St John 16:5-15/James 1:16-21/Isaiah 12:1-6
Confirmation of Dave and Cynthia Kroger
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
The disciples did not ask where He was going. They were so consumed with their own grief and sorrow, so absorbed by the emotions of their own hearts, they could not see the great love our Lord Jesus revealed to them as He spoke of His impending departure and the sending of the Helper.
This is the natural state of fallen man. He is curved inward on himself, blind and ignorant of the Truth. Though he spend his days naval gazing, he remains blind to the extent of his own sin and the depravity of his heart. Though he posses all reason and worldly knowledge, still he is a fool regarding the things of God. This Truth can only be revealed by God the Holy Spirit.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. As the disciples were, as all men are, so too were you once. Born sinful and unclean, under the power of the devil until Christ claimed you as His own. Lost forever apart from the deliverance worked by our Lord Jesus on your behalf. For you the Father of all mercy and grace sent His only-begotten Son who atoned for the sin of the whole world. Whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Thus in perfect obedience, in willful submission, the Son who came from the Father goes back to the Father. He is not referring to His ascension, however; not yet. Rather, the Son of Man goes as it is written of Him; that is, He goes to His death. For in His perfect death for sinners, Christ Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the good gift, the perfect gift from above, having come down from the Father of lights. For He is Himself the Light of the world. He is your Strength and your Song. Christ Jesus, crucified and risen, has become your Salvation. He is the perfect sacrifice for sin, which caused the devil to be cast down from heaven. His offering was accepted by the Father and thus He raised Jesus from the dead, never to die again. He is the First fruits of them that sleep.
Yet none of this would be of any advantage to you if Christ had not sent the Helper, the Paraclete, that is, the Holy Spirit. It is written, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame. Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ (Rom 10:9, 11, 13, 14-15, 17).
This is why Christ must go to the Father, why He must go away, in order to send the Holy Spirit , who will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. For you would not know the true extent or your sin apart from the preaching of the Law and the work of the Holy Spirit, who convicts you of your sin and brings you to repentance through the Word of Christ. Nor would you ever know the righteousness of Christ that is imputed to you by the Father through faith, apart from the preaching of the Gospel, through which the Holy Spirit has called you. Nor would you know that the ruler of this world, that is, Satan, is judged, that is, cast down from heaven and defeated apart from the proclamation of the Cross of Christ Jesus! You would know nothing of the work of the Triune God on your behalf apart from the declaration of the Holy Spirit! My dear ones, we have a preached God!
And on the authority of the Father and the Son, who have al things in common, the Holy Spirit is sent. Thus He does not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak. He glorifies Christ, for He takes what is Christ’s and declares it to you. And what does He hear? We were privy to the Divine Conversation of the Holy Trinity on the Mount of Transfiguration; Moses and Elijah conversed with Jesus about His coming exodus, that is His death for sinners.
This is the vision of heaven given to St John – the Lamb who was slain in the midst of the company of heaven. This is the continuous proclamation of God the Holy Spirit – Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He does not reveal Himself in moonbeams and sunrays. He does not reveal Himself in whispers of the heart or euphoric feelings. God the Holy Spirit is a preacher! And like all good preachers, He proclaims Christ to the world.
For Christ is our Paraklete, our Advocate before the Father. He lifts His holy wounds, evidence of the peace brought between God and man, before the heavenly throne. And Christ sends the Holy Spirit to work as our Paraklete here on earth. He is the opposite of the Accuser, which is Satan, who does not let God’s people have a moment’s rest, but night and day hounds you with guilt and shame, plaguing your conscience with doubt and fear. For that is where he now operates – the conscience. He has been cast from heaven, so he works subtly to deceive and mislead you into false belief and despair.
But God the Holy Spirit is your Paraklete, your Helper, who comes from outside of you in the preached Word and speaks peace to your troubled conscience. The peace of Christ. He takes what belongs to Christ – righteousness and joy, holiness, perfection under the Law, the favor of God, mercy, forgiveness, salvation, eternal life – and He declares, that is preaches it, to you. And in the preaching of the Word of Christ you receive the very things of Christ. His Word does what it says. It forgives your sins, it creates in you a clean heart, it gives you a pure conscience, at peace with the Father.
These are the gifts given by God the Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism, which in a few moments, Dave and Cynthia will attest to; they will confirm the faith given them by water and Spirit in their baptisms. They will confess the historic, catholic faith of the Church, pledging themselves, by God’s grace, to remain steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it.
They cannot do this by their own strength or will. But the pure doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church has been revealed to them by God the Holy Spirit in the preached Word. Hearing that Word, clinging fast to it, they confess it back to God before you, their brothers and sisters in Christ. This is true of all catechumens, of any age. For this is the way of faith. Faith that is created and nourished by the Holy Spirit through the preached Word.
For this, dear Christians, we sing on this Cantate Sunday. This is our new song, taught to us by God Himself in His Word. Not the song of gloom and sadness, of sorrow and grief. But the song of joy and peace in the resurrection of Christ. For the Lord turned away His anger from us. He has done gloriously in ransoming you from everlasting death and the grave. And He has made this known to us by His Holy Spirit through His preached Word.
And there is more: remember the Holy Spirit takes what belongs to Christ and the Father, and gives it to you. Here, beloved, in the Holy Eucharist, you have the good and perfect gift from above: the very Body and Blood of Christ Jesus, crucified and risen.
