Podcasts about confirmation sunday

Confirmation Sunday 2026 - Speaker: Adam Gin - Speaker: Sermons - Sermon Series: - Watch Online: https://thenewcom.com/sermons/2026-06-21/confirmation-sunday-2026/

In this sermon, Gary explores Jesus' teaching in Luke 18:15–30 that the kingdom of God is received like a little child. Through the contrast between the children welcomed by Jesus and the rich ruler who walked away, Gary shows that a relationship with God cannot be earned through status, achievements, wealth, or religious effort. Instead, it is a gift made possible through Jesus' death and resurrection, received by those who humbly trust in him.

What do we owe God when life is good? In this Confirmation Sunday message, “Making Vows in New Canaan,” we explore Psalm 116 alongside Moses' warnings to Israel as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. While hardship often drives people toward God, abundance can tempt us to forget the source of our blessings. The sermon reflects on the meaning of New Canaan's name and its connection to the biblical land flowing with milk and honey. Against that backdrop, the Psalmist asks a profound question: “What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me?” The answer is found in remembering God through faithful living and keeping the promises we have made. As confirmands affirm their baptismal vows, the entire congregation is invited to remember its own commitments—to follow Christ, pursue justice, grow in faith, and participate in the life of the church. Because faith is sustained not by occasional inspiration, but by daily practices of remembering.

