Theological Status: COMPROMISED (Worldly/Sloppy)
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Pergamum
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
The Compromised Parallel
Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
🧐 Overview
Theological Verdict & Summary
Sermon Summary: A call to prioritize love and relationship over doctrinal rigidity, using the story of Ruth and Jesus' baptism to illustrate a mission of love.
Pastoral Analysis: The sermon offers a compassionate and relational approach to faith, emphasizing love and unity. However, it critically fails to anchor these duties in the Gospel of grace, instead presenting moral effort as the primary engine of spiritual life. This creates a dangerous moralism that burdens the congregation with unachievable standards.
Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Pergamum — This sermon exhibits a significant homiletical compromise by substituting the Gospel of grace with moralistic self-help and ethical exhortation. While the core Gospel framework remains intact, the message is classified as Compromised, reflecting the archetype of Pergamum. This designation acknowledges the presence of moralism and weak boundaries around holy things, indicating a serious imbalance that requires correction, though it does not rise to the level of active heresy.
Big Idea: Baptism is not an entry into a club of doctrinal convictions, but a declaration of belovedness and the beginning of a mission to love God and neighbor, prioritizing relationship over rigid adherence to beliefs. 00:35:22 ▶️ 📄
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
- Primary Text: Matthew 3:13-17
- Usage Classification: Thematic
- Text-to-Talk Ratio: High
- Pulpit Decorum: ✅ PASS - No pulpit decorum errors detected.
✝️ Christological Focus: Moralistic/Imitative
"Christ is presented as a model for moral behavior and relational love, rather than as the Savior whose work enables such behavior."
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 9 | Referenced: 3 | Alluded: 0
📖 View 2 Passages Read Aloud
-
Matthew 3:13-17
00:24:42 ▶️ 📄
"Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented, and when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
-
Ruth 1:15-18
00:25:48 ▶️ 📄
"So she said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Return after your sister-in-law. But Ruth said, Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you. Where you go, I will go. Where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die. There will I be buried. May the Lord do thus, and so to me and more as well. if even death parts me from you when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her she said no more to her"
Key References: Matthew 3:13-17, Ruth 1:15-18, Philippians 2:3
💧 Liturgy & Sacraments
Altar Call / Invitation Observed: Yes
🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery
Word Count: 2,777 words
📌 View 9 Key Topics Addressed
-
The Nature of Jesus's Baptism
00:35:22 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor contrasts the motivations of the crowd (guilt, desperation, peer pressure) with Jesus's sinless state, highlighting that Jesus had no need for forgiveness but came to fulfill righteousness and set an example. -
Divine Approval and Identity
00:37:22 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor emphasizes that Jesus received no doctrinal checklist or test of fellowship, but rather direct divine affirmation ('This is my son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased'), establishing his identity through love and approval. -
The Nature of Baptism
00:38:42 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor contrasts baptism as a 'way of belonging' and relationship with God against it being a 'way of believing' or a checklist of doctrinal positions. -
Relational Unity vs. Doctrinal Division
00:40:31 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor argues that baptism is about surrender and relationship rather than drawing lines in the sand over political or social issues, using the example of Jesus's companions. -
Practical Application of Love
00:55:00 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor provides specific advice on how to maintain relationships despite differences: listen with curiosity, ask clarifying questions, and speak humbly without attacking the person. -
Conflict Resolution and Listening
00:55:56 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor advises asking clarifying questions to affirm sincere desire to learn and care for the other person, rather than immediately disagreeing. -
Humility in Disagreement
00:56:42 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor instructs believers to be humble and gracious when asserting their position, avoiding claims of absolute truth or attacking the person. -
Loving Through Differences
00:57:33 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor posits that God created unique differences to test how well believers can love one another through them. -
Choosing Relationships Over Conviction
00:57:53 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor encourages choosing relationships over rigid convictions to pass the 'final exam' of adversarial times.
🖼️ View 9 Illustrations & Stories
-
Sermon Illustration
00:36:37 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor uses the analogy of a cashier in a grocery store looking at a movie star to describe John the Baptist's reaction to Jesus's unexpected appearance for baptism. -
Sermon Illustration
00:37:22 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor imagines a secretary taking minutes at the baptism to highlight the absurdity of bureaucratic documentation for a divine event, noting that only a 'wet Messiah' and a voice from heaven were present. -
Sermon Illustration
00:36:19 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor describes the scene of Jesus's baptism, noting that Jesus had no sins to confess and was baptized not for repentance but for covenantal obedience, resulting in the Father's declaration of belovedness. -
Sermon Illustration
00:39:15 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor uses the TV show 'All in the Family' to illustrate how Archie Bunker and Michael engaged in endless arguments over political and social issues, highlighting how they fought for doctrinal stances rather than listening or empathizing. -
Sermon Illustration
00:40:48 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor recounts a specific episode where Archie argues with Michael about the order of putting on socks and shoes, using it to show how arguments become about being right rather than understanding the other person. -
Sermon Illustration
00:44:02 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor tells a story of two brothers who grew up close but were severed by conflicting political opinions garnered from cable news, illustrating how family ties are broken over opinions about strangers. -
Sermon Illustration
00:46:51 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor references the biblical story of Ruth and Naomi, where Ruth refuses to leave Naomi despite differing beliefs, demonstrating loyalty and love over doctrinal agreement. -
Sermon Illustration
00:49:22 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor discusses Jesus inviting Zacchaeus to lunch, highlighting that Jesus chose relationship over conviction, understanding Zacchaeus's background of poverty and rejection rather than judging his profession as a tax collector. -
Sermon Illustration
00:58:01 ▶️ 📄
> A story about three soldiers in WWII who buried a friend outside a Catholic churchyard because the priest refused burial for a non-Catholic. The next morning, the priest had moved the fence to include the friend's grave, demonstrating love over rigid rules.
🚀 View 4 Calls to Action
-
Pastoral Charge
00:53:54 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor urges the congregation to embody Christ-like love and treat others with kindness, regardless of their beliefs. -
Pastoral Charge
00:55:00 ▶️ 📄
> The pastor commands the congregation to follow three specific rules for conflict resolution: listen with curiosity, ask clarifying questions, and speak humbly without attacking the person. -
Pastoral Charge
00:59:54 ▶️ 📄
> Invite attendees to profess faith, get baptized, or transfer membership. -
Pastoral Charge
01:00:05 ▶️ 📄
> Invite attendees to come forward to speak with the pastor regarding their decision.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Compromised / Weak
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel Framework | ❌ FAIL | The sermon's theological foundation is compromised, as it presents moralism as the primary driver of spiritual life rather than anchoring duties in the indicative of the Gospel. The message lacks the necessary grounding in the grace of God, reducing the Christian walk to mere behavioral modification without the empowering context of the Gospel. |
| Soteriology | ❌ FAIL | The sermon implies that salvation or spiritual standing is achieved through moral effort and relational behavior rather than the finished work of Christ. |
| Bibliology | ⚠️ WEAK | Scripture is used to support moralistic applications rather than to reveal the Gospel of grace. |
| Hermeneutic | ⚠️ WEAK | The hermeneutic prioritizes behavioral outcomes over the theological foundation of grace. |
| Theology Proper | ⚠️ WEAK | God is portrayed as a source of moral inspiration rather than the sovereign giver of grace. |
| Sacramentology | ✅ PASS | No sacramental errors detected. |
| Confessional Depth | ❌ SHALLOW | The sermon lacks depth in explaining the theological basis for Christian living, relying instead on moral exhortation. |
⚙️ The Core Gospel Framework ⚠️ Incomplete / Compromised
What is the Gospel Framework? This section audits whether the sermon proclaims the essential foundation of the Gospel: Christ's substitutionary sacrifice, humanity's spiritual need, and salvation by sovereign grace alone.
