The Danger of Ritual: Why Baptism Doesn’t Save

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:05:11] Welcome. We are so glad that you are here. Those of you out in the foyer, come on in and join the fun. We're ready to worship this morning. We have a great brisk morning and great rain to celebrate. Yeah? Yeah. Oh, you sound like you didn't get any sleep. Okay. I see. Well, welcome. We're glad that you're here. And for those of you joining us online, we are grateful that you are here as well and praying that God would just be in this place this morning and that we would all experience Him in a profound way. I wanted to take a moment to remind you to sign in on the attendance
[00:05:41] those are the little red notebooks in the back of the pew sign yourself in pass them down the row so that everyone can get signed in and a couple of announcements one today is the last
[00:05:51] day to sign up for spirit and truth weekend which is next week next weekend no following week two weekends from now so um go ahead and get signed up and make sure that you're doing that prayer
[00:06:02] vigil we just have a couple weeks left for the prayer vigil but be sure to join in with that you guys it's going to be amazing also we have our academic scholarships are now available
[00:06:11] if you are going back to school or you are you have a student or a grandchild or someone that is going back to school we have scholarships available here you need to fill out an application
[00:06:23] and turn that back in and the board of trustees will meet with you on that and then also we have a membership class coming up this spring there's a tentative date set for may 16th if you are
[00:06:36] wondering what it means to be a member of Northwest Hills or you know you want to be a member of Northwest Hills, this class is for you. Please sign up at the Connection Center and Pastor Bob
[00:06:45] will contact you and make arrangements for you to join in the class. Lastly, I was asked to make sure that you know that the Methodist men are selling tickets for their barbecue this week and next week. So make sure you grab a plate. They're doing a fundraiser that supports the
[00:07:00] different ministries and things going on in Northwest Hills as well as around the world. So join in with that. One last announcement, but guess what? You don't have to hear it from me.

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:07:11] Ms. Kara is going to give it. Good morning, church. My name is Kara Coffey-Hall, and I serve as the worship minister. Usually I'm at my fortress of the piano, but today I, or in this
[00:07:24] moment, I'll be the worship minister again in just a couple minutes. But in this exact moment, I'm a graduate student from Liberty University, and I am, thank you, I am, I've been working on my master's degree in music and worship for, it'll be three years in this summer. For the past eight
[00:07:42] months, I've been writing, researching, and working on my thesis studying worship music preferences and the development of those preferences through different means, cultural brain development of preferences, um, as well as age and all the different types of worship music that is out
[00:08:01] there. So my study is of the church that Pastor Barnes has. So thank, I appreciate him letting me use the church as my lab, um, is it's a two part study on the specific worship preferences of
[00:08:16] Northwest Hills. So you're now, you can call yourself a lab rat, I guess, if you want, if you want. It's optional. But you were handed a survey or a QR code to a survey. This survey is completely
[00:08:30] anonymous. There is a very scary and long information page that was required by my university. You're welcome to read it. Summarizing, it just says, I consent to this survey and I'm doing so willingly. Kara's not forcing me. I would love for you to, but I'm not forcing. And I'm not
[00:08:48] getting any, I'm not going to sell your data, of course, and that there is a conflict of interest because I serve here, but I'm not going to, you know, it's anonymous. So the first part is a
[00:09:01] survey. The second part is an interview that has specific criteria, and that's why my email is on there as well. If you're interested in being interviewed for this project, please email me after completing the survey. It couldn't be one thing because then that would negate your
[00:09:17] anonymity. So if you have any questions, you're welcome to see me after service. I will help you with the QR code. If that's a barrier to you participating, I would love to help you remove
[00:09:27] that barrier completely. And if you have any further questions, I can answer those for you as well. One of the Sunday school classes asked, will we get to read your paper? And I was like, sure,
[00:09:36] if you absolutely want to read my paper, sure. If you want the data, sure. I would love to share the data with you. Um, so that will come after all, obviously all this. And if you could do this
[00:09:47] within the next week, that'd be very helpful as my timetable is pretty short to get this study done. Thank you for letting me have a couple minutes of your time today. Thank you in advance
[00:09:56] for completing my survey and we're going to have a great service. Yay. Don't forget to do the survey.

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:10:06] So let's start our worship with a call to worship. If you will go ahead and stand.
[00:10:11] Good job.
[00:10:14] All right.
[00:10:15] Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
[00:10:21] For by him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
[00:10:29] All things were created by him and for him.
[00:10:34] He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
[00:10:38] and he is the head of the body, the church.
[00:10:43] He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that in everything he might have supremacy.
[00:10:52] For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.
[00:11:05] Thank you guys.
