Tag: Baptism

July 2nd 2023: John Funnell – Baptism Service

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To watch this service, click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/3CSQMoDh2s0

Mark 1:1-13

We’ve met a character called John. I’m John, I’m a Baptist, but not John the Baptist. He wore camel hair, a belt and ate locusts. He spent most of his time in the Jordan shouting at people. He was a very great and powerful man, so great that our Lord Jesus Christ described him as the greatest person ever born (Matthew 11:11). Yet, despite his greatness, when he met with Jesus Christ he says, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (v.7-8). John the Baptist, the greatest man who ever lived, didn’t feel worthy enough to do the lowest job for Jesus. Why? Because John the Baptist knew that this real, tangible, historic person in front of him was not just another man, He’s God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1).

Jesus is God. John the Baptist knew this man. He could see in flesh before him was Logos, the Word who the spoke time, space and matter into existence. John the Baptist knew that Jesus is the Almighty, the Alpha and Omega, Kings of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Lion of Judah, the great I am, the Promised Messiah. At His name every knee shall bow, even those today who deny Him. He came to the River Jordan to undertake a sinner’s baptism, to do what TJ is about to do this afternoon. Why?

Before I was a pastor, I was a prison chaplain. I loved it. But I was with some vile people – murderers and worse. Prison is not exactly how you think it is. At times, it can be a very open place where inmates move around and are free to wear their own clothes. On Sundays, I dress smartly, but the rest of the week I am in casual clothes, similar to the inmates. I looked like them. On occasion, the prisoners would be ushered back into their cells when alarms went off. As they were herded in, I would begin to panic. I would make sure that my pass and keys could be seen, so that the prison wardens did not mistake me for one of the prisoners. I wanted them to know I wasn’t one of the prisoners.

I don’t know why I panicked. I knew the inmates well and trusted them. I had built up strong relationships with them as their chaplain and I know they would never hurt me. Even if I was locked in, I had my keys and my pass, so I could get myself out. So, why did I panic? Because of a deep-seated issue in my heart. I didn’t want to be numbered with the inmates, who had done some vile and disgusting things. I didn’t want the shame of the guards thinking I was one of them. How un-Christian! It pains me even more now, in how the Lord Jesus Christ came to save me from my sin and reunite me with the Living God.

Jesus Christ is the perfect Son of God, yet He came here to this broken earth that rejects Him, and He chose to go through a sinner’s baptism. Isn’t that beautiful? He came so that He could be numbered with us, so that as one of us He could go to the cross as a substitute for us and die that death that we all deserve because of our sin, so we can have His life. Hallelujah! Just as Jesus passed through the waters to be named with us, TJ is willing today to publicly show you all that he is now numbered with Jesus. TJ is going through the waters to show you through the act of baptism that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Saviour.

For some of you here today, what TJ is about to do might seem very odd. Yet, well over two billion people alive today, which is a third of humanity, have done what TJ is about to do. Praise be to God there are hundreds of thousands of people around the world today that are going to be doing the same thing TJ. Isn’t that great! Baptism isn’t weird. Baptism has been in the central place of practice in the West for 2000 years. It is the core that’s built our society. It is a public profession of faith. It’s a symbol showing you all, this afternoon, of TJ’s commitment to Jesus and His teaching. It is a symbol of Christ’s washing away of TJ’s sin. It also symbolises the death to TJ’s former self and, as he comes out of the water, it symbolises his re-birth as a Child of God. It’s a joy to see.

TJ, do not think that when you’ve been baptised you’ve ticked all the boxes. Baptism is just the start of a wonderful journey with God that never ends. When you leave this life, you have eternity with Jesus. Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of His ministry, and it marks the beginning of yours, as a Christian. You must be on your guard. I say this from personal experience. When Jesus left the waters of baptism He was led straight to the wilderness where He was tempted. The devil will be after you. Over the coming weeks, stand your guard. Stay close to the Word of God and stay close with your church family. There is safety in numbers. When a lion attacks a zebra, he doesn’t go for the herd, he gets the ones that are on their own. Stay with the church.

It is a most blessed time. Jesus loves you. You are joining His church. Today, you are publicly proclaiming citizenship in God’s Kingdom. Hallelujah! Enjoy it. As you pass through the waters, you now have a new and better life with peace. We love you. I love you and we’re going to support you. Welcome to the family.

January 12th 2020: Chris Benbow

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Chris Benbow - Jan 2020Acts 2:38-47

Imagine we are all going to be involved in a group project to build a car. We all get together and different jobs are assigned to acquire a piece of a car and bring it back to the group to assemble together. Simple enough? The roles are delegated. Soon, one person comes back saying, “I have good news. I’ve secured my piece for the car. A wonderful set of magnificent wings.” All agree the wings are wonderful – but not quite what they had in mind! Time passes, another person comes back and says, “I’ve secured a piece for the car. It’s going to be the best bit – a top of the range sail.” Again, it is wonderful but not what was wanted. As we all know, cars don’t have wings or sails. Before getting started on the project, the people should have got together to ask, ‘What is a car? How are we going to build it? Unless we establish that we won’t get very far. We need unity and clarity. It’s a simple example. The question this morning is a little bit different, more important. What is a church?

