Tuesday, March 25, 2008

H2O Baptism This Sunday

I am excited about our water baptism service this Sunday. We have about 15 people who are going to be baptized! This is a great service for your friends to attend with you, especially if you are being baptized. We will start at 2:30 at First Baptist Chruch on 14th Street here in Washington. If you have not been baptized in water you can be this Sunday! Let me know as soon as possible.

Jesus said in Mark 16,
“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (NIV)

Part of preaching the good news is teaching people to obey the Lord. When we obey the Lord we obey him in baptism. "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved..." Being baptized is an act of obedience to the Lord. "Who ever does not believe will be condemned." People who don't believe, don't obey.

Romans 6:4 says that baptism symbolizes what God has done in us. He has raised us up to live a new life. One of the first acts of obedience to God in this living of a new life is obeying God in water baptism.

There are many cases when an individual is baptized for one reason or another (tradition, peer pressure, family pressure, ritualism) before they are saved. In the Bible, baptism always followed the inward confession of faith in Jesus. If you have not been baptized since you began to believe in Jesus then you should be baptized. I would love to help you follow Jesus Christ.

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