St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church - Beemer

06/04/2026

Sermon for Holy Trinity Sunday on 05/31/2026

“Your Majestic God”

Text: Psalm 8:1-9

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He’s risen indeed! Alleluia!

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our crucified and FOREVER risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen. Our text for this morning’s sermon is the Psalm we confessed for our Introit. It was Psalm 8.

Today, in the Athanasian Creed, we confessed the one true God in a very majestic way. We declared each Person of the Trinity to be uncreated, yet there are not three uncreated, but one Uncreated. We confessed each Person of the Trinity to be eternal, yet there are not three eternals, but one Eternal. We acknowledged that each Person of the Trinity is almighty, yet there are not three almighties, but one Almighty. [And] in doing so, we confessed that the one, true God is incomprehensible. While there are things we can know about our God Who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there are also many things that are beyond our limited human understanding. [And] in my opinion, no creed does a better job than the Athanasian Creed in explaining what we do know about God and confessing what we don’t know about God.

However, some people don’t like to confess this creed because of the way it ends, and this is especially true as Lutherans who rightly believe, teach, and confess that works don’t save us. But rather, we’re simply saved through grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone, and actually, that’s what the Athanasian Creed confesses. But, we question this when the creed with the statement, “At His coming all people will rise again with their bodies and give an account concerning their own deeds. And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire.”

Now, most don’t have too much of an issue with the fact that those who have done evil will be sent into eternal fire. Instead, most Lutherans struggle with the statement, “And those who have done good will enter into eternal life.” It catches some of us off guard, and after we hear it, we think, “Did I just confess works-righteousness?”

Well, fear not dear Lutheran because that’s not what this section of the Athanasian Creed is confessing. Instead, you should think about this statement as referring to those who have only done good. Now, when you think of it this way, you should ask yourself, “Who do I know who has only done good in this world?” [And] of course, other than Jesus, the answer is, “No one.” As Romans 3:23 says, “[A]ll have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

So then, what does this creed mean when it says that those who have done good will enter into eternal life?

Well, you just spent about 3 to 4 minutes rightly confessing the Trinity as being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three Persons in one God. [And] along with this, you also confessed the two natures of Jesus as being both fully God and fully man, and as a result of rightly confessing the Triune God and the true identity of Jesus, you also confessed that this enabled Jesus to die on the cross as payment for your sin, to rise from the dead to show He paid for your sin, and to ascend into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father where Jesus uses this place of authority to dispense His forgiveness all throughout the world. [And] this forgiveness from Jesus isn’t partial forgiveness, or even a forgiveness that covers a majority of your sin. Rather, the forgiveness of Jesus covers ALL your sin. As the Lord declares in Jeremiah 31:34, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

[And] so, when you believe and confess everything mentioned in the Athanasian Creed, that means all your inherited sin, as well as all your sins of thought, word, and deed have been forgiven and forgotten by God. Your sins have been removed from you “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). [And] since this is true, that means the only thing that remains with you are the good things you’ve done… the times when you’ve kept God’s commandments… the times when you’ve loved the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength… and the times you’ve loved your neighbor as yourself.

You see, the forgiveness of Jesus Christ is so complete that, when God looks at you, He only sees the good things that you’ve done, and therefore, it’s those who have done good as a result of the forgiveness of Jesus Christ who will enter into eternal life.

This, then, is describing you, dear Christian. You have only done good because the blood of Jesus’ cross covers all your sin. Of course, only the majestic God could do such a thing. [And] the Good News for you today, which we heard in our Psalm, is that THE MAJESTIC LORD IS YOUR GOD. The One Who is capable of creating all things and earning your redemption is the God Who has claimed you as His Own in order to give you eternal salvation.

(THE MAJESTIC LORD IS YOUR GOD.)
(I. …Who conquers His enemies in weakness. [vv. 1 & 2])
(II. …Who is mindful of you. [vv. 3 & 4])
(III. ...Who became a little lower than the heavenly beings. [vv. 5-9])

I.

Of course, one of the unusual things about the way this salvation is given is that the majestic Lord Who is your God conquers His enemies in weakness. We learn this in the first part of our text when it says, “1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babes and infants, You have established strength because of Your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.”