How this is evaluated:
How this is evaluated:
- Essential Gospel Pillars: The framework is verified intact when the sermon substantively preaches Christ's atonement, declares human inability (articulated through either Total Depravity or the Law's condemnation), and guards salvation by grace alone against works-righteousness.
- Historic Confessional Depth: Deeper theological distinctives (such as the Active Obedience of Christ) enrich theological depth when expounded, but their absence in a focused topical or expository message is not an error and does not compromise the Gospel Framework.
🏛️ Essential Gospel Pillars
❌ The Cross & Atonement (Penal Substitution): Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Human Inability & Need: Not observed (neither human inability nor divine judgment was contextually proclaimed).
❌ Sola Gratia (Salvation by Grace Alone): Compromised
Soteriological errors detected regarding salvation by grace alone.
📜 Historic Confessional Depth
✅ Active Obedience of Christ: Articulated
"But then Jesus shows up without a single sin to confess, with no grudges to settle, no fears to allay, a perfectly lived life." 00:36:19 ▶️ 📄
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🟠 Major Assumed Gospel (Moralism)
Root Cause: Moralism
"I firmly believe that God made us each uniquely different and gave us differing ideas and convictions to see how well we could love each other through them." 00:57:33 ▶️ 📄
The Belief/Behavior: The sermon presents moral effort and relational behavior as the primary engine of spiritual life, implying that salvation or spiritual standing is achieved through moral effort rather than the finished work of Christ.
Why It's Dangerous: This creates a dangerous moralism that burdens the congregation with unachievable standards, leading to spiritual exhaustion and despair when human effort inevitably fails.
Biblical Correction: Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Tone | Compassionate Approach to Conflict
The pastor effectively uses relatable illustrations (e.g., Archie Bunker, Ruth) to encourage empathy and listening in divided times.
Relational Focus | Prioritizing Love Over Doctrine
The emphasis on loving neighbors and preserving relationships is a positive pastoral value, even if the theological foundation is flawed.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:02:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:02:42] welcome to first baptist church it's so wonderful to see each and every one of you here and it is is my privilege to say i'm glad that you've come and i know that our lord is glad that you're here and that we can worship together this morning there are a few announcements that i'd like to bring to your attention you see on the on the back of your bulletin and even on the inside there are lots of announcements about things going on our first kids and youth will resume their normal schedule this week
[00:03:12] which means 4.30 to 6.30 this afternoon.
[00:03:16] There are several small groups meeting this week.
[00:03:19] You see the lunch group on Monday at 12.30.
[00:03:22] Wednesday, our plarn group and our walking slash hiking group will be getting together.
[00:03:30] One thing I want to add to our list is on Saturday, from 2 to 4 here in the fellowship hall, there will be a baby shower for Cole and Lindsay Higginbotham.
[00:03:42] from 2 to 4 in Fellowship Hall, and everybody is invited to that.
[00:03:48] Another small group on Thursday at 3.30, our Happy Wanderers, which is kind of like a travelogue group, is going to meet at Carl and Sandra Elledge's home at 3.30 on Thursday.
[00:04:00] One other announcement I'd like to bring to your attention, you may have seen the boxes that have been placed out, but this is our month to provide food items for Hope Ministries.
[00:04:10] So as you come to worship, if you'd like to bring non-perishable food items You can place them in those boxes And we will get them to Hope Ministries at the end of the month There are several people for whom we are praying
[00:04:26] A few folks I want to update you on Pat Osborne did have successful surgery on her foot Friday She's at home and is recuperating And Martha, their daughter's there, Ronnie's there and she's keeping the pain at bay with the medicine they've given her.
[00:04:42] So thank you for your prayers for her.
[00:04:45] Unfortunately, I hate to inform you that Ronnie now has SAF infection in his lungs after getting over pneumonia, and he's on an antibiotic for that again.
[00:04:55] So please keep both of them in your prayers.
[00:04:57] Linda Cheek had successful knee surgery, replacement surgery over the holidays, and she's going to be starting her outpatient physical therapy this week.
[00:05:07] So remember Linda in your prayers.
[00:05:09] Helen Elledge is now at home, and hospice has been called in to help care for Helen, so please remember her and the Elledge family.
[00:05:20] Diane Hall is going to be having an echocardiogram on January the 13th to see if her heart is healthy and strong enough to go through that TIPS procedure that she told us about in December that will analyze what's going on with her liver function.
[00:05:35] So that's coming up on January the 13th.
[00:05:39] And then one last person I want to share with you is Elaine Younger, Susan Hageman's mother.
[00:05:45] She spent several days at Baptist Hospital this week.
[00:05:48] She developed pulmonary embolisms, and they treated her, and they have released her now, but she's gone back to live with Susan and with Matt and their family for a little while just because she's so weak at this point.
[00:06:01] So please be in prayer for Elaine and also for the Hageman family.
[00:06:06] I'm so glad that you're here and I'm excited to worship with you this morning and now Patricia is going to come and lead us in our invocation let's pray
[00:06:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:06:25] together God as we have joined together here in this place and then those that are joining with us virtually we have come together to worship you today we read the scriptures of faithfulness of Jesus and his baptism and of Ruth help
[00:06:57] us to think about our baptisms and those who haven't been baptized to maybe stir those waters for us to think about our relationship and what they mean and what what you have challenged us to do and to live in our lives so as we are here help
[00:07:15] us to be fully attentive, to put the things that may be on our minds of things we need to do later out of our minds and think about you and truly worshiping you through song, through scripture,
[00:07:32] through prayer, through the spoken word and have open ears, open eyes, open hearts to receive the message that you have for us today. And may we give you the glory for all that you do through
[00:07:48] this worship service today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. The peace of Christ be with you.
[00:08:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:08:05] Thank you. At this time, I want to reiterate the welcome to all of you, but I certainly want to extend a special welcome to those of you who are guests here today, whether you are visiting with
[00:08:17] family or come here with friends or maybe you just came on your own. We're so glad that you're here and hope that you find this a warm and welcoming place to worship God. If you are so inclined and
[00:08:29] are willing, there is a visitor's card that's in the back of the pew in front of you. If you'd fill that out and give us a little information about you, you can place it in the offering plate when
[00:08:37] it goes by later on in service. And if you have a need or a prayer request or anything I can help you with, you can put it on that card as well and I'll be sure and reach out to you. But thank you
[00:08:46] for being here, and thank you to those of you who've tuned in on the internet. We're glad that
[00:08:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:08:51] you're worshiping with us today as well. And now we're going to sing our praise song that's printed in your worship bulletin. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. We're going to sing it
[00:09:01] through all the way through one time, and then turn and say good morning to our neighbors and greet each other, and then we'll sing it one more time as we return to our seats. Let's all stand
[00:09:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:09:10] together. Children, please join me. Good morning, beloveds. Good morning. I am so thankful for each
[00:12:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:12:38] of you being up here, and I have something to talk to you about this morning. So today, I think Bert is going to be talking a little bit about Jesus's baptism, but I want to talk to you about
[00:12:52] baptism. You know, I don't know if you know exactly why that people go through the process of baptism. Have you ever seen where maybe an officer or a police officer becomes a police officer and they have a little ceremony and they, yeah, and they, it's kind of like an initiation
[00:13:21] almost. It's saying, hey, you have, you are now a police officer. And now, you know what? Because of that, you have some responsibilities. You have the responsibility of protecting our community and taking care of us. And you're going to do certain things to make sure that that happens.