[00:11:06] Have a seat and the choir is going to help us

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:11:08] focus our attention a bit more if you would begin making your way to your pew

[00:17:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:17:14] we will open our song set in prayer please join me in prayer Heavenly Father we thank you for today and every opportunity we have to freely gather together as your church to celebrate who you are, what you've done, and what you continue to do in
[00:17:47] each of our lives. Father, I pray this service glorifies you in everything that we do, every word spoken, prayed, every word preached, every word, song, and a lyric. God, every heart and mind is focused on giving you the glory, God. In this, we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

[00:18:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:18:10] I dare not trust Jesus' name. Jesus' love, righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest flame. I only trust Jesus' name.
[00:19:26] alone call me strong in the same love storm he is lord lord great and storm trumpet sound oh may i then dressed in his righteousness alone faultless to stand before the throne one more time for your mercy never fails me my day i've been
[00:24:33] held in your hand the moment that i wake up until i lay my head i will sing of the goodness of god and all my up in faith been so oh good I will sing of the goodness of God love
[00:25:22] your voice you have led me through the fire in the darkest night you are close like no other I've known you as a father I've known you as a friend and I have This morning we have the privilege of commissioning our mission team to Kerrville.

[00:33:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:33:46] So at this point of the service, I would love to have them come forward so we can pray for them.
[00:33:52] And anyone who would like to lay hands on them and pray, come up too.
[00:34:18] Let's pray.
[00:34:20] Lord, we give you thanks for calling your people to do your work, for including us in your plan of salvation, for including us in your mission to reach the ends of the earth.
[00:34:31] We give you praise and thanks that we can follow in the footsteps of our Savior who laid his hands on people and healed and went and ministered to them and cast out demons and encouraged people to feed the hungry
[00:34:44] and give drink to those who were thirsty.
[00:34:47] Lord we pray for this mission team who goes this week to do construction and be the hands and feet of Christ in that way that they would minister not only in what they can do with their hands
[00:34:59] but in what they do with their hearts and so we pray that you would give them the spiritual ears and eyes to see the needs around them and to minister to those in spirit to proclaim the gospel in loving ways
[00:35:13] even as they do work with hammers and nails and power tools.
[00:35:19] Lord, they love you and they go because you have loved them first.
[00:35:24] So we pray also that you would pour your blessing out upon them and that they would come to know you even in a more intimate way as they go and serve.
[00:35:34] Bless those who they will be serving as well and go before them and go behind them and go within them.
[00:35:43] We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:35:46] And let us continue to pray.
[00:36:01] Would you bow your heads and go to the Lord in prayer?
[00:36:07] God, we do praise you for who you are, a gracious and glorious God who reveals himself to us by the witness of your Holy Spirit within us, through the words of your Holy Scripture.
[00:36:22] We pray that we would come to know you even more deeply than we already do.
[00:36:29] Lord, you are a God who is mighty to save, who desires that none should perish and that all would come to repentance, that all would know you and live an eternal life of joy in your presence.
[00:36:42] How worthy of worship are you, God, who desire to bring people into union with you, who love us and save us even though we are imperfect.
[00:36:57] Well, today, Lord, we gather here as your imperfect people with the promise that you will renew us and transform us day by day into your own likeness.
[00:37:13] So we ask you for your presence here with us this morning.
[00:37:17] We ask you to pour your Holy Spirit out on us as we worship you and we pray to you and we hear the word of God spoken.
[00:37:25] We pray that you would create faith in us and empower us to live holy lives out in the world, that you would empower us to speak the truth of the gospel to a world that needs to hear it, that is hungry for it, even though they don't know it.
[00:37:41] So Lord, would you be with us? And Lord, as your church, imperfect as she is, you have made us holy. And so we ask that you would continue to bless the ministries here at Northwest Hills.
[00:37:55] We pray that you would bless the missions teams, the outreach teams, all the different places that go out to serve the hungry and the poor and the hurting and the widower and the homeless and
[00:38:10] anyone that you call us to, Lord. We pray that you would bless those hands and feet too.
[00:38:17] Lord, we pray for all the generations that comprise this body of your church. We pray for the young ones, the littlest ones, the youth who are almost adults, the young adults, the middle age adults, the elderly, all of the ages who are important to you, for we matter to you at all
[00:38:36] stages of our life. So we ask that you would minister to us and help us to be your church at all stages. Lord, we do lift up the needs that have been raised this morning to you on behalf
[00:38:52] half of your people. We pray with the family of Rick Coleman upon the death of Patty. We grieve with them. We commend them to you, to your loving care, that they would know that you are with them
[00:39:12] in their grief, that you would grant them comfort and peace, and to also know that Patty has been received into glory into your waiting arms and is no longer in pain. Lord, we praise you for
[00:39:30] Rob Moffitt and Mike Johnson who are on the walk to Emmaus this weekend, and we ask that this weekend would have been a time of great spiritual renewal for them, that they would have come to
[00:39:43] know you even more deeply, and that would change the rest of their lives. We ask for their safety on coming home, and that they would share what they have experienced with others, the goodness of God. Lord, we lift up Bill Roten and his family, for his sister has had a brain aneurysm
[00:40:07] and is on life support, and they know that they will lose her later today. So we ask that you would be preparing that family for what may come, and that they would have their times to speak with
[00:40:26] her and love on her and say their temporary goodbyes. We ask you to bring them peace as well.
