May 20, 2007		Seventh Sunday of Easter
	Preparation for Worship		"…so that they may be one…"  John 17:11
	In relation to the world and to the error within its own ranks, the church will necessarily be a confessing Church, making its own confession along with the fathers and mothers in the faith, but, for the very reason that it confesses with them, making its own confession and that also in the present. In other words, in obedience to the Lord and therefore in obedience to the Scriptures, it answers clearly and consistently and fearlessly the questions put to it from moment to moment. Karl Barth
Our worship today is the final Sunday in the Easter season. The Psalm for the day is Psalm 97 celebrating the righteousness and glory of God. Our litany of affirmation is taken from the Revelation to John professing how Christ is our Alpha and Omega, the bright morning star who nourishes us with the water of life. The central text for this morning’s worship is taken from Jesus’ great discourse to his disciples at the Last Supper in the gospel of John. Jesus emphasizes how his disciples are to have the same oneness Jesus experiences with God. The hymns “They’ll Know We are Christians by Our Love” and “We All Are One in Mission” reflect this unity in our lives together.      This is a special day as our confirmation students join the church after a period of study and reflection. Confirmation refers to the practice in the Presbyterian Church when young people reach a certain age they confirm the baptismal vows made by their parents on their behalf or become baptized if they have not been baptized before. The baptismal vows are as old as the church. These vows include a renunciation of the ways of death and an affirmation of our commitment to Christ. “The Christian life involves both a turning from sin and bondage to evil and a turning to Christ and the way of righteousness. It is to turn our backs on the kind of life that is destructive and to embrace the new life that is promised in the Gospel.” (Companion to the Book of Common Worship) The confession of faith we say together this morning was written by the confirmation class using as their basis the Brief Statement of Faith of the Presbyterian Church USA.