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Please pray with me and for me.
Lord Jesus, we give thanks for all those whom you bring into the care of the church. We praise you that your embrace is unbounded, that you reach out to all with your love. Make our church eager to embrace those whom you embrace in baptism, faithful in our teaching and training of those whom you commend to our care, and zealous in our tender guardianship of those whom you call forth for service in your kingdom. Amen
Please open your Bible to our Scripture Lesson, Mark 1:4-11
John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by John the Baptist in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locus and wild honey. And John the Baptist preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
So who is this guy that is “clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey?”
Luke 1: 11-13
And there appeared to Zechariah an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear fell upon
Zechariah. But the angel said to Zechariah, “Do not be afraid Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
Then the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary telling her she had found favor with God and would give birth to a baby boy, God’s Son, Jesus and her kinswomen Elizabeth,
Zechariah’s wife would give birth in her old age.
Luke 1:57: “Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son.
So we know that John the Baptist and Jesus are cousin’s as established in God’s Word but why was John the Baptist preaching repentance after all he had never been to seminary!
We need to remember we are all called by God to serve Him and to spread the Good News as God has given us all different gifts and no one part is better than the other and in God’s name we work best when we work together.
Mark 1:9-11
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan. And when Jesus came out of the water, immediately Jesus saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descended upon Him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.”
Now we know from God’s Word that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was baptized but was does it mean to us to be baptized and is baptism a necessity of salvation?
A pastor of a Baptist Church, asked me once, “How can you justify baptizing a baby, the Baptists do not believe in infant baptism?” I replied that I realize a baby cannot make a choice as the choice is made by the parents/caretakers. In my heart baptizing a baby is God’s baby shower welcoming the baby to the family of God with the promise of those who love the child and their parents that you will not take this journey alone. The Baptist pastor looked at me with a puzzled look and replied, “I never thought of it that way.”
Let me ask you, at this moment what does your baptism mean to you? Was it something you did because your parents told you to or it was a family expectation as a right of passage? Does it matter if you had water sprinkled, poured, or were immersed in water?
To be baptized means (1) To be washed (2) to be buried-immersed (3) and in a spiritual meaning (4) to pass on sin by laying on of hands, as ministered in the Old Testament.
The date is September 26, 1965; I was ten years old and stood in the baptismal pool at the Church of the Brethren in New Carlisle. Per my pastors instruction I stood tall with my arms folded across my chest. My pastor had a hand on my back and on my chest as he immersed me (laid me back in the water until my head was under the water, “I baptize you John Walter Mock in the name of the Father, into the water I went, and of the Son, in I went a second time, and of the Holy Spirit” in I went a third time, and then the pastor said a prayer over me and I left the baptismal soaking wet and baptized.
We need to remember the power of baptism comes from knowing you have been baptized and the love and the churches assurance that the individual is loved, important and noticed by those who love you and God.
So what is the meaning of baptism? Have you ever been working and you get all dirty and sweaty? Then you go and take a shower to wash the dirt and sweat off of your body?
In the United Methodist Church Baptism is a Sacrament, a sacred ceremony that the founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, defined as “the initiatory sacrament which enters us into a covenant with God.” A “covenant” is a relationship between us and God that God keeps. If the covenant is broken we are the ones who break the covenant, not God. The act of Baptism is an outward sign of our inward desire to walk with Jesus and we baptize with water which symbolizes washing the dirt of this world off of us so that we may put on the body of Christ with a clean body. Does it matter if you are immersed, sprinkled with water or water is poured on you? NO, it is the act of baptism that matters.
A few years ago I took the journey with a couple in grief counseling, not from this church, who were visibly shook as their baby died shortly after birth and they were afraid their baby went to hell as the baby had never been baptized and their clergy had stated you had to be baptized with water to enter into heaven.
Needless to say I was sick to my stomach over this, first as a daddy myself I could not imagine my baby dying and then to have someone say you would go to hell if you were not baptized. Who would tell parents whose baby died such a thing?
I want to make it very clear this morning that no where in the Bible does it say you must be baptized with water to receive salvation and go to heaven. Anyone who preaches, teaches, believes this is preaching, teaching and believing a man made law.
John the Baptizer makes it very clear in this morning’s Scripture Lesson,
“I have baptized you with water, but he (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
What does Jesus tell us as He told Peter in John 14:6?