[00:40:36] Lord, you are a good and gracious God, and so we know that in all things you hear us, these few things that have been raised this morning, but scratch the surface of all that we come to you with. So we know that upon each heart present here, you read all the needs and
[00:40:52] the worries and the fears, all the joys and concerns, and we ask you to minister to us by the power of your Holy Spirit. We do love you, Lord, but we love you because you first loved us.
[00:41:06] So we pray with gratitude for who you are and expectation for good things to come, praying in the way that our Lord Jesus taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:41:29] Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Now at this time, I would usually dismiss the children
[00:41:55] for Children's Church, but we're going to hold off on that for just a moment, because we get to celebrate a baptism this morning, and we want all the church body to be present to witness this.
[00:42:07] So with that said, I would like to call the Rico family up. This morning we have with us the Rico family, with Laura and Michael Rico. We have Matthew and Ryan Rico, and I present to you
[00:42:36] charlotte rico for holy baptism so brothers and sisters in christ through the sacrament of holy baptism we are initiated into christ's body as his holy church we are incorporated into god's mighty acts of salvation and we are given new birth through water and the spirit all this is
[00:43:00] God's gift to us, offered freely and without price. So to you, Michael and Laura, I ask you these questions. Do you renounce the devil and all his works and reject the evil powers of this
[00:43:16] world? If so, say, I renounce them. Do you repent of your sin, turn to Jesus Christ and confess him as your Lord and Savior? Do you receive and profess the Christian faith as contained in the
[00:43:32] holy scriptures of the old and new testaments do you accept the responsibility to resist evil injustice and oppression by the grace and power of god will you obediently keep god's holy will and commandments and walk in them all the days of your life by the grace and power of god
[00:43:53] will you nurture this child in christ's holy church that by your teaching and example she may be guided to accept God's grace for herself, profess her faith openly, and lead a Christian life. And church, will you who witness these vows encourage this child in the faith and do all in
[00:44:19] your power to support her in her life in Christ? Amen. Let us join with the Rico family all together as the body of Christ to proclaim our faith in the words of the ancient baptismal confession,
[00:44:34] the Apostles' Creed. Do you believe in God the Father? In God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Do you believe in Jesus Christ? I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
[00:44:58] suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead.
[00:45:05] On the third day, he rose again.
[00:45:09] He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
[00:45:18] Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?
[00:45:20] I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
[00:45:33] Let us pray.
[00:45:34] we do give you thanks almighty and ever-living father and we praise you for your infinite goodness and mercy above all we thank you for your most dearly beloved son our savior jesus christ as he hung upon the cross for the forgiveness of our sins from his side flowed both water and
[00:45:55] blood for the healing and cleansing of the world after his resurrection he commanded his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:46:11] So, Lord, now we ask you to sanctify this water by the power of your Holy Spirit.
[00:46:16] Grant that this child be cleansed from all sin and receive the fullness of your grace, that she may ever remain faithful to the risen life of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[00:46:27] Amen.
[00:46:28] Oh, hi, Charlotte.
[00:46:39] You know me.
[00:46:52] Jesus loves you very much, Charlotte.
[00:46:54] and he wants you to belong to him forever and ever.
[00:46:59] And so today we get to celebrate how he has claimed you for himself.
[00:47:04] And we're all going to help you grow up to learn more about him so that you can love him.
[00:47:08] Sound good to you?
[00:47:10] This is as long as I'm with mommy yet.
[00:47:13] What name is given this child?

[00:47:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:47:15] Charlotte Victoria.

[00:47:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:47:19] I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:47:32] Let's pray.
[00:47:33] Lord Jesus, we love you.
[00:47:41] And we love that you claim us even when we do not fully understand.
[00:47:46] Lord, we ask you to pour out your Holy Spirit on Charlotte.
[00:47:51] That she may grow in your grace and love and knowledge of you.
[00:47:54] And follow you faithfully for all her life.
[00:47:57] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:47:59] Let's welcome Charlotte.
[00:48:01] And now our children can leave with Miss Mary for Children's Church.

[00:48:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:48:37] Well, we just had a baptism.
[00:48:41] And as you saw, Pastor Cahill, Reverend Cahill, baptized Charlotte Rico, the one-plus-year-old daughter of Michael and Laura Rico.
