Untitled Sermon (3)

Northside Church Baptism Sunday

Aug. 23, 2020 Jamey Mills

Northside… it is SO good to be with you today and I am so excited that your here to participate with us in a HUGE day in the history of Northside… a day that we get to celebrate the very first fruits… the first of the thousands that God has in mind that will step over the line and publicly declare their faith in Jesus through baptism today…

It’s a HUGE day for Northside but an even bigger day for them… I want to start off by telling those who are getting baptized today that we as your church are proud of you, we are excited for you, and… we are praying for you…

Everything I love about my life came from my decision to follow Jesus… so I am excited for you… but… there were seasons that were incredibly difficult… so I am praying with and for you.

Today we are going to hit pause on the sermon series we have been in… “Unchained” where we have been looking at the book of Philippians in the NT… and today I want to talk briefly about baptism… then… we are going to have some baptisms… and then… Kona Ice is coming to help us celebrate said baptism with snow cones… which is absolutely what Jesus would do.

You may not know it by looking at me, but I am a blessed man. I first say her in the hallway… in September of 1993… and my literal first thought was… well, at least there is one good looking girl in this school. And right away I knew she was different… she was stronger than most, she had standards in her life, and there was an intentionality in the ways he lived that caught my attention from day one. I hadn’t seen anything like that in any other girl before…

So… I did what any guy would do… I drove like an idiot, a locked the truck windows and farter, and started shooting people with blow guns… you know all the things that drive girls wild…

I’d spend the next two years chasing her… showing off… and falling short. She was out of my league. She still is. I knew it, she knew it, and everyone else did too… in fact once we started dating there was an intervention… which was frustrating enough… until you realize it was organized by your best friend.

Little by little God got a hold of my life and honestly, I felt like she was the only one that cared enough to notice. We started dating on thanksgiving… and right away I started saving up for a promise ring… Which honestly, I am not sure what those are all about… I just know what I was trying to communicate… which was… I am all in. No matter where God takes you, no matter how life goes… no matter how you change… no matter how hard it may get… no matter what growing old looks like… I will not stop. I will not look away. I was… and I am… all in.

And that reminds me a ton of baptism…

Baptism is a public declaration of our commitment to be all in on Jesus.

Baptism communicates that we have stepped over the line… It’s a public declaration… a public symbol of an inward commitment that we are all in on Jesus. The ring I bought reminded me… and anyone else who saw it… of a promise I intended to keep… that was to last every day of my life… even when things didn't go the way I thought they would. It was inviting someone into my life that meant real change… It was no longer just about me… and what I want… in fact… it was mostly about someone else.

Baptism is serious… and it should be taken seriously… and my hope and prayer is that today as Baptism happens… for those who take the plunge… That your heart is wide open… the the work God longs to do… that you are resolute… firm… steadfast and striving… to allow Jesus to be the Lord of your life… the caption of your ship… as well as… your refuge and friend.

Today is… a life changing day…

And Baptism is surrounded with all sorts of opinions… one of the questions that have been around a lot longer than I have is this question if baptism is required for us to be saved…

And my response usually goes something like this… “It’s not up to me”. Pray about it… seek what God has to say about it with an open heart that is committed to doing whatever it is God asks you to do.

I line up with Fancis Chan… when he says that when we get to the point of asking if it's required… are we really asking what is the least we can do… the least we can get away with… and still get to heaven… He says… is it required… is the wrong question.

The right question… is this something God desires for and from me and the answer is yes. Baptism is something that Jesus clearly taught… Mark 16 and Matthew 28…

Jesus told those leading within the church to teach people about the love and grace of God found In Him… and to baptism them.

Jesus also set the example… Matthew 3:13–15 (NLT)

13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”

15 But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.

Jesus not only taught it… but he gave the example… and it was

His baptism that sort of earmarked the beginning of his ministry…

I mentioned this last week, but when you study what the Bible has to say about Baptism… you realize that it’s closer to the starting line…

Baptism almost exclusively happens when someone is stepping into a relationship with Jesus…

On of my favorite examples is in Acts 8, as Philip was traveling he came across a high ranking Ethiopian official… who was reading out of the OT… IS 53… Isaiah 53:7–8 (NLT)

7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,

yet he never said a word.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,

he did not open his mouth.

8 Unjustly condemned,

he was led away.

No one cared that he died without descendants,

that his life was cut short in midstream.

But he was struck down

for the rebellion of my people.

