Promises, Promises Isaiah 41:10
In just a few moments Frannie May, I mean Franchesca Fedke will be confirmed. Historically catechumens, who had spent three years studying the scriptures with their pastors would be confirmed during the Easter Vigil service, held after sunset on Silent Saturday, or the day before Easter. Since it is not currently our custom to observe the Easter Vigil, Palm Sunday is a great alternative. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem “on a donkey on a colt on the foal of a donkey”[1] It seemed as if the entire city had come out to greet Him. Large crowds of people gathered around Jesus. They spread palm branches in his path and shouted praises to him “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”[2] Among those praising Jesus were children; young people like Franchesca. “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they cried. Jesus was not at all surprised to hear such young voices proclaiming praises. Jesus knew, “From the lips of children and infants you have [the LORD had] ordained praise.”[3]
Franchesca, in just a few moments I am going to give you the opportunity to proclaim your praises to the Son of David; to stand before the LORD God and your fellow members here at Messiah and promise to remain faithful to the LORD Jesus and His Word all the days of your life, promise to live a life that pleases God, value the Sacraments, and promise let your light shine before all people. But, before you make your promises, you should know that many have stood before the LORD God and their fellow believers and promised what you are about to promise. Yet sadly, far too many of them have, for at least the time being, failed to keep their promises.
Does anyone want to guess the percentage of young people who leave the church? It’s about 66%[4]. That’s the statistic for all Christian denominations. As Lutherans our numbers are slightly better. I couldn’t find the statistics for our specific brand of Lutheran but one like us estimated that 41% of their confirmands have left the church[5]. In 2024 our church body confirmed 3,445 young people (143 in the South Atlantic District). If we assume similar statistics that means 1,412 (58 SAD) of those confirmed have or will leave the church. The statistics are unsettling, but when you remember these statistics represent real people; when you realize 41 % of people like Franchesca end up leaving the church, the statistics are terrifying.
Why is this happening? If you ask young people, why they are leaving the church one of the most common reasons is they perceive the church as judgmental. Now you could argue the merits of this perception, but perhaps arguing about being judgmental is not the best course of action. Better, I think, to ask ourselves, why young people feel that way about the church. As Christians we are called upon to denounce false teaching wherever it might be found. However, we are also called upon to preach the gospel. I can’t help but wonder if we spend the majority of our time condemning what is wrong and not enough time proclaiming what is right. Perhaps that is why we are perceived as judgmental?
Another common reason young people give for leaving the church is lack of relevance. Again, we could argue there is nothing more eternally relevant than the Word of God, but if we aren’t demonstrating that relevance in our lives, it seems like hypocrisy. If we are not making the word of God a priority in our lives, if our interactions with others are not patterned after the word of God, if our choices and decisions are not guided by the Word of God, if our attitudes and feelings are not tempered by the Word of God, if we are not showing young people the relevance of God’s Word in our daily lives how can we be surprised when they fail to see the relevance in theirs?
One more common reason young people give for leaving the church is their church feels unfriendly. Here I think we are exempt, right?!? At least here at Messiah we are very friendly with each other. Many a Sunday the narthex is full of people laughing with each other even as the opening hymn is being sung. Even beyond Sunday service, many of us also choose to hang out socially. This friendly attitude extends to our youth. We raise money for them to go to camps and retreats and we send care packages to them when they are away at school. We are friendly… to each other. But the young people are also watching the way we treat the neighbor whose kids keep throwing mulch in our yards, and the motorists who cut us off in traffic, and the incompetent waitress at the restaurant. We are friendly to each other, but are we always friendly to everyone?
41% of confirmands end up leaving the church! Franchesca is about to come up here and promise the LORD God and all of us that she isn’t going to be one of them. It is not going to be an easy promise for her to keep. She is going to go to high school and experience an entirely new level of temptations. Then she is going to go off to college where she will be separated from her support system and surrounded by a worldview that is decidedly antichristian. All the while she will be fighting her own sinful nature that tempts her to break her promise.
If we don’t want Franchesca or any of our other confirmands to become a sad statistic perhaps, we should make some promises of our own. Perhaps we can promise to be a church that lets the gospel predominate in our preaching and teaching and also when young people come to us with questions and concerns. Perhaps we can promise to be a church that not only views the Word of God as relevant to our eternity but also shows the Word of God relevant in every aspect of our daily lives. Perhaps we could promise to be a church that is kind and considerate, patient and understanding, loving and supportive, not only with each other but with anyone and everyone we meet. Now, I can stand up here as the pastor of Messiah and say that we promise to be that kind of a church, but unless you the individual members are willing to do the same in your own lives, my promise won’t mean much to Franchesca or any of the confirmands who have come before her or will follow after her.