[00:48:54] And since most churches at most times, but by no means all churches, have baptized infants and small children, and since Methodists baptize babies and small children, but some of you grew up in churches that didn't? Or maybe you're not sure why we do what we do? This morning,
[00:49:19] I want to do three things with the message. First, I want to very quickly lay or relay the biblical foundation for why we baptize anyone at all. Second, I want to make you aware of the
[00:49:33] two main different, not that there aren't more, but the two main different practices that churches follow when they baptize. And I refer to credo baptism, which means believer's baptism. You get baptized after you believe, which is pretty much what Baptists practice exclusively. And then I
[00:49:54] refer to pedo baptism. And if you don't know the term pedo baptism, it's Greek. It makes us feel smart to say it. But think of the medical term pediatrics. Pedo has to do with children. And so
[00:50:08] So pedobaptism refers to baptizing infants and small children generally before they're aware of what that means, which might seem strange, but it's pretty much what the rest of the Christian world does that isn't Baptist, with some exceptions.
[00:50:27] Now then, third, after I give you the big dose of theology about why we baptize and who we baptize, I just want to share some very practical pointers about sharing your faith within your families,
[00:50:40] particularly with, but not only with, your children and grandchildren and the younger generations.
[00:50:47] So would you pray with me, and then we're going to turn to the Word.
[00:50:51] Heavenly Father, we thank you for new life.
[00:50:55] We thank you for baptism.
[00:50:57] We thank you for the hope you've given us in Jesus Christ and the chance to walk with you.
[00:51:06] This morning, as we stretch our minds, we pray that you would also soften and open our hearts that each of us might come closer to you this we ask in jesus's name amen okay so this is very very very basic but a lot of times
[00:51:29] more than we need to be taught something new we need to be reminded of what we think we already no. Though today you are going to get both some old stuff and some new stuff. So why do we baptize
[00:51:45] at all? Why do we baptize anyone? And really the neatest explanation for this is Matthew chapter 28, which gives us an account of Jesus's resurrection. You remember Easter, don't you?
[00:52:01] weeks ago. It's a really big deal. Well, after telling us about Easter, the first Easter when Jesus rose from the dead, Matthew tells us about how Jesus very shortly thereafter gave the church its marching orders, what we call the Great Commission. And I want to read to you now the
[00:52:23] Great Commission. And remember, this was said by Jesus just a little while after he had risen from the dead. Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him. But, this is interesting, some doubted.
[00:52:44] Some still doubted after seeing him risen from the dead. How can this be? Well, whatever the reason, then Jesus came to them and said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
[00:52:57] therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you and surely I am with you always
[00:53:13] to the very end of the age so notice what Jesus said in this very important foundational scripture and by the way if this is all you remember from the sermon but you do remember this I'll call it a win
[00:53:26] at the very beginning of the church, Jesus said to his very first followers, go, go and make disciples. And remember, the word disciple is not limited to the original 12 disciples. It refers to anyone who learns to and then does follow Jesus. So understand this,
[00:53:50] God wants you to not only be a fence sitter about your faith, maybe I will, maybe I won't, or a pew sitter. I go to church and then go home. No, God wants you to be a 21st century disciple
[00:54:06] who actually follows Jesus in your real life. Anyway, Jesus said, go and make disciples, and with that, baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Or if you want, you can say, Holy Ghost.
[00:54:22] It's all good.
[00:54:23] And also Jesus said, teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.
[00:54:28] Which, by the way, that probably takes more than a week to accomplish.
[00:54:33] And then there's a promise.
[00:54:35] Jesus said, I will be with you.
[00:54:37] I will be with you to the ends of the earth, to the end of the age.
[00:54:42] So that's why we baptize.
[00:54:44] Seems clear-cut, doesn't it?
[00:54:45] And that's why Christians in all places and at all times have perfectly agreed about baptism, right?
[00:54:56] Okay, if you've been a Christian long enough, you go, well, I think that's supposed to be funny.
[00:55:00] Yes, we agree that we all should baptize, but different churches, different traditions have different ideals about how that should work.
[00:55:10] so let me share with you the two main beliefs that respectable solid biblically based christians who are all in the family of god have about who should be baptized and what baptism is supposed to mean and as i said earlier the two beliefs or the two ways of practicing baptism that are most
[00:55:34] common by far are called credo-baptism and pedo-baptism. Now, what do these 75 cent terms mean? They're with inflation. Maybe they're worth a buck fifty. Well, as I said earlier, credo-baptism is believer's baptism. It is a belief that you should believe and be baptized, but you should
[00:55:56] not be baptized until you're old enough to know what the faith says and to decide if you believe it. And what does the song say, the old one? I have decided to follow Jesus. If you're old enough,
[00:56:09] you know that one. And that's credo baptism. But pedo baptism is when an infant like Charlotte or a small child, whichever word applies best, is presented for baptism by the parents or guardians before they're really old enough to understand, before they have reached what the Roman Catholics
[00:56:28] would call the age of accountability, when they can be responsible for their own decisions about the faith. So in a loving, respectful, overly simplistic, and joking way, you could say the difference between these two approaches is like this. This is like an argument. Let me just ask
[00:56:53] you, how many of you have kind of gone to a Baptist church before or a Baptist-like church?
