Blessed to Believe! John 20:19-31

Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from  God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our theme today is Blessed to Believe!

Holly, Adler, Jacob, Samantha, this is a blessed and happy day for you!

But it took some work and dedication to get to this day; a lot of study, memorizing, learning and applying God’s Word to life.

And not just these two years in Confirmation class, but years before in Sunday School (and Adler, in Lutheran School), and in your homes.

You’ve been blessed to be raised in Christian homes and to have Christian parents, otherwise you probably wouldn’t be here today.

I think of Acts 16:31, Jacob, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”  You and your family.

When you’re blessed to believe, and you have God’s blessings in your life, you want those blessing for others, too. That’s why we share the gospel with our family and friends.

And that’s why your parents share the gospel with you.

Because they care about you, they brought you to be baptized, and they raised you in the Word and love of the Lord.   

Some day God may bless you with a family, and if He does, you’ll do the same for them as your parents are doing for you; you’ll raise them in love and Word of the Lord. Won’t you, Jacob? Samantha? Adler? Holly?

Believe and be saved, and God will pour down a multitude of blessings on you and your family.

As I remember, we did a blessings collage in class around Thanksgiving time, and we filled up a page with pictures of all His blessings.

I think of Psalm 23:1, Holly, The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

In Baptism God made us His dear children. He promised to be our Shepherd; to love us and take care of us in every way, in body and soul.

In the church where I was confirmed there’s a beautiful stained glass window depicting Jesus as a loving shepherd. He’s holding his staff in one hand, and a lamb close to his heart in the other.

That lamb is you, Holly, and you, Adler, and you Jacob, and you Samantha. He would always hold you that close and love you that dearly.

Dearly love the One who dearly loves you, so much that he died for you.

Jesus said, and this is the summary of the first 3 commandments we learned, “Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your strength, and with all your soul.”.

Always love the One who always loves you.

There’s a lot love waiting for you as you go through life. Unfortunately, there’s also a lot hurt waiting for you, a lot sin against you.

But God will never sin against you, never hurt you, never mislead you, never betray you, never let you down; others may, but Jesus won’t.

So love Him with all your heart; put your faith in him forever, and you won’t be disappointed; you’ll be wonderfully blessed!

Through the events of our Gospel today, Jesus teaches us what a blessing it is to believe.

The night he rose, Jesus appeared to his disciples to show them that He was indeed alive, as the women had said.

Thomas wasn’t with them at the time, and he didn’t believe them. He said, “Until I touch his hands where the nails went in, and his side, where the spear was thrust up into his heart, I won’t believe it.”

Although Thomas was plagued with doubt, Jesus didn’t just dismiss him as a lost cause. Instead, he took the time to appear to his disciples again, the next time when Thomas was there with them.

He said to Thomas, “See my wounds. Go ahead; touch them. Stop doubting and believe.” Then Thomas made his great confession, “My Lord… and my God!”

Basically that’s what you’ll say in your confirmation vows.

Jesus said, “Now you believe, because you’ve seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me, and yet believe.” That’s you; that’s us.

In our epistle today, Peter says, Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not see him now, you believe in him, and rejoice with a joy that’s inexpressible, and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Joy and salvation! That’s what faith in Christ brings to you.

I think of Romans 6:23, Adler, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We were born with sin, and sin brings death on us, but Jesus took our sins on himself, and died for them all. Then He rose, that we might have the free gift of eternal life.

It’s not something we can buy or earn; it given by grace. We can only believe and be happy to receive it.

We receive it in Baptism; our sins are washed away, and we’re given the power to believe.

Adler, Holly, Samantha, Jacob, live every day in the repentance and forgiveness of your sins, so that sin doesn’t take away your faith, and steal God’s free gift of life from you.  

You’re growing up a culture that isn’t necessarily friendly to the gospel. There’ll be more pressure put on you NOT to follow Christ, than to follow him.  

There may even be times when following Christ might seem like more trouble than it’s worth. That’s always been the devil’s lie. He would have you believe that the way of the world is a better than the way of the Word.

But remember, there are gifts in the Word that you can’t find in the world.

Whenever you feel discouraged in your faith, or in life, or in any way, remember God’s word for you in Isaiah 41:10, Samantha, Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

There will be troubles and temptations to contend with throughout your life, but believing in Jesus, you’ll never go through them alone.

As you go through life, and experience the joys, and face the troubles, know that you have nothing to fear, because God is near.

Faith keeps Him near, right here, in your heart.

Samantha, Jacob, Adler, Holly, in a few minutes, you’ll say “Yes” to God from your heart. “Yes, I believe.” It’s a defining moment in your life.

But it’s all in vain, if you fall away.

If you fall away, then what you’ve done today doesn’t mean a thing. Then you lose it all, all the blessings, and the free and priceless gifts of God.

So be strong to believe.

By yourself, that’s not possible. But with God, all things are possible.

You need God’s help to keep your promise to be faithful and true. You need His Word in your life; and you need the support of your family, and your spiritual family, your church.

The devil knows that if he can get you to disconnect from God’s Word, and from the fellowship of God’s people, then you become vulnerable. Then he has a chance, a good chance to direct your life away from Christ.

So that that doesn’t ever happen to you, always fill yourself with God’s Word, and pray every day. Colossians 3 says, Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly!

Remember your baptism and pray every day; then surround yourself with God’s people every Sunday.

Be sincere to confess your sins, and happy to rejoice in your forgiveness.

Feed your soul with heavenly food; the very body and blood of Christ, given and shed for you Holly, and for you Adler, and for you Jacob, and for you Samantha.  

You’ve been blessed to believe.  

Always love your Savior; put your hope in Him. He’s the best friend you’ll ever have. He can do things for you no one else can. He has gifts to give you no one else has, gifts from heaven.

May your heart always be filled with faith, and your life with the abundance of God’s blessings.

And may His peace, which passes understanding, forever guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, your Lord. Amen.