When we confess that the Lord’s name is majestic, we’re saying that He’s extremely impressive. The Lord is so magnificent that His glory can be seen all throughout the universe. In our Old Testament reading from Genesis 1 & 2, we heard the real history of how the Lord created the world and the universe all around it. It’s a beautiful and grand depiction of how all things came into existence through a purposeful creation brought about by a purposeful Creator.

[And] yet, the Lord uses humble means to conquer and defeat His enemies. The Lord has the ability to be grand and astonishing, and no doubt, He was at times. He saved the Children of Israel from the Egyptians by separating the waters of the Red Sea so that the Israelites could walk across on dry ground (Exodus 14). But, He did it through Moses who was a guy with a speech impediment, he killed a man, and he spent 40 years of his life trying to hide from God. The Lord also majestically defeated the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel by sending down fire from heaven to consume a drenched bull and the altar it was lying on (1 Kings 18:20-40). But, He did it through a man in Elijah who ran away in fear because he was afraid that Queen Jezebel would kill him for defeating and killing all the prophets of Baal.

[And] of course, we could continue with other Biblical accounts as well. There were flawed judges and kings who the Lord used to save His people. There were apostles like Peter and Paul who made awful decisions that led to horrible sinful acts, and yet, no two people were more successful at spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ than these two men.

These are the babies and infants who are mentioned in our text that the Lord uses to conquer His enemies. Our text tells us that the Lord uses babies and infants “to still the enemy and the avenger”. The Hebrew word for “still” could also be translated as “destroy” or “put to rest”. [And] so, what this tells us is that the Lord uses what appears to be weak and useless to bring about His victory. As 1 Corinthians 1:25 says, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

Of course, the ultimate way the Lord did this is by the cross of Christ. To this world, worshipping as God a Man Who died weak and helpless on a cross is extremely foolish. Why would anyone want to worship a God Who couldn’t even save Himself?

Well, the reason we worship and follow Jesus is because it was by foolishly staying on the cross that Jesus redeemed us. By not saving Himself, Jesus saved you and me and all Christians. [And] now, you and I are the babies and infants that the Lord uses to establish His strength so that He can defeat His foes.

Certainly, we don’t look like much. None of us are famous outside of our own community. You live in Nebraska, which is considered by many to be an insignificant state. Every four years, we’re referred to as being part of “fly over country”, which is simply a polite way of saying most people fly over our state in order to reach other states that are considered more important.

[And] yet, despite the fact that we look insignificant, the Lord uses each of us within our families to spread the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which defeats God’s enemies of sin, death, and the devil within the lives of our children, grandchildren, parents, and other family members. [And] as a congregation, the Lord uses you to support pastors, teachers, and missionaries all around the world so that the enemies of God can be defeated in the lives of people we’ll never meet.

We have a majestic Lord Who graciously chooses to use ordinary people like us to accomplish extraordinary things in this world.

II.

Of course, all of this starts from the fact that the majestic Lord is your God Who is mindful of you. The next part of our text tells us this when it says, “3 When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, 4 what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?”

The God Who called creation into existence as we read about in Genesis 1 knows you by name. In fact, He knows you so intimately that He knows you better than you know yourself.

Buddhism claims that god is so great and so beyond human comprehension that there’s no sense in trying to reach him. Instead, the best thing to do in life is to avoid the extremes so that you can live your best life possible. The atheist joins the agnostic in saying that, if there is a god, he or she is too great and too busy to worry about your problems, so you might as well fix your problems yourself. They might even encourage you to be your own god so that you can determine your own destiny.

However, our text takes the exact opposite approach. Certainly, it acknowledges the greatness of God. The expansiveness of the universe is beyond comprehension. Scientists can look at it through a super powered telescope, and yet, that’s all they can do. Unless technology advances beyond our wildest dreams, we will never be able to send a person on a rocket outside of our solar system. [And] there are hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of galaxies the size of ours, and even bigger, in this universe. The Lord is, indeed, majestic beyond human understanding.

Yet, our text tells us that this awesome God used His fingers to intricately place the moon, stars, and all of creation exactly where He wanted it. [And] best of all, this majestic God thinks about you. Actually, He’s so mindful of you that He cares for you in body and soul. There’s not a thing about you that the Lord doesn’t know that you need or even that you want.

In fact, the whole reason God brought about creation was so that He could share with you the perfect love that exists between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God didn’t create humans because He was lonely or because He wanted something to do. Instead, the Lord created you because that’s what His love led Him to do.