Over the years both Christians and non-Christians have needed a lot more unity and clarity when it comes to answering ‘What is a church?’ Do we have unity and clarity on this point? It is helpful to consider what a church is not. For some, church is a building, used for an hour on Sunday then left for the rest of the week. That is not the whole picture. It is a traditional picture given by some older people but it does not give the complete story. There is a younger mistake, the complete opposite of the traditional view. It is that the church is believers, no more, no less. Is that it? You get together with other believers in a coffee shop and that is church? Surfing believers gather together, then you get church on the waves? Matthew records, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them,” (Matthew 18:20). But that’s not all a church is. Let’s move from the negative to the positive and look at church characteristics.

The over-arching principles of what church is and what activities it is about:

Calvin speaks of the invisible and visible church. The invisible church is all generations, of all times, come together. We see a snapshot of this in Revelation. The visible church is visible in local collections of believers that practice certain things. What does the church do? Repent. Healthy churches hate sin, their own personal sin. That’s the life-cycle of a Christian – repentance, repentance, repentance! Is there a sin we are hating in our lives? The church is to be repentant. But is also to be baptised – full submission baptism, completely taken under water and raised. This is a visible sign, died to sin and raised to Christ. If you’re a Christian, have you been baptised? Are you a Jesus loving, born-again Christian? You need to be baptised in the name of the Lord It’s all about Him. You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That is our security. The Holy Spirit seals us. Every Christian has the Holy Spirit; they are signed and sealed. And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,“ (Acts 2:38).

Who is this promise for? Everyone! “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself,” (Acts 2:39). Church groups can do very effective programmes – children’s work, work for senior citizens, but this is not the church. The church is multi-generational. Church programmes are not the church. Church is family and families are diverse. Are you building a church or church programmes? There is a difference.

“And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2: 40-41). I once went to a church where there was a gifted, intelligent, well-liked guy who was heavily involved in church. He was a holiday club leader, visited people in a pastoral role, involved in lots of activities – a deacon in everything but name. But he wasn’t a member of the church. Was he part of the church or not? For all intents and purposes yes, but actually no. Because when people get saved they join the church. Church membership tends to be unpopular these days.

What is a church? It is local, multi-generational, baptising and has members. It is all about Jesus Christ. The church is characterised by certain things. “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers,” (Acts 2:42). They devoted themselves. Devoted is habitual. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, the teaching of the scripture. Everything we do should be peppered with the Bible. We should be devoted to the Holy Bible, it is God’s word. The people of the early church devoted themselves to church fellowship. The local church knows each other and spends time with each other.

The church also devotes itself to the breaking of bread, the Lord’s Supper. Communion is central to everything we do. Why not have it every week, every Sunday? The Bible does not give us a template but ‘devoted’ implies constantly.

The teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayers. Prayers make us a listening and speaking community to our heavenly Father. Your heavenly Father does indeed hear you.

“And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles,“ (Acts 2:43) This is another controversial point. I don’t know where you stand on Spiritual gifts but are we are expecting God to move? Are we prepared to see what He is doing? What is God going to do next? Is there expectancy?

“And all who believed were together and had all things in common,” (Acts 2:43). How is that worked out in practice? Do you have a statement of faith on your website? Do we declare what we believe so there is unity as a purpose within this? Our statement of faith provides clarity in a generation of confusion.

“And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need,“ (Acts 2:45). In the early church they gave as they could, sacrificially, for the church of God. Another mark of the church is giving.

Let’s encourage one another. Let’s all evaluate where we are in the light of scripture. By His strength and grace we can move forward.

August 20th 2017: Gareth Edwards – Baptism Service

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Reading: Colossians 2:6-15, Preaching: Acts 2

Today is not about Meg, it’s about the Lord Jesus Christ. It is all about what He has done, not what Meg has done. What Megan is doing is a response to what Jesus has done, ‘Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.”’ (Act 2:38-39).

When Peter preached on the day of Pentecost there was: conviction, conversion and consolation.

Conviction:
Everybody who comes to be baptised has experienced conviction of sin. Peter is preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ and how the people had wrongfully, spitefully put Him to death. They listeners were cut to the heart, crushed under the enormity of their sin. They knew they were guilty and had no excuse. They had killed the anointed one of God, the one the nation had wanted to see for so long. Yet they rejected Him, He wasn’t the Messiah they wanted. Ultimately, they had Him killed. Now they are told by Peter that He had been raised from the dead. Perhaps they thought He wanted revenge? Crushed under the sense of their sin, perhaps they wanted to know was there forgiveness? In helplessness they cried out to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).