[00:13:42] Also, it's kind of also like a graduation. Have you been to a high school graduation or maybe a college graduation. When you graduate and you become, you have your degree or your diploma, that kind of gives you some responsibility. It says now you're an adult. Now, guess what? You're
[00:14:04] going to have to take care of yourself. You're going to have to get a job. You're now kind of an adult. It's a way of saying, okay, there's a new stage of your life. These things are happening.
[00:14:19] Well, when you are baptized, when you're baptized, doesn't mean necessarily that's when you are a Christian, but it does kind of do something very important. It tells, it tells other people that guess what? I am now, I am a follower of Jesus. And with that comes, not only does it come
[00:14:47] the wonderful benefits of being loved by our congregation and our community. It not only comes with wonderful things of being a child of God, but it also brings some responsibility.
[00:15:06] It tells others that now I am following Christ. I am going to follow his example, and I'm going to do as Christ would want me to do. I'm going to love others and care for others.
[00:15:23] I'm going to meet those needs and I am going to be a true follower of Christ. Will you pray with me?
[00:15:39] Dear God, we are so thankful that your son gave us the perfect example. Even though Jesus didn't have to be baptized to be Jesus. He did it as an example for us. He did it to show that
[00:15:59] what we as Christians, how we should live, how we should be. Lord, we are thankful that you have given us that perfect example. Lord, we praise you and we ask that you remind us each
[00:16:20] and every day that we are followers of Christ. Remind us what our responsibilities are in that.
[00:16:29] Lord, we love you. We praise you. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, kiddos, are you
[00:16:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:16:35] ready for children's church? Let's go. Let's pray together. Lord, offering your gifts and
[00:19:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:19:11] return for the gifts you give to us is almost like dropping a drip of water in the ocean for you are so good to us God but we are thankful for this opportunity to be engaged in and involved
[00:19:26] in your kingdom work and so we pray God that you gladly accept and receive these tithes and offerings that we bring today bless and multiply them we pray in Jesus name amen
[00:19:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:19:40] What you're reading today comes from Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 through 17.
[00:24:42] Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
[00:24:49] John would have prevented him saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?
[00:24:57] But Jesus answered him, let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:25:08] Then he consented, and when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
[00:25:26] And a voice from heaven said, This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.
[00:25:36] And then from the Old Testament, from Ruth, chapter 1, verses 15 through 18.
[00:25:48] So she said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods.
[00:25:55] Return after your sister-in-law.
[00:25:57] But Ruth said, Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you.
[00:26:04] Where you go, I will go.
[00:26:07] Where you lodge, I will lodge.
[00:26:10] Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
[00:26:15] Where you die, I will die.
[00:26:19] There will I be buried.
[00:26:21] May the Lord do thus, and so to me and more as well.
[00:26:25] if even death parts me from you when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her she said no more to her this is the word of God for us the people of God
[00:26:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:26:38] bow with me in prayer please Lord we just celebrated the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and today we commemorate his baptism, which reminds us that Jesus came not only to die, but also to live and to show us how to live, to set an example for us. For he had no
[00:27:29] need for the forgiveness of sins, but he had a need of showing us the way. And we thank you, Lord, for the ministry to which Jesus committed through the waters of baptism. And we pray, God,
[00:27:45] at the cusp of this new year that we would re-engage and recommit ourselves to the teachings and the example of Jesus as we live these days. We also remember, God, our school teachers and our school children and our administrators who've gone back to school to start the spring semester
[00:28:10] and pray for your blessings upon them and for safety. We pray also for our college students who've returned to their campuses and for the parents who now face once again empty bedrooms.
[00:28:28] As we also pray, God, for those who have empty seats at the dinner table or beside them in the car because of someone they've lost through the holidays or in the past year. We pray, God, for
[00:28:46] healing from the grief. We pray, Lord, that you would provide strength and compassion as grief does its job and heals the heart. We pray, God, for our church as you continue to mold and shape
[00:29:08] us into a royal priesthood. And we pray, God, that we would represent the kingdom that you envision and that you are building in this world, and that we would be a part of your work, a part of your
[00:29:28] vision, a part of your ministry here in Wilkes County and beyond. We pray, Lord, for forgiveness of our sins for the times when we become selfish, when we become conceited, when we become angry, when we lash out. Forgive us, God. Give us the humility, Lord, to repair the breaches that we
[00:29:59] cause with our fellow men and women as we also lean on Jesus Christ to repair our breach with you.
[00:30:09] open our hearts and minds now as we continue in our worship that you might speak a word for us today we offer this prayer in the name of Jesus who taught his disciples to pray saying our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name
[00:30:28] thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for
[00:30:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:30:51] thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen your Chancellor
[00:35:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:35:22] Choir ladies and gentlemen they say it was a quiet clear day at the Jordan but even on the quiet days, they had a crowd. Word had spread, and people came. Some came out of guilt.
[00:35:48] Some came out of desperation. Some came just to get a look at what was going on. Nobody lined up for baptism in the same way, of course. Some wanted a new start. Some wanted a blessing.
[00:36:07] Some wanted to be spared the fire and thrashing that John the Baptist kept yelling about.
[00:36:15] Others just gave in to peer pressure and wanted to be part of the crowd.
[00:36:19] But then Jesus shows up without a single sin to confess, with no grudges to settle, no fears to allay, a perfectly lived life.
[00:36:37] and John looks at him the way a cashier in a grocery store looks at a movie star. What are you doing here? And Jesus says something like, let it be so. And that was that. John lowered him into
[00:36:58] the muddy waters of the Jordan, raised him up dripping with the same water that had washed everyone else. And a voice from heaven broke the quiet. If there had been a secretary there taking minutes that day, he might have noted that in keeping with covenantal obedience, Jesus was
[00:37:22] duly baptized. But there were no minutes taken, no bulletins and no hymnals, just a wet Messiah and a voice saying, this is my son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased.
[00:37:44] It's interesting, isn't it?
[00:37:46] At his baptism, Jesus didn't say or profess anything, nor did he sign a doctrinal statement.
[00:37:59] No one asked him about his positions.
[00:38:02] there wasn't a checklist no test of fellowship no survey of convictions just love my beloved and approval and you I am well pleased I wonder sometimes quietly when no one is asking me to write it down. What is it that we sign up for when we get baptized? We Baptists make a big deal
[00:38:42] out of baptism. Believers baptism. But is it about a way of believing or a way of belonging?