A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli with Foundry UMC, May 31, 2026, First Sunday after Pentecost, Confirmation Sunday. "We Know Who We Are"series. Texts: Genesis 1:26-2:3; Ephesians 2:4–10 There are some words in scripture that change everything. Not because they're long or unusual. But because they turn the whole story in a different direction. Today's passage contains two of those words: “But God.” Before we can appreciate those words, we need to know what precedes them. In the first 3 verses of Ephesians 2, Paul reminds the church in Ephesus of their old ways of being. The direct translation from the Greek is convoluted and confusing, but Eugene Peterson's interpretation from The Message helps us get the point: “It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live…We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us.” And then…. “But God…” The old story gets interrupted. It moves in a new direction. Which is good news because most of us know something about stories that seem stuck in a rut. Maybe you've carried shame for something you did years ago. Maybe you've convinced yourself that some part of your life is beyond repair. Maybe you've spent so long trying to prove your worth that you've forgotten who you are underneath all the striving. Maybe you've watched the news lately and wondered whether cruelty and greed and fear are simply winning. The story goes one way. But God… That little phrase shows up all over scripture. Human beings build a tower to heaven. But God. Sarah is too old. But God. The sea is in front of them. Pharaohs army is behind them. But God. The disciples lock themselves in a room because they are terrified. But God. The cross stands on a hill outside Jerusalem. But God. Mary Magdalene despaired at the tomb. But God. Again and again, scripture insists that God is never limited by the stories we tell ourselves about what is possible. What a gift. Because one of the stories many of us carry is the story that we have to earn our way. This is so ingrained in our culture and mindset. We learn that story early. We learn it from grades and report cards. From performance reviews. From comparisons. From all the subtle ways the world teaches us to keep score. We absorb these lessons so deeply that eventually we begin to assume that God works this way too. God helps those who help themselves. God rewards the faithful. God blesses the deserving. God keeps score. But this is precisely the story Paul is trying to undo. Our temptation to slide into the world's quid pro quo economy isn't new. And in these few verses, Paul takes pains to refute it—not with an abstract argument, but by showing us, phrase by phrase, who God is and how grace works. So let's move through the text together and listen deeply to the word. Notice where Paul begins. “But God, who is rich in mercy...” Rich in mercy. Before Paul says anything about us, he says something about God. After describing the sorry, lost state of humanity, Paul doesn't say, “But we finally figured it out.” He doesn't say, “But we repented.” He doesn't say, “But we became more faithful.” He doesn't say, “But we got serious about our spiritual lives.” He says, “But God.” The turning point of the story is not a change in us. It is a revelation of who God is. “But God, who is rich in mercy...” Paul could have said simply, “God is merciful.” He doesn't. He says God is plousios (πλούσιος)—in the Greek: rich, abundant, lavish—in mercy. Possessing more mercy than we can imagine. This is so important! Because most of us have been trained to think in terms of scarcity. There's never enough time or money or security or opportunity. There is not enough to go around. There are only so many slices of any pie. And if we're not careful, we start to imagine that God's resources are limited too. Limited patience. Limited forgiveness. Limited love. Limited welcome. Only so many second chances. As though mercy were something God has to budget carefully. As though grace might run out. As though God were standing over us with a ledger, keeping score, calculating whether we've finally earned another chance. But Paul says, “Nope. That's not who God is.” Mercy is not scarce in God. Mercy is abundant in God. God's mercy is not pie—and there's not limited supply! Mercy flows from God as naturally as light from the sun. And lest we miss the point, Paul piles on another phrase: “Out of the great love with which God loved us.” It's almost as though he can't find enough words—mercy, love, grace, kindness. The language keeps overflowing because Paul is trying to describe a reality that exceeds ordinary human calculation. The world understands transaction. But God operates through grace. And perhaps that is why grace is so difficult for us to receive. We know how to earn. We know what it takes to achieve. We know the way to keep score. Many of us have spent our entire lives trying to prove that we are worthy of love, worthy of belonging, worthy of respect, worthy of a place at the table. And some versions of Christianity have reinforced exactly that impulse. Behave yourself and God will bless you. Believe the right things and God will reward you. Get your life together and God will finally accept you. Or the flip side: Mess up and God will punish you. Doubt and God will reject you. Fail and God will turn away. But Paul will have none of it. “By grace you have been saved.” Grace! We are not saved by following the rules or checking the boxes or through achievement or merit. The story isn't about keeping score or about earned interest and love averages. “By grace you have been saved.” Grace. One of the most beautiful insights of the United Methodist movement is that grace starts earlier than we think it does. We tend to imagine that grace begins the moment we become aware of God. But John Wesley said no. Grace was already there. We think grace begins when we decide to follow Jesus. Wesley said no. Grace was already there. We think grace begins when we repent. Wesley said no. Grace was already there. Before faith, grace. Before understanding, grace. Before discipleship, grace. Before baptism, grace. Before confirmation, grace. Long before we know how to pray, grace is already making a way toward us. Long before we know God's name, God knows ours. United Methodists call this prevenient grace—the grace that goes before. The grace that is always preceding us, drawing us, inviting us, wooing us toward life. And I don't know about you, but I find that to be astonishingly good news. Because it means that the story of faith begins not with our searching for God, but with God's refusal to stop searching for us. But Paul isn't finished. He goes further, saying God “made us alive together with Christ.” Alive—not merely forgiven or a little nicer. Alive. This is resurrection language. It is creation language. It's the language of new possibility. This strikes me as especially powerful in a world where so many people are exhausted and carrying grief. Where so many people are overwhelmed by the state of the world and struggling simply to keep their hearts open. Paul speaks a pastoral word into our lives, assuring us that grace is not merely about doing more today to get into heaven someday. Grace is the power that makes us alive right now. Alive to God. Alive to beauty. Alive to joy. Alive to compassion. Alive to possibility and hope. And there is something else here that often gets lost in translation. Paul doesn't say that God made me alive. He says God made us alive. The language throughout this passage is communal. Every “you” in the text is plural. It's not about me; it's about we. Which means the story is not simply about God saving isolated individuals. It is about God creating a people. A community. A new humanity. People shaped not by fear, scarcity, or competition, but rather shaped by grace, abundance, and love. Today, a group of young people will stand before us to profess their faith. And what moves me every year is that confirmation is not fundamentally about private belief. It is about belonging. These young people are not simply saying, “I believe.” They are saying, “This is my people. This is the community in which I will learn what it means to follow Jesus.” And we are saying, “We need you. Your voice, your gifts, your questions, your presence will continue to shape who we become.” Because grace doesn't merely gather individuals. Grace creates a people. Paul addresses this in what he says next. “We are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works...” The Greek word translated here as “what God has made” is poiēma (ποίημα). It's where we get the word poem. You could translate it: We are God's handiwork. God's artistry. God's creative work. And suddenly the echo of Genesis comes into view. The God who formed creation, breathed life into dust, and called it good is still creating, still forming, still calling beauty forth from chaos and light from darkness. We spend so much of our lives trying to make ourselves. Trying to prove ourselves. Trying to justify ourselves. Trying to become enough. Paul says we are not self-made. We are God-made. We are God's handiwork, God's poem. God's art. God's ongoing project. And we are already enough—even as we keep learning and growing. Now, at this point, some people get nervous. If grace is this abundant, if salvation is truly a gift, if God's love comes before we earn it and before we deserve it, then what keeps us from simply doing whatever we want? Paul is clear that we don't earn our salvation. And he is equally clear that God created us for good works. Good works are not the cause of salvation, they are the fruit of salvation, evidence that grace is alive and active within us. Or to put it another way: God doesn't love us because we do good things. We begin to do good things because we have encountered the love of God. Grace is not an excuse to do nothing. Grace is an invitation to participate in what God is doing in the world. Grace is bigger than we think. It is not merely a drop of help when we're struggling or a nudge of encouragement when we're discouraged. It is not a small boost for the spiritual journey. It is the power of God's mercy and love constantly interrupting the stories that diminish life and opening up new possibilities we could never create on our own. And because grace is bigger than we think, it keeps interrupting the stories that tell us life can only go one way. The world says there isn't enough. But God is rich in mercy. The world says you have to earn your place. But God saves by grace. The world says shame gets the last word. But God is great in love. The world says what is dead is dead. But God makes us alive. The world says you're on your own. But God makes us alive together. The world says this is all there is. But God is still creating. Still shaping. Still calling life from dust. Still making all things new. The story was going one way. But God. Thanks be to God. Amen. + + + Keep a daily grace log. At the end of each day, ask: Where did I experience a “But God” moment today? Where did grace go before me? Where did mercy, love, beauty, hope, community, or possibility interrupt the story I expected?

