      |
Become an annual SermonCentralPRO member for $99.50, and get the "SermonCentral Preaching Kit" ($152 value) FREE!  The kit includes: *Thinline True Tone ESV Biblefrom Crossway Books *Video Sermon Illustrations from SermonSpice.com *Book - Finding God in the Questions - from IVP *Year Subscription to Christianity Today Magazine *Year Subscription to Outreach Magazine *The Case for a Creator 52 Minute DVD *Audio Book Download from Christianaudio.com *Training Downloads to BuildingChurchLeaders.com TOTAL PRODUCT VALUE = $152.87 Click Here to Learn More
 Give your sermons a visual impact with a "Baptism" PowerPoint slide. Free to SermonCentralPRO members. Click on the image to begin to download.
 Baptism: Our Identity in Christ by Damian Phillips Romans 6:3-6 This morning I am going to briefly talk about how baptism is a symbol that identifies us with Jesus Christ. You see, “Baptism is like a wedding ring: both [a wedding ring and baptism] symbolize transactions. A more…   Baptism: Where We Have Been Wrong by Jeremy Houch Romans 6:3-4 Today we are going to look at the second lesson in our series on Baptism; where we have been wrong. Honestly this one to me has been a little hard. I don’t think I am any different from anyone else here more…  The Meaning of Baptism by Bill Huffhine Romans 6:3-13 One of the greatest joys that I have as a pastor is when an individual who is far from God visits our community of believers, begins to hear the voice of God calling them to a higher place, a fresh beginning, a more…  Why Water Baptism? by James Boyd Matthew 28:19 The act of water baptism (being immersed in water in response to receiving salvation) is a very important first step in the Christian life. In Matthew 3:13-17, we see the Lord Jesus Himself coming to His more…  4 Pictures of Water Baptism by Ted Mulder Matthew 28:19 This morning I want to talk to you about something that every believer in Jesus Christ should do. However, the decision to do this thing is scary for most people, and not all for the same reason. The awesome part more…
Paul Harvey’s BaptismPaul Harvey wrote in Guidepost Magazine about his own baptism. He said that even though he had received almost every reward for his broadcasting ability that he still felt empty inside. One summer, however, he & his wife were vacationing in a place called Cave Creek, AZ. Sunday morning came & they decided to go to church. So they went to this little church, & there were only 12 other people present. He believed in Jesus, but he had never gone forward in a church service. One night he had prayed in his hotel room & asked Jesus to come into his heart, but he felt that there was still something that was missing." He said that the preacher got up & announced that his sermon was going to be about baptism. Paul Harvey said, "I yawned. But as he started talking about it I found myself interested. He talked about the symbolism behind it, & how it symbolized the complete surrender of one’s life to Jesus Christ, & how there was nothing really magic in the water. But there was this cleansing inside that took place when you yielded yourself to Jesus." He went on to say, "Finally, when he came to the end of his sermon he said, ‘If any of you have not been baptized in this way, I invite you to come forward & join me here at the pulpit.’" Paul Harvey said, "To my surprise, I found myself going forward. The preacher had said there was nothing magic in the water. Yet as I descended into the depths & rose again I knew something life changing had happened - a cleansing inside out. No longer did there seem to be two uncertain contradictory Paul Harvey’s, just one immensely happy one. I felt the fulfilling surge of the Holy Spirit in my life.” Paul Harvey went on, "The change this simple act made in my life is so immense as to be indescribable. Since totally yielding to Him in baptism, my heart can’t stop singing. Also, perhaps because baptism is such a public act & because one’s dignity gets as drenched as one’s body, I discovered a new unself-consciousness in talking about my beliefs." Contributed by: Ted Mulder
DeclarationDr. M.R. DeHaan put it this way: “In the early days of the church. . . , baptism was a declaration that the believer was definitely identifying himself with that group of people who were called Christians and were despised and hated. To be a Christian meant something. To identify yourself with those who were called Christians meant persecution, maybe death; it meant being ostracized from your family, shunned by friends. And the one act which was the final declaration of this identification was BAPTISM. As long as a man gathered with Christians, he was tolerated, but when once he submitted to baptism, he declared to all the world, I BELONG TO THEIS DESPISED GROUP, and immediately he was persecuted, hated, and despised. In baptism, therefore, the believer entered into the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ. A person might be a believer and keep it strictly a secret and thus avoid unpleasantness and suffering, but once he submitted to public baptism he had burned his bridges behind him. . .” SOURCE: Pamphlet, Water Baptism, p. 27. Contributed by: Ted Sutherland
From this Day Forward Baptism is a lot like a wedding ring. Baptism is symbolic of the washing away of our sins. It is also symbolic of a new way of life. It has been said that Baptism is to the Christian faith what the wedding ring is to a marriage. It is a symbol. "Like the wedding ring, baptism draws a mark on the ground between the past and the future. Like the wedding ring, it says, "From this day forward, I stand with God." SOURCE: Herb Miller. Actions Speak Louder Than Verbs. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989, p. 100. Contributed by: John Williams III Clothed with ChristThere’s another beautiful picture of baptism given here: “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Did you catch it? Baptism clothes us with Christ. We’re wrapped up in Jesus and all of his goodness in baptism. We’re clothed with his work and his righteousness. Armani, Gucci, Abercrombie and Fitch – none of those designer labels can compare with the garments we have in Jesus’ name. God “clothes” us with forgiveness and salvation. In other words, he says that these things are ours. They’re real, just like a change of clothes. All who believe that these garments are theirs have what’s needed to be part of God’s family. The Lord offers a wonderful wardrobe for his people. It’s his Son’s life, death, and resurrection. These are ours to “wear” spiritually. God does have a dress code for his family. This is what identifies the Christian as such. Let’s face it. People often wear the clothes they do because the want to be noticed. Quite often it’s the label or the name brand that supposedly makes a person a “somebody.” Well, you want to be labeled as a “somebody”, then be labeled as one who is wrapped up with Jesus. Be labeled with Christ. Be proud that you are a Christian. Don’t be ashamed of all the Christ has done for you! God has made you part of his family. Contributed by: Edward Frey
So that’s Why the Earth is 2/3rds WaterThe story is told of the preacher who went to pastor a particular church. He was one who was fond of preaching on water baptism. Week after week he would preach about baptism. Finally in desperation, the deacons requested that he allow them to pick his scripture text for the following Sunday’s message. He agreed. They assigned him the text Genesis 1:1. “There“, they said, “let us see him get a sermon on baptism out of that verse.” When he got up to preach, he announced the agreed upon text. His opening sentence then followed, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth is two-thirds water. Today’s subject is Water Baptism.” Contributed by: George Bannister  Forward this e-mail to your minister friends so they can subscribe
to the FREE SermonCentral.com newsletter, too. They just need
to click on this link to sign up: SermonCentral.com SermonCentral |
brian@sermoncentral.com
 |