Baptism | Pastor Chris Kouba

Grab your Bibles, open them up with me to Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

I want to use this opportunity to welcome all of the men at the Ramsey Unit and all of the women at the Plain State Correctional Facility.

We are very grateful to be able to bring this message to you and excited to see how God is going to hopefully use it in your life today.

Do you remember what life was like before we used emojis?

Remember what life was like before we used emojis.

Think about that.

I mean, emojis have become something that is so standard, so typical, so normal in our everyday communication.

But believe it or not, there was a time when you actually had to say what it was that you were trying to communicate as opposed to not typing it out, which is of course a shortcut, but even more of a shortcut than that, actually having to use a picture to demonstrate this.

Emojis, however, have taken us by storm.

As of right now, there are 3,633 emojis in existence.

And some of you use 2,950 of them on a consistent basis, right?

You know who you are.

Did you know that if you use an emoji, it increases your engagement by 25% on Twitter and by 58% on Facebook?

And if you're trying to get more clicks on an article, the simple use of one emoji increases the likelihood of that article being clicked on by 241%.

Just an emoji just draws you in.

Now we know that emojis are great to use and they're fun to use, but the problem comes whenever you send an emoji thinking that it means one thing, only to discover that the person that you've sent this symbol, this emoji to, interprets it as a different thing.

Let's just use a few, just sort of basic ones that hopefully can be all agreed upon.

Do you ever use this emoji right here?

This is a pretty basic emoji.

This emoji is meant to express happiness, or this emoji is meant to express laughing, okay?

Again, this is what generally speaking, this emoji is communicating.

How about this next one?

Maybe if you're something that is really, really funny, then you will use this emoji.

This emoji is meant to describe someone that is laughing so hard, they're literally rolling on the ground laughing at whatever it is that was just sent.

Another one would be this one.

This is the basic thumbs up emoji, all right?

This emoji is meant to imply, hey, good job, or I affirm what it is that you've sent.

Maybe you use it kind of like I do every now and then, where somebody sends you a text message, there's really no response that is needed.

I don't want them to think I'm rude and I didn't get the text message.

I don't want to put on read receipts because only weird people do that, right?

And so therefore, right?

I just do the thumbs up.

I, FYI, I'm good, and I'm moving on in this conversation, okay?

Like, good job.

There we go.

All right.

How about this one?

Have you ever used this one before?

This is one that's a little bit more of a confusing one.

This is a person bowing, and it's meant to express a sincere apology or to request a large favor.

You would probably not necessarily know that when you first see that, which is part of the problem with emojis.

Is that sometimes what people intend to be one thing is actually something very, very different.

In fact, this emoji uh is has been interpreted as a person doing push-ups, all right?

So maybe you send something asking a big favor and they're like, Do you want to go work out?

That's maybe the difference in communication.

Uh, lying down to have a massage, or laying their head on a table because they're so bored or tired that they don't want to engage in the conversation, okay?

Again, very, very different motives, uh, but all very different in terms of the interpretation as well.

How about this one?

What is this emoji?

Say that loud.

What's this emoji?

You just proved my point, okay?

Uh, for some of you, I heard the word I heard high five.

That's what this emoji was originally intended to be was a high five.

Some of you just learned that right now, right?

I just taught you that.

You did not know that previously.

Because you're spiritual, and so therefore you thought it was spraying hands, didn't you?

Right.

Okay, can you imagine?

There's been some news reports about this, about the radical difference in interpretation with the same emoji.

Somebody maybe sends a notice that says, Hey, I wanted to let you know that your grandmother passed away.

Or maybe, hey, I wanted you to know that you didn't, I didn't get the job or whatever.

And somebody sends what they assume is praying hands only to discover that it was interpreted as high five?

You're glad about that?

What is this about?

So, symbols, I just blew some of your minds.

I can already tell right now.

Symbols are helpful when everyone has the same understanding as to what the symbols represent.

Symbols, when they're used and represent different things, can in fact cause more confusion, not bring clarity to the communication.

This morning we're gonna look at Romans chapter 6, and I want us to look at a symbol that is a very, very important thing in the Bible and a very, very important thing at United City.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

It's a symbol that is meant to train people, to disciple people.