[00:56:58] Okay, how many of you have gone to like a Catholic-like church?
[00:57:01] Well, Catholic.
[00:57:03] Okay, this is like an argument between our Baptist brothers in the Lord and our Roman Catholic brothers in the Lord, and sisters too.
[00:57:13] And every church almost has to pick a side, but most churches at most times side with the Catholic view.
[00:57:24] We Methodists do.
[00:57:26] but while siding with the Catholic view which is to say we baptize infants and we believe in it we also strongly resonate with the great Baptist emphasis that you must be born again you must decide to follow Jesus
[00:57:41] you must accept him into your heart we tend to just think not that all Methodists are the same but the Roman Catholics read the Bible a little more carefully if you're Baptist I'm sorry I hope that doesn't break your heart. And here is where you may wonder how this debate can even
[00:58:00] exist. I mean, doesn't the Bible tell us what to believe, tell us what to do? Surely it tells us exactly what to do with baptism. Well, yes, to a point. It tells us, oh, we should be baptized into
[00:58:10] the faith. Church is baptized, but it doesn't give us age limits or cognitive tests that you have to take before you're baptized. So to understand why not all Christians agree, by the way, this is
[00:58:24] about faith and being in the body of Christ.
[00:58:26] Let me read to you from the book of the Acts of the Apostle, chapter 16.
[00:58:32] And this is some memorable fun that Paul the Apostle and another disciple named Silas, plus Luke who was writing all this down and others went through.
[00:58:43] Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.
[00:58:51] she earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune telling she followed Paul and the rest of us shouting these men are servants of the most high God who are telling you the way to be saved
[00:59:03] she kept this up for many days I got to tell you when I first read this as a kid I'm thinking this is good advertising would that someone followed me around like that but apparently it
[00:59:14] wasn't. So finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her. At that moment, the Spirit left her.
[00:59:29] Now, leaving that behind, when her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, these men are Jews. See, the prejudice was there
[00:59:48] even then. These men are Jews, and they're throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice. The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely
[01:00:10] flogged. They were then thrown into prison, and the jailer, who comes into the story a lot, was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them into the inner cell and fastened their feet in stocks. And this is where things got interesting. By the way, how
[01:00:29] many of you know what happens next? I'm just curious, and maybe more of you do once you hear it. About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners
[01:00:40] were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open and everyone's chains came loose. The jailer woke up and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill
[01:00:58] himself because he thought his prisoners had escaped, which would mean his life would likely be required of him, so he might as well just do it now. But Paul shouted, don't harm yourself.
[01:01:10] we are all here the jailer called for lights rushed in and felt trembling before Paul and Silas this was not a normal night and he then brought them out and asked sirs what must I do
[01:01:24] to be saved they replied and this is what I especially want you to hear believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved you and your household then they spoke the word of the Lord
[01:01:39] to him and to all the others in his house at that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds then immediately he and all his household were baptized the jailer then brought them into his house and set a meal before
[01:01:53] them he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in god he and his whole household so here's what i want you to to see and i hope understand about how different christians
[01:02:06] typically hear the word of God. If you are Baptist in mindset, you read this story and you say, okay, credo baptism. The gospel is being preached with great courage under duress. The Philippian jailer was watching and listening at some point, and then there was an earthquake. He was afraid and thought
[01:02:27] that he was going to die, and Paul said, no, you don't have to die, and what is more, if you believe in Jesus, you will be saved. And the jailer did believe. He then got baptized, and that's
[01:02:37] believer's baptism. Glory to God. But if you are a Roman Catholic, or a member of the Orthodox Church that broke off of Roman Catholicism in 1054 AD, it's really big too. Or if you're from
[01:02:50] an Anglican English church background, or a Lutheran German church background, or you're a Methodist church, or even if you are a proper Calvinist, and Calvinists can be sticklers, you also hear in this passage, believe in the Lord Jesus, you will be saved, you and your household.