Sermon from Confirmation Sunday at Church of Our Saviour in Jacksonville, FL.

(Genesis 1:26-2:3 & Matthew 28:16-20) Its helps to have an instruction manual when you are trying to do something, but much of life has no instructions! Jesus has some directions unlike anything that came before it (Confirmation Sunday).

In Matthew 28, Jesus sends the disciples forth to the Great Commission, to go and make disciples of all the nations.

May 31, 2026

This week is Confirmation Sunday! Come celebrate all that God has done and continues to do in the life of our students who have journeyed through the confirmation experience this year. This is not only a huge step in these students’ faith journey, but an opportunity to celebrate God's faithfulness as a church. See you Sunday! The post Confirmation 2026 appeared first on Pine Lake Covenant Church.

Preacher: Bishop Kevin Robertson Preaching Passage: Matthew 29:16-20 Sermon Series: Confirmation Sunday

Focus Texts: Joshua 1:1-9 Matthew 6:25-34 5/17/2026 Confirmation Sunday

Confirmation Sunday | 5.17.2026

9:00am service: Noah Smith, Kyle Zidlicky, Quinn Kurcz, Aliana Rasavongxay, Lawson Kay, Brock Bradley, Grady Wood 10:30am service: Grace Magnusson, Owen Fitch, Lydia Stromberg, Jacob Tarnowski, Lauren Whitehead, Nathan Dalton, Austin Kempe

By Glenda Curry

Pastor Joe speaks to the confirmands about living a Christian life, anchored in the Truth of Jesus Christ.

Today was Ascension Sunday but also Confirmation Sunday. We celebrage those who witness Christ's word and work in the world.

Welcome to First Presbyterian Church, Columbus, Georgia! We hope you will be blessed by the ministry of the Word through our services! Click here to view the Concise service video on Youtube

Welcome to First Presbyterian Church, Columbus, Georgia! We hope you will be blessed by the ministry of the Word through our services! Click here to view the Concise service video on Youtube

Welcome to First Presbyterian Church, Columbus, Georgia! We hope you will be blessed by the ministry of the Word through our services! Click here to view the Concise service video on Youtube

t. Andrew Lutheran Church, Farmersville, OhioMay 10, 2026 Sixth Sunday of Easter, Confirmation Sunday and Mother's DayAnnouncementsPreludeOpening Hymn - "I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry" - WOV #770Apostolic GreetingKyrieHymn of Praise - "Glory to God"Prayer of the DayFirst Lesson - Acts 17:22-31Second Lesson - 1 Peter 3:13-22Song - "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)" (Matt Redman)Gospel - John 14:15-21Statement of Faith by the ConfirmandService of Affirmation of Baptism of Drew BellOfferingOffertory - "Create in Me"Prayers of the Church and Lord's PrayerBenedictionExodus Hymn - "O Jesus, I Have Promised" - LBW #503DismissalFor the video version of today's service, please visit https://youtu.be/o7DIw8KRcO8May God bless you now and always!

As we continue to celebrate the fifty days of Easter, today's gospelincludes Jesus' promise that he goes to prepare a place for hisfollowers in his Father's house. Our baptism commissions us to shareJesus' mission in the world. In words and deeds we bear witness to therisen Christ—our way, our truth, our life.Readings:Acts 7:55-60, Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 and John 14:1-14

Confirming our faith in Jesus is just the beginning of a wild and wonderful journey of learning to follow him. Paul did not become a missional man of God overnight, but over time.

