Pillars Week 6: Communion and Baptism | Journey Church Online | May 17, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Jesus Steps into the Jordan

John plunged believers beneath the muddy Jordan waters, calling them to repentance. Then Jesus approached – sinless, yet insisting John baptize Him. As He emerged, the Spirit descended like a dove while the Father’s voice thundered approval. This trinitarian moment marked the launch of Christ’s earthly ministry. [53:14]

Jesus didn’t need cleansing, but His obedience set the pattern. By wading into those waters, He sanctified the act of public surrender. The Jordan became a threshold where heaven’s approval met earthly mission.

Your baptism declared war on hidden faith. When did you last share the story behind your plunge? Write down one sentence summarizing why you chose baptism. Who needs to hear that testimony this week?

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’”
(Matthew 3:13-15, ESV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal areas where your private faith needs public expression.
Challenge: Text one person about your baptism date and what it meant to you.

Day 2: Waters of Chaos, Paths of Promise

Chaos reigned in Genesis 1 – formless void, dark waters, undefined mass. Then God’s Spirit hovered. With a word, He split seas from sky, land from ocean. Order emerged where disorder ruled. This watery pattern repeats: Noah’s flood, Red Sea walls, Jordan’s parted flow. [55:41]

Each division created new identity. The waters didn’t destroy – they became birth canals. Israel left slavery through sea-walls. You leave sin through baptism’s current. What drowns isn’t you, but what bound you.

Are you facing chaos God wants to structure? List three current “formless voids” in your life. Circle one to surrender to His shaping work. Which area feels most like pre-creation darkness needing His light?

“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
(Genesis 1:2, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for His power to bring order from your personal chaos.
Challenge: Fill a glass with water. As you pour it out, name one burden for God to reshape.

Day 3: Buried, Raised, Made New

Paul uses stark language: baptized into Christ’s death, buried like corpses, raised to new life. Roman believers knew tombs – cold stone sealing departed souls. Your baptismal tank became a grave for old addictions, shame cycles, and dead-end paths. [59:28]

Resurrection isn’t metaphor. As Jesus left linen wrappings in the tomb, you left chains in that water. Each air gasp post-immersion declared “I’m His reborn creation.”

What “grave clothes” have you mistakenly kept? Write “buried” on a scrap of paper. Tear it while praying Romans 6:11 aloud. What sin’s stench still lingers, needing resurrection power’s final cleanse?

“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
(Romans 6:4, ESV)

Prayer: Confess one resurrected area of your life that’s slipped back into grave-like thinking.
Challenge: Destroy one item symbolizing your pre-baptism life (old addiction paraphernalia, toxic playlist, etc).

Day 4: Broken Bread, Poured-Out Cup

Dusty disciples reclined around Passover lamb. Jesus lifted unleavened bread – “My body.” He passed bitter herbs – “My suffering.” Finally, the cup – “My blood.” Their meal became His memorial. No longer anticipating Messiah, they remembered Him crucified. [01:07:01]

Communion’s elements are shockingly physical. Teeth crush wheat. Throat swallows juice. Faith isn’t abstract – it’s embodied. Christ’s sacrifice engages taste, touch, smell.

When has ritual become rote for you? During your next communion, pause to inhale the bread’s scent before eating. What tangible aspect of Christ’s sacrifice most anchors your faith?

“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’”
(Luke 22:19, ESV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for the physical pain He endured to make spiritual communion possible.
Challenge: Bake bread today. As it rises, meditate on Christ’s body broken for your wholeness.

Day 5: Until He Comes

Paul ends his communion instructions with anticipation: “Until He comes.” Early Christians toasted “Maranatha!” – Aramaic for “Our Lord, come!” Each crumb and sip pointed beyond the present to the Wedding Supper. They ate backward-looking meals with forward-leaning hope. [01:17:19]

Your last communion will be your first at heaven’s table. What now tastes bitter – persecution, loss – will sweeten in eternity’s light. The feast’s final course awaits the King’s return.

What earthly struggle needs eternal perspective? Write “Maranatha!” on your mirror. How would living with “until He comes” urgency change this week’s priorities?

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
(1 Corinthians 11:26, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to kindle fresh longing for Christ’s return as you take communion.
Challenge: Set a daily phone reminder at 11:26 AM to pray “Come, Lord Jesus” using 1 Cor 11:26.

Sermon Summary

Baptism stands where Jesus places it, inside the Great Commission, as a clear command to make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus sets the pattern by stepping into the Jordan, receiving baptism from John, and hearing the Father’s voice while the Spirit descends, marking identity and mission as his public ministry begins. Baptism then sits beside repentance as the church’s natural next step: repent and be baptized. Paul drives it home in Romans 6: baptism identifies a believer with Jesus’ burial and resurrection so that new life is not a slogan but a declared union with the risen Christ.