It's a symbol that is meant to be used as a way to teach and communicate theology.

It is a symbol that we base so much of what we do around, and we place it and it is a prominent place in the context of our services.

It's the symbol of baptism.

Uh you may uh have thought about baptism and maybe see the way that we do baptism if perhaps you're from a different background or a different tradition, and you may wonder why do you guys do it the way that you do it?

Why do you do it in the form that you do it?

Why do you do it uh in the response that you do it?

And what I want to do today is to tell you why we think baptism is such a big deal.

This year so far in our calendar year, we've seen 131 people baptized at United City, which is an amazing thing, an amazing year already so far.

Absolutely, that's worth celebrating by itself.

Baptism is such a big deal that you may have remembered if you've been a part of United City for a while, you know that earlier this year we discovered that we had a problem, a problem we didn't anticipate having, but a problem that we were glad to have, and that was the Baptistry area that we did in our renovation a few years ago, which is right up there behind this LED wall.

Uh, we were having so many people coming to watch somebody else's baptism to celebrate and experience that with them, that literally the area was deemed unsafe, and we had to limit the number of people that could watch.

And so, therefore, we did a baptism project, and we were able to raise the funds and money needed to reinforce that baptistry area so that literally all family, all friends, literally teams of people can go up there and now watch when their loved one, their friend, their person in their life group goes and gets baptized.

So, what I want to talk to you today, though, is from Romans chapter 6 and explain to you the why of baptism.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

We put baptism in a prominent place in our service because we believe it's communicating and it's teaching not just about the life of the one that is being baptized, but if you're a believer in Jesus, it is also teaching and reminding you of something that also is true in your life.

Which is why baptism isn't to be done just at home by yourself with just your immediate family.

Instead, baptism is a church celebration because of the church truth that it is teaching in that moment.

Before we get into Romans chapter 6, though, I want to give a little summary of where we have been up to this point.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

The Bible tells us that God very clearly has created his creation in such a way where he had a very clear design.

Can you guys see that?

God has his design.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, Genesis chapter 1, 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

We know that the Bible says that because of God's design, because God is the creator, that not only us individually, but also us collectively, God has a purpose and a plan.

Romans chapter 12 tells us his plan and his purpose for our lives is good, perfect, and pleasing.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 1, we looked at this.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

The Bible tells us that his creation is so significant and so powerful that Psalm 19, verse 1 says, The heavens declare the glory of God, the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Psalms 19:1

Literally, all of us are standing before God without excuse because of the design, the creation that God has made.

Literally, it gives testimony that God is real and that God exists.

We know though, the Bible very clearly tells us that even though we have God's design, we know that because of this thing that's called sin, we have gone against what God has designed.

We learned in this last series that we were just in that the issue that we have is not just the fact that we were born into sin, which all of us were, but that we also likewise committed sins on our own.

As a result of the sin that exists in our world, it has ultimately led to a place of brokenness.

I think we can all agree that things are broken.

Things are broken in your own personal life, you get sick, you go through traffic, you've got uh you don't get what you think you should deserve, you have people that wrong you.

So, on a personal level, there is brokenness.

But on a much larger level, there is also brokenness in every aspect of our world.

People try to deal with brokenness in all different facets and in all different ways.

People try to answer this brokenness by maybe trying to do more or try harder or try different things, maybe they resort to things like drugs or alcohol.

Maybe people turn to relationships, maybe try to say that the life that I have now is not working, and so therefore I'm gonna get rid of this life, and they kind of start a new life.

Maybe they leave their family and they go start something new, and they try all of these various ways in order to deal with their brokenness.

The Bible in Romans chapter 1 and the ugly truth series, what we learn is that is they try to suppress the truth.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

They take what is true and they try to define it a different way and say, well, it's not working out, and so therefore I want to define it my own way.

And it says ultimately that leads to even more brokenness.

We learn in Romans chapter 2 that maybe people try to do better than somebody else, thinking that somehow by their goodness it's gonna lead them out of a place of brokenness only for them to discover somebody else is better than them.

Romans 2 · chapter mention

They're still broken.

Maybe then the idea would be is there's religion.

