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Is getting baptized a big deal? It all depends on what it means. To get an idea of its importance, think about the following.
What if you’re attending a wedding ceremony, and the pastor asks the groom, “Will you take this woman to be your wife? If so, say ‘I will,’” and the groom responds, “Do I really need to say that?”
Or, let’s say you’re at a ceremony for new citizens, and the judge says, “Please rise to take the Oath of Citizenship and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution,” and a non-citizen immigrant says to the judge, “I want to have the benefits of being in America, but I really don’t want to be called an American citizen. Can I…
As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting…
Monday started with not enough time with God. I spilled my jaded, exhausted, questioning heart to Him and ran out the door to go work at the church. Yes, you read that right…go work at the church. Part of my prayer was that God would show me that He is at work. My quiet time was pathetic, incomplete with no adoration and a list of frustrated demands. Yet, apparently God received my honest mess and that was exactly the prayer He chose to answer that day.
I went to the office, wrestled through my day with as much faith as I could muster and decided I would attend our Arlington campus for service that 
“…teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20 NASB)
These are the final words of the Lord Jesus Christ when He was on earth. He provided clear direction for all of us as believers. First, we must know Jesus’ commands. Second, we must teach Jesus’ commands. Third, we will have the presence of Jesus with us whenever we obey this.
We must all teach others the things we know about Jesus’ commands. We naturally have no confidence in our ability to teach anyone about Jesus. We know ourselves and are sure that we aren’t capable. But, Jesus never gave a command that He…
Racial divides and cultural conflicts have been the cause of human tragedies around the world for millennia. Ethnic cleansing is but one horrific example of one group’s attempt to completely expunge another from the face of the earth. The root of such atrocities isn’t mere preference, not even prejudice, but what the Bible calls “partiality”, the looking down on one group while looking up to the other. Taken to its extreme, mixed with fierce pride, hearts of people seethe with anger and resentment towards others. Devastation and destruction, enmity and hostility––sometimes raging for hundreds of years––are the results.
What is powerful enough to break down the entrenched barricades separating people, and at the same time build up strong…
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 28:19 NASB)
So then, those who had received His word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:41 NASB)
On June 25, 2005, I placed a ring on the hand of my new bride as an outward, symbolic expression of an inward commitment that we made to each other before God and all our witnesses. This imagery helps us understand the symbolism and significance of baptism. Jesus’ command in the Great Commission to baptize all disciples in the name of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) was designed to…
Empty coffee mugs line my kitchen sink, dining room chairs need to be moved back around the table, and my heart is delighted. Our couples Multiply group just cleared out, after lingering to visit. What a privilege to gather with these people! Most of us are or are close to becoming empty nesters and stand on the precipice of the next chapter of our lives. Younger ones challenge us with the realities of their generation and the need for investment. What might God have in store?
I log into Facebook to see if my college daughters are online. Instead of finding them, I find numerous pictures of young adults being baptized at MBC Arlington! What might God have planned for…