[01:03:12] And then Paul spoke the word of God to all of them, and the jailer and all his household were baptized. And so this conversion of the head of the house led to the conversion of the entire house and they all at least decided okay we're going to follow this path which by the
[01:03:35] way is a pattern that happened in the bible several times just from the little we know because the bible does not give us an exhaustive record of everything the early church did but in acts 15
[01:03:48] there was a woman named lydia who was the head of her household and she and her whole household were baptized. And in 1 Corinthians 1.16, Paul mentions who he baptized. There were a couple of
[01:04:00] individual men. What was it? Crispus and Gaius. And oh yes, I baptized Stephanas and his whole household. All of which begs the question, what happened if there were any infants or small children in their household? Were they baptized too? Remember what we have in the Bible in Acts 16.
[01:04:21] when that happened, there was only the message of Jesus and the very primitive early church.
[01:04:28] You didn't have an organized group known as the Baptists who were saying, do it our way, and here's our Baptist Sunday school literature.
[01:04:36] And this may bother some of you, but the Roman Catholics weren't organized either.
[01:04:42] You know, it was not like that.
[01:04:46] No, they weren't there saying, do it the other way.
[01:04:48] you just had the gospel being preached often attended by miracles and these outposts of faith so imagine you're the Philippian jailer and you've just come to believe something new you've just come to believe in Jesus and you are baptized and your wife and everyone in the house
[01:05:09] is doing the same because if nothing else they know something has happened and so they're they're nodding their heads or if they're good Baptists they're I raise that hand and they all want to be saved too. But then your wife says, wait a minute. And she leaves the room. And then she
[01:05:24] comes back holding the hand of the three-year-old toddler who woke, who slept through the earthquake and also holding your newborn infant son or daughter. And she says, well, I want them to be saved too. Can they be baptized? They ask questions like that. They ask it when the first
[01:05:43] group of Gentiles are going to be baptized. They're thinking, is this really allowed? Well, Yes. So they're asking, though, if you were in a place, would it be right to baptize these babies?
[01:05:55] Would it be wrong to baptize them? Would it be wrong not to baptize them? And truthfully, it is an argument from silence either way, to say that Paul baptized and the apostles baptized very small children, or to say that they didn't. If anyone thinks they know, they don't, except for
[01:06:18] God. So here's what we have regarding infant baptism. No direct biblical record of the apostles baptizing children, but reason to strongly suspect they did based on context, the biblical precedent of circumcision and what that meant, and Jesus saying, bring the little children unto me.
[01:06:41] And this honest uncertainty is actually what you should expect. And I hope there's room for you to say in your faith, I believe in Jesus, but some other things I don't understand. But I say this
[01:06:55] uncertainty is right because remember when the New Testament was being written, the gospel was, the church was very new, if not brand new. So the apostles, were they preaching? They were preaching to adults who became first-generation Christians, meaning did the first-generation Christians grow
[01:07:14] up in the church. No, there was no church yet. Were they baptized in the name of Jesus as infants?
[01:07:23] No, it wasn't there yet. So, of course, when they believed, they were baptized as adults.
[01:07:31] And we don't have a clear record of what happened with their two-year-old child, their four-year-old child, because everything was new and not decided yet. By the way, you find that when you read the Bible and notice the details.
[01:07:46] Now that said, we do know from a very early time, Christians were discussing whether or not to baptize who and when and where, and they didn't all agree.
[01:07:55] There was a church father named Tertullian, who in about 200 A.T. wrote about baptism, and he mentioned baptizing infants, and it was going on.
[01:08:02] He said he didn't like it, but it was going on.
[01:08:06] And maybe why we don't all agree is this.
[01:08:09] There's a real question when you think about your faith and all of life.
[01:08:14] how much is about your individual choice you know joshua said believe on the lord jesus no excuse me joshua said choose ye this day whom you will serve so there is an individual choice to be made but then how much weight do you put on your family and your solidarity yes at some point
[01:08:35] people make up their own mind yes joshua said choose ye this day whom you will serve but he also said, as for me and my household, this is the side we're on. It's like train up your child
[01:08:48] in the way they should go. And they won't be perfect, but when they were older, they will remember and they won't depart from it. Or believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and
[01:08:58] your household. So we Methodists baptize infants, not out of fear, but out of biblical conviction.
[01:09:06] And we believe that baptism is not only infant dedication. It's not just what we do.
[01:09:13] no it is a holy sacrament where God acts too because we showed up and asked him to and by the way along with that we still believe you still have to get to the point where you choose for
[01:09:28] yourself what you believe and by the way just so you know you sometimes meet people that don't want to say well you were baptized as an infant you've accepted Christ why don't you get baptized
[01:09:40] again. We don't re-baptize. I don't think that breaks the heart of God, but what happens when you re-baptize is you end up saying the other church got it wrong. It doesn't count. We're the ones who get it right. So I was baptized as an infant. My parents taught me about it. When I was
[01:09:59] saved as a teenager, I remember thinking, should I get baptized again? And my thought was, no, I think it worked the first time. So it's good to understand why we do what we do.