Word & Sermon Weekly – Fifth Sunday of Easter Confirmation Sunday – May 3, 2026 Acts 6:1–9; 7:2a, 51–60 1 Peter 2:2–10 John 14:1–14 Learn more about Zion Lutheran Church and the Christian faith, by subscribing to this podcast, and joining us next Sunday by visiting www.zionhiawatha.org

Loving Jesus with Our Lives – Today is Confirmation Sunday, when youth who have been participating in the Confirmation Class are confirmed as members of the church. As we have been doing for a few weeks, we are following the Fourth Gospel, and our scripture passage for today is the story from John 21 wherein three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. The sermon today is given by the Rev. Maggie Jarrell, our Pastor of Children and Families. This encounter of Peter with Jesus wipes away the three denials of Peter in that earlier scene. This underscores the foundation of love as Jesus. Maggie says this scene reminds her of her life's reliance on checklists. But following Jesus can't be reduced to a checklist. God offers love in abundance, and we don't have to earn God's grace. The words of Jesus in this scene with Peter open the door for us to love our neighbors with our lives, being open to being moved by the Holy Spirit. Maggie offers some suggestions for how to feed the lambs, but she cautions us not to reduce them to a checklist.

Steve Schibsted, Confirmation Sunday, Piedmont Community Church

Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, which this year is also Confirmation Sunday. The Scripture passages are II Timothy 3:16-17 and II Peter 3:15b-18.

Pastor Paul Pett's sermon from Good Shepherd Sunday, April 26, 2026, the Fourth Sunday of Easter and Confirmation Sunday.Subscribe to our Sermon Audio Podcast on your favorite podcast app.Tap or click the Sermon Study Material link and take a deeper dive into Pastor Pett's message.

This weekend is Confirmation Sunday as we continue the Christian practice of almost 2,000 years, of receiving people who have been instructed in the truths of the Christian faith into communicant fellowship of the Church by profession of that faith.  The young people who will be making a public profession of their faith this weekend chose the following hymn as their Confirmation hymn. Hymn 784 in the Worship Supplement was written by Julia von Hausmann, and is entitled: "Lord, Take My Hand and Lead Me." It is certainly appropriate for that setting, and also serves as a reminder of how appropriate it is for each of us in our lives of faith.  One of the incredible aspects of the choice of this hymn is how well it incorporates all four of the confirmation passages for our confirmands. Those passages are: Psalm 23 - The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Proverbs 3:5-7 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;  Thanks be to the LORD, who makes these promises to these young people and as He continues to fulfill the promises that He has made to each of us through the work of Jesus!

Confirmation Sunday April 12 2026 In this episode Middle School Director Jordan Black and High School Director Andrew Randoll host a Q&A discussion with 5 guests 'I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when peaople wil not tolerate sound doctrin, but according to their own desires, will mulitiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn aside to myths. But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. ' 2 Timothy 4:1-5

John 15:12-17 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Confirmation Sunday, January 11, 2026. "What can be shocking today is when realize that Jesus wants us to be his friend. The kind of friend who speaks for him, acts on his behalf, and bears his love into the world even when it is uncomfortable, inconvenient, or risky. It means going to the places he went, welcoming the people he welcomed. It means not embarrassing his reputation by speaking and acting in selfish, cruel, unkind, or prejudicial ways and then pretending that this is what Jesus would do. "I want you to think about that, because Jesus is asking you to be his friend." Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/ 

Advent 2025

In our Confirmation message from November 16, 2025, Mary Beth Ashely Davis shares with us from Isaiah 65: 1-5.  God is making all things new, including us.  This isn't a future hope, but a present reality! 

Dr. Ben Mayfield interviews confirmands.

Newly elected Bishop Jeff Bailey preaches from the Gospel of Luke on the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost.

DateAugust 17, 2025SynopsisIn this service, we witnessed The Local Church officially becoming a United Methodist congregation through a powerful chartering ceremony. Bishop Connie Shelton illuminated how God's creative work continues through local communities, reminding us that we are all "co-creators" with the Divine in bringing healing and wholeness to our neighborhoods. The service celebrated both the formal constitution and the confirmation of seven young people, embodying the church's core message that everyone belongs and is beloved. From Genesis 1:1-5 to Ezekiel 17:22-24, scripture grounded this celebration of new beginnings and inclusive community.About The Local ChurchFor more information about The Local Church, visit our website. Feedback? Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear it. Email Brent at brent@thelocalchurchpbo.org.To invest in what God's doing through The Local Church and help support these podcasting efforts and this movement of God's love, give online here.

Adam Cooper Confirmation Sunday: So Your Joy May Be Complete John 15:1-5, 8-13, 16-17, John 14:33, 15:11, 16:1, 4, 33 website: jacobswell.church facebook: jacobswellkc twitter: @jacobswell