“We are baptized into the death of Christ, and it is the remedy for the Fall. Death is, in fact, what some modern people call 'ambivalent.' It is Satan's great weapon and also God's great weapon: it is holy and unholy; our supreme disgrace and our only hope; the thing Christ came to conquer and the means by which He conquered." -CS Lewis
This Sunday we will celebrate the ancient sacrament of baptism. We have the opportunity to participate in this amazing thing that Jesus told the Church to do: “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.” The last baptism service we held down at the river was amazing. One of the reasons it is such a special time is the drama played out in baptism. It is about the greatest story ever told. Baptism is this short play about the spiritual reality and great hope of the Christian life. Paul says that we are baptized into Christ Jesus. This means that we are counted with him when he died and when he rose again. His death counts for us and his resurrection is evidence that we will one day rise from the dead as he did. Baptism is this special act where someone is taken under the water, playing outwardly the inward, spiritual repentance and death to the values and desires of the world. They are then lifted from the water as Christ was lifted from the tomb. We see with our eyes in the physical world this model of what has happened spiritually. This person in the water has been made alive with Jesus! They and all of us watching who have been joined to Jesus Christ through faith will live eternally! It is a prayer you get to watch being answered. These candidates for baptism have prayed to God for salvation and He has answered. We will watch this great eternal drama Sunday at 6:00 off of Old Overton Road. It is about 20 minutes from the church but it will be worth the drive. There are directions below.