When is it Time to Grow Up?

Here is a thought provoking video. It is a comparison of two pastors.


(Also posted on my blog where you will find more about the source of the video)

As we move into the new school year at Immanuel and the beginning of another year of confirmation, I thought I'd explain why confirmation is so important. In our Confirmation Handbook, I wrote,

Confirmation fulfills Mt. 28:19ff. The Lord commanded us to baptize and teach, not just baptize. As we raise our children, Immanuel offers the teaching portion through the Divine Services, bible studies, Sunday School, VBS, youth program, our grade school, and confirmation.

Confirmation is a summary of everything your children have been taught since their baptisms. In their baptisms they received their faith, forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Since then, the Lord has been preparing them to join in with all believers in the Feast of Victory, the Lord’s Supper.

Your children are growing up. They are on their way.

Of course, there is a place and time for fun and silliness. Those of you who know me, know how much I enjoy being silly. But then, there is a time to grow up and take seriously our actions and their consequences. The same goes for our Christian faith and life in the Church.

My objective with our confirmands is to teach them God's Word and help you help them to grow up to be faithful Lutherans. Just as all of our education gives us the tools and information into which we grow, so it is with our Christianity. What they will learn is what Christ taught us and commands us parents to hand down to our children.

Will they "understand" everything? Of course not.

However, they will learn a lot. Just as we didn't fully understand why 2+2=4 was so important until we got our first paycheck, so too, do we continue to grow and learn how important our repentance and being forgiven is.

What confirmation does is summarize what it means to be a Christian and participate in the holy gifts of God, the sacraments.

The Word, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper become more and more meaningful and "understandable" with every crisis, every tribulation, every moment of suffering that we all face.

As parents we are preparing our children so that we can let them go and learn the easy and hard lessons in life. As Christian parents, we want them to learn that when they sin, God's grace and mercy brings to them the forgiveness for their sins through faith in Christ. That is the Christian life.

Our children will not automatically grow up when they get confirmed. But they will certainly know that they are members of the Bride of Christ, whose Groom always forgives them and continually calls them home to church every week. And they will certainly know what Church is and what Church isn't.

We all continue to "grow up" until we reach our full maturity in heaven. Then we will be completely "grown up."

Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Sell

ILCSW Confirmation Handbook 2010-2011 - Now Available

It's here! We developed a handbook for Immanuel's 2010-2011 confirmation class.

We worked on it over the summer and I'm sure there are a few "glitches" in it. Please let Pr. Sell know if you see anything that needs fixing.

Below is a listing of the Table of Contents.

We will hand this out at the ILS Open House and at the first parent meeting on September 8, 7:30.

You can download it from the link on this site as a "pdf" or click here.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Pr. Sell.

Why use a catechism? Isn't the Bible Enough?

For a simple and short (2 min.) video answering this question, click here. These short videos are answers to a series of questions from students across the country who are in a theological training program. This video is by Professor Kolb.

Professor Kolb (Concordia, St. Louis) and professor Rast (CTS, Fort Wayne) have both been pastors before they began teaching at the sems. Both participate in the entire series.

Pr. Sell

Confirmation Class for 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade for 2010-2011

Confirmation begins September 8th, Wed., from 6-8pm. Confirmation will start one year sooner, in 6th grade.

Why start confirmation in 6th grade?

1. We would like to move confirmation away from a "graduation" feel associated with 8th grade.
2. This year, teaching the 6th and 7th graders will provide their 8th grade year for more in depth study with issues before they move on to high school.
3. Getting into a better practice of communing weekly through 8th grade before the many adjustments of high school arrive. (We are also talking through moving confirmation class to 5th & 6th grade beginning in fall 2011 and transition to confirmation for all Immanuel's children after 6th grade. However the plans are not final for that.)

What is the plan for being confirmed?

1. This year's 8th grade will be confirmed on Palm Sunday 2011.
2. This year's 7th grade will be confirmed on Palm Sunday 2012.
3. This year's 6th grade will be confirmed after their second year of confirmation in 2012. That means for one year, we will confirm two classes.

What is our objective?

1. This year we set the target for Immanuel to confirm her children after 7th grade. (Ideally, for the best instruction possible, the final step of this transition will have all children confirmed after 6th grade, which would give us two years of teaching and youth work targeted at a broader biblical education.)
2. Two years of confirmation class.
3. Our children are well prepared for the rest of their lives as Lutherans.

Please feel free to contact Pr. Sell or Pr. Auringer if you have any concerns or questions.

Pr. Sell

Confirmation Begins September 8, 2010

September 8 First Day of Confirmation 

• Class begins at 6pm.
• All 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are invited.
• AT 7:30pm all parents and confirmands MUST attend the initial orientation. This way, when we are done with orientation, the parents won't have to come back to pick up the children. We'll be done for the night. 
• Please bring confirmation fee $10. 
• Filled out Confirmand Information Form, which you can submit by e-mail. 
• Every student must have an ESV bible and Luther's Small Catechism (ESV), the new maroon colored one. This way all the pages on the homework will match the readings.  
• Catechisms can be purchased at the school's Open House, August 16th and at the first class (September 8) for $14.  
• We encourage each student to invest in The Lutheran Study Bible. It will be a very valuable study guide for the rest of their lives. You can look them over at CPH. They are expensive and they would make better confirmation gifts. However, we will also have ESV Bibles available for $9.

Pr. Sell

Welcome to Immanuel's Confirmation Blog

Hi Everyone!

We had a great year of confirmation and the confirmands did so well on Questioning Sunday and Confirmation Sunday. I'm so proud of all of the confirmands, especially moms and dads who kept up with everything throughout the year.

This blog will be the "go to" place for next year's confirmation class. From here, you'll be able to do homework, get the assignments, track service hours and link to all of our information about confirmation.

So, here we go again as we begin our planning for the 2010-2011 confirmation class.

Pr. Sell