Maybe folks try to just be more religious, they try church, they try all of these various things to try to get themselves out of this brokenness only to discover all of these things are various things that lead them into a greater amount of brokenness.

But the Bible very clearly tells us, we learned it last week in the All Rise series, that ultimately the answer was provided for us, and it was by God sending his one and only Son, Jesus, who came down and lived a perfect, sinless, obedient life on this earth.

He died a sacrificial death on a cross, and the Bible says that three days later he rose from the dead, defeating the power of sin and defeating the power of death.

Ultimately, it was because of what Jesus did, it allowed us to be at a place where not just that we get to kind of help ourselves out of our state of brokenness, but instead, the Bible tells us that because of what Jesus did, literally, he provides the rescue for us that we could not provide on our own.

And that we add nothing to the equation, but instead, it's all about Jesus, and he offers us the opportunity to be justified, which means just as if I'd never sinned.

We learn that the way that we experience this is ultimately by repenting and believing in Jesus.

The word repent is a word that means basically to turn away from your sin, to turn away from the way that you've been doing life up to this point, and instead turning to Jesus, believing in Jesus.

It's not just enough for you to have a mental idea, passing a quiz that Jesus died on a cross and that he rose from the dead, but instead you're turning all that you know of yourself and you're turning all that you know to Jesus.

What we see is the Bible says that you can then be saved.

We talked about this the last couple of weeks, that ultimately it does not fair the fact that Adam is the one that kind of started this whole thing and broke God's design, sin has entered the world, but it's also not fair that Jesus came along and he offers you salvation and he's inviting you the chance to respond to him by repenting and believing and experiencing salvation.

Not only are you saved from your sins, but you're saved at that point to begin to do something different, which is to now you can recover and pursue God's design.

Recover and pursue God's design.

As we continue in the book of Romans, I want you to know this is the spot where we find ourselves.

If you've already given your life to Jesus, this is now the way that you can respond to the gospel.

Let's begin reading in Romans chapter 6, beginning in verse 1.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

It says, What shall we say then?

Are we to continue in sin so that grace may abound?

By no means.

How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

Verse 4, 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 might too walk in newness of life.

Whenever we baptize here at United City, you will hear us say a script.

This script is comes from Romans chapter 6, verse 4.

Romans 6:4

We will literally baptize someone and we will say, buried with Christ in baptism, and raised to walk in newness of life.

Have you ever heard us say that before?

Everything that we do at United City is meant to teach something.

Because we believe the Bible speaks.

And so, therefore, in every act that we do, in the act of giving, and the things that we say surrounding giving, for example, in our worship, the songs that we sing, what we choose to be able to proclaim, the opening up of God's word as well as baptism, we are teaching what God's word says.

And literally, the act of baptism, buried with Christ in baptism, raised to walk in newness of life, comes from what Romans chapter 6, verse 4 says happens at the moment of salvation.

Romans 6:4

Let's keep reading in verse 5.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Now, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again.

Death no longer has dominion over him.

For the death he died, he died to sin once for all.

But the life he lives, he lives to God.

So also you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Let me remind you what we just read, the reality, if we got to know this truth so that we can begin to recover and pursue God's design for our lives.

So here's what I want to do.

I want to break this down, particularly verse four, by giving you two truths that are true at your baptism, and two truths that are true if you have given your life to Jesus.

Okay?

Here's the first one.

I am buried with Christ.

I am buried with Christ.

It comes right from Romans chapter 6, verse 4.

Romans 6:4

What I want you to see is that we talked about this before, that there is a legal declaration in God's divine courtroom that happens when you repent and believe.

At the moment that you declare that you believe in Jesus, the Bible says at that moment in time when God looks at you, he no longer sees all of your past, he no longer sees all of your sin.

He no longer sees all of your mess ups.

Literally, when God looks at you, the Bible says he sees all of Christ's perfection and his righteousness credited to your account.

Let's be honest.

That is not fair and doesn't make sense.

Which is why the very first question out of the gate in Romans chapter 6 is if you're telling me that I get all of Christ's righteousness and all of Christ's perfection given to my account, can't that mean that I can do whatever it is that I want to do?

Romans 6 · chapter mention

Please hear me.

