Dear Baptized Ones,

    Sunday we have the opportunity to improve upon our own baptism as Claire and Graham King will be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as covenant children. While obedience to this sacrament does not ensure the salvation of either child, Brent and Melissa pray that the Lord will use this means of grace in their lives to draw them to their Heavenly Father. We, as their church family, will have opportunities over the years that the Lord allows to remind them what is signed and signified in their baptisms. We pray that we will have the opportunity to see the fruit of their baptism come to full fruition in their lives.

    Paul’s words in Titus 3:3-7 are worthy of our meditation as we prepare for Claire and Graham’s baptisms on Sunday:

[3] For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. [4] But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

As painful as it can be, remembering who we were apart from Christ helps us see how much He loves us and how much of an impact that our union with Him has truly made upon our lives. Which of Paul’s descriptors reminds you of what you once were? Of equal importance is to reflect anew on the ways in which the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared to us as evidence of His love for us. Who and what did God sovereignly use to draw you to Himself and show you that He loves you? Consider the mercy of our God who required no effort or actions from us in order to save us. Take joy in the transforming washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit which richly cleanses the heart, soul, and mind in Christ! Celebrate your justification and adoption as an heir according to the hope of eternal life! 

    There is no more accurate picture of our salvation than that of the baptism of an infant who is powerless to choose what is best for her/himself or can even acknowledge the work of the Sovereign Lord in their life. May we improve upon our baptisms so as to be ready for and devoted to good works for the glory of the Lord!

In Christ,

Cameron