When I first sat down and looked over them, I mapped out exactly what I would say and exactly how I would reflect on each question and passage. But later that week something happened that completely changed my thinking.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In middle school, once a month the sixth, seventh, and eighth graders all do different types of community service where we help our neighbors in the Chicago community that are not as fortunate as we are. For my community service, I helped out with hearing impaired three- to five-year-olds at the Ray preschool in Hyde Park. I walked into community service being still a little groggy from just waking up from the nap I had taken on the bus. I walked into the classroom welcomed by twelve beaming kids saying, “Welcome Parker buddies.” I instantly realized that community service that day was going to be so rewarding.

At the school we all got paired up with a buddy, and mine was a boy named Elijah. He was hearing impaired but had an aid to help him. He was mentally disabled; couldn’t swallow, so he had to eat through a tube in his stomach connected to a backpack; and had braces on his legs and feet. To add to all of that, he had one of the biggest, brightest smiles I had ever seen. He took my hand and led me over to a cozy spot on the rug. We started playing Legos, and I asked him a series of questions. How old was he? What shows did he like? What did he like to build with the Legos? Etc.

We talked for awhile, and I really got to know the boy. He then said, “Today I go to doctor,” and I said, “Oh really, what are you going to do there?” And he responded but I couldn’t make out what he said. I asked the teacher what he said, and he told me Elijah was getting his braces off today. He then told me about how Elijah had a really hard time opening up to people, which shocked me because he had seemed to be such a bubbly boy.

We had to go soon, so I gave Elijah a hug and he said you are lovely and then hugged me and said I love you. Right before I left the school, the teacher, Ms. Nikki, once again told me how impressed she had been with me. I felt really good that I could use my love for interacting with kids (acquired from years of teaching ballet to kids) to make a difference in this boy’s day. I really loved my neighbor, and I wish if I were in Elijah’s position I would have someone to come play with me and make me smile.
—Ashlyn Wiebe

· · ·

These verses put forth powerful messages that we as Christians can interpret and incorporate into our own lives. We are always questioning what we can do as Christians in our lives and for the lives of others, and God answers these questions through the Bible. In Micah 6:6–8, the message is clear. It says, “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?” We ask ourselves what we can do for the Lord. But it is simpler than that. It’s not about the material possessions, but rather the possession of personal attributes such as humility, justice, and kindness towards all people. “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

In Mark 12:28–34, the message put forth is quite similar to the verses in Micah chapter 6. The scribes are disputing with one another, and one consults Jesus, asking, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answers, “The first is, ‘You shall love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” The scribe understood from Jesus’ words that to love God with all your heart, understanding, and strength and to love your neighbor is the greatest deed you can do as followers of the Lord, much more important than burnt offerings and sacrifices.

I think that what I can do as an eighth grader to live up to these verses, and what we can all do, is to think about how we can show justice and kindness to those around us and how we can walk humbly in the name of God, loving him with our mind, soul, heart, and strength. As an eighth grader, I can do this by doing what’s right and by making moral decisions for myself and for others. I can love God with all my heart, understanding, and strength and trust his word over any doubt I may have as a young man still learning. And I think this goes for all of us, young and old, because all of us have questions and doubts. All of us are thinking about how we can serve the Lord in the best way, and all of us are learning from the Lord and from ourselves every day.
—Jonathon Hahn

· · ·

Micah 6:6–8 and Mark 12:28–34 are essentially saying the same thing. The passage from Micah asks, “What do I sacrifice to God so that my sins are forgiven?” In the passage, the speaker offers thousands of rams and even his firstborn child. Although sacrificing these things for God seems like it would please God, the passage also says, “The Lord requires of you to do justice, love, kindness, and walk humbly with God.” To me that means that you can sacrifice a million animals for God, but it’s meaningless unless you are doing what God wants us to do, which is love one another.

The second passage talks about the number one commandment. A scribe asks Jesus, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answers, “You shall love the Lord with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. This is hitting the nail on the head. This passage in Mark is summing up everything God requires of us in a few sentences. You have to love God and you have to love one another. You have to be kind and treat others how you would like to be treated. I think that God doesn’t want your sacrifices. What does a dead calf mean to God? It seems very materialistic. These passages tell us that God just wants all of us to love each other, be kind to one another, and to love him.

As an eighth grader, loving everyone seems a bit daunting. It’s easy to love your friends or your family, but it really isn’t easy to love the girl in your grade who is mean to you or to be kind to the weird kid who is always following you around. I think that as an eighth grader, I can love God by loving and being kind to the people around me (even the people I don’t like very much). In Matthew 25:40, Jesus says that everything kind you do for another human being is also done for him. Luke 17:21 in the King James Version of the Bible says that the kingdom of God is within everyone. Therefore, by loving someone you are also loving God.

Doing justice can also be difficult for a kid my age. I interpret doing justice as standing up for someone who is being picked on or confronting a bully. These are very difficult acts for an eighth grader. We worry about what people will think, what the bully will say, and if we will even succeed. Sometimes we have to look past those things in order to do what’s right and to properly “do justice.”