And it says that this guy didn't understand what he was reading… so Phillip started with that passage and told Him the good news of Jesus… His love and His grace…

And as they came to the first bit of water… the Ethiopian… who happened to be a eunuch… said… what prevents me from being baptized right here and right now… and so Phillip baptized him. Right then and there.

The way I read it, the requirements for baptism… are water, a repentant heart, and a willful choice to follow Jesus as the Lord of your life.

There is a lot of meaningful symbolism in Baptism…

The water… washing away sin…

The water is symbolic for the washing away of sin.

The would Baptizo means… to immerse… and so that's how we do baptism… and as you go down into the the water… it symbolizes the death of our old life… that is marked by sin and selfishness.

Going under the water symbolizes the death of our old life.

The Greek work for Baptism means to immerse.

And as you come back out… it symbolizes the new life we have in Jesus…

Coming back out of the water symbolizes the new life we have in Jesus.

Baptism symbolizes our commitment to know Jesus and to live for Him… and it really does change the way we see life… people… stress… just about everything.

And one last thing that baptism communicates… that I think is incredibly important is… the joining of God’s family… which is His Church.

Baptism also communicates our desire to join God’s family, which is His Church.

And just like the ring earlier… right… it's kind of like the inlaws that come with the deal… it’s not always pretty… but its important. Haha..

In all seriousness…

Becoming a part of God’s family is so important… and staying involved has a lot to do with you staying healthy in your faith. I’d tell you to love your church family, be present, be involved, serve it…

And for those of us who are having new people join the family… Love them… encourage them… Pray for them… help them… make sure they feel as loved and welcomed as they really are.

Church family is important… the Church is important… and one of the things Jesus told us to do… is what we call communion… Just like Baptism is so highly symbolic, so is communion… the elements of Bread and Juice… reminds us of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus…

It was Jesus Himself… that pulled the believers aside… and broke the bread and gave the cup… telling them to do this and remember… as a way of not forgetting… who Jesus is… and what Jesus did… his death and resurrection… that restores our relationship with God through faith in Him. and the more you read in the BIble… in the OT… the more we understand why the cross happened…. We understand why it had to be that way…

Today if you want to participate in communion I want to invite you to… over the next few songs, help yourself… and take it whenever you're ready. Social distance. If for whatever reason participating is just not where you are today… I want you to know we understand and don't feel bad.

2 SONGS.

I am so over the top excited… I really am.

Most of you know that I have spent about 1\2 my life in youth ministry… my heart still aches for students and probably always will…

And so today… to have the very first group of people to be baptized at Northside… to have that be a group of students… man there is so much joy in that for me…

And with that… I want to ask the candidates… and their parents… to come forward…

Confession of Faith:

I want to introduce you all to…

Carson Hemmer

Lexie Boshart

Blake Boshart

Regan lekkerkerker

Braydon Lekkerkerker

So excited for you… and as we get ready for your Baptism today… there is one thing I wanted to encourage you all with…

Joshua 24… talks about a time with Joshua summoned all of Israel together… and reminded them of God’s faithfulness and all that God had done…

I want you to remember that that happiest people… and the most faithf filled people… do that… the think about and remember the ways God loves them, cares for them, and has shown his faithfulness to them… even when they wouldn’t listen or when they messed up…

And Joshua told them these things for a reason…

That even though God had been faithful… their culture chose other things…

Vs. 14 it says… so fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly…. Put away the idols… those things in your life begin to take God’s place in our hearts and schedules…

And then in vs. 15 he says… Chose this day who it is you’ll serve… Will it be God… the creator of it all who knows you by name and loves you deeply… or own desires… or manmade things.

BUT… thats a big BUT… as for me and my family… regardless of what you all do… we will serve the Lord.

I want you to know that is my prayer for you… that from here on, your heart will resolutely say within you… within your family… and within our culture… that no matter what they do… We will serve the Lord.

I want you to know if you keep that in your heart… your life will look drastically different than if you don’t.

My prayer is… that there will never be a day… that your heart moves away from that sort of resolve… of serving God first and foremost in your life regardless of whats going on around you.

Church… part of what we do is support our church family… and if your committed to come beside them… encourage them and support them… would you stand as we pray over them.

Pray

Part of what unites us… what makes us family… is our common belief in Jesus… That He is God’s son and that He came to bridge the gap that sin creates between us and a holy God.

And so with that… I need to ask each of you… Is it your desire to come today and publicly declare Jesus as the Lord of your life?

With that in mind… lets get it on.

Carson… Baptized by Bobby

Lexie: Jim and I meeting Thurs.

Blake: (Ba-Lock-kay) Jim and I are meeting Thurs.

Regan: Phone convo sometime today