The Old Testament Roots of Baptism: Part 1
The past three to four hundred years have seen an increase in churchly debates about Baptism, but it isn't a new teaching. It wasn’t in Jesus' day, either. In fact, neither Jesus nor John the Baptist introduced baptism. It goes much further back.
This article does not necessarily reflect the options and beliefs of Grace Lutheran PSL but is listed to help us grow in our faith in Jesus the King.
BY DONAVON RILEY
Baptism isn't a new teaching. The past three to four hundred years have seen an increase in churchly debates about Baptism, but it isn't a new teaching. It wasn’t in Jesus' day, either. In fact, neither Jesus nor John the Baptist introduced baptism. It goes much further back.
To baptize literally means in Greek “to wash with water.” Such washing has deep roots in the Bible. The basic stuff can be found all the way back at the beginning of everything. This explains why Jesus - The Word of God in the flesh - made so much of Baptism being about water, Word, and Spirit.
The roots of Baptism begin in Genesis 1, when the Spirit of God overshadowed the waters, and the Word of God spoke creation up from the waters. At the beginning of everything the Trinity, the Father and the Word and the Spirit, are there in and with the water.
Jump ahead thousands of years and the Trinity shows up again at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan. At the beginning of his ministry we read about the Father, and the Word, and the Spirit in and with the water. Only at that time, Jesus comes not to create, but recreate. Jesus' Baptism is for "the fulfilling of all righteousness." It's a washing of regeneration and renewal, a new beginning, done to us by God's Spirit. As it was in the beginning, so it is at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan, and so it will be with all baptisms until the Last Day. Creation and recreation. Genesis and regeneration through water, God's Word, and the Holy Spirit.
Baptism comes up again in the story of the Flood (Genesis 6-9). Cain's children had practically ruined the world since "every thought of their hearts was evil every day of their lives." But God's Word, water, and the Holy Spirit (the breath of Life) brought about a regeneration and renewal of the world. Noah and his family, eight people in all, were saved from judgment by water, God's Word, and the Spirit..............................
Read the Rest at Christ Hold Fast .org
The Gospel is Not a Sales Pitch
We need to stop presenting the Good News like a pyramid scheme.
This article does not necessarily reflect the options and beliefs of Grace Lutheran PSL but is listed to help us grow in our faith in Jesus the King.
It felt like church in there,” my friend said as we rushed outside.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I mean, all that attention, those testimonies, the lifestyle they were pushing … it felt like church!” She sighed as she fiddled with her keys to open the car door.
The thing is, we hadn’t been at a church or religious event. We were quickly driving away from the business district hotel which had housed the “red carpet event,”—aka, the pyramid scheme—we had just attended. And in that moment, I had a bit of a “before-and-after” realization myself: but this “before-and-after” had nothing to do with some wonder-product. Instead, it was about how I share Christ.
I thought back to earlier that evening when the audience was released from the hour-and-a-half presentation. My friend and I were immediately surrounded by members of the company, asking us about what we do, what our goals are, and what our dream jobs are. I’m not going to lie, the attention was wonderful; but it was empty.
Every time I tried to ask them a question about themselves, they immediately related their answer to the product. When I told them what I hoped to do, they told me about someone with a similar goal who was very fulfilled by selling the product, and how doing so enabled their dreams! When I began talking to my friend about her ill mother-in-law, I was interrupted by a higher-up, asking me shallow questions.
Are We Selling Jesus?
The obvious agenda of the people at the event was not the best strategy to gain my interest. But it made me think back to every evangelism event I had participated in. Every time a new person wandered into my small church. Every moment a friend of mine who wasn’t a Christian mentioned something spiritual...............
12 Reasons Millennials Are OVER Church
Only 4 percent of the Millennial Generation are Bible-Based Believers. This means that 96 percent of Millennials likely don’t live out the teachings of the Bible, value the morals of Christianity and probably won’t be found in a church. This author goes deep to explain why.
This article does not necessarily reflect the options and beliefs of Grace Lutheran PSL but is listed to help us grow in our faith in Jesus the King.
From the depths of my heart, I want to love church.
I want to be head-over-heals for church like the unshakable Ned Flanders.
I want to send global, sky-writing airplanes telling the life-change that happens beneath a steeple. I want to install a police microphone on top of my car and cruise the streets screaming to the masses about the magical Utopian community of believers waiting for them just down the street.
I desperately want to feel this way about church, but I don’t. Not even a little bit. In fact, like much of my generation, I feel the complete opposite.
Turns out I identify more with Maria from The Sound of Music staring out the abbey window, longing to be free.
It seems all-too-often our churches are actually causing more damage than good, and the statistics are showing a staggering number of millennials have taken note.
According to this study (and many others like it) church attendance and impressions of the church are the lowest in recent history, and most drastic among millennials described as 22- to 35-year-olds.
- Only 2 in 10 Americans under 30 believe attending a church is important or worthwhile (an all-time low).
- 59 percent percent of millennials raised in a church have dropped out.
- 35 percent of millennials have an anti-church stance, believing the church does more harm than good.