You've not fully understand the depth of God's grace until you also realize that God's grace has the ability to be abused.

God's grace has the ability for you to say, like, wait a second.

This is almost too good to be true.

But what he's saying then, Paul clarifies, and he's saying, it is true that once you believe Jesus, that when you stand before God, your legal declaration is you are justified before God.

However, let me tell you what also happens.

It's not just about what's gonna happen to you when you die, it also affects how you now live.

You see, before you were a believer, here's what happened: you basically were bound to sin.

Sin controlled you, sin is the one that ruled over you, sin is the one that told you what you were gonna do and what you did.

And here's the thing: you didn't care.

You were fine with that.

You were happy to have sin be your ruler.

However, whenever you gave your life to Jesus, not only was there a legal declaration, but the Bible says in verse 5, we have been united with Christ.

And what that means is that when Jesus died, it is as though we died.

When Jesus rose from the dead, it is as though we rose from the dead.

And at that moment in time, sin no longer, the Bible says, has dominion over you.

Meaning this, before you had no choice.

You just did whatever sin told you to do.

Now you have a choice.

I want you to see that it doesn't mean that you're gonna be perfect.

We all know that to be the case.

In the next couple of weeks, we're gonna talk through what it looks like to wrestle with your sin, what it looks like to have to battle against your sin.

I want you to know this.

I'll give you a little spoiler alert for a couple of weeks from now.

Uh you you may think that you struggling with sin is evidence that you're not a believer and God's not happy with you.

I would actually tell you this: your struggle with sin is evidence that you are a believer.

Because before you didn't even struggle.

But that's what now happens.

This struggle that you find yourself varying times of success and varying times of failure.

However, you are struggling with sin.

Sin no longer has dominion, sin no longer has mastery over you.

Now let's bring this back to baptism.

Okay, one of the reasons why we here at United City baptize people by immersion is for two reasons.

Number one, we baptize by immersion because literally, in the Greek text, the word baptism, that's what it means.

To immerse or to submerge.

Literally, it is a putting under the water.

That's the idea, literally translated.

But in addition to that, we do it because of what it means.

What happens whenever somebody is baptized is that literally it is a visible picture of the old life going under the water and dying.

Folks, think about that.

You see baptisms all the time here at United City.

Maybe you know that person, and so therefore, you may be really excited for that person because maybe you know their story or maybe you know a little bit about their background.

But I want you to know this, even if you don't even have any clue who that person is that's up there being baptized, when you see them go under the water, I want you to visualize and think this that's exactly what happened to my sin.

You see, for some of you, the path to you living in freedom is starting by knowing what is actually true.

And some of you are living in bondage to your sin, thinking that it still has control over you.

You have no ability to tell it no when the reality is that's not true.

If you've given your life to Jesus Christ, literally by being baptized, you identify with Jesus.

He died for that.

You don't have to still be bound to the very things he died for.

Instead, you can begin to live in freedom.

You can say, I've been buried with Christ.

Second thing that we say that I want you to see that's just found in Romans chapter 6, verse 4.

Romans 6:4

The second thing that is very true if you're a believer.

In Jesus is this.

I'm raised to walk in newness of life.

Folks, there is something powerful that happens when somebody's baptized.

We in no way believe that the act of baptism is a means of salvation.

It is not.

There's nothing scripturally that would support that.

That being said, we do believe that the symbol of baptism communicates something very powerful.

That is why we want you to go under the water, saying that I've died to this old life, but then you come out of the water and we say, raised to walk in newness of life, meaning this.

You come up different than the way you went down.

Literally, there is something that is radically changed in your life.

Again, we don't believe that it actually happens when you're baptized, but we do believe that it symbolizes what did happen to you at conversion, which is why we celebrate the symbol with the intensity and the excitement that we do.

Let me walk you through a couple of things that are true whenever you uh are baptized, or specifically whenever you are converted and experience conversion.

Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 26 says you're given a new heart.

Ezekiel 36:26

Ezekiel chapter 18, verse 31 says you're given a new spirit.

Ezekiel 18:31

Revelation 2.17 says you're given a new name.

Psalm 40, verse 3 says you're given a new song.

Psalms 40:3

2 Corinthians 5, 17 says you become a new creation.

Ephesians chapter 4, verse 24 describes us as a new man.

