At 1:00 pm today, I baptized three adults at the beach. Right in the St. Joseph Sound. For our Dunedin beach that is where the Gulf of Mexico comes ashore. The water was 78 degrees. A little chilly for me, but not bad for October 5. I looked up the water temperature near Cleveland, Ohio today. It is 65 degrees. If this was in Ohio, I would have been in a wet suit. No, I would have waited until July 4.
Two of the three who were baptized are brand new Christians. They are twin sisters in their 20s, Lisa and Tiffany. Next week I will also officiate at Lisa's wedding. The third was Sandy, who thought she had been baptized as an infant, but found out recently she had never been baptized. All three of them have professed their faith in the presence of the elders of the church and were in every way ready for this moment.
It was a great day. This was an extension of our Sunday morning service. Everyone in the church was invited. We went to a place by a bridge where the crowd could gather and hear as we talked and prayed, then watch as we waded out into the water for the baptism. Afterwards, Lisa, Tiffany and Sandy all talked about what being baptized meant to them. We closed by singing Amazing Grace and then I gave a closing blessing.
It had the joy of a wedding and graduation combined. There was something right about it. The laughter, cameras, boats going by, tears of joy shed, random onlookers joining in, singing and prayers combined with the actual baptism made the ceremony a grace-filled event. God even had several dolphins crest the water about 50 feet off shore just before the ceremony.
This was my first beach baptism. In fact, it was my first baptism outside of a sanctuary. I had to ask a few former Baptists how to do a full immersion baptism. I think it went well. I think Billy Graham would have been proud.
As you can imagine, I am a happy pastor today. God did for those three adult women what no human could ever do--God awakened them to faith in Jesus. Today, the sign and seal of that awakening was given. As I said to them today, the waters of baptism signify that they have died with Christ and then have been raised with Christ. "The old you is dead; the new you is alive in Christ." And down they went into the water. It was a great moment for us as a church and a great moment for the three baptized.
It occurs to me that more and more people in this world are like the three on the beach this afternoon. More and more of the people we will meet on our spiritual journey will be like Lisa and Tiffany--having grown up completely without a faith community around them. Leaders of all churches, even those like ours that practice infant baptism, should get ready. The day is coming when adult baptisms will be common practice. Get ready and enjoy the moments when they come.
Two of the three who were baptized are brand new Christians. They are twin sisters in their 20s, Lisa and Tiffany. Next week I will also officiate at Lisa's wedding. The third was Sandy, who thought she had been baptized as an infant, but found out recently she had never been baptized. All three of them have professed their faith in the presence of the elders of the church and were in every way ready for this moment.
It was a great day. This was an extension of our Sunday morning service. Everyone in the church was invited. We went to a place by a bridge where the crowd could gather and hear as we talked and prayed, then watch as we waded out into the water for the baptism. Afterwards, Lisa, Tiffany and Sandy all talked about what being baptized meant to them. We closed by singing Amazing Grace and then I gave a closing blessing.
It had the joy of a wedding and graduation combined. There was something right about it. The laughter, cameras, boats going by, tears of joy shed, random onlookers joining in, singing and prayers combined with the actual baptism made the ceremony a grace-filled event. God even had several dolphins crest the water about 50 feet off shore just before the ceremony.
This was my first beach baptism. In fact, it was my first baptism outside of a sanctuary. I had to ask a few former Baptists how to do a full immersion baptism. I think it went well. I think Billy Graham would have been proud.
As you can imagine, I am a happy pastor today. God did for those three adult women what no human could ever do--God awakened them to faith in Jesus. Today, the sign and seal of that awakening was given. As I said to them today, the waters of baptism signify that they have died with Christ and then have been raised with Christ. "The old you is dead; the new you is alive in Christ." And down they went into the water. It was a great moment for us as a church and a great moment for the three baptized.
It occurs to me that more and more people in this world are like the three on the beach this afternoon. More and more of the people we will meet on our spiritual journey will be like Lisa and Tiffany--having grown up completely without a faith community around them. Leaders of all churches, even those like ours that practice infant baptism, should get ready. The day is coming when adult baptisms will be common practice. Get ready and enjoy the moments when they come.
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