[01:10:10] why not everyone will ever see the same until heaven.
[01:10:15] But now let me get to some down-to-earth practical pointers that aren't theological arguments through the centuries.
[01:10:25] This is just about how you can share your faith with your children and your grandchildren and beyond.
[01:10:33] First, like what Pastor Stephanie was saying to the Ricos, all y'all need to understand, if you're a parent or a grandparent or an uncle or an aunt, you have a role to play, an important role to play in passing down your faith, especially in your
[01:10:50] family. Deuteronomy 6 is famous because it gives us the great commandment, love God with all your heart, soul, and strength. But right after that, and this is from Moses, he says, these commands that I give you today are to be upon your heart. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you
[01:11:09] walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. Now for me, I'm a preacher. I do that naturally. But I don't care if you're not a preacher. I don't care if you're an introvert.
[01:11:18] Find a way to try to do it. Kind of fits with what Paul said to the Philippian jailer.
[01:11:25] Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. So parents, take your children to church. Take them to church events. But as much as you are able, you teach them about
[01:11:39] the faith yourself and you talk about God. Remind them of their baptism. My mom reminded me. That stuck with me. Imagine that. Be as creative as you can be, but be consistent also. And by the way,
[01:11:54] grandparents and maybe grandmothers especially, from what I read and hear, some of your grandchildren and their generation may listen to you far more than you expect. Like you know how when your own kids are teenagers, they might think you don't know anything. Your grandchildren might
[01:12:11] think you know a whole lot. I was recently at an evangelism conference where a youth director told about taking his youth group to visit people in a nursing home. And so he's setting up conversations. He has a 16-year-old girl sit down across from this 85-year-old woman.
[01:12:29] And he's there and he hears the girl ask this question as an opening lead. What's it like to know that you're going to die soon?
[01:12:41] At that point, the youth director began to die, I think.
[01:12:45] But the 85-year-old woman was fine.
[01:12:48] She said, I have followed Jesus for over 60 years, and my husband is dead.
[01:12:56] My children live a long way from me.
[01:12:59] And to me, dying is just going through a door, and I will see Jesus and what is next.
[01:13:05] And if I go through that door tomorrow, it is well.
[01:13:09] You know, death can scare even young people, maybe especially young people, because they don't know they're going to get old and die too.
[01:13:17] But that 16-year-old girl went away hearing something she needed to hear.
[01:13:22] Hear me, you baby boomers and older.
[01:13:25] If you trust in Christ, someone needs to hear that.
[01:13:32] Now, with that, everyone needs to remember and realize the nature and the limitations of your role.
[01:13:38] I mean, typically, not always, but typically an aunt or uncle doesn't have as much influence as a mother or father.
[01:13:44] Maybe you can't say the same things.
[01:13:46] But even parents, I've said this before, you cannot make your children become Christian.
[01:13:53] You don't have that level of control.
[01:13:56] But you can create an environment where that is more likely, where they understand what it means and when they hear the offer.
[01:14:02] Remember, your children have minds and wills of their own.
[01:14:05] That becomes evident when they're two years old, which begins, you know, Terrible Twos begins at 18 months, or sooner maybe. But all along the way, you have tremendous influence. My mom and dad took me to church. They taught me about God.
[01:14:22] They answered my questions as best they could. I don't think they always got it right, but that's okay. They didn't lead me to Christ so my mom would get an assist, but they created the environment
[01:14:35] where that could happen.
[01:14:38] And with that, parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts and whatever, you need to realize the power of your own faith and your witness.
[01:14:47] Because apart from attending to your own soul for the sake of your own soul, your faith will matter to your children and their children and their children.
[01:14:56] Let me explain this in a daunting way.
[01:15:00] Sooner or later, parents become like youth leaders.
[01:15:06] And here's why I say that.
[01:15:07] My wife Linda once went to a seminar for youth leaders And somebody was just passing out information And said, youth leaders, don't try to hide your faults From the teenagers in your youth group Do you know why?
[01:15:24] They've already noticed them And had private conversations about what your faults are Ha ha, good times In the same way, with parents your children know your faults or they think they do maybe they've made up a few of their own
[01:15:44] but they'll also remember what you really believed in and what you lived for and they may argue with you all day long but if you have a somewhat credible Christian witness that will be like a
[01:15:58] gravitational or magnetic or holy spirit pull towards God even when you're not there my sisters and I remember my mom was tone deaf which is a real thing she couldn't sing three right notes in a row
[01:16:14] if she were to say can I join the choir it would be Kara's duty to say I'm sorry but no you just can't but we also remember that our mom believed then number four realize and believe in the power
[01:16:33] of prayer pray for your children pray for your grandchildren pray for your great-grandchildren your nephews and your nieces and it's okay to let them know you're doing that. A little reminder, one of the most famous mothers in the history of the church was Monica, the mother of Saint
[01:16:50] Augustine. She prayed and she wept a great deal when her son was dabbling in pagan philosophies and seeing how many commandments he could break. There were a few he liked to break.
