Discerning Truth: Living the Fruits of the Spirit

Introduction
We are nearing the end of our series on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount—just a few more weeks to go.  Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount our Lord’s foundational teaching in the New Testament.  It outlines the ethics of the Kingdom of Heaven.  If you want to be a Christian, you should understand these principles in Jesus' sermon.

I challenge you to go back over Jesus’ sermon, found in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7.  You can find the sermons I’ve preached on it here on this blog over the last 21 or so weeks.  These could be a resource for you as you study Jesus’ core teachings.  

Today's focus is Matthew 7:15-20, discerning what’s true from false in our spiritual journey.

Matthew 7:15
¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.

The Warning Against False Prophets
Jesus warned his people to watch out for false prophets.  Jesus' followers were poor.  They were oppressed.  They were hungry.  They were desperate.  They needed a savior.  This made them especially vulnerable to false prophets who would lie and tell people what they wanted to hear in order to use them for their own selfish gain.  Some real life examples we know of false prophets are:

• In 4 BC, Simon of Persia proclaimed himself as Messiah during the time of Herod's death, leading a rebellion against Roman rule; he was killed by Roman forces, and his movement was crushed.
• In 6 AD, Judas of Galilee led a violent resistance against the Roman census taxation, claiming to be the messiah who would deliver the Israel, ultimately leading his followers to a failed revolt and increased Roman repression.
• A false prophet mentioned in the Bible (in Acts 8) was Simon the Magician.  He used magic tricks to convince Samaritans he was full of God’s power for his own personal gain.  Simon’s influence was finally destroyed when the Apostle’s Peter and John brought the true power of God to Samaria and exposed Simon’s magic tricks as false.

One may ask why people would follow a false prophet.  When people feel desperate, they often will cling to anything or anyone who seems to offer hope.  But that’s when you need to be especially careful.  You must understand how vulnerable you are.  And Jesus gives some practical advise about how to discern if someone is a false prophet.

Slides – Matthew 7:16-20
¹⁶ You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. ¹⁹ So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

Understanding "By Their Fruits"
Jesus says you can tell a tree (or a prophet) by their fruit.  That’s great advice.  It means look at the visible results of a person’s ministry.  But even here we have to be careful.  False prophets also often produce “signs” that may seem look like good fruit.  A magician can do tricks that seem like impossible miracles.  Charismatic leaders can often speak and act in ways that accomplish things that seem to be good.  You may think magic tricks are real or the accomplishment of a charismatic personality are show they are from God.  But that is not necessarily true.  You have to look closely at what kind of fruit they really produce.  

Hitler came to power in Germany during a time when people were desperate for hope.  Germans were in a state of deep economic despair, national humiliation, and the devastating effects of the Great Depression.  Hitler was a charismatic leader who could stir national pride.  He was going to make Germany great again!   And initially, Hitler had success.   Through hate, bigotry, and racism, Hitler rallied Germans to revitalize their country.  But they did so by evil means and, in the process, they committed the most terrible atrocities the world has ever seen.  Approximately 6 million Jews died because of the Holocaust.  Is that good fruit?  Absolutely not.  That’s rotten, poisonous fruit.

I want to warn you.  As you look to the leaders you admire—whether they be political or buisiness or spiritual leaders.  Consider the fruit they produce.  Is it good fruit or bad fruit?   And be careful becuase some will say the ends justify the means.  They may argue, "Yeah I wish they didn't do or say those bad things, but look at what they accomplish."  In other words, the good they accomplish is justified by the bad things the do to accomplish them.  

Jesus is clear about who to tell a false prophet that is a wolf in sheep's clothing who will tear you apart.  You have to look at their fruit.  And the fruit is not the results of their work but the fruits of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23
Galatians 5:22-23 names the good spiritual fruit a true prophet (and an authentic Christian) produces:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

Just as we’ve seen bad false prophets (like Hitler, Jim Jones, and David Koresh), we have also seen true prophets lead movements to produce great fruit of the spirit (as defined by Galatians).  The early Methodists, guided by John Wesley's teachings, demonstrated the fruits of the Spirit in various impactful ways that reflected their deep commitment to living out their faith in practical acts of love and service. Their work led to:

• Evangelism:  passionately preaching the gospel in open fields, towns, and cities, reaching out to the marginalized and working-class people, leading to widespread spiritual revivals and the rapid growth of the Methodist movement.
• Social Reforms: Embodying the fruits of love, kindness, and goodness, they took strong stands against the societal ills of their time, including the abolition of slavery, prison reform, and the promotion of education for the poor.
• Visiting the Sick and Prisoners: Demonstrating compassion and faithfulness, early Methodists took seriously the call to visit the sick and those in prison to offer comfort, healing, and encouragement to those in need.
• Small Group Meetings: The early Methodist movement was marked by its innovative structure of small group meetings that met regularly for prayer, study, and mutual accountability. These meetings were essential for spiritual growth and community, fostering the fruits of peace, patience, gentleness, and self-control.

Christians can’t just believe in Jesus as an intellectual thing.  True Christians must live out an inward holiness that transforms our thoughts, words, and actions.  It’s not about moral superiority, but about being filled with the love of God and neighbor, a love that manifests in every aspect of your life.  Christian holiness is not static but dynamic and constantly growing and bearing fruit like a living tree.  It’s characterized by continuous self-examination, prayer, and participation in the means of grace, such as Holy Communion, Bible study, and fellowship with other believers.

