WGUMC Remember Your Baptism January 14, 2018
A kindergarten teacher gave her class a show and tell assignment of bringing something that represents their religion.
The first child got in front of the class and said “My name is Benjamin and I am Jewish and this is the Star of David.
The second child got in front of her class and said, “My name is Mary, I am a Catholic and this is the Crucifix.”
The third child got up in front of the class and said, “My name is Tommy and I am Methodist and this is a casserole.”
Who are the Methodist when we talk about baptism? This is the time of year that we remember Jesus’ baptism.
The scripture said, “And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son with thee I am well pleased.”
Jesus came up out of the waters!! Picture it!! and then was declared by God as beloved.
In the scriptures, God has declared us as His beloved daughters and sons. Do we know that we are declared His beloved? Here are just a few scritpures:
We are a child of God (John 1:12)
We are the branches of the true vine, God being the vine. (Book of John)
The Holy Spirit dwells in us. (1 Corinthians 6:17) (Sounds beloved to me.)
We are blameless before God (Ephesians 1:4) No matter what we do we are His beloved.
We are seated in the heavenly places with Christ. (Ephesians 2:6)
God supplies all our needs. (Philippians 4:19)
God loves us and has chosen us (1 Thessalonians 1:4)
This is our true identity! Our identity? Yes! I hear people say, “Well, I am trying to find myself, or I am in a new place in my life!” Hmm, we are the daughters and sons of God! Now what are we going to do with that! Well, what did Jesus do?
After His baptism, for the rest of his life He went to heal the sick, raise the dead, and eat with sinners…in their homes! and He was a teacher to all!
We are called to follow the example of Jesus! He ministered to the people. We must take Jesus seriously!
Our baptism says, “Jesus calls us to live as His disciples.” Our baptism commissions us to be disciples and to transform the world. Let’s not forget our baptism.
The people who were present at your baptism and my baptism vowed to exemplify faith, hope, and love so that you and I would grow up to trust God and to do service in the world. At our baptism our loved ones and congregation spoke these words;
“We will pray for YOU and YOUR journey of discipleship among us. We will surround YOU with a community of love and forgiveness,
that you may grow in your trust of God and be found faithful in your service to others.” hear those words!
It makes no difference whether you were baptized as an adult or as a child; we all start on that journey at baptism. Our baptism journey! For the child, the journey begins in the nurturing community of the church, where they learn what it means that God loves them. Then around teenage years the child makes their first confession of faith through confirmation.
If you were not baptized, and you are feeling the Holy Spirit nudging you right now, or have ever, let’s talk and discern together.
If you were baptized as an adult, what a special blessing, you really remember your baptism! Years ago, a member of WGUMC was not sure that she was baptized. She came to the pastor when she was in her 60’s and asked to be baptized. The day she was baptized she explained the experience as being awakening. Her baptism journey began! By the way, she was one of the most influential mentors in my journey.
We are commissioned by the Holy Spirit to go out into the world in search for where the Light of Christ is needed.
We have been baptized, and every drop of water says we are drenched in His Love and His grace..(Hand in water) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then the pastor and the family and sponsor’s laid hands on you and the words were spoken:
The Holy Spirit work within you, that being born through water and the Spirit, you may be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
In 1517 a man named Martin Luther, got into a whole lot of trouble trying to do God’s work by starting the Protestant Reformation, claiming the Church, the only church then, had some things wrong. This caused a split in the Church which profoundly changed Europe and the world, but not without a whole lot of trouble for him. When times were toughest for him, near being executed for his statements, he had a habit of touching his forehead and reminded himself that he had been baptized and he was set apart for greater things through Jesus Christ our Lord. He remembered His baptism.
So when times are for us hard, perhaps when hopelessness settles in ….and it seems like forever settled in, or despair or fear, fear for loved ones, or for the future, or sickness… touch your forehead, and we must remind ourselves that we have been baptized, and know that we have been initiated into God’s family and set apart for greater things, and we have a relationship with God. I want you to do that now, touch your forehead, then embrace who you are!!! His beloved!
