Baptism 06.13.10

June 24, 2010 by shirley
Filed under Blog, News

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age.” Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

On Sunday, June 8th, Reliance Church gathered for our second baptism of 2010. It was an amazing gathering of good friends enjoying great weather, wonderful food (including the most amazing Tri-Tip!) and joyful poolside festivities. Over 100 people turned out to participate in the fun and the fellowship and to cheer-on the 15 people who were baptized.

As we reveled in the day, we enjoyed a couple of things that we should never take for granted…no, I’m not talking about the Tri-Tip (although it was amazing…did I say that already?) No, the things we need to hold sacred are:

1) The amazing truth that Jesus is with us – Consider Jesus’ Words at the end of Matthew 28:20 “…and lo, I am with you always…” Jesus is with us! That’s His Name Emanuel – “God with us”. He’ll never leave us or forsake us and He extends His invitation to all to join Him in loving fellowship. As we gathered for the Baptism, Jesus was there…and His presence was palpable! He was in the servants who cooked and cleaned and set up tables and chairs…He was in the cheers and claps and hugs of over 100 people, as each person took their turn in the pool and told of their love for Jesus and their commitment to follow Him…& He was in the smiles and tears of those who took that step of obedience to be Baptized.

The second thing we must never take for granted is:

2) The miracle of a changed life - Among the many who took the plunge, we had three girls who were baptized after giving their lives to Jesus following their rescue from an orphanage in Ukraine. Theirs is an amazing story of redemption and sacrificial love as their adoptive parents literally sold their home and traveled across the world to get them. Fittingly, their father baptized them in the pool that day and it was beautiful to see! …and then there was a man who was baptized with his soon-to-be wife after they had surrendered their lives completely to Jesus in 2010 – (They used to come to church with hangovers and told me later that although they always felt guilty during the message, they kept coming back because they knew it was the truth and that they needed to change. They did. Or more accurately, Jesus changed them and now they’ll never be the same. They’re getting married on Saturday, June 21. Thank you, Jesus!)

Indeed, every person who was baptized that day has a story – The man who baptized his mother a fter having the honor of leading her to faith in Christ…the youth who asked his youth leader Kyle to baptize him because of the impact that he’s had on him…or my Administrator, Shirley, who asked Pastor Cody to baptize her kids Susie & Alex because he’s been there to baptize her whole family over the years…and so many more stories… but every one has this in common – Jesus changed their life – and their baptisms serve as a testament to Jesus’ love and faithfulness.