We will participate together today in the sacrament of communion, and we will celebrate a commitment made in the waters of baptism, and welcome a new member into the fold of our extended church family.

There are many others celebrating today as well, for Friday evening was the beginning of the Jewish Holiday of Rosh Hashanah.

Rosh Hashanah is widely known and celebrated as the New Years Day of the Jewish calendar, but actually Rosh Hashanah has a fourfold meaning - It is the Jewish New Year, the Day of Judgment, the Day of Remembrance, and the Day of Shofar Blowing.

As for a Day of Judgment,
Jews worldwide examine their past deeds and asks for forgiveness for their sins.

As for a Day of Shofar Blowing,
The Shofar (the rams horn) is blown in temple to herald the beginning of the 10 day period known as the High Holy Days.

As for a Day of Remembrance,
Jews review the history of their people and pray for Israel.

And of course it is New Year's Day,
It is celebrated with holiday greeting cards, special prayers, and festive and sweet foods (to ensure sweetness in the New Year).

Rosh Hashanah is observed the first and second day of the seventh month of the Jewish calender, Tishri. Coming in the Fall season of the western calendar, usually in September.

In Israel Rosh Hashanah is the only holiday kept for 2 days as it is considered too important to be observed for only 24 hours. Both days are considered one long day of 48 hours.

The traditions of Rosh Hashanah are simple as the only commandment specified for the holiday is the blowing of the shofar. In temple the shofar is blown on Rosh Hashanah to herald the beginning of the period known as the High Holy Days. It is believed that on Rosh Hashanah the destiny of all mankind is recorded by G-d in the Book of Life. After Rosh Hashanah services, as the congregants leave the synagogue they say to each other...

"May you be inscribed in the Book of Life"

On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, after the afternoon services, Jews visit a body of water or pond, containing live fish*, to symbolically "cast away" their sins into the river.

*The fish's dependence on water symbolizes the Jews dependence on God, as a fish's eyes never close, God's watchful eyes never cease.

---

The Christian religion was born out of the Jewish religion, for Jesus was a Jew, and the New Testament writers were Jews.

And as you can see from our brief history lesson, the Jewish religion is full of tradition, symbolism, ordinances, and observance of special days and practices.

The reason for all of this is make sure that they continue focus on God and remember all God has done for them.

Many of the Jewish ordinances and practices have not been carried over into the Christian faith because the Good News was preached to the Gentiles, and the Jewish laws and customs were not forced upon them. Also, the message Jesus brings to the world is that, we are reconciled with God through Jesus, and what he did for us at the cross, and not by keeping the law and observing religious traditions.

But in a similar way, the Christian faith developed it's own process for keeping our lives centered on God. It is a continual process of being "Restored Though Our Faith".

In addition to prayer, and meditating on God's Word, our church has established a set of ordinances or sacraments to help us to grow in the Lord, and keep our lives focused on the Living God.

Our church has 8 ordinances or sacraments:
1. Baby Blessings
2. Baptism
3. Confirmation
4. Communion
5. Marriage
6. Ordination
7. Administration to the Sick
8. Evangelist Blessing

Today we will be participating together in two church ordinances, that of communion and that of the confirmation of Scott Lavery.

It is important to note, that all of these ordinances are biblically based.

But there are two ordinances or sacraments that are somewhat unique to our church, but they are in fact based upon what we find in the Bible.

Scriptural basis for administration to the Sick:

(James 5:13-20)
13 Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for the next three and a half years! 18 Then he prayed for rain, and down it poured. The grass turned green, and the crops began to grow again. 19 My dear brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back again, 20 you can be sure that the one who brings that person back will save that sinner from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.

Scriptural basis for the process of the call to the priesthood, which results in the sacrament of ordination:

(Hebrews 5:14)
4 And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He has to be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was.

Now, you have heard me using the words sacrament and ordinance interchangeably. That is because there is a fine line between the two, so many times they are referred to by either name. Sometimes they are referred to as the "Sacramental Ordinances".

But the difference is this:
The ordinance is identified by the symbols, practices, and ceremonies surrounding the event. By this I mean the bread and wine used communion… the water used in baptism, the ring used in marriage, the oil used in administration, and even the laying on of the hands during confirmation are all symbolic of the actual experience which occurs between one person and almighty God.

The sacrament is that actual experience. When the physical substances and activities of these symbolic ordinances reveal truth to people in such a way as to change their attitudes, inspire their intellects, and create within them a new standard of values, ...the ordinance has become a "sacrament".

And that is why you see so much time and planning going into the form and preparation of the ordinance... it is so that the recipient can experience the sacrament.

Now, I want caution you by pointing out that it is possible to receive an ordinance, without experiencing the sacrament. That can occur if we approach God without personal preparation, prayer, and understanding of what is taking place.

I've asked Eric Vogelsang and Joanna Wardrop to help me demonstrate what I mean. If you remember, Jesus taught us how to pray by teaching us The Lord's Prayer, but we are also told not to always repeat the same prayer over and over, because the experience will eventually be lessened or even lost.

Skit from the Burning Bush:
Scene - Girl Praying and God Speaking begin from opposite sides of the back of the sanctuary. God Speaking is wearing a red blanket draped around his shoulders. As the dialogue unfolds, Girl Praying begins moving towards the front of the sanctuary. As she moves toward God, he moves toward her, until at the end of the dialogue, they are standing side by side and God wraps her in the blanket from his shoulders, and the two walk up the center isle toward the back of the sanctuary.

If God Should Speak During The Lord's Prayer

---

And that's what happens. ...That's what happens when we mean what we say, and do. And that's what happens when the ordinance becomes a sacrament. It means something to us, and it means something to God. It's important. It's special.

If The Lords Prayer is our only prayer, we need to think about the words we are saying.

In the same way, we need to approach the ordinances or sacraments of the church with careful planning, good intention, and understanding.

I am confident that we are all approaching the communion table today with preparation to meet God.

I am confident that Scott understands his baptism experience, and that he is prepared to approach God today, to be confirmed into the Body of Christ, and into our church. And we as his church family, stand ready to welcome him, and support him, in his journey with God and his most holy Son, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.