Sermon Note: Confess

Introduction

We’re three weeks into Our Baptismal Vows, our series walking through the promises of the United Methodist baptismal covenant one Sunday at a time. So far we’ve renounced the powers that diminish us and accepted the freedom God gives us to resist evil and injustice. The third promise is confession: to confess Jesus Christ as Savior, to put our whole trust in his grace, and to serve him as Lord, in union with the Church he has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races. To confess is to say out loud who we belong to, and to allow this confession to change the way we live in the world.

Near Caesarea Philippi, a place crowded with shrines to other gods and named for Caesar, Jesus asks his disciples who the crowds say he is, and then makes it personal: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answers for them all: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Writing later to a church under pressure in Rome, Paul reminds them that if God is for us, no power in life or death can come between us and God’s love. Reading these together, we’re invited to hear Jesus’ question for ourselves and consider what we’re ready to say.

Illustration Video

Why This Video?

Through the whole story, the iron giant is told what he is by the people around him: a weapon, a machine, something to be feared and destroyed. Here, with a missile falling toward the town, he answers the question himself. He says goodbye to the boy who loves him, flies up toward the warhead, and remembers: you are who you choose to be. His final word, “Superman,” is his own answer to who he has decided to be. He gives his own life for the sake of people who cannot save themselves.

Video Discussion Questions

1. As the missile falls, most everyone runs or braces for the end, and the giant turns and flies toward it. What do you think about that choice? What do you think makes someone able to move toward danger for the sake of others?
2. Before he goes, the giant kneels down, touches Hogarth gently, and tells him, “You stay. I go.” What do you notice in that goodbye? When have you watched someone protect a person they love even at risk to themselves?
3. For most of the story the people around the giant call him a weapon or a monster, and here he chooses for himself who he is. What do you think it takes for someone to claim their own identity when others have already labeled them?
4. Hogarth calls out “I love you” as the giant pulls away. What do you think that love had to do with who the giant chose to become?
5. As he rises toward the missile, Hogarth’s words come back to him: “You are who you choose to be.” What do you think about this idea? When has someone’s voice come back to you and shaped a choice you made later?
6. The giant says one word, “Superman,” and closes his eyes. What do you think he means by claiming that name for himself right then?
7. After the explosion, the town is safe and the people cheer, and Hogarth keeps looking at the light in the sky. What do you imagine he’s feeling as he looks up? When has someone’s sacrifice left you seeing the world differently?

Matthew 16:13-20 (NRSVue)

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Romans 8:31-39 (CEB)

³¹So what are we going to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³²He didn’t spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. Won’t he also freely give us all things with him? ³³Who will bring a charge against God’s elect people? It is God who acquits them. ³⁴Who is going to convict them? It is Christ Jesus who died, even more, who was raised, and who also is at God’s right side. It is Christ Jesus who also pleads our case for us. ³⁵Who will separate us from Christ’s love? Will we be separated by trouble, or distress, or harassment, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶As it is written, “We are being put to death all day long for your sake. We are treated like sheep for slaughter.” ³⁷But in all these things we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us. ³⁸I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers ³⁹or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.

Scripture Study Questions

1. Jesus first asks who the crowds say he is, and then turns it personal: “But who do you say that I am?” Do you think one of these questions is more important than the other? Why? How would you answer these questions in your own words today?
2. Peter says out loud, in front of everyone: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Do you think anything changes when a belief is spoken aloud rather than kept private? When have you said something you believe out loud, and what did that do?
3. Jesus tells Peter that he could only know this because God revealed it to him. Could this mean that a true confession is something God gives us rather than something we achieve on our own?
4. Right after Peter’s confession, Jesus says he will build his church “on this rock.” What do you think it means that the church is built on people who are willing to say openly who Jesus is?
5. In Peter’s world calling anyone but Caesar “Lord” could be dangerous. How might it change your sense of the baptismal vow to know that confessing Jesus as Lord once put a life at risk? What powers ask for that kind of allegiance from you now, and what does it mean to say Jesus is Lord over them?
6. Paul asks, “If God is for us, who is against us?” and then lists everything that might come against us. Why do you think he stacks up all those threats only to say that none of them can separate us from God’s love? Which item on his list feels most significant to you? What could it mean for your daily life to trust that God’s love sustains you no matter what?
7. Paul says Christ “pleads our case for us.” What does it mean to you to imagine Jesus speaking on your behalf?
8. Paul says we “win a sweeping victory” through the one who loved us. When have you found that a difficult circumstance drew you closer to God, or to other people?
9. Peter confesses because he trusts Jesus, and Paul says we can trust because nothing can separate us from God’s love. When has trusting God made it easier to say what you believe out loud, and when has saying it out loud grown your trust? Where do you feel invited to trust more fully?

Weekly Action

This week, take Jesus’ question and make it your own: who do you say that he is? Set aside a few quiet minutes to pray and listen, then try putting your answer into your own words, out loud or on paper, as plainly and honestly as you can. Pay attention to what thoughts or inspirations come easily and where you might feel some hesitation. Consider sharing what you discover with someone: a loved one, a trusted spiritual partner, or a small group. To confess has always meant to speak our faith together, so let someone hear yours, and ask to hear theirs. Pay attention to what changes once the words are spoken out loud.

Prayer

Loving God, we confess that it is hard to take in how much you love us. And yet, your word tells us of that love, and with help from your Holy Spirit, we claim that love. In our weakness, may we look to you, and in our wavering, may we have the grace to believe your promises. In the name of the God who created all things, the Christ who was raised as our Savior, and the Holy Spirit who sustains us, we pray. Amen.

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This content was developed by Rev. Bob Rhodes using AI tools in alignment with La Jolla UMC AI Usage Guidelines. In this case, AI assisted with initial drafting and iterative refinement. All final text was reviewed and approved by Rev. Rhodes.