Excerpt from sermon on Jan 10 2016
So I’ve found 7 things that surround our baptism for us to consider. I won’t go into tremendous detail, I want them to sink into your minds and hearts – and I ask you to let them simmer.
- Know what your baptism means – to you, to this congregation, to God, to the world
- Claim your identity – allow the transformation in thinking about who you are in Christ, we are now marked with the Holy Spirit
- Recognize the cleansing – symbolically, spiritually – recognize the choice you made to repent – to turn
- Remember the rising – last week, the rising of the star in the East, the risen Christ at Easter – you too arose from the waters of baptism a new creation – new direction, new leader, new focus
- What is your mission – this is where the work is, pray, read, study, write, question – what is your ministry on this earth at this time? What is God calling you to?
- Know that you are equipped – The Spirit is with you, The Spirit is with us – we are and will be equipped for anything we are called to
- As we walk anew, we are transformed – become the new creation that your baptism began