“I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”
Did you notice your bulletin cover this morning? Weekly I tell Don the Scripture Lesson and Sermon Text and Don and his beautiful bride Gloria read and pray and discuss the text among them and God leads Don on what to draw.
On this mornings bulletin cover Don drew John the Baptist baptizing his cousin, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As you look at the front of your bulletin cover where is John the Baptist hands? John the Baptist left hand rests palm down on Jesus head. John the Baptist right hand is extended up and out towards heaven while the Holy Spirit, the dove, flies overhead.
John the Baptist and Jesus Christ do not tell us the way to the Father, the way to salvation and eternal life in heaven, is via water baptism. On our bulletin cover John the Baptist is showing with his right hand the way to salvation and eternal life in heaven is by baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 10:5-13:
Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness based on faith says; Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down) or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and on your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach); because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. The scriptures say, “No one who believes in Him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows His riches upon all who call Him. For, “everyone who calls upon the Lord will be saved.”
This morning if you have never prayed the sinner’s prayer to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior I invite you to pray with me. If you have prayed the sinner’s prayer I invite you to pray with me as a
reaffirmation of your giving your life to Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
Father, I admit that I am a sinner and I no longer wish to live as I have. At this moment I invite Jesus Christ into my heart and soul as my Lord and Savior. Amen
As you received your bulletin this morning you received an insert titled:
CONGREGATIONAL REAFFIRMATION OF THE BAPTISMAL COVENANT.
This is not a baptism, this is a covenant for those who have been baptized for in the United Methodist Church we do not believe in re-baptism. If you wish to be baptized let me know as you come forward. If you have been baptized once you are baptized. That is good enough irrelevant of the denomination of your baptism. Please join me.
CONGREGATIONAL REAFFIRMATION OF THE BAPTISMAL COVENANT
INTRODUCTION
PASTOR: Friends in Christ: Through the Sacrament of Baptism we are initiated into Christ’s holy church. We are incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit. All this is God’s gift, offered to us without price.
Throughout the reaffirmation of our faith we renew the covenant declared at our baptism, acknowledge what God is doing for us, and affirm our commitment to Christ’s holy Church.
RENUNCIATION OF SIN AND PROFESSION OF FAITH
PASTOR: On behalf of the whole Church, I ask you:
Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil posers of the world, and repent of your sin?
PEOPLE: I do.
PASTOR: Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
PEOPLE: I do.
Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in His grace, and promise to serve Him as your Lord, in union with the Church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?
PEOPLE: I do
PASTOR: According to the grace given to you, will you remain faithful members of Christ’s holy Church and serve as Christ’s representatives in the world?
PEOPLE: I do.
PASTOR: Let us join together in professing the Christian faith as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
Do you believe in God the Father?
PASTOR AND PEOPLE: I believe in the Holy Spirit [the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.]
THANKSGIVING OVER THE WATER
PASTOR: The Lord be with you.
PEOPLE: AND also with you.
PASTOR: Let us pray.
Eternal Father, when nothing existed but chaos, you swept across the dark waters and brought forth light. In the days of Noah you saved those on the ark through water. After the flood you set in the clouds a rainbow. When you saw your people as slaves in Egypt, you led them to freedom through the sea. Their children you brought through the Jordan to the land which you promised.
PEOPLE: Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Tell of God’s mercy each day.
PASTOR: In the fullness of time you sent Jesus, nurtured in the water of a womb. He was baptized by John and anointed by your Spirit. He called His disciples to share in the baptism of His death and resurrection and to make disciples of all nations.
PEOPLE: All praise to you, eternal Father, through your Son Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever. Amen.
REAFFIRMATION OF FAITH
At this time you are invited to come forward as you feel led. As your pastor I will touch the water in the baptismal and mark on the forehead of each person who comes forward
with the sign of the cross.
THANKSGIVING
PASTOR: Let us rejoice in the faithfulness of our covenant God.
PEOPLE: We give thanks for all that God has already given us. As members of the body of Christ and in this congregation of the United Methodist Church, we will faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service, in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
PASTOR: The God of all grace, who has called us to eternal glory in Christ, establish and strengthen you by the power of the Holy Spirit that you may live in grace and peace.
PEOPLE: Amen
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