This Sunday at 10:30, we will honor our graduates at St. John's. The message will be extemporaneous, and will be customized to the occasion and the individuals present. Each of the high school graduates will be given a copy of Machiavelli's The Prince, not to teach them how to act, but rather that they might know what to expect from others as they enter the academic and working world. They will each receive a vintage book that I personally selected for them to match their personality and immediate plans (this year the volumes include Cicero and Henry Van Dyke.) They will be admonished to take the study Bibles that they received at confirmation to school with them. And they will be asked to kneel that their families, friends, and elders of the church might lay hands on them and commission them as they go forth into the world to make their mark. The bulk of the message will be centered around a catechetical worksheet I have prepared, and with which they will be provided. It's purpose is to help them be sure of what their faith actually is, so that they might avoid the caricatures and mischaracterizations of faith that they will encounter at university- and that they might hold boldly to the faith once received. Here is that catechetical document for any who would care to read it:
The Christian’s Basic Knowledge
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts 4:12
*That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:9
*If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9
*And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 John 2:2-4
*Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38
*Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:54
The General Confession: An Act of Contrition
ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind In Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed
*I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
*And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
*I believe in the Holy Ghost: The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints: The Forgiveness of sins: The Resurrection of the body: And the Life everlasting. Amen.
The Summary of the Law
THOU shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the
first and great commandment. And the second is like unto
it; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two
commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
The Decalogue.
GOD spake these words, and said:
I. I am the Lord thy God; Thou shalt have none
other gods but me.
II. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor
the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the
earth beneath, or in the water under the earth; thou shalt
not bow down to them, nor worship them;
III. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in
vain;
IV. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath-day.
V. Honour thy father and thy mother;
VI. Thou shalt do no murder.
VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
VIII, Thou shalt not steal.
IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
X. Thou shalt not covet
The Comfy Words
Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith
unto all who truly turn to him.
COME unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden,
and I will refresh you. St. Matt. xi. 28.
So God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten
Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. St. John iii. 16.
Hear also what Saint Paul saith.
This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received,
That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
1 Tim. i. 15.
Hear also what Saint John saith.
If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the Propitiation for
our sins. 1 St. John ii. 1, 2.
May God bless our 2013 graduates as they enter the next phase of their lives. And may they so live in this life that in the world to come, they may have life everlasting. AMEN.
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