Franchesca, I know you want to keep the promises you are about to make, just as I know you, the members of Messiah, are eager to make promises that will help her and all our other confirmands keep their promises. It is not going to be easy for any of us to keep those promises, in fact it would be entirely impossible for us to keep those promises if it weren’t for Jesus. It is time to let the gospel predominate in this sermon and thanks to the verse Franchesca chose as her confirmation verse that’s easy to do. The verse Franchesca chose is Isaiah 41:10. In this verse the LORD God makes a few promises of His own. In this verse the LORD God makes promises to Franchesca and He makes promises to you, the members of Messiah. The LORD God says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
In this verse the LORD God promises to be “with you”. Here the LORD God is promising to be more than an observer who is simply aware of the struggles we face. He is further promising to be more than a companion who will commiserate or sympathize with us in our sufferings. When the LORD God promises to be with you, He is promising to be your comrade in arms, a fellow soldier in the fight. The LORD God is promising you are not alone in this fight. He is standing beside you as you face temptation, standing beside you as you are surrounding by an antichristian worldview, and standing beside you as the battle between sinner and saint is waged inside of you. He is also standing beside all of you all of you who seek to let the gospel predominate in your thoughts, words, and actions, standing beside all of you who battle to embrace the relevant Word of God in every aspect of your life, and standing beside all of you seeking to let your gentleness be evident to all.
Also, in this verse the LORD God promises to be “your God” Originally the LORD God spoke these words to the Israelites. In verses 8-9 He referred to them as the descendants of Abraham and called them His chosen people. But the Israelites are not the only ones to whom the LORD God speaks these words, He speaks them also to you. With these words the LORD God is reminding you who you are, or better, who through the waters of baptism, you have become. The LORD God attached a promise to the waters of baptism; He promised you a clean conscience before God, He promised you the ability to live a life that pleases God, and He promised to make you His own dear child who will one day inherit eternal life. With His promise to be your God the LORD God is reminding you that He is yours and you are His.
Further, in this verse the LORD God promises to “strengthen” and “help” you. Here the LORD God is promising to give you the ability to keep your promises. Notice He is not promising to make it easy on us. The LORD God wants us to have a little skin in the game; He wants you to strive and strain because striving and straining are essential to growth. You see it is when we are striving and straining that we turn to God first in prayer but ultimately to hear what He has to say to us. Through the scriptures God promises to feed our faith and equip us to face whatever this fallen world and the damned devil might throw at us. Through the Word of God proclaimed from a pulpit, taught in a classroom, or meditated upon in the home, the LORD God promises to give us the strength and help we need.
Finally, in this verse, the LORD God promises to “uphold” you with His “righteous right hand”. Here the LORD God is promising to forgive us when we fail to keep our promises. Any and every sin is a falling short and a reason to cast us into the depths of hell. But the LORD God promises to uphold us, despite our sins. He says He will do this upholding with His righteous hand. This is the hand that restores what was broken, cleanses that which was corrupted, corrects the wrong and makes it right. The righteous hand is able to do this restoring, cleansing, and correcting because it is also the LORD God’s right hand. The right hand is a symbol of power and strength. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. We might say, Jesus is the heavenly Father’s righteous right hand. The LORD God is able to forgive us when we fail because the hand that upholds us kept every promise He ever made. The LORD God is able to forgive us when we fail because the hand that upholds us has been pierced for our transgressions. The LORD God is able to forgive us when we fail because Jesus is His righteous right hand.
In this one verse the LORD God has made several promises to us. He has promised to fight with us, He has promised to claim us as His own dear children, He has promised to give us the ability to keep our promises, and He has promised to forgive us when we fail. In this verse the LORD God has made several promises to us. Now, Franchesca, it’s just about time for you to stand before the LORD God and your fellow believers here at Messiah and make your promises. Members of Messiah as she does, I pray you are making some promises of your own. As all these promises are made, you should be aware of the sad statistics concerning confirmands but do not let these statistics fill you with fear of cause you to be dismayed. For the LORD your God is with you. He will strengthen you and help you; He will uphold you with His righteous right hand. Because the LORD God has made promises to you, you, and all of you can boldly and confidently make your promises to Him. Amen
[1] Zechariah 9:9
[2] Matthew 21:9
[3] Psalm 8:2
[4] https://research.lifeway.com/2019/01/15/most-teenagers-drop-out-of-church-as-young-adults/
[5] https://www.lcms.org/young-adult