And by the Word of Christ, the Holy Spirit declares to you, “Take eat; take drink, this is given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” Here the Word, joined to the external sign of bread and wine, conceive the Body and Blood; by your reception, through eating and drinking in faith, this Visible Word is implanted in you; and this is able to save your body and soul.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Confirmation of Dave and Cynthia Kroger
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
The disciples did not ask where He was going. They were so consumed with their own grief and sorrow, so absorbed by the emotions of their own hearts, they could not see the great love our Lord Jesus revealed to them as He spoke of His impending departure and the sending of the Helper.
This is the natural state of fallen man. He is curved inward on himself, blind and ignorant of the Truth. Though he spend his days naval gazing, he remains blind to the extent of his own sin and the depravity of his heart. Though he posses all reason and worldly knowledge, still he is a fool regarding the things of God. This Truth can only be revealed by God the Holy Spirit.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. As the disciples were, as all men are, so too were you once. Born sinful and unclean, under the power of the devil until Christ claimed you as His own. Lost forever apart from the deliverance worked by our Lord Jesus on your behalf. For you the Father of all mercy and grace sent His only-begotten Son who atoned for the sin of the whole world. Whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Thus in perfect obedience, in willful submission, the Son who came from the Father goes back to the Father. He is not referring to His ascension, however; not yet. Rather, the Son of Man goes as it is written of Him; that is, He goes to His death. For in His perfect death for sinners, Christ Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the good gift, the perfect gift from above, having come down from the Father of lights. For He is Himself the Light of the world. He is your Strength and your Song. Christ Jesus, crucified and risen, has become your Salvation. He is the perfect sacrifice for sin, which caused the devil to be cast down from heaven. His offering was accepted by the Father and thus He raised Jesus from the dead, never to die again. He is the First fruits of them that sleep.
Yet none of this would be of any advantage to you if Christ had not sent the Helper, the Paraclete, that is, the Holy Spirit. It is written, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame. Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ (Rom 10:9, 11, 13, 14-15, 17).
This is why Christ must go to the Father, why He must go away, in order to send the Holy Spirit , who will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. For you would not know the true extent or your sin apart from the preaching of the Law and the work of the Holy Spirit, who convicts you of your sin and brings you to repentance through the Word of Christ. Nor would you ever know the righteousness of Christ that is imputed to you by the Father through faith, apart from the preaching of the Gospel, through which the Holy Spirit has called you. Nor would you know that the ruler of this world, that is, Satan, is judged, that is, cast down from heaven and defeated apart from the proclamation of the Cross of Christ Jesus! You would know nothing of the work of the Triune God on your behalf apart from the declaration of the Holy Spirit! My dear ones, we have a preached God!
And on the authority of the Father and the Son, who have al things in common, the Holy Spirit is sent. Thus He does not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak. He glorifies Christ, for He takes what is Christ’s and declares it to you. And what does He hear? We were privy to the Divine Conversation of the Holy Trinity on the Mount of Transfiguration; Moses and Elijah conversed with Jesus about His coming exodus, that is His death for sinners.
This is the vision of heaven given to St John – the Lamb who was slain in the midst of the company of heaven. This is the continuous proclamation of God the Holy Spirit – Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He does not reveal Himself in moonbeams and sunrays. He does not reveal Himself in whispers of the heart or euphoric feelings. God the Holy Spirit is a preacher! And like all good preachers, He proclaims Christ to the world.
For Christ is our Paraklete, our Advocate before the Father. He lifts His holy wounds, evidence of the peace brought between God and man, before the heavenly throne. And Christ sends the Holy Spirit to work as our Paraklete here on earth. He is the opposite of the Accuser, which is Satan, who does not let God’s people have a moment’s rest, but night and day hounds you with guilt and shame, plaguing your conscience with doubt and fear. For that is where he now operates – the conscience. He has been cast from heaven, so he works subtly to deceive and mislead you into false belief and despair.
But God the Holy Spirit is your Paraklete, your Helper, who comes from outside of you in the preached Word and speaks peace to your troubled conscience. The peace of Christ. He takes what belongs to Christ – righteousness and joy, holiness, perfection under the Law, the favor of God, mercy, forgiveness, salvation, eternal life – and He declares, that is preaches it, to you. And in the preaching of the Word of Christ you receive the very things of Christ. His Word does what it says. It forgives your sins, it creates in you a clean heart, it gives you a pure conscience, at peace with the Father.
These are the gifts given by God the Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism, which in a few moments, Dave and Cynthia will attest to; they will confirm the faith given them by water and Spirit in their baptisms. They will confess the historic, catholic faith of the Church, pledging themselves, by God’s grace, to remain steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it.
They cannot do this by their own strength or will. But the pure doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church has been revealed to them by God the Holy Spirit in the preached Word. Hearing that Word, clinging fast to it, they confess it back to God before you, their brothers and sisters in Christ. This is true of all catechumens, of any age. For this is the way of faith. Faith that is created and nourished by the Holy Spirit through the preached Word.
For this, dear Christians, we sing on this Cantate Sunday. This is our new song, taught to us by God Himself in His Word. Not the song of gloom and sadness, of sorrow and grief. But the song of joy and peace in the resurrection of Christ. For the Lord turned away His anger from us. He has done gloriously in ransoming you from everlasting death and the grave. And He has made this known to us by His Holy Spirit through His preached Word.
And there is more: remember the Holy Spirit takes what belongs to Christ and the Father, and gives it to you. Here, beloved, in the Holy Eucharist, you have the good and perfect gift from above: the very Body and Blood of Christ Jesus, crucified and risen.
And by the Word of Christ, the Holy Spirit declares to you, “Take eat; take drink, this is given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” Here the Word, joined to the external sign of bread and wine, conceive the Body and Blood; by your reception, through eating and drinking in faith, this Visible Word is implanted in you; and this is able to save your body and soul.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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