Baptism Renewal

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Baptism. Most of us who have a relationship with Christ have probably been baptized, whether it was as a small child and you don’t even remember it, or as an adult years ago. But does baptism have any meaning now? Do you even think about your baptism? If you’re like me, the only time you do is when you read a bible passage like Romans 6 where Paul writes, “Don’t you know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Wait…how does baptism connect with newness of life? Can that have any impact on my life in Christ now? In fact it can, if we understand the nature of our baptism.
This is what we’ll explore in a 4 week elective on Tuesdays August 9, 16, 23, & 30. We’ll consider the meaning and effect of our baptism, ending on week 4 with a service of “Baptism Renewal.” This could just change how you walk in newness of life through your baptism.
This class will be at Cornerstone Church, 5344 Fishcreek Rd. in Stow at 7:00 PM. You can’t make Tuesdays? The first 3 will also be available online. (Check back here after Tuesday night.) Either way I hope you can join us on Tuesday August 30 for a service of baptism renewal.
If you cannot attend Aug. 9, please take a moment to complete the following survey before you watch the first video.

 

 

Easter vs. Christmas

Easter Sunday. Resurrection Sunday. The pinnacle of the Christian year. As much as we love Christmas with its preceding Advent season, it is Easter, preceded by Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, that defines God’s redeeming act toward His creation.

There’s something “raw” about Holy Week. Christmas has decorations, parties, too much food, too much money spent on presents, travel, dysfunctional family time, etc, and, oh yeah…Jesus’ birthday thrown in there at the end. Afterward we pack it all away for eleven months, occasionally thinking about God becoming man. However this “incarnation” truly sets the stage for Easter. I know…Easter has the Easter bunny & jelly beans. Somehow, to me, the Easter bunny runs a distant second place from Santa Claus. Easter, along with the preceding Thursday and Friday, is all about Jesus. His love for his disciples…the 12…the 120…the millions to come. His sacrifice which put that love into action, erasing our sins and crucifying the law of sin and death. The limitless power of God shown in raising Jesus from the dead, bringing us new life and power. His promise to return bringing eternal hope.

It’s the story of the cross and resurrection that carries me through the whole year. It is the reason I’m alive. The reason I can know my Creator…can have a relationship with him. Every day I experience its effects as I confess my sins, repent and experience the forgiveness that flows through Christ. Every day I experience the power of the resurrection by saying “no” to sin and death and “yes” to God. Every day I can experience the victory of Christ in the strength of His indwelling Holy Spirit. Every day I look forward to spending forever with Him in an eternal home. Truly, “death has no sting.”

This is God’s story. Through the thread of creation to incarnation to re-creation He invites us to participate in it. As much as I enjoy the gifts God has given to me, ultimately it is the worship I give to him that matters. Not so much the gift I’ve received as the gift I can give to Him.

That’s my prayer for you this Easter. Hear His story of Creation-Incarnation-Re-creation. Accept His invitation to enter into it. Then worship with your whole heart this God Who loves without limits.

A blessed Resurrection Day,

Bill Kirkwood

A Grateful Heart

This Sunday my pastor is preaching from Psalm 51… written by King David when he was confronted by Nathan the prophet after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. This morning in our staff prayer time we looked at the background passage for this psalm. 2 Samuel 12 is the story behind Nathan’s rebuke. Nathan brings the words of an angry God to David:

            “I anointed you king over Israel… I gave your master’s house to you…I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.”

 David had seen God’s goodness in so many amazing ways. Yet he wanted the one thing he was forbidden to have…another man’s wife. When he took her, serious consequences followed. 

Sound familiar? Remember Adam and Eve? Surrounded by all the bounties of a glorious garden, able to walk and talk with the Creator, they still wanted more. They wanted the one thing they were forbidden to take. When they ate of the fruit, serious consequences followed.

What about me? How many times am I aware of the miraculous gifts God has showered upon me? Life. Health. Loving family. A relationship with my Savior with infinite love and grace. God gives more than I could ever imagine and certainly more than I deserve. Yet how many times do I want more…a little more money…a bigger house…a nicer car……this person to like me…greater respect from others. Dissatisfaction sets in and I find myself dwelling on what I don’t have rather than the bounties I do have. Serious consequences follow.

Like David, I also deserve to hear the words,

“Why did you despise the word of the LORD?”

 

And like David I need to come to the point where I can say,

“I have sinned against the LORD.”

 

Finally, I long to hear, “The LORD has taken away your sin.”

With His help my desire is to spend more time remembering His goodness to someone upon whom He chooses to shower His blessings, and to allow that remembering to overcome my short-sighted desire to covet what I do not have. The result? A grateful heart. Closer dependence on God. More peace and joy in life.

That’s my prayer for each of us. It begins with a grateful heart.