There is nothing harder to penetrate than the heart of a sinful man. When we are confronted by the wrong that we do, we suggest if there’s anything wrong in what we’ve done, surely it’s outweighed by the good we’ve done. Some refuse to acknowledge they’re sinners. It is a natural human reaction when confronted by wrong. But these people were convicted – as those of us are who have come to know Jesus. We too are convicted as we saw ourselves as we really are – sinful and broken. We were brought to grief. Have you been convicted of your sin? Has your conscience been grief-stricken at your actions and words in the sight of God?

Isaiah proclaimed, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). There is no hope for the self-righteous. Meg is not here because she thinks she is a good person, she is here because she knows she is a sinner, like me. There is hope only for those who are convicted of sin.

Conversion:
Peter shows the people the way of Salvation. First they repented. Repent means to make a U-turn. All of us have to complete a U-turn if we are to have the hope of forgiveness of sin. In repentance we acknowledge we have done wrong in the sight of God and nothing we can do can save us. Repentance is knowing that there is nothing we can do to impress Him. Everything about me in the sight of a holy, righteous God is an abomination. However, God Himself has come in the person of Jesus Christ into our world. He identifies Himself fully with us, He died on the cross for my sin and gives to me the perfect righteousness, so I am acceptable as He is before God. It’s nothing of me – it’s all about Jesus. Jesus, by His saving grace and power, changes me and makes me acceptable to God. Therefore, it’s important to be baptised. Being baptised doesn’t make me right with God. Praise the Lord, Meg is already right with God. Jesus has taken her to be His own. Now she’s being baptised as a witness to what Jesus had done. A sinner can only be saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. Your old sinful nature dies with Him on His death on the cross. It brings newness of life in Christ, through His resurrection. Baptism shows this. Every one of us here needs to be converted, without exception, from the youngest to the oldest. Meg wants you to know it’s not because of anything she’s done, it is all because of what Jesus has done.

Consolation:
‘So those who received his word were baptised, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.’ (Acts 2:41). The people gladly received the word, the message of salvation which convicted them of their sin. It also thrilled them.

Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.’ (Matthew 5:4). Receiving Jesus, they are assured their sins are forgiven, they are right with God. Their hearts are gladdened. They gladly gave themselves 100% to serving the Lord and Saviour in the life of the church. They have such great consolation, great comfort. Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what their troubles, have the peace of God which can never be taken away or destroyed because Jesus is the Saviour and Lord. The gospel never leaves people in the pit of despair but leads to the joy of salvation in Jesus Christ for all who repent and believe in Him. It’s available to all, free of charge, you don’t have to do anything, you don’t have to improve yourself; all you have to do is trust Jesus as your saviour. The gladness, the peace that passes all understanding, is freely available – just acknowledge your sin and trust Jesus Christ as your saviour. Then, being born-again, you can be baptised, as Meg is being baptised. Our salvation was purchased for us at such a great cost. As we witness Meg’s testimony to Jesus Christ, we should also acknowledge our debt to Him.

Meg has poignantly spoken about not so happy days, but she would never exchange the happy days, when God’s saving grace changed her life, to be free of all the unhappy days. For the happy day, when Jesus washed our sins away, is an eternal day. It’s a day that outlives beyond the grave as it will never end. It’s a day to rejoice in. So as Peter preached this sermon on the day of Pentecost, there was a mighty work of conviction, conversion and consolation. The joy of salvation happens to everyone who is truly a Christian.

Sunday Morning Worship: 12th June 2016

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Ian-June16This morning’s service was led by Ian Middlemist who preached on Acts chapter 2 verses 37-38. Here Peter considers the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is not preaching to the marginalised, he is preaching to those who have crucified Jesus (v 36). He speaks to them directly, telling them they have killed Jesus. He accuses them of being complicit in killing a man – the Saviour, the one whom God had accredited as being the Lord of all, the Prince of Life. There is an element that each one of us placed those nails into Jesus’ hands. We are guilt of sin.

Peter tells us that the response of the congregation before him was that they were ‘cut to the heart.’ We want a response every time the gospel is preached. We want it to move us, to have a deep work in our lives, in our hearts. The heart is the seat of our fundamental faith, our belief. The crowd before Peter were evidently effected. Cut to the heart – the stabbing of conviction. My guilt is being spoken of here. Peter’s sermon was to convince them that Jesus is Lord and that every one of us is born with spiritual blindness. We need to come out of that blindness. No man is able to do this, only God can.

The second part of this response was they asked what they must do. It is the right knee-jerk reaction. It is a question each one of us must ask. They knew their situation was desperate. We are empty and helpless. It is important we all come to that point. We are not a good person before a holy God. This has consequences. There must be punishment. Where do we turn? Praise God we have an answer! Verse 38 tell us,

                “Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Baptism is a command. It shows the world you are a new person in Jesus Christ, you are coming to Him for cleansing, trusting in Him alone for Salvation. He alone removes guilt. The good news is we are guilty but Jesus took the guilt, He took the condemnation we deserve. He died in agony on the cross, shed His precious blood so we are forgiven – forgiven for yesterday’s sins, today’s sins and tomorrow’s. Hallelujah! Have you repented? Are you trusting in Jesus?