[00:38:55] we live in a world that gives us plenty of chances to choose sides Archie Bunker and Michael used to do it every week on tvs all in the family ding dong and the argument would start before the door
[00:39:15] even closes again Archie believed in the way things are Michael his son-in-law believed in the way things ought to be and neither one could figure out how the other made it through the day without falling off the edges of the earth.
[00:39:32] Michael was for labor unions.
[00:39:35] Archie was against.
[00:39:36] Archie was for the Vietnam War.
[00:39:40] Michael was against.
[00:39:41] Michael was for racial equality.
[00:39:43] Archie was against.
[00:39:45] Archie was for law and order.
[00:39:46] Michael was for peaceful protests.
[00:39:49] Michael was for women's liberation.
[00:39:51] Archie was against.
[00:39:53] Archie was a Christian.
[00:40:00] And Michael professed atheism.
[00:40:02] both were convinced they were right both fought for their doctrinal stances both were eternally stubborn and what they had was not relational neither one of them listened neither one of them empathized neither one tried to understand the other so they just fought a particular episode
[00:40:31] that sticks out in my mind is one where Archie sees Michael sitting on his bed, putting his shoes and socks on. And he sees him, he puts his left sock on, and then he puts his left shoe on. And
[00:40:48] before he can put a sock on his right foot, Archie asks, what are you doing, meathead? That ain't how you put your shoes and socks on. You put both socks on, your left and your right, and then you put
[00:41:01] your shoes on a big argument ensues and Archie eventually offers the hypothetical what if it were snowing outside and the house caught on fire you'd look really foolish with one sock and one shoe on and one bare foot but then Michael countered that at least he could stand on his
[00:41:21] one foot that had a shoe and keep both feet dry total nonsense worthless but you know what once we start arguing, once we draw a line in the sand, us versus them, we don't even have to think
[00:41:47] about what the question is or what our position is. We just know that it's the opposite of whatever they say. Some folks get baptized like that into a position. Now that you're in the water, where do
[00:42:06] you stand? This is your stance on this issue or that. What do you believe theologically? Who do you vote for? What do you think about those people? It's really funny to think about asking someone
[00:42:21] who's soaking, sputtering, dripping wet where they stand. Baptism isn't standing at all. It's sinking and being raised, dying and living, losing and finding, more about surrender than about certainty. It's into relationship with God and with others that we arise. Jesus clarified it
[00:42:56] later when he was asked, what is the very most important wall that we must keep? And Jesus went straight to relationships. Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. And these two
[00:43:14] laws are intertwined. They work together. You can't do one without the other. And the amazing thing about All in the Family and Norman Lear and the writers was how they somehow made Archie and Michael's knock down, drag out fights funny. It was comedy. And they got away with it partially
[00:43:42] because both of those characters were so flawed. But it was also comedy or fantasy because a break never occurred. Michael never moved out and Archie never kicked him out. You know why?
[00:44:02] The Nielsen ratings were too high. There's a scenario that's been playing out way too often in our country as of late goes something like this. Two brothers shared a bedroom growing up, shared a paper route, played on the same little league team, shared parents too, the kind that
[00:44:28] could never get them to sit still and be quiet in church. Then came adulthood and with it strong convictions. One brother found politics like religion and the other found religion like politics until one Thanksgiving, the turkey and stuffing steaming on the table, cranberry sauce
[00:44:55] and grandmother bringing butter for the rolls. And one of them said something about politics and the other said something back and the forks went silent.
[00:45:06] And then Thanksgiving went silent. And then Christmas. And then years passed. Same town, different tables, long walk between them. And I'm not talking about an argument over betrayal or over a will or over a misunderstanding. Those are in a different but also heartbreaking
[00:45:38] category. I'm talking about family ties severed over conflicting opinions garnered from competing cable news networks about people that we've never met and never will.
[00:45:55] Is that what we sign up for when we're baptized?
[00:45:58] Is that the new life into which we're raised?
[00:46:03] A reduced family pruned by our beliefs and our convictions?
[00:46:14] You know, conventional wisdom tells us, and people often remind us, we don't change each other's minds.
[00:46:24] I suppose that's right.
[00:46:26] Or if we do, it's never the result of an argument, but it's because of a relationship that takes time and love that so many of us no longer have to give. The Bible has a story about that. It's one that doesn't end on Thanksgiving or in silence.
[00:46:51] Ruth stood there with her mother-in-law, Naomi, who tried to send her away. Look, your sister-in-law going back to her people and to her gods and to her culture, go with her. Convictions, tribal lines, proper boundaries, and yet Ruth refused. Not because she agreed with everything Naomi believed
[00:47:17] or practiced, but because she loved Naomi. Where you go, I will go. Your people will be my people.
[00:47:30] It's a strange little vow, really.
[00:47:33] Not I agree with you.
[00:47:36] Not that I sign off on all of your beliefs.
[00:47:40] But I'm not leaving you.
[00:47:47] Most of our modern conflicts would collapse under that kind of devotion and loyalty.
[00:47:54] Most of our severed relationships would heal if even one person whispered, I'm not leaving you.
[00:48:07] no matter what. Now that's a position to take and it takes courage and it takes humility and perseverance and love. So I circle back around to the muddy Jordan and that dripping son of God.
[00:48:30] Baptism, at least Jesus's, was not entry into a club of convictions but a declaration of belovedness and the beginning of a mission, to love God and love neighbor, even when neighbor does not agree, approve, or applaud. If baptism were about doctrine, Jesus sure chose some strange
[00:48:54] companions, tax collectors who cooked the books, zealots who sharpened knives, fishermen who smelled like their work, and more than one woman with a complicated past. If baptism were about beliefs, Jesus would have been better to have chosen Pharisees. But if baptism were about relationship,
[00:49:22] about loving God and loving neighbor, then his guest list made sense. Another Bible character comes to mind, Zacchaeus. Every Jew hated Zacchaeus because he had the audacity to work for the Roman Empire, collecting taxes, exorbitant taxes, and then he collected a little extra to
[00:49:48] line his own pockets. But Jesus went to him anyway in the midst of a thralling crowd and invited him to lunch. Even though Zacchaeus was against almost everything that Jesus stood for and held dear,
[00:50:15] Jesus chose the person and the relationship over convictions. Maybe because Jesus knew that Zacchaeus, the wee little man was he, being small had always been picked on.
[00:50:33] he'd always been left out he'd always been dismissed unvalued and ignored at home at school at church at play until one day Caesar's people gave him the chance to have authority and power to push other people around they'll know his name now or perhaps Jesus knew that
[00:51:06] Zacchaeus had grown up without a father. And as a result, he and his mother had grown up especially poor, without basic necessities, and with a whole lot of hunger from day to day. And Zacchaeus knew
[00:51:23] the demeaning things that his mother had had to do for their survival. And maybe he resented the church because they came knocking not to help, but to ask for and collect a tithe. And it left a wound
[00:51:41] that Zacchaeus had not been able to get over until Jesus went home with him and heard his story and shared his pain. Funny thing about convictions and behaviors, almost every person has a reason or a story for that why they believe and behave as they do. Now, I know that we, the country,
[00:52:15] the world, we're divided today, this week more than ever. And I know that we all think that we're right. We believe it deeply in our bones. And like I said, we already know that nobody
[00:52:37] changes anybody's mind, at least not through arguing. You know, what I really think is that this is a test. After all the statements and social media positions, the test is how we live through our differences. Whether we choose, Ruth, I'm not leaving you, or Jesus is getting to know
[00:53:05] the person, or Archie's, I'm right, and that's that. What kind of life did we accept coming up out of the water somewhere between those brothers who haven't spoken and Ruth who would not leave and Jesus rising from the Jordan there's a decision every baptized person has to make do we sign up to
[00:53:36] love God and neighbor or simply to uphold beliefs our beliefs now I'm not here to tell anybody what to believe. That's wasted breath. As the pastor of this church, I am here to try to urge us to be
[00:53:54] the church, to be Christian, to be Christ-like, no matter what our beliefs or convictions or opinions happen to be. Love God and love neighbor. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. That includes people you are sitting with today, as well as people on the internet you've
[00:54:16] never met before, and everyone in between. Paul takes it one step further in his letter to the church in Philippi, and commands in verse 2-3 that we consider others better than ourselves.
