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Confirmation Faith Statements As I do each year, I’d like to share with you the faith statements of those who affirmed their baptism on Sunday, Oct. 28th. I do so with their permission. –Pastor Lynne Hello, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Thera, and I will be talking about how my life is better with God in it. Well God has always been in my life, so I don’t really know anything different. Right now, I’m on a journey with God, since I haven’t always been the greatest person, so he is guiding me onto the right path to become a better person. There have been times in my life that have been very difficult to overcome, but God helped me and is still helping me through the rough times. I think if I didn’t have God in my life, overcoming those obstacles would have been even harder, and who knows if I would have gotten over them by now. I’m so glad and thankful that my family has been taking me to church and taught me about God starting from a young age, so God could help me on my lifelong journey to end up being a very kind person. I have met many people that don’t believe in God and they seem to be glummer and haven’t overcome the obstacles in their lives. Yet, if people could just see that God is real and could help them overcome all the difficult stuff in life maybe this world would be a better place. Just looking back at all the wonderful things God has done leaves me in awe. He is a miracle worker and hopefully one day I will receive a miracle of my own from God. I don’t know what yet but eventually I will know. When I think about all the people God has helped in the past I realize those people weren’t the best people in the world, but God saw something in them and He helped them, so that gives me faith. I don’t expect to become a brand new and better person over night, but I know he will help it happen soon. Thank you for listening and helping me on my journey through faith. -Thera Goertzen “With God all things are possible.’’ A verse from Matthew 19:26. Because I believe in Jesus I know with God all things are possible. I know this because I’m standing right here, before you all, even after my health issues recently. I still know that with God my family and I will continue to keep going through all the difficult times there may be. Instead of giving up and stopping when times got tough I found God’s love and God’s strength, but most importantly, I found my faith. Recently there’ve been times that I thought I couldn’t get through, where I was hurting so bad I wanted to give up. God has been by my side when I thought no one else was. God didn't give up on me when I thought everyone had. My life is different with my faith (being a believer) than someone who isn’t a believer because I will always have that light in the dark, that sense of direction through life and that helping hand. Some non-believers have asked me “how do you know God’s there if you can’t see him?” And I respond with “I know God’s there because I can feel him in my heart and I know he’s there guiding me and shaping me into the person I’m becoming.” I’m thankful for St. Luke's Zion congregation and Pastor Lynne’s support through my confirmation journey. I look forward to continuing my faith as I move forward into adulthood. In doing this with God by my side I know that all things are possible. -Breazy Diduck-Wilson Ashley went “off script” and told about a time when faith was very difficult for her. She talked about a really good friend who had helped her through some tough times. However, then her friend moved away. Ashley was mad at God and asked God why this had to happen. It was a really low point for her. However, on a day when she was surrounded by other youth and grandparents and church members, she realized that there were other means of support. God is there. Brothers and sisters in Christ are there. Members of the family of God are there. For we are all woven together into God’s family. If her friend had not moved away, she might not have learned this, and so now there are tears of happiness. -Ashley Schoettle, as summarized by Pastor Lynne In Christ, Pastor Lynne Hutchison |
