Confirmation Retreat - Sept. 14-15, 2013

Lesson 1: Building our community

Confirmation is a journey of discovering who Christ is, who we are in Christ, and what it means to be working member of the body.

(Not just a member) 

Through this process, it's important to know that you are not alone! But you have each other. What does it look like to support and love one another during the year of confirmation?

 I thought of two examples:

1. Encouragement to stray from the way of the world

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 ESV)

 What does it mean to encourage one another?

Why is this important?

What happens when we don't?

 2. It should look like that of the church in Acts.

Acts 4:32-37

"Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:32-37 ESV)

 This church in Acts supports its members, who can we do that?

- encourage

- reach out
- pray
- have each others backs in times of need

 Why is it hard sometimes to be like this church?

How can we combat that?

Know that this is a safe place of love and support. Learn to trust one another and lean on each other in hard times.

 

Lesson 2:  Covenant

 

What is a covenant?  A promise, an agreement, a contract

The definition is this:  a bond (agreement) entered into voluntarily by two parties by which each pledges himself to do something for the other.  In the church, such a covenant involves people and God. 

 

A Christian marriage is really a type of covenant-- one person promises to another person and to God that they will be loyal to that person as long as they live.  So Clint might have said something like this when he married his wife:

I, Clint, take you Abby to be my wife,

to have and to hold from this day forward,

for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,

in sickness and in health,

to love and to cherish,

until we are parted by death.

This is my solemn vow.

 

These are supposed to be words that bind the two together as they stand before God.  Covenants are the "glue" that keep people together or at least we hope they do.  But we mess up. We aren't perfect and often we don't keep our promises.  

 

Read Exodus 23: 32-33.  In the Bible, God makes covenants with individuals and with His people.  And as in the Scripture that you just read, He warns us about making covenant with the wrong people.  In fact the Bible is divided into two covenants-- an old covenant (Old Testament) that God made with the Hebrew people and the new covenant (New Testament) that God made with all persons through Jesus.  We can read the Bible as the story of the covenant between God and God's people. 

 

Covenants made with God are very serious.  In the Old Testament the people would literally "cut" a covenant with God.  They would take a young lamb or goat and cut it in half with a saw.  Then they would walk between the two halves and make their promise or covenant with God.  They would say "God if I break this promise let what happened to this lamb happen to me." How about that for a covenant?  Who would make that covenant?

 

One of the earliest covenants made was one made with Abraham.  Genesis 17: 1-7 Who had the most responsibility in this covenant?  God did and when God makes a promise he keeps it.  God also made a covenant with the Hebrew people when he brought them out of Egypt -- called the Sinai Covenant-- 10 Commandments -- a covenant that helped them to live in community. Exodus 24 God told them that if they broke the covenant that there would be consequences.  Do you think they kept it?  No, they broke it and ended up in captivity for years.  But in the midst of their brokenness, God says there will be a new covenant.  Jeremiah 31: 31-34

 

God knows people are who they are, saying one thing and intending to do that thing but messing up.  So He needed a new non- breakable covenant-- Jesus! We will learn more about God's covenant with all of us through Jesus in the coming weeks. 

 

Covenants are very important to God and they are important to make when we enter into something that will help us to grow in our faith. Even though we are imperfect, we should still try to keep covenant with God to show our love to Him.  So we will write a Confirmation Covenant that we will make to our congregation and to God on Sunday, Sept. 22nd in church.  The church and your families will also make a covenant with you on that same day. 

Lesson 3: Faith

 

Hebrews 11:1-3 

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1 NIV) 

1. Trust -

Trust fall -volunteer came to the front and stood on a chair while Clint walked to the other side of the room and asked her if she trusted him to catch her.  The volunteer said "no" since Clint was across the room. 

Past - we trust through past experiences.

-our own
-People we know
-History

2. Hope - future - hope in what is to come

-Hope that Clint was gonna catch the volunteer 
-Hope to get good presents
-Hope to get a good grade
-Hope to get a girlfriend
-Hope to go to heaven

3. Love - present - give and receive love

-Because I love and care for you I'm not gonna let you fall
-Because he first loved us

1John 4:19- We love because He first loved us.

-His whole plan was out of love

-Everything he does is out of love for us.

 Trust, hope, love- Past, future and present

 Biblical examples of faith in action, in practice... What does faith lived out look like?

Abraham- loved God and was strong in faith. God promised Abraham that he would have a son.  God gave him that son, and when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Abraham trusted God to the point where he was going to sacrifice his son. But God stopped Abraham.   

Moses- was faithful to do all that God instructed him to do to bring the Israelites out of captivity. Even when God had Moses lead the people through the desert, he was faithful.

Noah- followed God's instructions to build an ark when everyone thought he was crazy for doing it.  He was faithful and believed that God would do what He said he was going to do. 

To live by faith is to live boldly

When we have an understanding of trust, hope, love we are freed to live boldly!

Because we love the people we boldly proclaim the name of Christ.  We live out our faith.

Jesus Christ - made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could all live eternally. When we have faith in Jesus and that he died for our sins, we can live knowing that we are forgiven. 

 So "faith is being sure of what we hope for"; it's being able to trust that what we do not see is true and that God loves us enough to give us a hope of an everlasting life through the sacrifice of his son.