Later this morning, our church will welcome nine new members.
These young people have been working hard all year long to learn more about the faith that we hold together. And they will stand before the congregation at our second service this morning and will confirm and profess that faith for themselves.
While a few of them are newer additions to this congregation, most of these students were born into this family, were baptized right here at Immanuel, and have long been a part of this community of faith.
In our last class, we sat and read together from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. The same passage that we heard just a few minutes ago.
And we remembered that at the beginning of the confirmation year, we were different people, from different schools, different ages. But throughout the course of the year, Jesus broke down the barriers between us and created a new person out of our group.
So now they are no longer strangers.
And thanks to the amazing work of our mentors, they now have some connections across generations. Through their volunteer work this past year, they have joined Immanuel members serving at CFUM and Joppa and have helped lead worship and have shared their gifts of music with the church. They’ve come to committee meetings and have used their voices and ideas to help shape who we are and where we are going.
They belong to God’s household. This church, this community of faith that has Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
Throughout this Easter season, we have been thinking together about what it means to abide in God, to make a home in God, to interact with one another in this community of faith as family. And what I love about this passage from Ephesians is that it is yet another reminder that “Christ is building us into a place where God lives through the Spirit.”
We don’t always talk about the power of the Holy Spirit, but on a day like today, that Holy Spirit takes center stage.
On this day of Pentecost, fifty days after the resurrection, we remember that the Holy Spirit came upon those first disciples like tongues of fire.
It filled them, it transformed them, it gave them abilities of which they never knew they were capable!
That day, God turned those apostles into the foundation of God’s home.
And ever since then, God has been building a glorious temple.
Brick by brick.
Person by person.
Christ has been building us into a place where God lives through the Spirit.
In John’s gospel, Jesus was preparing to say goodbye to the disciples. He knew that the end of his earthly ministry had come, and he was trying to get them ready for what came next.
And Jesus promised that a Companion would come, the Spirit of Truth, who will not only testify about Jesus, but would pass on all of the things that Jesus himself had received from the Father.
He is telling the disciples, what was mine, is now yours, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
My ministry… it’s now yours.
My love… it’s now yours to give.
Healing power… it’s now yours to share.
The good news of the gospel… it’s now yours to tell.
The work of Jesus Christ continues through the disciples through the power of the Holy Spirit.
And friends… it continues through you as well.
This was not a one-time offer for a select group of individuals who lived a very long time ago.
No, Jesus is telling us that through the power of the Holy Spirit he will continue to live in every person who believes.
The church is not a physical place, a structure, where we gather once a week for an hour.
The church is a people, as that good old hymn reminds us, a people that are filled with the Holy Spirit and who testify to the good news of Jesus Christ and in whom God lives and moves and cares for the world.
As Emmanuel Lartey writes in his commentary, “The Holy Spirit connects the creative genius of the Father with the redemptive love of the Son and the courageous witness of the church.”
Bishop John V. Taylor describes the Spirit as the “Go-between God” – “connecting the past and future in a present full of meaning.”
This story does not exist solely in the past. It is not something we recite or remember.
This is OUR story.
It is still being written and conceived.
It is being lived out through our very actions in the world.
The Holy Spirit is present in this place, right here, right now, and Christ is building us into a place where God lives.
And just as you could probably name the spiritual forefathers and foremothers of your faith… Our confirmands look to so many of you as the foundation of their own faith journey.
You are the strong support upon which their generation stands.
You have taken what you have received from God through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit and you have shared it with them.
You’ve given your prayers.
You’ve shared your time.
You’ve provided food and encouragement and smiles.
You’ve said – “what’s mine is yours.”
And already, these confirmands are themselves part of this temple that God is building, giving support, lending insight, helping to form the faith of not only one another, but also their mentors.
There is one bad habit that we have as the church however.
We tend to think of confirmation as a graduation – the end of a journey – instead of the beginning.
And we tend to think that once we have joined the church, that’s it, we’re doing growing and learning and letting the Holy Spirit move us.
Or maybe we think that once we’ve been a teacher or a mentor, or once we’ve retired, or once we’ve reach a certain age, THEN is when we’ve reached the end of this journey and we can be done growing and letting God us us.
But friends…
No matter where you are in your faith journey…
No matter how young or old you are…
Whether this is the day of your confirmation or the 50th anniversary of your confirmation…
God still lives in you.
The ministry of Jesus is still yours to undertake.
The Holy Spirit still has work for you to do!
Your ministry might change through time… You might gain new skills and take on new challenges or you might retire from some things to let others have a voice…
But God is never done with you.
This community will always need your presence, your prayers, your gifts, your service, and your witness.
Christ is building us into a place where God lives through the Holy Spirit.
I believe that God lives here.
I believe that the power of the Spirit can help us do amazing things.
I believe that this church makes the love of Christ known in this world.
This is where God lives.
Thanks be to God. Amen.