[And] so, the idea that your problems are too small for the Lord to worry about just isn’t true. Jesus even goes so far as to tell us that each hair on your head is numbered. It’s not simply that God knows the number of hairs on your head, but even more impressive, Matthew 10:30 tells us that our Lord is so majestic that each of your hairs has a number.

Of course, the best way that God showed His love for each of us was by dying on the cross for us in the Person of Jesus Christ. The God of all creation couldn’t bear the thought of you spending eternity in the pain and torment of hell, and so, He sent Jesus to pay the price for your sin because you couldn’t. [And] to make this even more astonishing, Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:44-46, in “The Parable of the Hidden Treasure” and in “The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value”, that if you were the only sinner on earth who needed to be saved, He would have still given up His place in heaven to take on human flesh so that He could die on the cross to save you. There IS no greater love than that in all of the universe, but that’s the kind of love the Lord your God has for you. He is, indeed, majestic, and He primarily uses His majesty to give you the salvation Jesus earned for you on the cross.

[And] since Jesus used His majesty to care for your biggest need, which was earning victory for you over sin, death, and the devil, you can also trust Him to care for all your temporal needs as well, according to His good and perfect will. The Lord is mindful of who you are and what you need, and as such, He desires to care for you in body and soul so that He can lead you from this life into the peace and joy of the life to come.

III.

[And] this is gift of forgiveness and eternal life is only possible because the majestic Lord is your God Who became a little lower than the heavenly beings. The last part of our text tells us this when it says, “5 Yet You have made Him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned Him with glory and honor. 6 You have given Him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under His feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!”

The Triune God intended for this to be a description of Adam and Eve and all of their children. They were made a little lower than the heavenly beings, and as such, we heard the Lord give them “dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis 1:26).

Now, we still have this. We still have a remnant of this dominion because we were created in the image of God, although that image has been severely diminished by our sin. [And] therefore, we don’t have dominion over creation like we should. Instead, rather than humanity perfectly ruling and directing nature, many times, nature lashes out at us. Humans are attacked by wild animals. Hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes ravage our cities, states, and countries. [And] nature doesn’t always cooperate. [And] so, our dominion over creation is minimal compared to what was given to Adam and Eve prior to the fall into sin.

Therefore, to restore humanities dominion over creation, God took matters into His Own hands. He sent His Son Who made Himself lower than the heavenly beings for a little while when He took on human flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ, and as a result, He restored humanity to its original place of having dominion over all of creation.

Of course, we haven’t received the full benefits of this restoration yet, but that Day is coming. Those who have been redeemed by Jesus through the waters of Holy Baptism will, once again, have full dominion over all of creation, just like Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden.

This, then, is why Jesus told us in our Gospel reading for today from Matthew 28(:16-20) that “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to [Him]”. Now, since He became a little lower than the heavenly beings to earn our salvation, Jesus’ humanity has therefore been exalted to receive the same power and authority as His Divinity, and He uses this power and authority to restore the holiness and dominion that all humans were supposed to have.

We have this restoration right now, but not yet are we fully able to realize this because we still live in a world corrupted by sin and full of destruction. [And] so, in the meantime, as we look forward to that Day when our holiness and dominion is fully restored, Jesus remains mindful of you by renewing you through Holy Absolution in the majesty of His grace and forgiveness given in Holy Baptism. The Holy spirit assures you, through the read and preached Word of God, that the Lord uses His majesty to provide for all of your needs of body and soul. [And] the Father invites you to the Table of His Son so that through Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, you can be preserved in body and soul until life everlasting.

In other words, the Holy Trinity uses His majesty to give you the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life, and to keep you in these gifts of forgiveness and eternal life. [And] additionally, the Lord also uses His majesty to care for your temporal needs as well according to what He knows is best for you.

This, then, is Who the true God is. This is the God that you confessed today in the Athanasian Creed, and this is the God Who comes to you each and every week through His Word that surrounds His Sacraments because He’s so mindful of you that He wants to care for all of your needs of body and soul.

He certainly isn’t a distant god who’s off in the far reaches of the universe tending to his own needs and desires, and the true God isn’t concerned about satisfying His Own needs at your expense. Rather, the majestic Lord is your God Who desires to use His majesty for your good. He brought about your creation and the creation of all things so that He could bring you into the perfect and holy love of the Holy Trinity. [And] He’ll continue to use His majesty for your good because the Lord desires nothing more than for you to experience the reality of His majesty for all eternity. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He’s risen indeed! Alleluia!