[00:54:34] It could be interpreted more than ourselves, that we think about the well-being of others more than we think about the well-being of ourselves. The truth is, doubling down and going scorched earth over what we believe is really just a backdoor way of putting ourselves before others.
[00:55:00] We're protecting our comfort, our belief, our way of life. I do have practical advice. Tiffany loves when I do this. The antidote is follow three rules. It helps. It's not going to solve world problems, but it'll help. Rule number one is listen. Listen, listen, and then listen some
[00:55:30] more. Listen with curiosity and with a sincere desire to learn a new perspective about contentious issues and to learn about the person within whom you are in conflict. Listen. You've heard it before, one mouth, two ears. Listen. Secondly, and this goes along with listening, ask questions.
[00:55:56] This affirms your sincere desire to learn as well as your care for the other person.
[00:56:05] Responding to someone else's life story or heartfelt convictions with your disagreeing statement of your convictions demonstrates that you weren't really listening in the first place and that you have no regard for that person. Ask clarifying questions when people tell you things
[00:56:24] and even if they're outlandish well tell me why is it that you feel that way or do you have any idea when you started believing that what made you start thinking that way and then when it is
[00:56:42] your time to speak in the affirmative to assert your position be humble be gracious don't speak as if you're the final authority that you got the capital t for truth on your chest because you
[00:56:56] don't, and neither do I. Begin with, in my opinion, or the way I see it, and most importantly, don't call names, don't make accusations, don't attack the person, talk about the issue. That way, when
[00:57:19] you're finished discussing, there can still be a relationship. Baptism ushers us into a new way of life, a life in which we honor God by loving one another. I firmly believe that God made us each
[00:57:33] uniquely different and gave us differing ideas and convictions to see how well we could love each other through them. Feels like we're in the final exam right now, and we will pass, and so will
[00:57:53] these adversarial times if we continue to love one another and choose relationships over conviction.
[00:58:01] and I just thought of this story, and I'm going to share it. In France in World War II, three soldiers had lost a buddy in combat that day, and they picked up his body because they'd
[00:58:17] remembered passing a church in the French countryside, and they went up, and they knocked on the door because that church had a fenced-in graveyard, and they wanted to bury their friend there before they left and moved out in the morning. Turned out it was a Catholic church and
[00:58:36] when they explained their situation, the priest said, you know, I'm really sorry, but if your friend wasn't Catholic, he can't be buried here. Distraught, they took their friend and they did the next best thing. They went and they buried him just on the other side of the fence. And then
[00:58:59] they went back and they got up extra early the next morning before they were to move out and they went back to the churchyard so they could say goodbye to their friend, but they couldn't find
[00:59:09] his grave because there wasn't a grave outside the fence. And they went and they knocked on the door and they asked, they explained to the priest. He said, you know, I felt so horrible. I couldn't
[00:59:22] sleep last night. I got up and I went and I moved the fence. Relationship, loving people over our convictions. God is love. Amen. We now come to the time in our service where we invite you to join us as a fellowship in the body of Christ, either by professing your faith in
[00:59:54] Jesus Christ for the first time, coming forward to be baptized as Jesus was, or by moving your membership from another church family to this one. I'll be down front to speak with you if you have
[01:00:05] such a decision to make today as we stand together and sing hymn number 384, The Bond of Love.
[01:01:16] Hey, thanks so much for being here today. I hope that you'll take your bulletin home with you and find your place of involvement this week. I was told, asked to announce that there's also another
[01:01:26] small group meeting on Tuesday afternoon. It's our reading group, the Reading Between the Vines.
[01:01:33] they're going to meet at C'est La Ven in North Wilkesboro at 5.30 on Tuesday. And if you're interested, if you haven't been before, you can call Tiffany and she can tell you what it's all
[01:01:43] about. They read books and talk about them. Okay, there you go. As you go out into this world this week, think about these words, live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, forgive freely pray daily
[01:02:07] and leave the rest to God
[00:02:42] welcome to first baptist church it's so wonderful to see each and every one of you here and it is is my privilege to say i'm glad that you've come and i know that our lord is glad that you're here and that we can worship together this morning there are a few announcements that i'd like to bring to your attention you see on the on the back of your bulletin and even on the inside there are lots of announcements about things going on our first kids and youth will resume their normal schedule this week
[00:03:12] which means 4.30 to 6.30 this afternoon.
[00:03:16] There are several small groups meeting this week.
[00:03:19] You see the lunch group on Monday at 12.30.
[00:03:22] Wednesday, our plarn group and our walking slash hiking group will be getting together.
[00:03:30] One thing I want to add to our list is on Saturday, from 2 to 4 here in the fellowship hall, there will be a baby shower for Cole and Lindsay Higginbotham.
[00:03:42] from 2 to 4 in Fellowship Hall, and everybody is invited to that.
[00:03:48] Another small group on Thursday at 3.30, our Happy Wanderers, which is kind of like a travelogue group, is going to meet at Carl and Sandra Elledge's home at 3.30 on Thursday.
[00:04:00] One other announcement I'd like to bring to your attention, you may have seen the boxes that have been placed out, but this is our month to provide food items for Hope Ministries.
[00:04:10] So as you come to worship, if you'd like to bring non-perishable food items You can place them in those boxes And we will get them to Hope Ministries at the end of the month There are several people for whom we are praying
[00:04:26] A few folks I want to update you on Pat Osborne did have successful surgery on her foot Friday She's at home and is recuperating And Martha, their daughter's there, Ronnie's there and she's keeping the pain at bay with the medicine they've given her.
[00:04:42] So thank you for your prayers for her.
[00:04:45] Unfortunately, I hate to inform you that Ronnie now has SAF infection in his lungs after getting over pneumonia, and he's on an antibiotic for that again.
[00:04:55] So please keep both of them in your prayers.
[00:04:57] Linda Cheek had successful knee surgery, replacement surgery over the holidays, and she's going to be starting her outpatient physical therapy this week.
[00:05:07] So remember Linda in your prayers.
[00:05:09] Helen Elledge is now at home, and hospice has been called in to help care for Helen, so please remember her and the Elledge family.
[00:05:20] Diane Hall is going to be having an echocardiogram on January the 13th to see if her heart is healthy and strong enough to go through that TIPS procedure that she told us about in December that will analyze what's going on with her liver function.
