Sunday, September 16, 2007

The Beauty of the Knowledge of Holy Things

Tonight was my first confirmation class (it was supposed to start last week, but I was soo sick I had to cancel). We started talking about what confirmation means, how its connected to our Baptism, what faith means, what it means to be Lutheran, the first commandment, and how our Lutheran liturgical worship is a confession of and practice of the first commandment. It was a great time! The girls were like little sponges as we went through the Divine Service, just soaking up all the information. They loved it when I told them the why's and wherefore's of our worship and it was like a 100 watt bulb lighting up when they got that our worship is not just some subjective act of praise between us and God, that it is not something we do to please God, but rather a confession of our faith in the Holy Triune God and our life in the Cross.

Totally awesome!! We closed with Vespers. The girls were not very familiar with the service, but were very eager to learn more. We went through a little of what Vespers means and its significance in the prayer life of Christians. They were a little nervous, but very eager to learn the chanting. I think after a couple of more weeks they will have it down. They were also fascinated by the mention of incense. They liked the idea of such an "interactive" service, and when I explained the significance of the incense, how it ascends as a sweet smell like our prayers before God, they were delighted. So, we used in in Vespers. I would have never guessed I would have heard a 7th grade girl say that Vespers was "fun," but there you go!

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