Now the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in our crucified and FOREVER risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

06/01/2026

Sermon for Holy Trinity and Confirmation Sunday at St. John's on 05/31/2026

“Hang onto That Crown”

Text: Revelation 3:11

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He’s risen indeed! Alleluia!

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our crucified and FOREVER risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen. Our text for this morning’s sermon is Drake’s confirmation verse. It’s Revelation 3:11. It words spoken by Jesus, and it says, “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”

In his three years of confirmation class, I don’t think Drake missed one class. I can’t be sure, but we both think he was in class every week. Sure, that fact is probably due to his mom making sure he was always in class, even if there was 6 feet of snow. But nonetheless, Drake was always there.

Of course, that doesn’t mean he didn’t try to get out of class. When he would see me, his first two questions were, “What’s for snack?” and “Who’s coming?” The first question is obvious. He’s a middle school boy, and for those of you who’ve had a middle school boy, you know they can never eat enough. Then, the reason Drake would ask who’s coming is because I usually cancel class if over half the students are missing, which can happen sporadically when you only have 5 kids in the entire class. [And] so, after asking, “Who’s coming?” his next question was, “How long do we have to wait until enough people show up?” But nonetheless, Drake was always there, and he’d even be there with a smile.

Now, one thing you quickly learn about Drake is that he likes to talk. But, he doesn’t just talk, Drake has this unique ability to find humor in everything… and I mean everything. Sometimes, it was funny, but other times, it was just regular, middle school boy humor. Occasionally, he would make a joke, and then, he would look at me and say, “Look, you’re laughing. You’re trying to hide it, but you’re laughing.” [And] I would look at Drake, shake my head, and say, “Stop talking.” Then, I would try to proceed with the lesson.

Of course, while this is true, the other thing you should know about Drake is that he knew the answers to almost every question I asked. As a matter of fact, I often had to say, “Drake, don’t answer,” because I wanted the other kids to answer. However, after they struggled and used all the Lutheran buzz words to try to answer the question, I would say, “Drake, what’s the answer?” and he usually would give the correct answer.

So, after three years of confirmation class, I can honestly say that Drake listened. He learned Who the Trinity is, Who we’re honoring today on Trinity Sunday. He learned about the importance of Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. He learned about the two natures of Christ. He learned about the Ten Commandments and the importance of Law and Gospel. Drake learned what he’s confessing when he confesses one of our creeds. He learned the importance of prayer and why we pray. [And] through all of this, Drake learned THE most important thing, which his verse confesses, and that’s the fact that JESUS HAS GIVEN YOU THE CROWN OF ETERNAL LIFE. Drake, and everyone here today, has received the crown of eternal life that Jesus gives through the preaching of His Word and the waters of Holy Baptism.

(JESUS HAS GIVEN YOU THE CROWN OF ETERNAL LIFE.)
(I. …which you’ll see when He finally comes. [vv. 11a])
(II. …so hang onto it. [vv. 11b])

I.

Unfortunately, the reality of life on this sinful planet is that it doesn’t seem like we’ve received this crown. If anything, it often seems like our crown is made of paper or aluminum foil, and so, it often feels more like a crown of temporal life rather than a crown of eternal life. However, one Day, you’ll eventually see that Jesus has given you a crown of eternal life when He finally comes. This is why Jesus reminds us, in the first part of Drake’s verse, that’s there’s more to come. Jesus simply says, “I am coming.”

[And] He is. Jesus will reappear one Day, which is probably the best way to say what it means when Jesus says, “I am coming.” As we briefly discussed two Sundays ago on Ascension Sunday, we often think that the ascension of Jesus means that He’s gone away. He’s no longer among us because He’s at the right hand of the Father.

But, the right hand of the Father isn’t referring to a specific location like when you say, “I’m at the store,” or “I’m standing in my kitchen.” Instead, the right hand of the Father is a position of authority. It’s like calling someone “your righthand man”. You’re not saying the person is specifically standing at your righthand all the time. Instead, you’re saying that this person is the most important person in helping you to accomplish your tasks. If you need something done, you ask your “righthand man”, and he gets it done exactly the way you want it.

Well, that’s what it means that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father. He completes His Father’s tasks exactly the way that His Father wants things accomplished.