We are His beloved. That is our true name, our deepest identity, our divine calling.1
I didn’t think that up, we studied this in a Sunday School class.
We are God’s beloved! That is our true name, our deepest identity, our divine calling. So whenever we don’t know our purpose in live, or trying to find our place in a new stage of our lives….we are here to help others, as Jesus did.
Sometimes we reply, “I can’t, I’m busy, it’s not a good time for me.” We must not let this stop or block permanently the commission we were to do on our baptism journey. This time in our life is a chapter, let’s not make a chapter in our lives the story of our life.. it’s a chapter…
it’s a chapter… it’s a chapter…it’s a chapter…it’s a chapter … let’s not make the chapter in our lives …the story of our life. It’s a chapter, this will not define us, or block us from what we are to do.
Mother Teresa shared in one of her books of a time of an earthquake in 1972 in Guatemala. There was a very poor man who was picked up from the city streets and brought to one of the homes. He was very sick, disabled, hungry, and helpless. With God’s grace and the love of the nuns at the home, he became well again. He told the sisters, “I want to go and leave this bed for someone else who may need it as much as I needed it when I came here.”
He got a job, not earning much, and he remembers the other disabled people in the home and would often bring something for them. Even with the little he had, he always brought something. 2
I don’t know a better way to show the love of Jesus.
He did good, served Jesus, in the hardest times of his life. I think he knew it was a chapter and didn’t let that horrible time define him, he helped others and that was his story.
Today is Human Relations Day. TOGETHER, WE continue to EXTEND A HAND TO THOSE IN CRISIS SO THEY CAN OVERCOMe Their hard times.
Turn on the news and you will find who Jesus called “the least of these.” those living in the margins of society, struggling to survive. People like:
- An immigrant teenager in Texas’ poorest county, being recruited by a local gang
- A father struggling for sobriety in Little Rock, Arkansas
- An Oklahoma woman recently released from incarceration looking for work.
Proverbs 31:8-9 The Message (MSG)
“Speak up for the people who have no voice,
for the rights of all the down-and-outers.
Speak out for justice!
Stand up for the poor and destitute!”
BE a voice for the voiceless. Over and over Jesus embraced them. And that’s what we are to do. We are commissioned to go search out into the world and be His light! This is our baptism journey. Amen?!
- 1 Questions God Asks Us” by Trevor Hudson.
- 2 In the Heart of the World, by Mother Theresa
Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 108:1-5
A psalm of David.
God, my heart feels secure.
I will sing and make music to you with all my heart.
Harp and lyre, wake up!
I want to sing and make music before the sun rises.
LORD, I will praise you among the nations.
I will sing about you among the people of the earth.
Great is your love. It is higher than the heavens.
Your truth reaches to the skies.
God, may you be honored above the heavens.
Let your glory be over the whole earth.
New Testament Lesson: Mark 1: 4-11
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The Baptism of Jesus
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Meditations: Sunday, January 14 through Saturday, January 20
SUNDAY: God, my heart feels secure. I will sing and make music to you with all my heart. Psalm 108:1 Does your heart feel secure and feel like singing? Sometimes we need to reflect on this verse.
MONDAY: Lord, I will praise you among the nations. I will sing about you among the people of the earth. Psalm 108:3 When do you hear God nudging you to go and tell others about Him?
TUESDAY: Lord, I will praise you among the nations. I will sing about you among the people of the earth. Psalm 108:3 Again, I ask you to read this scripture and see where God is inspiring you to join in his transforming work.
WENDESDAY: Great is your love. It is higher than the heavens. Your truth reaches to the skies. Psalm 108:4 He teaches us to love all. Where do you feel a struggle to love? Ask God to guide you.
THURSDAY: I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Mark 1:8. Remember that you have been baptized. If you have not been baptize , ask Pastor Monica to meet with her to discern.
FRIDAY: And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:11 Know that you are beloved by God and this is your deepest identity.
SATURDAY: John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark 1:4 Reflect on the meaning of your baptism. If you have not been baptized, pray for God’s guidance.