Ephesians 4:24

Literally, what takes place is I am recognizing when I go under the water, it's I'm identifying with Christ and I come out of the water ready to go and pursue God's design.

I'm gonna try to do things differently.

For some of you, maybe this is your story.

You can't really explain it.

It doesn't make a lot of sense, but whenever you gave your life over to Jesus, all of a sudden the things that once you love to do, you no longer want to do anymore.

Maybe you find yourself going and hanging around with the people that used to hang around, doing the things that you used to do, but you're not finding the same satisfaction.

Why?

It's because literally when Christ saved you, you died to your old way and you begin to have new desires.

It doesn't mean you don't still have scar tissue.

We're gonna talk about that, and you may have tendencies to want to go back to your old self, but the reality is this you're no longer bound to your old self.

You now have the ability to be different.

I uh do a lot of weddings uh and have over my ministry.

Uh, and every time I do a wedding, it's it's pretty similar the way that it plays itself out.

Uh, is generally speaking, I come in first with followed by the groom and followed by the groomsman, and we kind of all go and we sort of line up.

No one pays any attention to us whatsoever, right?

Everybody just knows, okay, these guys are here.

Now we can start getting ready for the real action, right?

Bridesmaids come in one by one, they've got their 15 seconds of fame, right?

Uh, and it's a big deal.

Everybody's looking at them as they go and they get their places and get set up.

And then ultimately I say, Would you all please stand?

And at that moment, everybody turns around and they're all looking at the bride.

She is the center of attention.

Okay, I've never once been in a wedding where anybody has cried at the sight of the groom.

Not once.

I've never been to a wedding when at least one person didn't cry, whoever it may be, at the sight of the bride.

Okay.

Usually speaking, it is the father who is there, or somebody playing that role or that figure for that bride, and they are walking down the father, walks the bride down the aisle, and then they come up to the front.

I usually say a greeting, a welcome, some sort of pleasantries, things like that.

And then I will always ask a version of this question who gives this woman to be married to this man?

I've had all different types of responses and answers, but essentially they all come down to this.

I do, her mother and I, whatever it may be.

And then at that moment, what happens is that that dad, he literally steps out, takes his bro, his daughter's hand outside of his arm, he puts it in the arm of this fiance, he sits down and his job is over.

At no moment in the service is he relevant.

At no moment in the service is he needed or called upon in any way.

His job is done.

They will then take some steps forward.

I will begin to go through vows and rings and and all the things that you say at a wedding.

Uh, and then at the end of that, I have them kiss, which may be awkward for you.

It's really awkward for me being that close to them right up front, okay?

If you've never thought about that, it's it's kind of weird for a pastor, okay?

And then after that, right, I declare them Mr.

and Mrs., and then I say the name of the groom.

And then they walk out.

Think about this.

That girl walked in one way, and she's walking out a different way.

She walks in one way, being called one thing, and she now leaves in a different way, being called something else.

Now I want you to know something.

It's the same person.

But what took place in that moment was there was an authority transfer because of a new identity.

What I want you to see is that now all of a sudden she goes to somebody else when she needs help, not her dad, because you know what?

Dad passed her off and he's done, all right?

Which is why when you call dad after you're married, they should say, Well, what does your husband say?

What is he gonna do about this?

Because you're his problem now, not mine, right?

I have transferred him to you.

Folks, what I want you to see is this the same girl.

But that new identity changed everything.

Now, at times that that girl's gonna want to go back to dad and get dad to do things because it's easier, that's what they're used to, that's what they've always done.

However, over time, what begins to take place is that new identity begins to turn in every way to now all of a sudden, this becomes the one that they are following.

This becomes the one that they are with, this becomes the one they are committed to.

Folks, one of the reasons why we always talk about believers' baptism, that's a phrase that we will use, is because we believe that baptism is something that's very important to take place after someone has received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

Because literally the picture is being presented of you receiving the gospel, and if you were basically had an experience before, or basically you had some religious ceremony, you got wet in some fashion, but it was prior to the time when you gave your life to Jesus, the symbol is not communicating what we believe the scripture is saying every time someone's baptized, this is the theology that's being taught.