The waters themselves preach. Scripture keeps cycling a pattern: God brings order out of chaos through the waters, separates the waters, dry ground appears, life flourishes. Creation shows it. Noah sees it. Moses walks through it at the Red Sea. Joshua steps into it at the Jordan. The pattern escalates in Jesus’ baptism where water, Spirit, and Son converge, and it climaxes in the grave, the ultimate water, where Jesus rises into unbreakable life. Baptism steps into that storyline as a watery tomb. It does not save, but it publicly declares who now defines a life: not the old chaos, but the God who parts the waters.

Because the Greek term means immerse, baptism goes under the water, not a sprinkle. Because faith precedes the sign, baptism follows personal belief, while infants are dedicated to the Lord as a gift returned, not baptized into a faith they cannot yet confess. In the church, baptism turns into a loud celebration of grace because grace has changed a name and a future.

Communion carries a different weight. Jesus earnestly desires this table, fulfilling Passover and handing the church a rhythm that keeps the cross central. The bread remembers a body truly broken, without a bone broken, so Isaiah 53 lands with force: pierced, crushed, beaten, and whipped so that rebels are forgiven, the broken are made whole, and the sick find healing. The cup remembers a new covenant in blood. The elements do not transform; they testify. The blood reconciles and saves.

At the Table, the church remembers, reflects, trusts, and looks forward. Examination is not a suggestion; it is obedience that refuses to drink judgment by clutching bitterness or hidden sin. Trust leans hard on justification by Christ’s work, not personal effort. And hope looks ahead, because Jesus will not drink again until the kingdom comes. Baptism declares whose someone is. Communion reminds what it cost.

Key Takeaways

1. Baptism follows Jesus’ command and example [51:00] Jesus ties baptism to disciple-making, then steps into the Jordan to model it. The Father names him, and the Spirit rests on him, marking identity and mission. Baptism is obedience that moves a private surrender into a public declaration. It is not optional window dressing; it is the next step of discipleship. [51:00]
2. Water tells a rescue pattern [55:41] Scripture keeps repeating a storyline through the waters: chaos, separation, dry ground, life. Creation, the flood, the Red Sea, and the Jordan all sing the same melody that crescendos in Jesus’ baptism and resurrection. Baptism plugs a believer into that melody so the old chaos no longer writes the ending. The God who parts waters now defines the future. [55:41]
3. Baptism announces a new identity [59:28] Romans 6 frames baptism as burial with Christ and rising with him into newness of life. The tank becomes a watery tomb where the past is left behind and a name is spoken over a life: raised with Christ. It doesn’t earn salvation, but it declares allegiance, union, and a new rhythm of obedience. [59:28]
4. Communion remembers, examines, and hopes [01:13:49] The Table keeps the cross in the center by remembering Christ’s body and blood as the ransom, not personal works. Self-examination honors the holiness of the moment and clears the heart of unforgiveness and hidden sin. Trust rests in the finished work, and hope looks ahead to the day Jesus drinks the cup new in the kingdom. [73:49]
5. The blood makes people whole [01:12:00] Isaiah 53 is not poetry for a wall; it is medicine for a soul and body. Pierced and crushed, Jesus secures forgiveness; beaten and whipped, he brings wholeness and healing. Communion refuses to go quiet on the blood because the blood changes everything, reconciling sinners and restoring the broken. [72:00]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[35:38] - Sabbatical policy and purpose
[40:47] - Pillars recap and today’s focus
[43:25] - Rapid-fire theology Q&A
[50:29] - Prayer and ordinances overview
[51:00] - Why baptism: commanded and modeled
[52:06] - Jesus’ baptism and the Trinity
[55:11] - How biblical patterns work
[55:41] - Water, chaos, rescue, new identity
[59:28] - Romans 6 and the watery tomb
[63:40] - Immersion, no infant baptism, dedication
[65:24] - Baptism celebration and sign-ups
[67:01] - Why communion: Passover fulfilled
[69:45] - Remembering body and blood
[73:49] - Examine yourselves before the Table
[76:39] - Communion and future hope
[77:44] - Salvation call and prayer
[81:00] - Receiving communion together
[88:09] - Closing blessing and next steps

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Romans 6:3-4 (ESV)
"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."

Luke 22:19-20 (ESV)
"And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.'"

Observation Questions

What two actions does Jesus explicitly link to disciple-making in Matthew 28:19-20?
According to Romans 6:3-4, what does baptism symbolize about a believer’s relationship with Christ?
In the sermon, how does the pattern of water in Scripture (creation, flood, Red Sea, Jordan River) culminate in Jesus’ baptism and resurrection? [55:41]
What four actions does the church take at Communion, as outlined in the sermon? [01:13:49]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think Jesus chose baptism as the public marker of discipleship, even though it doesn’t save a person? How does this connect to His own baptism? [51:00]
The sermon describes baptism as a "watery tomb" that declares a new identity. How does Romans 6:3-4 challenge the idea that our past failures or chaos define us?
Jesus said He "earnestly desired" to share the Passover meal before His death (Luke 22:15). Why might this moment have held such emotional weight for Him, and what does it reveal about the purpose of Communion?
The sermon warns against taking Communion while harboring bitterness or hidden sin. Why is self-examination tied so closely to this ordinance? [01:14:29]