To walk humbly with God poses yet another challenge. When I first heard the phrase, I was confused. Obviously we can’t just take a stroll with God, and how does one walk humbly? After thinking about it for a while, I came to the conclusion that walking with God means that we are following God and doing what he wants us to do. To walk humbly may mean that we do what he wants us to do in the knowledge that there won’t be any instant gratification. After you do something kind for someone, you won’t come home to a present. I think it means that you know that you are doing God’s will and that is reward enough.
—Molly McGaan

· · ·

To me, this passage from Micah is saying be a true Christian. And if you say you are a Christian, come to church, be a part of the community. Be the person in your family to motivate everyone to get out of bed on Sundays and go to church.

Also to me this passage is saying that you don’t have to give any goods up for God, like money, food, or any of that. God just wants you to be a good person, do justice, and walk humbly with him. I know that I can do justice and walk humbly with God even as an eighth grader. Some ways I could do justice is to help someone out if they are getting bullied or picked on or take part in community service at my school and try to help the people less fortunate than I. I could love kindness by treating someone really nice if I know they’re having family troubles or just having a bad day.

To walk humbly with God for an eighth grader means just to make good decisions. Also part of walking humbly with God is trusting that God will be with you at all times and help you through hard times and support all of our decisions. Also he will make sure everything works out.

I experienced this as an eighth grader while applying to high schools. I had to take three acceptance tests this winter, and I was very nervous. My mom would always say, “Don’t worry, honey, everything’s going to work out,” and truthfully, I didn’t believe her. But it did. It didn’t go exactly as planned, but it worked out, and I am so excited to go to my new high school next year!

God doesn’t want you to give him money or food or give up anything you own. He wants you to love everyone, do justice, and walk humbly with God.
—Johnny Buchanan

· · ·

When I think about what comes to mind when I think of our time in confirmation, I think about the Jesus creed. These few stanzas are what represent our journey of confirmation. Jesus says there is no greater commandment than these. At first, I thought, “Sure there is. Whatever happened to the Ten Commandments? I thought those were important too!” But now I realize that Jesus spoke the truth. (No surprise there. Is it possible for Jesus to speak a lie?) For me, the Jesus creed is more than just a six-stanza passage with a couple of “suggestions.” I feel like it’s a message. Along with all of the “love your neighbor as thyself” stuff, I think there’s a message behind the message. Basically, the message says, Children, you are growing in your faith, and you should support each other on the way. You and your fellow confirmands are going to be friends for a long time, because of the time you spent together here. We are your family. Love your family with every ounce of your being whenever you have the chance. You are part of the family, so if you hurt one, you hurt everyone. If you are ready to follow the Jesus creed and everything it means to us and you, then you are truly ready to become a member of this church.
—Caroline Staublin

· · ·

Rather than thinking of the Bible as a book of rules, I like to think of it as a message that needs to be decoded, a message that is filled with lessons of how to live. They are not on the surface, but they’re something that you have to dig for and uncover. When reading Mark 12:28–34, it’s pretty straightforward when Jesus is explaining what the greatest commandment is, but how do we love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, and all of our strength? Loving God 100 percent, to me, is living in the name of God and living our lives in a way that gives love and thanks, to love our neighbor as ourselves. Though, as the scribe said, this is not referring to sacrifices and burnt offerings, but instead Jesus says that by loving our neighbors we are loving God and obeying God’s wish. I think that Jesus is saying that in order to love God completely, we need to honor him in as much of what we do as we can, not only living for God, but living for others and helping and loving others as we love ourselves.
—Tori Bridges

· · ·

Two nights ago I was in my bed thinking, “How am I able to ‘do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with my God’?” I was thinking about it for a while until I thought “Well, couldn’t it be doing the right thing?” But, of course, like most other things in life, it is easier said than done. But is that not the point of having faith? To do the right thing even though it means taking risks?

Furthermore with loving kindness. Everybody knows how the Bible talks about how you should love the ones who hate you; this overshadows the sense of you should love the ones that do you no harm. A good example of this is when my science teacher was talking about the terrible magnitude 8.9 earthquake in Japan. He said that it is very easy to remember the people who you take offense at, but you often take for granted the people who take care of you in your life and once they’re gone you would have had no time to say thank you. This really did hit me when he said this, because right after class he decided to call his mother because he had not heard from her in the past few days. And that will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Another thing is “walking humbly with God.” At first I thought it was pretty straightforward: all you have to do is do what God wants you to do. But once again, easier said than done. I have attempted to do this myself. I said I would be nicer to some people in my school. And trust me it has been very tough, but I will still be holding to what I believe.

“Love God with all your heart”: figuring this one out was somewhat of a challenge to me. Right off the bat, I thought that this meant simply loving God. Then after talking to my parents I learned that loving God with all your heart means there is no one in the world you should love more than God. “Love God with all your soul”: this to me means that when it comes down to it, your base moral should be to love God. “Love God with all your mind”: I thought this meant that all you would have to think about is loving God. Except loving God is not the only thing you are capable of thinking about. What this means to me is you should never forget about loving God. “Love God with all your strength”: this to me means you should be able to metaphorically hold up your faith using all the mental and physical fortitudes you have no matter what the condition because all of what God gave you is enough.

This next part gave me a lot of trouble, because loving your neighbor as yourself means loving whomever you meet on the street. Or so I thought. I learned that whomever you meet you should not hate them. Most people forget this commandment for one reason or another. I know I have, but that does not make it right. For all that I have spoken about today, it is easier said than done. But that is what makes it a lifelong journey. Amen.
—James Sinclair