- Millennials are the least likely age group of anyone to attend church (by far).
As I sat in our large church’s annual meeting last month, I looked around for anyone in my age bracket. It was a little like a Titanic search party…
IS ANYONE ALIVE OUT THERE? CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?
Tuning in and out of the 90-minute state-of-the-church address, I kept wondering to myself, where are my people? And then the scarier question, why I am still here?
A deep-seated dissatisfaction has been growing in me and, despite my greatest attempts to whack-a-mole it back down, no matter what I do it continues to rise out of my wirey frame.
[To follow my publicly-chronicled church struggles, check out my other posts The How Can I Help Project and 50 Ways to Serve the Least of These.]
Despite the steep drop-off in millennials, most churches seem to be continuing on with business as usual. Sure, maybe they add a food truck here or a bowling night there, but no one seems to be reacting with any level of concern that matches these STAGGERING statistics.
Where is the task-force searching for the lost generation? Where is the introspective reflection necessary when 1/3 of a generation is ANTI-CHURCH?
The truth is no one has asked me why millennials don’t like church. Luckily, as a public school teacher, I am highly skilled at answering questions before they’re asked. It’s a gift really.
So, at the risk of being excommunicated, here is the metaphorical nailing of my own 12 theses to the wooden door of the American, Millennial-less Church.
1. Nobody’s Listening to Us
Millennials value voice and receptivity above all else. When a church forges ahead without ever asking for our input we get the message loud and clear: Nobody cares what we think. Why then, should we blindly serve an institution that we cannot change or shape?
Solution:
- Create regular outlets (forums, surveys, meetings) to discover the needs of young adults both inside AND outside the church.
- Invite millennials to serve on leadership teams or advisory boards where they can make a difference.
- Hire a young adults pastor who has the desire and skill-set to connect with millennials.
Why We Gather
Worship is about remembering God’s story in the past, present, and future.
Worship is about remembering God’s story in the past, present, and future. A corporate gathering is a dialogue between God’s people and God’s word, a chance to remember the story they’re a part of, renew their commitments, and be sent once again into His world. Here are four rhythms that illustrate this dialogue during worship gatherings:
EXPERIENCE THE GOSPEL
- "God is holy"
- "We are sinners"
- "Jesus saves us"
- "Jesus sends us"
REMEMBER THE STORY
- Creation
- Fall
- Redemption
- Consummation
ACTIONS IN LITURGY
- Adoration
- Confession and/or Lament
- Assurance, the peace prayers of thanksgiving, and petition instruction
- Communion commitment/charge blessing
This is the heart of the church’s liturgy, a word that has gathered a lot of buzz, much of which I think is unhelpful. “Liturgy” gets spoken in tense whispers, held out as a sort of mystical code, a way to ensure transcendence or to root us to tradition. But frankly, these are all horrible reasons to embrace liturgy.
These traditions were formed out of a pastoral desire to see the church shaped by the gospel, immersing them in the story every week, enabling the body to remember who God is, what he’s done in Christ, and what He promises about our future.
Worship Is Remembering
If there’s one thing that’s clear about the people of God, it’s this: we are a forgetful bunch. Adam and Eve forgot God, even in the midst of Paradise. The patriarchs forgot him as they drank, womanized, and lied their way toward their destinies. Israel forgot him as soon as the mud from the passage through the Red Sea dried upon their sandals. We forget again and again. That’s why one of the most often repeated commands in the Bible can be summed up with one word: remember. Over and over, to the patriarchs, to Israel, and to the church, we’re told, “Remember.” Even the Ten Commandments are prefaced by a reminder: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.” “Remember your story,” God says. “Remember what I did. Now hear my commands.”
Connecting Past, Present, And Future
When God calls us to remember, he connects us to past and future in a single thought. We’re connected to an entire legacy of faith, stretching from the garden to the New Jerusalem, and connecting us to His people throughout that history. God’s promises are rooted in our heritage of faith and anticipate their fulfillment, and that anticipation is a powerful gift for those who are suffering, struggling, and stumbling along their way. Remembrance is at the heart of New Testament worship. Where before God’s people gathered primarily to be with God at the Temple, we now gather primarily to be with God’s people and to remember Him. We gather to let His word dwell richly among us (Col. 3:16). We gather to encourage one another as “the Day” approaches (Heb. 10:25). And we gather, as theologian David Peterson says in Engaging with God, to “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15) —a command more about shared, congregational confession of the gospel than bold confrontation between two people (as the first is commonly treated).
Telling The Story
If you look at almost any long-standing church tradition, you’ll see that their gatherings had just this intention—the gathering itself tells a story. It begins with God gathering His people, to which the people respond with praise and adoration. Seeing God in the Scriptures almost always results in a cry for mercy, and so the church responds to their own praise with a cry of confession or a lament over the sin in the world. To this, the Scriptures reply with an assurance that, in Christ, our sins are forgiven. We are nurtured by His word, and are sent out again on a mission.
Why We Gather
Written for the Resurgence by Mike Cosper