Application Questions

Baptism is described as a public declaration of faith. If you haven’t been baptized, what hesitations or questions do you need to address? If you have, how does remembering your baptism encourage you in your current struggles?
The sermon states, "The God who parts the waters now defines your future." [59:28] What area of your life still feels dominated by "chaos," and how could trusting God’s power to bring order change your perspective?
Before taking Communion, we’re called to examine our hearts. Is there unforgiveness, bitterness, or unconfessed sin you need to address this week? What practical step will you take to reconcile or repent?
The sermon emphasizes that Communion "reminds us what it cost" to belong to Christ. [01:21:00] How could regularly reflecting on Jesus’ broken body and shed blood deepen your gratitude and obedience?
Baptism celebrates grace changing a person’s "name and future." [01:05:24] Who in your life needs to hear this hope? How will you intentionally share the story of Christ’s rescue with them this month?

Sermon Clips

I am different now. See, creation waters parted. Noah was rescued. Moses sea was split. Joshua's waters were held back. Jesus defeated death. When you go into the tank, you're saying my past is gone. The waters of chaos in my life don't define me anymore. The God who parts the waters now defines me. I don't think you're picking up what I put down just now. Well, you're saying, hey, look, my life, all of this other junk, that doesn't define me any longer. The God who can part the waters, that's who defines me now. [01:02:19] (30 seconds)

What are we seeing here? Paul's telling us, here's the thing that you need to understand. When you go down in the water, you're you're identifying with death. You're being buried. When you come up out of the water, you're identifying with Jesus resurrection. You're raised to new life. So what happens is when you get baptized, you're telling the world, I've crossed over from where I was. I have died with Christ but I am raised with Christ as well and I no longer belong to my old life. Are you with me? See, baptism doesn't save you, it just shows the world you've been saved. [01:00:51] (33 seconds)

But I want you to understand this morning, it's not about getting wet. It's really not. It's about obeying Jesus command and following his example and declaring, I am no longer defined by nor am I held by my sin, my shame, my past, or my fear. Why? Because of Jesus, I win. Because of Jesus, I win. I belong to Jesus. So baptism is a moment of obedience. It's a moment of following his example, but it's a moment that sets a new rhythm in your life. [01:03:02] (31 seconds)

We look forward. What does that mean? Luke twenty two eighteen. Jesus said, for I tell you that from now on, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. Jesus said, I'm not gonna do this again until we're together in the kingdom of God. In other words, I'm not gonna do this again till we're in heaven. So when we take communion, we are declaring that we are looking forward to the fact that Jesus is coming back and he's coming back in power and he's coming back in victory. We declare that Jesus wins and when we receive the Lord's Supper, we're declaring we're looking forward to that moment as much as anything else. [01:16:43] (34 seconds)

The bible or the the what we see from the bible, we knew that we know this. Baptism declares whose you are. Communion reminds you what it cost. Baptism remind declares whose you are. Communion reminds you what it cost. So today, all gonna take a minute and we're gonna come to the Lord's table, but we're not gonna do it casually. We remember what he did and the brokenness of his body to bring victory over sin. [01:21:01] (26 seconds)

We don't do this flippantly. We do this at a place of of awe and thanksgiving. This reminds us that salvation came at a great cost. It has a price and Jesus paid that price for us. So before we go any further, I'm gonna ask you to do me a favor. I'm ask you to take just a moment and reflect. Make sure there's no sin. Make sure there's no unforgiveness. Make sure there's no bitterness. Make sure none of those things in your life for just a moment. Make sure you're where you need to be before you receive of the Lord's table. Take just a moment. [01:21:46] (60 seconds)

That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. That's a serious warning and a serious command. He says, before you receive the communion, you need to look inside for a minute. Reflect into your world. Look and see what's going on in your life. Decide it and make sure there's nothing ungodly happening in your world. Do you have some unforgiveness? Do you have some bitterness? Do you have some anger? Do you have whatever it is? You need to deal with that. And I'm just gonna say this real quick. If you realize there's some unforgiveness in your life or some bitterness in your life and you need to get that right and you go to somebody, [01:14:40] (35 seconds)

Paul tells us in Romans, you and I are born with sin in our lives. We're born with something that separates us from God. And the reality is, there's nothing you and I could do to change that. And what we earn according to Paul is an eternity in hell. It's an eternity separated from God. But John says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son. That whosoever believes in him should not perish but all have eternal life. He loves us so much that he sent his son. You and I are the whosoever's. We're the whosoever's. [01:17:56] (34 seconds)

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Pillars Week 6: Communion and Baptism | Journey Church Online | May 17, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Jesus Steps into the Jordan

Day 2: Waters of Chaos, Paths of Promise

Day 3: Buried, Raised, Made New

Day 4: Broken Bread, Poured-Out Cup

Day 5: Until He Comes

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Pillars Week 6: Communion and Baptism | Journey Church Online | May 17, 2026

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