Now, this doesn’t mean that Jesus is less than the Father. Rather, as we confessed today in the Athanasian Creed, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are together uncreated, almighty, infinite, and eternal, and yet, it’s also true that the Son is “equal to the Father with respect to His divinity, less than the Father with respect to His humanity”. Jesus is fully God, but He places His humanity in a subservient role to the Father.

Therefore, Jesus, as both fully God and fully man, is at the righthand of the Father to bring about His Father’s will, which is also His will. [And] the primary will of God is that you be saved… that you receive the crown of eternal life that Jesus earned for all people through His life, death, and resurrection, which were joined to you through the waters of Holy Baptism, and are preserved for you through Holy Absolution, preaching & teaching, and the Lord’s Supper.

However, while this is the way that Jesus works today, all of this will come to an end one Day. On one great and glorious Day, Jesus will reappear when we least expect it. [And] have no doubt, it’ll be more like a reappearance than like a returning from a long trip.

You see, as we just discussed, Jesus didn’t ascend to be absent. He ascended to the righthand of the Father so that He could be physically present with all of us everywhere through His Word and Sacraments. This means that Jesus is physically here among us right now. He is omnipresent. As the Lord asks in Jeremiah 23:24(b), “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” [And] the answer is, “Yes, the Lord does, indeed, fill all of heaven and earth.”

[And] so, when we talk about Jesus returning or Jesus coming again, the best analogy would be that it’s like going to a play where the actors are all truly present behind the curtain, but you can’t see them. However, when the curtain goes up, you see that the people were always present with you in the same room the whole time. But before the curtain goes up, you wouldn’t say that the actors and actresses were absent or away. You’d simply say that you can’t see them yet.

Well, that’s the same way it’ll be when Jesus returns or reappears. On that Last Day, you’ll see that Jesus has always been here the whole time with both His humanity and His Divinity.

Of course, one of the statements that’s often made in regards to Jesus’ return is that it’s been so long. If Jesus is coming back, what’s He waiting for? In fact, most Christians tell me that they’re ready for Jesus to reappear right now.

But, as we know, Jesus has His own time for everything. Just as the Lord tells us in Isaiah 55:8, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways…” so too is it true that God’s timing is not always our timing. While our timing is flawed, God’s timing is always perfect.

Additionally, we know that what seems long to us isn’t long to God because He’s timeless. As Genesis 1:1 told us today, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” which means that God is outside of time, space, and matter. God isn’t part of creation, but instead, He’s outside of it. This, then, is why the apostle Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:8, “…with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” God is timeless, and so, He’s not affected when it seems like time is dragging on.

Instead, the Lord uses time to bring as many people as possible to repentance. Jesus doesn’t want anyone to perish in hell for all eternity. Therefore, Jesus will reappear when the time is right.

However, have no doubt, Jesus is coming. His reappearance can and might happen at any time. In fact, the only prophecy left to be fulfilled is the prophecy of Jesus’ return. That’s it. No other prophecy needs to be fulfilled.

But, even if Jesus doesn’t return this afternoon, or tomorrow, or next month, or for another 1,000 or 2,000 years, that doesn’t mean He won’t come specifically for you in the meantime. As we all know, the wages of sin is, indeed, death (Romans 6:23a), and so, the way Jesus will come to get the majority of humans, is through death. [And] that probably includes each of you.

[And] as we all know from our own experiences, death often comes at the most unusual times. As a pastor, you quickly learn that the death of anyone always happens at an inconvenient time for all involved, and many, many times, it also happens unexpectedly.

II.

[And] so, when Jesus tells us that He’s coming, He’s telling you to be ready… be prepared… because His reappearance or your death could happen at any time. This, then, is why Drake’s confirmation verse continues by telling us that Jesus has given you the crown of eternal life, so hang onto it. Don’t let it go. Jesus says, “Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”

There are many things in this world that try to seize your crown of eternal life. [And] they’re not always bad things. Yes, the deceptions of this world… sinful cultural trends… evil desires and plans… those certainly are things that will try to seize your crown of eternal life

Additionally, in Galatians 5:19-21, the apostle Paul lists more specific activities we should try to avoid. He says, “19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, or**es, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” So as Paul tells us at the end of these verses, there are sinful things in this world that will try to steal your crown of eternal life. But, Christians generally know this, and so, it doesn’t take too much work to convince them that continuing in sinful activity without repentance can cause you to forfeit your salvation.

