To the Confirmation Class of 2012

7/31/2019 To the Confirmation Class of 2012

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To the Confirmation Class of 2012:

Five years ago, today, I woke up in a cold sweat. My heart was racing,my hands were trembling,my feet were shaking. I was panicking. I was scared to death.

I was getting married.

A lot has changed in the past five years. My wife Heather and I have gone through a lot in thosefive years. We have gone from southern Wisconsin to northern Illinois to southernNewHampshire. I dropped out of seminary, Heather finished seminary. And we have welcomed a newmember to our family, our daughter Addison. So today, for me, is a celebration of the past.

Its also a celebration of the present. We are blessed to be living and working here and blessed tobe a part of this church. We blessed by the lovewe continue to have for each other. Its as much acelebration of our present as it is our past.

And its also a chance for us to look ahead to our future. Where do we want to be a year from now,five years from now, ten? What do we want our marriage to be like then? What do we want ourfamily to be like then? Where do we want to live andwhere do wewant to work?

Confirmation is a lot like an anniversary. Its a chance for you to pause on the road of life and takea look around you. A chance for you to look back to see where you have come from. A chance foryou to see whatGod is doing in your life in the present. And, a chance for you to look ahead to thefuture to see what kind of person you can be.

This year you have spent some time looking at the past. Each of you has remembered the story ofwhen you first came to faith inChrist. You remembered the people, the places, and the experiencesthat were vital to you coming to faith in Jesus Christ. For many of you, it was Camp Squanto whereyou first experienced the grace of God in your life. For many others of you, it was Mrs. Tibbitts orsomeone else in childrens ministry that helped you come to faith in Christ. I think we can allcelebrate our past and be thankful for thewonderful people in our lives that helped us begin ourrelationship with Jesus.

For the rest of, perhaps today, too, can be a chance to remember the past and to look and see howfar God has brought us. Maybemany of you are being taken back to your Confirmation Sunday.Perhaps many of you are rememberingwhere you were when you received Gods gift of grace inChrist Jesus. Perhaps today, for all of us here, can be a chance for us to remember Godsfaithfulness to us in the past and to celebrateHis goodness in our lives.

Confirmation was also a chance for you to seewhat God is doing in your life in the here and now.You are coming into emotional and spiritual maturity. You are learning about God, His Word, andyourselves. You are becoming better friendswith one another. You have forged new relationshipswith high school mentors, and at this time I would like to pause and thank Katie Boyden, JohnCassidy, Jessi Dalrymple, JeremyFurusho, and ErikHallenbeck for their faithful service to ourconfirmands this year. They have not only helped you memorize their BuildingBlocks and Bible


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verses, but they have taken a personal interest in each of your lives. These are relationships thatcan continue to grow as you become a part of our high school ministry next year.

This year was also a chance for you to see how God can use you in this world through ministries ofcompassion, mercy, justice, and evangelism. You were assigned a project, the 5:16 Project, to show

the love of God to our community. Youwere also a signed an Evangelism Journal project, andencouraged to share your faithwith your friends. Because of this class, because of yourfaithfulness to Gods call on your life, a new motorcycle was purchased for a missionary in need oftransportation, much needed workwas done at New Life Home and a much needed paint job wasdone at NewEngland Seafarers mission. Because of this class, there are more children in need offood, clothing, and schooling being sponsored, there are people living in nursing homes who havebeen encouraged, and there is a kids club in Manchester that has been given over $1100 worth ofsupplies. Because of this class, people in need of food have been given food, computers and schoolsupplies have been donated to our Sudanese church, and kids who would not otherwise have abirthday party have celebrated their birthday. Because of this class, there is a new youth group atour Sudanese church plant. And because of this class, three young people have begun their

relationship with Jesus Christ, andmany more are closer to Jesus than they were at the beginningof the year. God has used you inmighty and powerful ways. There is much to celebrate!

For the rest of us in the congregation today, perhaps now is a good time to evaluate your present.Are we growing in our faith? Are we learning more about God and His Word? Arewe drawingnearer to Him? Are we seeing how God can use us to make a difference in thisworld? Who arewereaching out to?Who are we sharing the Gospel with? Perhaps seeing all that God has done in andthrough these young people here today can challenge all of us to let God work in and through us.

But Confirmation is not just an opportunity to remember the past or celebrate the present. It isalso an opportunity to look to the future. Many of you who were interviewed by me were asked aquestion: Where are you going to be five years from now? What kind of person are you going tobe in five years? What do you want to accomplish in the next five years?

Many of you said you want to go on a Missions trip or continue to serve where you worked foryour 5:16 Project. Many of you said you want to go to a really good college. Many of you said youwant to play a varsity sport.Many of you said want to read the whole Bible.

All of you said youwant to be closer to God. You wanted your faith to be stronger and you wantedto serve God more. Let me tell you now: that will not happen by accident. If you want to play avarsity sport, you need to practice hard. If you want to go to a good college, you need to study a lot.And if you want to grow closer toGod and if you want to love himmore, you must keep your eyesfixed on Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1-3 says this: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us runwithperseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter ofour faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it shame, and sat down at theright hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, sothat you will not grow weary and lose heart.


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You are running a race. You are running toward Jesus, running toward the goal of becoming moreand more like him. This is not a sprint, it is a marathon, and you will hit the proverbial wall manytimes. There will be plenty of distractions, from things both good and bad for you. There will beplenty of opportunities for despair, for hopelessness, for sadness. You will be tempted to stop

running. You will be tempted to stop trying to become that person that you want to be five yearsfrom now.

But keep your eyes on Jesus. Jesus ran his race, and he finished it. He knows everything you willfeel, every temptation you will have to overcome, every hardship you will have to endure. Fix youreyes on Jesus. InHim you will find hope. In him you will find the strength to overcome trial andtribulation. In Him, you will find the strength to become the person He wants you to be.

If your goal is to be closer to God five years from now than you are today, youwill need to run thisrace on purpose. You will need to set aside time for just you and Him. You will need to listen to theHoly Spirit whenHe is prompting you. You will need to trust Him through all of the obstacles that

will be thrown in your path.

You will need tomake Him your priority. Over all other relationships, over all other goals, over allother activities, Jesus needs to be your priority.

You are not going through this alone. Continue to be a part of Gods people. Continue to participatein youth group and in church. Seek out peoplewho can influence you for Christ, and seek outpeople who you can influence for Christ. You can help each other become the person you want tobe five years from now.

So seize this opportunity. Celebrate Gods work in your past, celebrate what God is doing in youand through you now, and eagerly anticipatewhat God is going to do in your life in the comingyears.

Steve HoffmanConfirmation SundayMay 20, 2012

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To the Confirmation Class of 2012