[00:05:35] So that's coming up on January the 13th.
[00:05:39] And then one last person I want to share with you is Elaine Younger, Susan Hageman's mother.
[00:05:45] She spent several days at Baptist Hospital this week.
[00:05:48] She developed pulmonary embolisms, and they treated her, and they have released her now, but she's gone back to live with Susan and with Matt and their family for a little while just because she's so weak at this point.
[00:06:01] So please be in prayer for Elaine and also for the Hageman family.
[00:06:06] I'm so glad that you're here and I'm excited to worship with you this morning and now Patricia is going to come and lead us in our invocation let's pray
[00:06:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:06:25] together God as we have joined together here in this place and then those that are joining with us virtually we have come together to worship you today we read the scriptures of faithfulness of Jesus and his baptism and of Ruth help
[00:06:57] us to think about our baptisms and those who haven't been baptized to maybe stir those waters for us to think about our relationship and what they mean and what what you have challenged us to do and to live in our lives so as we are here help
[00:07:15] us to be fully attentive, to put the things that may be on our minds of things we need to do later out of our minds and think about you and truly worshiping you through song, through scripture,
[00:07:32] through prayer, through the spoken word and have open ears, open eyes, open hearts to receive the message that you have for us today. And may we give you the glory for all that you do through
[00:07:48] this worship service today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. The peace of Christ be with you.
[00:08:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:08:05] Thank you. At this time, I want to reiterate the welcome to all of you, but I certainly want to extend a special welcome to those of you who are guests here today, whether you are visiting with
[00:08:17] family or come here with friends or maybe you just came on your own. We're so glad that you're here and hope that you find this a warm and welcoming place to worship God. If you are so inclined and
[00:08:29] are willing, there is a visitor's card that's in the back of the pew in front of you. If you'd fill that out and give us a little information about you, you can place it in the offering plate when
[00:08:37] it goes by later on in service. And if you have a need or a prayer request or anything I can help you with, you can put it on that card as well and I'll be sure and reach out to you. But thank you
[00:08:46] for being here, and thank you to those of you who've tuned in on the internet. We're glad that
[00:08:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:08:51] you're worshiping with us today as well. And now we're going to sing our praise song that's printed in your worship bulletin. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. We're going to sing it
[00:09:01] through all the way through one time, and then turn and say good morning to our neighbors and greet each other, and then we'll sing it one more time as we return to our seats. Let's all stand
[00:09:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:09:10] together. Children, please join me. Good morning, beloveds. Good morning. I am so thankful for each
[00:12:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:12:38] of you being up here, and I have something to talk to you about this morning. So today, I think Bert is going to be talking a little bit about Jesus's baptism, but I want to talk to you about
[00:12:52] baptism. You know, I don't know if you know exactly why that people go through the process of baptism. Have you ever seen where maybe an officer or a police officer becomes a police officer and they have a little ceremony and they, yeah, and they, it's kind of like an initiation
[00:13:21] almost. It's saying, hey, you have, you are now a police officer. And now, you know what? Because of that, you have some responsibilities. You have the responsibility of protecting our community and taking care of us. And you're going to do certain things to make sure that that happens.
[00:13:42] Also, it's kind of also like a graduation. Have you been to a high school graduation or maybe a college graduation. When you graduate and you become, you have your degree or your diploma, that kind of gives you some responsibility. It says now you're an adult. Now, guess what? You're
[00:14:04] going to have to take care of yourself. You're going to have to get a job. You're now kind of an adult. It's a way of saying, okay, there's a new stage of your life. These things are happening.
[00:14:19] Well, when you are baptized, when you're baptized, doesn't mean necessarily that's when you are a Christian, but it does kind of do something very important. It tells, it tells other people that guess what? I am now, I am a follower of Jesus. And with that comes, not only does it come
[00:14:47] the wonderful benefits of being loved by our congregation and our community. It not only comes with wonderful things of being a child of God, but it also brings some responsibility.
[00:15:06] It tells others that now I am following Christ. I am going to follow his example, and I'm going to do as Christ would want me to do. I'm going to love others and care for others.
[00:15:23] I'm going to meet those needs and I am going to be a true follower of Christ. Will you pray with me?
[00:15:39] Dear God, we are so thankful that your son gave us the perfect example. Even though Jesus didn't have to be baptized to be Jesus. He did it as an example for us. He did it to show that
[00:15:59] what we as Christians, how we should live, how we should be. Lord, we are thankful that you have given us that perfect example. Lord, we praise you and we ask that you remind us each
[00:16:20] and every day that we are followers of Christ. Remind us what our responsibilities are in that.
[00:16:29] Lord, we love you. We praise you. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, kiddos, are you
[00:16:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:16:35] ready for children's church? Let's go. Let's pray together. Lord, offering your gifts and
[00:19:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:19:11] return for the gifts you give to us is almost like dropping a drip of water in the ocean for you are so good to us God but we are thankful for this opportunity to be engaged in and involved
[00:19:26] in your kingdom work and so we pray God that you gladly accept and receive these tithes and offerings that we bring today bless and multiply them we pray in Jesus name amen
[00:19:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:19:40] What you're reading today comes from Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 through 17.
[00:24:42] Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
[00:24:49] John would have prevented him saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?
[00:24:57] But Jesus answered him, let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:25:08] Then he consented, and when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
[00:25:26] And a voice from heaven said, This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.
[00:25:36] And then from the Old Testament, from Ruth, chapter 1, verses 15 through 18.
[00:25:48] So she said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods.
[00:25:55] Return after your sister-in-law.
[00:25:57] But Ruth said, Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you.
[00:26:04] Where you go, I will go.
[00:26:07] Where you lodge, I will lodge.
[00:26:10] Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
[00:26:15] Where you die, I will die.
[00:26:19] There will I be buried.
[00:26:21] May the Lord do thus, and so to me and more as well.
[00:26:25] if even death parts me from you when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her she said no more to her this is the word of God for us the people of God
[00:26:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:26:38] bow with me in prayer please Lord we just celebrated the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and today we commemorate his baptism, which reminds us that Jesus came not only to die, but also to live and to show us how to live, to set an example for us. For he had no
[00:27:29] need for the forgiveness of sins, but he had a need of showing us the way. And we thank you, Lord, for the ministry to which Jesus committed through the waters of baptism. And we pray, God,
[00:27:45] at the cusp of this new year that we would re-engage and recommit ourselves to the teachings and the example of Jesus as we live these days. We also remember, God, our school teachers and our school children and our administrators who've gone back to school to start the spring semester
[00:28:10] and pray for your blessings upon them and for safety. We pray also for our college students who've returned to their campuses and for the parents who now face once again empty bedrooms.
[00:28:28] As we also pray, God, for those who have empty seats at the dinner table or beside them in the car because of someone they've lost through the holidays or in the past year. We pray, God, for
[00:28:46] healing from the grief. We pray, Lord, that you would provide strength and compassion as grief does its job and heals the heart. We pray, God, for our church as you continue to mold and shape
[00:29:08] us into a royal priesthood. And we pray, God, that we would represent the kingdom that you envision and that you are building in this world, and that we would be a part of your work, a part of your
[00:29:28] vision, a part of your ministry here in Wilkes County and beyond. We pray, Lord, for forgiveness of our sins for the times when we become selfish, when we become conceited, when we become angry, when we lash out. Forgive us, God. Give us the humility, Lord, to repair the breaches that we
[00:29:59] cause with our fellow men and women as we also lean on Jesus Christ to repair our breach with you.
