We believe in "adult" baptism -- meaning the person who is to be baptized is at the age where he or she can make his or her own choice to follow Jesus. Today we baptized a 70+ year old woman and a 5th grade young woman. 

The history of baptism starts in the Old Testament with Noah and the flood. In this instance, water was used by God as a death sentence.

​"18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive,[a] he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits-- 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.[b] It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ," 1 Peter 3:18-21

Then we have the Red Sea -- God parted it to save His children. And the Egyptians were killed in it.

Old Testament cleansing rituals were done. 

"Wash and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
    stop doing wrong." Isaiah 1:16

"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols." Ezekiel 36:25

"Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin." Psalm 51:2

We are saved by nothing but the blood of Jesus. We are washed clean by His blood. 

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a] sin." 1 John 1:7

"It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process." Hebrews 10:13-14 The Message Bible Translation

Only through His blood. It's the "taking part" part we need to consider. Everything in creation is following God's rules all the time -- everything but humans. Humans have been given free will. 

"Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing." Ephesians 2:8-9

You have to make the choice. 

"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Romans 6:4

We die with Him and are raised a new creature. 

John the Baptist -- he was the last prophet of the Old covenant. But his baptism was different than anything that came before him. It was a baptism of repentance. Those who chose it were taking responsibility for their own sin. 

The baptism of Jesus:

11 “I baptize you with[a] water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.' 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him." Matthew 3:11-16

Why was Jesus baptized? He was baptized to be an example to all believers -- if He did it, surely we should! His human side needed to be baptized -- and we see the entire trinity revealed in that moment.

Baptism is a command.

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

Baptism is the beginning of your walk with Christ./

"37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:37-38

More baptism in the New Testament:

"Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." Acts 2:41

"17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized," Acts 9:17-18

The Words of Christ:

"5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit." John 3:5

This is the new covenant.

"15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:15-16

Enter into the Body of Christ. We become responsible for our choice. Yes or no.

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:1-6

The Blood, Grace, Faith, Water.

"and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.[a] It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ," 1 Peter 3:21

Often we see Jesus in confrontations with the Pharisees. They were the religious leaders of the day. When Jesus speaks to the Pharisees, and often we dismiss them as just being the Pharisees, but we need to listen. We might hear more than we thought we would -- Jesus is speaking to us too.

The setting -- The Pharisees asked Jesus who gave Him His authority. Each pharisee learned under a certain teacher, and that teacher gave that pharisee his authority. Their question was "What school are you from?"

Promise -- all are called.
Warning -- not all will answer (for a variety of reasons).

"28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him." Matthew 21:28-32

Lip service is not good. Jesus was telling the disciples, "What they did is worth more than what you said."

Not by Words alone . . . It's  all or nothing with Jesus.
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” Matthew 21 33-41

The owner did everything necessary -- the perfect setup for the Tenants. They had everything they needed. God set it all up. They just had to believe and follow (talking about the pharisees here). But they didn't. 

Jesus ends this parable with a question. They have no idea He is speaking about them yet. 

We are called to have faith and follow. The founding fathers of America said that if everyone lived a Christian life we wouldn't need any laws. 

Condemnation by their own words.

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’[h]?
43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”[i] Matthew 21:42-44

The Cornerstone must be perfect. And Jesus is perfect.

Bearing fruit -- warning:

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

You will only bear fruit if you live in Jesus.

The Wedding -- 


2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city." Matthew 22:2-7

Everything is ready. They knew the Messiah was coming. He was here -- But they ignored Him and refused to believe in Him. We are in the same boat -- we know Jesus is coming! It's going to happen. Are we acting like He will return? In the end judgment will come.

He has called everyone:

8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests." Matthew 22:8-10

Jesus wants everybody. All are called and all have sinned. This is a promise of a sort.

22 This righteousness is given through faith in[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:22-24

We are all sinners. Labels don't matter to Jesus. The only label that truly fits us without Jesus is sinner. Whatever you call yourself, Jesus is calling you to believe and follow Him.

The wedding crasher -- warning:
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:11-14

The man tried to slide in through the backdoor. Tried to steal his way in. We cannot do that. We can't sneak into the Kingdom of God. 