Let me give you two points of application.

And then we'll be done.

The first point of application is this celebrate baptism.

Folks, I hope that whenever we do baptism at United City Church and you see someone get baptized, that you celebrate it like it's your experience because it is.

What I want you to see is that even if you don't know them, you are celebrating the fact that they have died with Christ, they've been buried with Christ, they've been raised to walk in newness of life, and you get an opportunity for the gospel to be told yet again in their life about your story.

And you are reminded, maybe you walk in and you've been struggling with sin.

Maybe you've been struggling with this burden where you find yourself continually going back to the old way, continually going back to acting like you're in slavery, that a baptism can be something that reminds you of the theology and what is true, and it's that this that is not true in your life.

It's not just somebody else's deal, it's your story.

And that literally by the act of baptism, you're able to say, I uh that's my journey.

That's my testimony, which is why I want us to be a people who celebrate baptism big here at United City.

Because we believe it's communicating something.

I can't tell you how many times in the midst of the baptism, and the reason why we've reinforced the baptistry area is because somebody goes and they see the visual of what is taking place, and it leads them to begin to ask questions.

Now, what exactly is happening right now?

Like, why would anybody go up there and get wet in front of a bunch of people and like what is happening?

And it gives an opportunity to express the story of Jesus.

Baptism is one of those things that no matter what our past looks like, we all have the same story.

We all are in the same water.

When I walk through the process with people and I give them a little heads up, I tell them, look, I want you to know you're getting in the water.

We've literally we've drained it and we put new water back in, but figuratively, you're getting in the water that literally hundreds of people before you have done here at United City.

Like you're a part of something so much bigger than yourself.

And your story of sharing the gospel through the illustration and the symbol of baptism is going to be able to speak volumes to people that are saved and to people that are not.

Let me give you the second point of application, and it's this get baptized.

For some of you, that's what you need to do.

You need to get baptized.

You've already given your life to Jesus Christ, you've come into a relationship with Him, but you've never followed through in believers' baptism.

And so today, I want to give you the opportunity, literally here in just a moment, for you to respond and to be baptized.

Like in just a moment, I'm literally gonna go upstairs and I'm gonna be baptizing some folks.

And I want to encourage you, just like we did at our first service, we've built in time in the service for this to take place.

Some of you, maybe your story is that you're like, well, man, I know I need to, but I didn't, I don't have a change of clothes.

I wasn't prepared.

Hey, here's the deal.

We got everything for you, all right?

It may be bigger than this.

This is a kid small, okay?

But but however, we got shirts for every size for you.

We've got change of clothes.

We've literally thought of everything.

I promise you it wasn't a bunch of guys that organized this.

We've got ladies who've thought about this stuff too, okay?

So some of you were like, yeah, but you didn't think about me.

Yeah, we did.

We got everything that you need possibly taken care of for you today to be baptized.

Some of you, maybe your story is you had a religious experience whenever you were younger.

I don't want to minimize that religious experience, nor in any way, shape, or form do I want you to somehow think that you're a second-class Christian in any way.

I do not believe that at all.

But I do believe in biblical baptism.

I believe the Bible's so clear on this.

The reason why I'm so excited about this topic is because I believe that it communicates the gospel to the church.

It and the Lord's Supper are the two things God's given to us as a church to communicate the gospel message of Jesus.

And so therefore, I would urge and plead you today, would you respond and be baptized?

Would you come and allow your story to be one?

We're not gonna sit there and say, well, they gave their life to Christ a long time ago and they just now got it figured out.

Here we go.

We're not gonna say that.

Instead, we want you to do is just to experience the joy of being able to let your life be a visible testimony of the gospel.

If you've never been baptized, I want to encourage you to do that.

Maybe for some of you, you were dunked whenever you were little because you had uh pressure from friends, or maybe you had family members who told you that you needed to and that you should.

And so therefore you just kind of went along with the crowd.

But the reality is you know that's not been your experience.

You gave your life to Jesus much later.

And maybe now it's time for you to not feel shame, but instead for you just to feel freedom by knowing that you can today come forward and be baptized.

I'm gonna ask you to stand up, and as you stand all across this room, our team is gonna be up here up front.

