Embracing Our Identity Through the Gift of Baptism
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
"Remembrance of Baptism Sunday is the second Sunday in the church calendar year of Epiphany, the second Sunday of Epiphany. We always focus on this Sunday on the scripture passage about Jesus' baptism, the moment when he entered the waters. And we ask you at the end of the service to take a moment to reflect on and remember your own baptisms at the close." [00:04:36]
"Baptism just might be one of the most debated topics. In all of Christianity. Aspersion or immersion. That's the seminary degree way of saying sprinkled or dunked. Infant baptism. Or believers baptism. And if believers baptism, how young is too young? Twelve years of age. Eight years of age. Five years. Four years." [00:23:42]
"Paul would be turning over in his grave because he believed that baptism did not erect, but it was the baptism of Christ. But tore down the walls that separate us. He said, as many of us as have been baptized into Christ have clothed ourselves with Christ, there is no longer Jew nor Greek. There is no longer slave or free. There is no longer male and female." [00:29:00]
"This story of Jesus being baptized shows up every year on the second Sunday of January 1st in Matthew, then in Mark, and then in Luke. But even though Jesus' baptism is told in all three of those Gospels, it's difficult to explain because why would Jesus, the Son of God, submit to a baptism of repentance?" [00:29:52]
"Our own baptisms are mysterious and powerful and difficult to explain. But as difficult as all of the ways that Jesus' baptism are to understand, there is one thing that all three of these Gospels make absolutely clear. After Jesus is baptized, He sees the heavens pulled open. And He sees the Spirit descend as a dove. And He hears God's voice say to Him, You are my Son, my Beloved." [00:33:33]
"God loves Jesus before he does anything. God loves. Us before we do anything. So what makes us think that we have to get everything just right before we can get baptized? Maybe baptism isn't about getting our lives right first, but about first hearing that God is going to love us whether we ever get our lives right or not." [00:35:30]
"Fred Craddock once told about an evening when he and his wife were eating dinner at a little restaurant in the smoky mountains and this strange elderly man came sauntering over to them he was chatting up the whole cafe made his way to their table and started to talk with them and when he found out that fred was a preacher he said i have a story to tell you he said i'm from around these parts a few mountains over but my mother wasn't married when she got pregnant with me nor did he bother to stick around he says so the shame that the community sort of heaped on her always spilled over onto me he said whenever i went to 10 with my mother, I could see people staring at us, trying to make guesses as to who the father was." [00:37:04]
"He says, in my early teens, I began attending this little church, but I was always sure to leave before church was over because I was always terrified that somebody was going to grab me and say, what's a boy like you doing in church? He said, one day before I could escape, I felt this hand land on my shoulder. It was the preacher." [00:38:16]
"And the old man said, who are you? old man said well I felt this big weight coming down on me it was like a big black cloud even the preacher was putting me down and then the preacher said well boy you you he said he then he paused but when he spoke again he said you are a child of God the resemblance is striking and then he gave me a SWAT and he told me to go claim my inheritance the old man looked across the table at Fred and his wife and he said you know you know the most important words that anybody ever told me I've never forgotten them in fact in some way that's hard to explain but I was born that day" [00:38:54]
"What was true for Jesus at his baptism and what was true for Ben Hooper at his God holds true for each and every one of us you are God's child God's beloved and you God is already well pleased" [00:40:24]
"I will fly with you to Israel and dunk you in the Jordan if that's what it takes for you to know how much God loves you. Because when I look at you, do you know what I see? I see God's beloved. Whether you ever decide to love God, whether you ever decide to get baptized or not, I am already proud of you. Amen." [00:41:48]
"May you know that the Creator of the universe is for you and not against you. May you know that Jesus, Emmanuel, is always with you, never leaving nor forsaking you. May you know that the Holy Spirit is your advocate and not your abuser. And may you know bone deep that you are forgiven, loved, and free to love this world into a new existence. Amen." [01:02:07]
Ask a question about this sermon
"Baptism just might be one of the most debated topics. In all of Christianity. Aspersion or immersion. That's the seminary degree way of saying sprinkled or dunked. Infant baptism. Or believers baptism. And if believers baptism, how young is too young? Twelve years of age. Eight years of age. Five years. Four years." [00:23:42]
"Paul would be turning over in his grave because he believed that baptism did not erect, but it was the baptism of Christ. But tore down the walls that separate us. He said, as many of us as have been baptized into Christ have clothed ourselves with Christ, there is no longer Jew nor Greek. There is no longer slave or free. There is no longer male and female." [00:29:00]
"This story of Jesus being baptized shows up every year on the second Sunday of January 1st in Matthew, then in Mark, and then in Luke. But even though Jesus' baptism is told in all three of those Gospels, it's difficult to explain because why would Jesus, the Son of God, submit to a baptism of repentance?" [00:29:52]
"Our own baptisms are mysterious and powerful and difficult to explain. But as difficult as all of the ways that Jesus' baptism are to understand, there is one thing that all three of these Gospels make absolutely clear. After Jesus is baptized, He sees the heavens pulled open. And He sees the Spirit descend as a dove. And He hears God's voice say to Him, You are my Son, my Beloved." [00:33:33]
"God loves Jesus before he does anything. God loves. Us before we do anything. So what makes us think that we have to get everything just right before we can get baptized? Maybe baptism isn't about getting our lives right first, but about first hearing that God is going to love us whether we ever get our lives right or not." [00:35:30]
"Fred Craddock once told about an evening when he and his wife were eating dinner at a little restaurant in the smoky mountains and this strange elderly man came sauntering over to them he was chatting up the whole cafe made his way to their table and started to talk with them and when he found out that fred was a preacher he said i have a story to tell you he said i'm from around these parts a few mountains over but my mother wasn't married when she got pregnant with me nor did he bother to stick around he says so the shame that the community sort of heaped on her always spilled over onto me he said whenever i went to 10 with my mother, I could see people staring at us, trying to make guesses as to who the father was." [00:37:04]
"He says, in my early teens, I began attending this little church, but I was always sure to leave before church was over because I was always terrified that somebody was going to grab me and say, what's a boy like you doing in church? He said, one day before I could escape, I felt this hand land on my shoulder. It was the preacher." [00:38:16]
"And the old man said, who are you? old man said well I felt this big weight coming down on me it was like a big black cloud even the preacher was putting me down and then the preacher said well boy you you he said he then he paused but when he spoke again he said you are a child of God the resemblance is striking and then he gave me a SWAT and he told me to go claim my inheritance the old man looked across the table at Fred and his wife and he said you know you know the most important words that anybody ever told me I've never forgotten them in fact in some way that's hard to explain but I was born that day" [00:38:54]
"What was true for Jesus at his baptism and what was true for Ben Hooper at his God holds true for each and every one of us you are God's child God's beloved and you God is already well pleased" [00:40:24]
"I will fly with you to Israel and dunk you in the Jordan if that's what it takes for you to know how much God loves you. Because when I look at you, do you know what I see? I see God's beloved. Whether you ever decide to love God, whether you ever decide to get baptized or not, I am already proud of you. Amen." [00:41:48]
"May you know that the Creator of the universe is for you and not against you. May you know that Jesus, Emmanuel, is always with you, never leaving nor forsaking you. May you know that the Holy Spirit is your advocate and not your abuser. And may you know bone deep that you are forgiven, loved, and free to love this world into a new existence. Amen." [01:02:07]
Chatbot
-
I'm an AI bot trained specifically on the sermon from Jan 13, 2025. Do you have any questions about it?