[00:30:09] open our hearts and minds now as we continue in our worship that you might speak a word for us today we offer this prayer in the name of Jesus who taught his disciples to pray saying our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name
[00:30:28] thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for
[00:30:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:30:51] thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen your Chancellor
[00:35:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:35:22] Choir ladies and gentlemen they say it was a quiet clear day at the Jordan but even on the quiet days, they had a crowd. Word had spread, and people came. Some came out of guilt.
[00:35:48] Some came out of desperation. Some came just to get a look at what was going on. Nobody lined up for baptism in the same way, of course. Some wanted a new start. Some wanted a blessing.
[00:36:07] Some wanted to be spared the fire and thrashing that John the Baptist kept yelling about.
[00:36:15] Others just gave in to peer pressure and wanted to be part of the crowd.
[00:36:19] But then Jesus shows up without a single sin to confess, with no grudges to settle, no fears to allay, a perfectly lived life.
[00:36:37] and John looks at him the way a cashier in a grocery store looks at a movie star. What are you doing here? And Jesus says something like, let it be so. And that was that. John lowered him into
[00:36:58] the muddy waters of the Jordan, raised him up dripping with the same water that had washed everyone else. And a voice from heaven broke the quiet. If there had been a secretary there taking minutes that day, he might have noted that in keeping with covenantal obedience, Jesus was
[00:37:22] duly baptized. But there were no minutes taken, no bulletins and no hymnals, just a wet Messiah and a voice saying, this is my son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased.
[00:37:44] It's interesting, isn't it?
[00:37:46] At his baptism, Jesus didn't say or profess anything, nor did he sign a doctrinal statement.
[00:37:59] No one asked him about his positions.
[00:38:02] there wasn't a checklist no test of fellowship no survey of convictions just love my beloved and approval and you I am well pleased I wonder sometimes quietly when no one is asking me to write it down. What is it that we sign up for when we get baptized? We Baptists make a big deal
[00:38:42] out of baptism. Believers baptism. But is it about a way of believing or a way of belonging?
[00:38:55] we live in a world that gives us plenty of chances to choose sides Archie Bunker and Michael used to do it every week on tvs all in the family ding dong and the argument would start before the door
[00:39:15] even closes again Archie believed in the way things are Michael his son-in-law believed in the way things ought to be and neither one could figure out how the other made it through the day without falling off the edges of the earth.
[00:39:32] Michael was for labor unions.
[00:39:35] Archie was against.
[00:39:36] Archie was for the Vietnam War.
[00:39:40] Michael was against.
[00:39:41] Michael was for racial equality.
[00:39:43] Archie was against.
[00:39:45] Archie was for law and order.
[00:39:46] Michael was for peaceful protests.
[00:39:49] Michael was for women's liberation.
[00:39:51] Archie was against.
[00:39:53] Archie was a Christian.
[00:40:00] And Michael professed atheism.
[00:40:02] both were convinced they were right both fought for their doctrinal stances both were eternally stubborn and what they had was not relational neither one of them listened neither one of them empathized neither one tried to understand the other so they just fought a particular episode
[00:40:31] that sticks out in my mind is one where Archie sees Michael sitting on his bed, putting his shoes and socks on. And he sees him, he puts his left sock on, and then he puts his left shoe on. And
[00:40:48] before he can put a sock on his right foot, Archie asks, what are you doing, meathead? That ain't how you put your shoes and socks on. You put both socks on, your left and your right, and then you put
[00:41:01] your shoes on a big argument ensues and Archie eventually offers the hypothetical what if it were snowing outside and the house caught on fire you'd look really foolish with one sock and one shoe on and one bare foot but then Michael countered that at least he could stand on his
[00:41:21] one foot that had a shoe and keep both feet dry total nonsense worthless but you know what once we start arguing, once we draw a line in the sand, us versus them, we don't even have to think
[00:41:47] about what the question is or what our position is. We just know that it's the opposite of whatever they say. Some folks get baptized like that into a position. Now that you're in the water, where do
[00:42:06] you stand? This is your stance on this issue or that. What do you believe theologically? Who do you vote for? What do you think about those people? It's really funny to think about asking someone
[00:42:21] who's soaking, sputtering, dripping wet where they stand. Baptism isn't standing at all. It's sinking and being raised, dying and living, losing and finding, more about surrender than about certainty. It's into relationship with God and with others that we arise. Jesus clarified it
[00:42:56] later when he was asked, what is the very most important wall that we must keep? And Jesus went straight to relationships. Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. And these two
[00:43:14] laws are intertwined. They work together. You can't do one without the other. And the amazing thing about All in the Family and Norman Lear and the writers was how they somehow made Archie and Michael's knock down, drag out fights funny. It was comedy. And they got away with it partially
[00:43:42] because both of those characters were so flawed. But it was also comedy or fantasy because a break never occurred. Michael never moved out and Archie never kicked him out. You know why?
[00:44:02] The Nielsen ratings were too high. There's a scenario that's been playing out way too often in our country as of late goes something like this. Two brothers shared a bedroom growing up, shared a paper route, played on the same little league team, shared parents too, the kind that
[00:44:28] could never get them to sit still and be quiet in church. Then came adulthood and with it strong convictions. One brother found politics like religion and the other found religion like politics until one Thanksgiving, the turkey and stuffing steaming on the table, cranberry sauce
[00:44:55] and grandmother bringing butter for the rolls. And one of them said something about politics and the other said something back and the forks went silent.
[00:45:06] And then Thanksgiving went silent. And then Christmas. And then years passed. Same town, different tables, long walk between them. And I'm not talking about an argument over betrayal or over a will or over a misunderstanding. Those are in a different but also heartbreaking
[00:45:38] category. I'm talking about family ties severed over conflicting opinions garnered from competing cable news networks about people that we've never met and never will.
[00:45:55] Is that what we sign up for when we're baptized?
[00:45:58] Is that the new life into which we're raised?
[00:46:03] A reduced family pruned by our beliefs and our convictions?
[00:46:14] You know, conventional wisdom tells us, and people often remind us, we don't change each other's minds.
[00:46:24] I suppose that's right.
[00:46:26] Or if we do, it's never the result of an argument, but it's because of a relationship that takes time and love that so many of us no longer have to give. The Bible has a story about that. It's one that doesn't end on Thanksgiving or in silence.
[00:46:51] Ruth stood there with her mother-in-law, Naomi, who tried to send her away. Look, your sister-in-law going back to her people and to her gods and to her culture, go with her. Convictions, tribal lines, proper boundaries, and yet Ruth refused. Not because she agreed with everything Naomi believed
[00:47:17] or practiced, but because she loved Naomi. Where you go, I will go. Your people will be my people.
[00:47:30] It's a strange little vow, really.
[00:47:33] Not I agree with you.
[00:47:36] Not that I sign off on all of your beliefs.
[00:47:40] But I'm not leaving you.
[00:47:47] Most of our modern conflicts would collapse under that kind of devotion and loyalty.