Tyler's gonna sing for us, and if you today want to be baptized, I'm gonna ask you not to wait, but just to come out from where you are.

Our team is up front as well as on the sides.

You come right now, we'll take you to the back, we'll talk with you, we'll get you what you need, and you today can be baptized here in just a moment.

You come, come on.

Praise God for you, buddy.

Who else?

Come on, who else?

Praise God for you, man.

Come on, who else?

Who else?

Come on.

Praise God for you, man.

Come on, guys.

Come on, who else?

God for now to lose a new elderly.

Instead, respond to what God's calling you to do.

Celebration in every way.

Come on, guys.

Come on.

Praise God, let's go.

Amen, amen.

Hey, here's what I'm gonna do, okay?

I'm gonna head upstairs to go get changed, alright?

Um, and you're gonna sing and you're gonna worship.

And in just a moment, we're gonna have an opportunity to be able to close our service by baptizing these who've come forward today.

Uh, I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking, do these people know?

No.

Like, here we go.

Like these people just came forward and we're gonna have a chance to baptize them.

And so I want you today to have a chance to not only celebrate with these that are being baptized, but I want you as well, if you're a believer in Jesus, to celebrate like it's your story.

Celebrate the fact that this testimony that is being visually given to you is a testimony that you also get to declare today.

So, team, come lead us and let's go and pray for us before we we we sing and continue to worship.

Father, we come before you and we thank you so much, God, for these who've come forward for the life change, Lord, that we're seeing today.

I pray, God, that as these come forward to be baptized and these, uh, Lord, give testimony with their lives, Lord, that you would allow this expression of faith to declare the truth of Jesus.

Lord, that we would be able to leave here today knowing we are Jesus' people in every way.

Lord, because of what you have done for us on the cross, the testimony that we now have, and the fact, God, that we have died to sin and we have now been raised to newness of life.

In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

God really is our everlasting God.

He's so faithful in times of trial, in times of triumph.

He is here for you, he's here for me.

It's an amazing truth that we can cling to today, that God is with us.

You do not navigate this season of your life, no matter what you may be going through alone.

The Bible tells us that God is never too far away for us to reach out to him.

In fact, it tells us that we need to consistently reach out to him, knowing that he is our ever-present help in time of need.

He is fearfully and wonderfully made you and I, and we have the opportunity today to respond to his blessings, his grace, and his love for us in a unique and meaningful way.

So today, if you heard that message about God being our everlasting God, and you would like to make Jesus the everlasting God of your life by placing your faith and trust in him, you can text the word you see next to the number 55498.

There is nothing that we would love to do as a staff more than to hear your story, hear about how Jesus is moving in your life, even how you navigate the season, your next step, maybe whatever God may be leading you to do in your future, whether that be baptism or joining the church, maybe jumping into our growth track process.

I just want to let you know we have been where you are.

And it is so, so important that you allow us the opportunity to link arms with you on your faith journey, coming alongside of you right where God has you, uh, to disciple you, equip you, and encourage you in your faith.

We're so, so thankful for how God is moving in your life.

We're so thankful that uh He has given you a purpose.

We're so thankful that that purpose is being made known more and more in your life.

If there's anything that we can do for you, we want you to reach out to us again.

You can text UC Next to 55498.

We're so thankful to bring you this service.

I pray that you have an awesome week.

As we look ahead to this next week, I want you to cling to the truth that God is our everlasting God in times of trial and times of triumph.

And as we look ahead to this next week, I just want to pray a blessing over you and your family this morning.

Lord Jesus, we're so thankful for you.

We're so thankful for who you've called us to be.

God, we're so thankful that you have met us exactly where we are at our greatest moment of need.

God, we're so thankful for the grace that you have extended to us even right now on this Sunday.

God, thank you for the word that Pastor Chris just gave us.

Thank you for your holy Bible.

God, I pray that your word would be written on our hearts and would be so close to our tongues that we speak it throughout our week.

God, whatever we may come in contact with, whatever we may be going through this week, I pray that you would meet us exactly where we are with grace and mercy.

Would we glorify you in all that we say and all that we do?

It's in Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

United City Church, I'm thankful for you.

We will see you next Sunday.

God bless.