[01:17:05] One day she went to see a priest and she poured out her heart and the priest said to her, do not fear. God will not allow the son of such tears to perish. The prayers of a righteous man
[01:17:19] or a righteous woman are powerful. And then finally, pretend this God and family stuff is really important because it is for real. In 1 Timothy, the word says, for physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life
[01:17:41] and the life to come.
[01:17:44] You know, if you're young, you know how there's that intense emphasis on extracurricular activities and sports and this and that.
[01:17:51] And they can be fine.
[01:17:52] They can be good.
[01:17:53] They can be useful.
[01:17:55] But extra-eternal matters count more than extracurricular.
[01:18:03] Closing thought to encourage and challenge us all.
[01:18:08] Reaching the next generation doesn't only work one way.
[01:18:12] It's not just the older reaching the younger.
[01:18:14] sometimes it works the other way the same youth director who told us about the 16 year old girl asking the 85 year old woman what's it like to know you're going to die also shared a very recent
[01:18:29] story from his church which is quite a large church and quite alive spiritually there's an older woman in that church i guess she is her husband is 90 and the woman is a christian the husband a college professor and a non-believer you know how it can be sometimes if you're smart
[01:18:49] you don't believe that stuff and doubtless wife being a christian having a strong church being in texas many people tried to speak to him over the decades but in the last year or so a 12
[01:19:05] year old boy started stopping by wanting to talk to the 90 year old man when you're 90 and some young kid wants to talk to you, it can be the highlight of your day. Well, this past Easter
[01:19:17] Sunday, April 5th, the 12-year-old boy brought by some snacks. If you want to talk to a man, feed him. We open right up a lot of times. And the 12-year-old boy had been trying to introduce
[01:19:31] the subject of God and Jesus, and the 12-year-old man had said, I'm not ready to talk about this.
[01:19:36] that night, Easter Sunday, April 5th 2026, he said I am ready they had a conversation, 12 year old boy and a 90 year old college professor and the 12 year old boy asked him a question
[01:19:49] when they were done the conversation he said would you like to pray to accept Jesus into your life and the prof said yes that was Easter Sunday Easter Monday the prof left this world if the old book is true
[01:20:09] and I believe it is it was good that they talked it was very good that they talked the angels may have had a choir practice because they talked and you know you may not believe in deathbed conversions but there is
[01:20:25] such a thing as people choosing a side at the end anyway the youth director was near tears as he's describing this little class we were in it's like man there was a lot of faith there but then he
[01:20:38] half wanted to laugh because he said this is what's great with working with youth the way they put things. He said the 12-year-old boy came back and told the story that almost could be in the Bible
[01:20:48] was so great. And he said, here's how he commented on it. He said, you know, it was a real buzzer beater. I guess he'd been watching basketball before he shared his faith. Paul once said to
[01:21:00] Timothy, let no one despise you because you are young. Well, don't let anyone despise you because you are old or because you're in the middle and you're a parent with kids. Or your kids might try,
[01:21:10] they might despise you at moments, God forgive them. But young people, if you know Jesus, God can use you just like he can use old people and in between people. Do you hear what I'm saying?
[01:21:25] Now we're going to sing our closing song now, and as we do, I invite you to put the sermon and your faith into practice. If there are people you are close to who do not know Jesus and that matters
[01:21:36] you. I invite you. I urge you. Here's a good word. I abjure you. Pray for them. Come to the altar and lift them up to God now. And then, by the way, keep praying for them for the rest of the time

[01:21:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:21:53] you have to know them. Please stand as you're able.

[01:22:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:22:36] within your presence i speak jesus i just wanna speak the name of jesus till every dark addiction starts to break declaring there is hope and there is freedom i speak jesus your name is I speak Jesus, shout Jesus from the, Jesus in the street, Jesus in the darkness over every enemy,
[01:25:14] Jesus for my family, I speak the holy name, Jesus, Jesus, who you are, been, God is real

[01:28:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:28:55] and he can meet you through Christ and if you know him no matter who you are or how you've been oh, you took off your robe. I was going to say, whether you had a robe like Pastor Stephanie did
[01:29:08] earlier, or a jacket like me, or not a jacket at all, God can use your witness. You can just be one person telling another person what Christ has done in your life. God can use you when you're
[01:29:23] young, and God can use you when you're old, and God can use you in between. Would you join me in the sending forth? Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.