However, it’s often the necessary or non-sinful things of life that pull people away from church and leads them to losing their crown of eternal life. It’s things like their job, or obligations to family and friends, or extracurricular activities like sports and dance, or activities that are entertaining. In and of themselves, these are good gifts from God that help us to support our family and make life enjoyable.

But unfortunately, satan will tempt you into thinking that those things are more important than the gifts of Christ’s Church. He’ll try to trick you into thinking you don’t need God’s gifts of forgiveness and eternal life given through His Word and Sacraments on a weekly basis. He’ll try to convince you that the good gifts of God’s creation are more important than the best gifts of God’s salvation. [And] satan does this because he wants to seize the crown of eternal life from you.

Now, the catch is, satan knows that he can’t take it from you. Nothing in all of creation can “separate [you] from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). However, that doesn’t include yourself. You, by turning away from the Holy Spirit’s call to prepare yourself for the coming of Jesus, can forfeit your crown of eternal life. You can allow the good and bad things of this world to become more important than the good gifts of God that flow from the cross of Christ.

[And] so, when Jesus tells us in our text to “hold fast [to] what you have…” He’s telling you to live in your Baptism. He’s telling you to live like a Christian. Live in the faith you just confessed in the Athanasian Creed. However, when Jesus tells you to live like a Christian, He’s not really telling you to follow all the dos and the don’ts because following the Ten Commandments neither makes you a Christian nor keeps you a Christian. Following the Ten Commandments is simply the best way that you serve your neighbor, and they also keep you from falling into sin to the point that they can lead you into thinking you don’t need the forgiveness of Jesus.

Therefore, when Jesus tells you to live like a Christian by holding fast to what you have, He’s telling you to continue to receive the forgiveness of your sins because this leads you to eternal life. [And] so, hold fast to the gifts of faith, forgiveness, and eternal life that were given to you in your Baptism by having your sins forgiven by Jesus through the words of the Pastor in Holy Absolution. Hold fast to God’s gift of salvation by hearing God’s Word read and preached so that you can be assured that all the promises of God are yours through Jesus, especially His promise to keep His crown of eternal life on your head. [And] hold fast to all that the Holy Spirit has given to you as a result of Jesus’ work of redemption for you by having the literal body and blood of Jesus placed into your mouth so that it fills your entire body and soul, and as result, Jesus uses it to preserve you unto eternal life.

Shortly, in the rite of confirmation, you’ll hear Drake promise to do this very thing… to live his life as a Christian… to hold fast to what he has. Most of you have either taken these vows yourself, or you’re planning to promise these vows in the future. Regardless of which one you are, listen to them very carefully because they illustrate the essence of living life as a Christian.

The questions regarding living life as a Christian are as follows: “Do you intend to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully?” Next, you’re asked, “Do you intend to live according to the Word of God, and in faith, Word, and deed to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to death?” [And] finally, the confirmand is asked, “Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?”

[And] the answer to all three of these questions is, “I do, by the grace of God.” [And] the reason this is the answer isn’t because this answer somehow earns you God’s grace and forgiveness, or because it gives people a good impression of you. Rather, you answer that you intend to live your life as a Christian by the grace of God because you already have God’s grace and forgiveness given by the Holy Spirit through the work of Jesus Christ, and therefore, you want to remain in this grace and forgiveness. In fact, these vows are a confession of that fact that you want more of God’s grace and forgiveness, if such a thing is even possible.

[And] so, Drake, we thank the Lord for all that the Holy Spirit has taught you over these past three years. Certainly, He has more to teach you about Jesus and His love for you, so I would encourage you to continue to learn more-and-more each day, month, and year about this faith and salvation that’s been given to you.

After all, Jesus is coming again. He will appear on the Last Day to separate believers from unbelievers, and Jesus wants you and everyone here to be grouped with the believers. That’s why He’s given you the crown of eternal life, so hold fast to this gift. There’s nothing more valuable in all the world than the salvation Jesus has given to you. Everything else in this world will pass away. But, what won’t pass away is the gifts of faith, forgiveness, and eternal life that Jesus has given to you in your Baptism. The Lord of heaven and earth desires to keep all of you in these gifts, which is why He’ll continue to give you all that you need to “hold fast [to] what you have”. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He’s risen indeed! Alleluia!

Now the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in our crucified and FOREVER risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

May 31, 2026: St. John's Beemer