[00:47:54] Most of our severed relationships would heal if even one person whispered, I'm not leaving you.
[00:48:07] no matter what. Now that's a position to take and it takes courage and it takes humility and perseverance and love. So I circle back around to the muddy Jordan and that dripping son of God.
[00:48:30] Baptism, at least Jesus's, was not entry into a club of convictions but a declaration of belovedness and the beginning of a mission, to love God and love neighbor, even when neighbor does not agree, approve, or applaud. If baptism were about doctrine, Jesus sure chose some strange
[00:48:54] companions, tax collectors who cooked the books, zealots who sharpened knives, fishermen who smelled like their work, and more than one woman with a complicated past. If baptism were about beliefs, Jesus would have been better to have chosen Pharisees. But if baptism were about relationship,
[00:49:22] about loving God and loving neighbor, then his guest list made sense. Another Bible character comes to mind, Zacchaeus. Every Jew hated Zacchaeus because he had the audacity to work for the Roman Empire, collecting taxes, exorbitant taxes, and then he collected a little extra to
[00:49:48] line his own pockets. But Jesus went to him anyway in the midst of a thralling crowd and invited him to lunch. Even though Zacchaeus was against almost everything that Jesus stood for and held dear,
[00:50:15] Jesus chose the person and the relationship over convictions. Maybe because Jesus knew that Zacchaeus, the wee little man was he, being small had always been picked on.
[00:50:33] he'd always been left out he'd always been dismissed unvalued and ignored at home at school at church at play until one day Caesar's people gave him the chance to have authority and power to push other people around they'll know his name now or perhaps Jesus knew that
[00:51:06] Zacchaeus had grown up without a father. And as a result, he and his mother had grown up especially poor, without basic necessities, and with a whole lot of hunger from day to day. And Zacchaeus knew
[00:51:23] the demeaning things that his mother had had to do for their survival. And maybe he resented the church because they came knocking not to help, but to ask for and collect a tithe. And it left a wound
[00:51:41] that Zacchaeus had not been able to get over until Jesus went home with him and heard his story and shared his pain. Funny thing about convictions and behaviors, almost every person has a reason or a story for that why they believe and behave as they do. Now, I know that we, the country,
[00:52:15] the world, we're divided today, this week more than ever. And I know that we all think that we're right. We believe it deeply in our bones. And like I said, we already know that nobody
[00:52:37] changes anybody's mind, at least not through arguing. You know, what I really think is that this is a test. After all the statements and social media positions, the test is how we live through our differences. Whether we choose, Ruth, I'm not leaving you, or Jesus is getting to know
[00:53:05] the person, or Archie's, I'm right, and that's that. What kind of life did we accept coming up out of the water somewhere between those brothers who haven't spoken and Ruth who would not leave and Jesus rising from the Jordan there's a decision every baptized person has to make do we sign up to
[00:53:36] love God and neighbor or simply to uphold beliefs our beliefs now I'm not here to tell anybody what to believe. That's wasted breath. As the pastor of this church, I am here to try to urge us to be
[00:53:54] the church, to be Christian, to be Christ-like, no matter what our beliefs or convictions or opinions happen to be. Love God and love neighbor. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. That includes people you are sitting with today, as well as people on the internet you've
[00:54:16] never met before, and everyone in between. Paul takes it one step further in his letter to the church in Philippi, and commands in verse 2-3 that we consider others better than ourselves.
[00:54:34] It could be interpreted more than ourselves, that we think about the well-being of others more than we think about the well-being of ourselves. The truth is, doubling down and going scorched earth over what we believe is really just a backdoor way of putting ourselves before others.
[00:55:00] We're protecting our comfort, our belief, our way of life. I do have practical advice. Tiffany loves when I do this. The antidote is follow three rules. It helps. It's not going to solve world problems, but it'll help. Rule number one is listen. Listen, listen, and then listen some
[00:55:30] more. Listen with curiosity and with a sincere desire to learn a new perspective about contentious issues and to learn about the person within whom you are in conflict. Listen. You've heard it before, one mouth, two ears. Listen. Secondly, and this goes along with listening, ask questions.
[00:55:56] This affirms your sincere desire to learn as well as your care for the other person.
[00:56:05] Responding to someone else's life story or heartfelt convictions with your disagreeing statement of your convictions demonstrates that you weren't really listening in the first place and that you have no regard for that person. Ask clarifying questions when people tell you things
[00:56:24] and even if they're outlandish well tell me why is it that you feel that way or do you have any idea when you started believing that what made you start thinking that way and then when it is
[00:56:42] your time to speak in the affirmative to assert your position be humble be gracious don't speak as if you're the final authority that you got the capital t for truth on your chest because you
[00:56:56] don't, and neither do I. Begin with, in my opinion, or the way I see it, and most importantly, don't call names, don't make accusations, don't attack the person, talk about the issue. That way, when
[00:57:19] you're finished discussing, there can still be a relationship. Baptism ushers us into a new way of life, a life in which we honor God by loving one another. I firmly believe that God made us each
[00:57:33] uniquely different and gave us differing ideas and convictions to see how well we could love each other through them. Feels like we're in the final exam right now, and we will pass, and so will
[00:57:53] these adversarial times if we continue to love one another and choose relationships over conviction.
[00:58:01] and I just thought of this story, and I'm going to share it. In France in World War II, three soldiers had lost a buddy in combat that day, and they picked up his body because they'd
[00:58:17] remembered passing a church in the French countryside, and they went up, and they knocked on the door because that church had a fenced-in graveyard, and they wanted to bury their friend there before they left and moved out in the morning. Turned out it was a Catholic church and
[00:58:36] when they explained their situation, the priest said, you know, I'm really sorry, but if your friend wasn't Catholic, he can't be buried here. Distraught, they took their friend and they did the next best thing. They went and they buried him just on the other side of the fence. And then
[00:58:59] they went back and they got up extra early the next morning before they were to move out and they went back to the churchyard so they could say goodbye to their friend, but they couldn't find
[00:59:09] his grave because there wasn't a grave outside the fence. And they went and they knocked on the door and they asked, they explained to the priest. He said, you know, I felt so horrible. I couldn't
[00:59:22] sleep last night. I got up and I went and I moved the fence. Relationship, loving people over our convictions. God is love. Amen. We now come to the time in our service where we invite you to join us as a fellowship in the body of Christ, either by professing your faith in
[00:59:54] Jesus Christ for the first time, coming forward to be baptized as Jesus was, or by moving your membership from another church family to this one. I'll be down front to speak with you if you have
[01:00:05] such a decision to make today as we stand together and sing hymn number 384, The Bond of Love.
[01:01:16] Hey, thanks so much for being here today. I hope that you'll take your bulletin home with you and find your place of involvement this week. I was told, asked to announce that there's also another
[01:01:26] small group meeting on Tuesday afternoon. It's our reading group, the Reading Between the Vines.
[01:01:33] they're going to meet at C'est La Ven in North Wilkesboro at 5.30 on Tuesday. And if you're interested, if you haven't been before, you can call Tiffany and she can tell you what it's all
[01:01:43] about. They read books and talk about them. Okay, there you go. As you go out into this world this week, think about these words, live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, forgive freely pray daily
[01:02:07] and leave the rest to God