In the last days:


"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—" 2 Timothy 3:1-4

We all can see a part of this list in us at times, but we don't want these verses to characterize us. 

12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 3:12-15

We don't want to be evildoers or imposters. Are we just going through the motions as a Believer? That is called an impost. Don't deceive ourselves. Examine ourselves.

We want to be different than the world.  Don't do lip service. How much are you willing to pay?

The only way, period!

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—"
John 14:16

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:16

Ask yourself -- who are you?

Sorry folks! I typed all the notes up on a blog post, but then somehow lost them. And I am too lazy to type them out again. But you can click on the link below and listen to a really good sermon. Today was a great day to be in the house of God!

(We recorded this at our kitchen table because church was cancelled today. We hope you will take time to listen to the recording. Jane even chimes in a couple of times. It is a good sermon!)

A lot of us might be feeling like we are alone in the darkness right now. 

"Who among you fears the Lord
    and obeys the word of his servant?
Let the one who walks in the dark,
    who has no light,
trust in the name of the Lord
    and rely on their God." Isaiah 50:10

"I will give you hidden treasures,
    riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:3

It's more important to be with Him in the darkness than to try and figure it out.

We live by promises, not by explanations.

How to navigate through the darkness:

1. Rely on God.
It isn't about reasons. It is more important to say "Here I am, God" rather than, "Why, God?"

God gets a lot of work done in the valleys.

This blessing of being challenged in the dark -- God is using it as a tool. God uses it. God gives examples in nature on how to deal with dark times, with "winter." 

(Here, Jane talks about decidious trees and how the process of dropping their leaves in the fall protects them for the winter. Also why evergreen trees bend their branches downward is mentioned -- really, listen to the recording -- you'll be glad you did). 

God's producing steadfastness in us. Challenges were necessary to prepare you for bigger challenges. The more challenges we get the more we rely on Him.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a]whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3

Clay and pot process:

baptism in water first step.

Kneading -- second step. Clay has to surrender to potter's hand, get maleable. 

Being thrown and shaped on wheel is third step. Here the clay gets its permanent shape.

It looks done but it needs to be fired and glazed and fired again. Fire finishes us. Sometimes the object will be fired a third time -- the firing solidifies and brings out the beauty and its usefulness. 

A great example in scripture of God's children not waiting on Him, trying to get out of the darkness quicker is Abraham and Sarah getting a child by Hagar. They ran out of patience. We need to be careful about doing it ourselves -- getting ahead of God. We can really make a mess of things for us and others.

We seek for reasons. Instead, seek God. 

3. God uses trials to prepare us to work with others. 

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

"The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountainin the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper."1 Kings 19:11-12

"Now in those days John the Baptist *[a]came, [b]preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven [c]is at hand.” 3 For this is the one referred to [d]by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“The voice of one [e]crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”
4 Now John himself had [f]a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins."
Matthew 3:1-6

Concept of baptism was already present in the Jewish faith before John the Baptist came along.

God's people hadn't heard from God for 400 years.

 “As for me, I baptize you [a]with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you [b]with the Holy Spirit and fire." Matthew 3:11

Someone coming greater than I!

"Then Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him." Mathew 3:13

Galilee was 75 miles from the Jordan river. Jesus walked those 75 miles. This was a dangerous journey. He very likely did this alone. He made this journey specifically to get baptised by John. He went with intention.

"But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
Matthew 3:14

Why did Jesus want to be baptised with the baptism of repentance?

"But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him." Matthew 3:15

He's leading by example. Humility involved. Obedience involved.

"After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and [a]he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and [b]lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is [c]My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17

There is unity there.  It all came together. Beginning of Jesus's ministry. Starts with a bang. 

Significance of water:

Red Sea

Noah's Flood

Water is new life

"Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." Romans 6:3-4

There's no resurrection without death. There's no salvation without resurrection.

"having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead." Colossians 2:12

I know who I am. I know who He is. I know I can't do this on my own.

Hold me accountable (this is what baptism does).

What are you waiting for?

Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’" Acts 22:16

Baptism unifies.

​It doesn't matter where you came from.