Do you bear good fruit?  If a fruit inspector examined your life today, what would he find?  Would he find love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? 

Now, we understand the life of a Christian is a journey.  Fruitfulness is not something that happens over night (just like a fruit tree does not bear fruit overnight).  But your life should definitely be heading in the right direction—toward fruitfulness.  God is the one who makes us grow and bear fruit.  But what are you doing to tend the garden in your heart that nurtures fruitfulness?  There are several things you can do to nurture the development of spiritual fruit God wants to grow in your life.

There is worship where you gather with other Christian believers and honor God.  Do you regularly in worship God with other Christians?

There is fellowship.  We may have many different groups we socialize with on a weekly basis at school and work.  But if you are a Christian whose heart's truest desire is to bear fruit for the Kingdom, other Christian friends should be your main social group.  Are you deeply involved with Christian fellowship?

Prayer is the heart of the Christian faith. Are you investing deeply in regular prayer throughout your day?

Bible Study is essential.  How else are you going to know how we are supposed to think and live unless we study God's Word--His official method for speaking to His people?

Are you in a small group where you talk about your prayer life and what you’ve read in your Bible and where people intentional hold you accountable and offer encouragement to live more fully for Jesus?

Are you practicing the means of grace Jesus specifically commanded His followers in practice in the Bible--Baptism and Holy Communion?

• Baptism is the initiation ceremony for Christians in the New Covenant that replaced the circumcision ceremony of the Old Covenant.  Baptism is a means for God to pour out His grace upon those being baptized and those who stand with them to help everyone know and walk with Jesus.  It is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.
• Holy Communion is as a means to receive God’s grace where we have our eyes opened as we experience the presence of Christ and receive spiritual nourishment for our faith journey. Communion is a sacramental act of thanksgiving and remembrance, commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, where bread and wine symbolize the body and blood of Christ. This sacred practice fosters a deeper communion with Christ and with one another, strengthening our bonds with the church and empowering us to live out our Christian discipleship in the world.

Conclusion

As we reflect on Jesus' warning against false prophets and the importance of discerning true from false in our spiritual journeys, let us be vigilant gardeners of our souls. May we not only seek to identify the fruits in others but also nurture the growth of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control within ourselves. Through worship, fellowship, prayer, Bible study, and participation in the means of grace like Baptism and Holy Communion, let us cultivate a life that bears good fruit, reflecting the light of Christ in a world often shadowed by deception. Live out the Kingdom ethics Jesus taught in His Sermon on the Mount, growing closer to Him and each other as we journey together in faith.

God Wants You to be Holy

Introduction
I haven't always been a Methodist.  I grew up going to Baptist churches.  So when I started attending a Methodist church, I was curious what were the differences.  Someone told me a joke I have always enjoyed.  They said, "You know what’s the difference between Methodists and Baptists?  Methodist say hello when they see each other in the liquor store!" 

And it is true that Methodists are much more open about the fact that we may enjoy an acholic beverage (while Baptist who do might not want to admit it).  There may be other difference we notice--we like to light candles and recite the Apostles Creed and other responsive liturgical readings.  However, the real difference are much deeper than these surface level issues   It's theological.

Methodists have a distinct emphasis on God’s grace. Grace is the undeserved gift of God’s divine help.  All Christians believe God's grace is what saves us--rather than our good works--because we can't earn salvation; it's a free gift from God for those who believe.  However, Methodists really emphasize God's grace and we even spell out the three main ways we experience God's grace.  There is the prevenient grace of God that helps us before we even think about God.  Then there is the justifying grace of God that saves us when we realize who Christ is and we repent of sin and turn to follow Jesus.  And today I want to talk about the third grace--sanctifying grace--that works to actually heal us and make us holy.

In the UMH, we have 22 songs under the theme of Prevenient Grace and 20 songs about Justifying Grace.  However, we have 154 songs about Sanctifying Grace!  What does the number of hymns for each category tell you about how the Methodist church's emphasis on sanctification?  It is very important to us! 

Sanctification is the life-long process of God healing us of sin and perfecting us in love. True Healing comes as we surrender ourselves to God and let His grace transform us.  Healing comes as we obey and do those things God asks of us.  

A man who is seriously ill, physically, will never get better unless he goes to a good doctor and follows the doctor’s treatment plan.  However, it doesn’t matter if the doctor is the best doctor in the world; the sick man will not get better on his own if he doesn't follow the doctor's treatment plan.

Well Jesus is known as the "Great Physician".  He is the greatest spiritual healer of all.  And we need healing.  We can't heal our own sin-sickness.  Jesus can heal us, but unless we follow The Great Physicians treatment plan for us, we will not get better.

Romans 6:12-18
¹² Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. ¹³ Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. ¹⁴ Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

¹⁵ Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! ¹⁶ Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. ¹⁷ Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. ¹⁸ Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

Key Verses
Let me point out a few key phrases from this reading that shows what God expects from Christians after Jesus saves them.  Romans 6:14 says, "Sin is no longer your master… You are free by God’s grace…"
Romans 6:15 says, "Since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does this mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!"  So we see, God expects Christians to put away sin because we've been set free by His grace.

Here are some other scriptures that show that God wants us to be holy.  1 Thessalonians 4:3, "It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality"  And Jude 1:24 says, "All glory to God, who is able to keep you from stumbling, and who will bring you into his glorious presence innocent of sin and with great joy."

There are even more challenging verses from God’s Word about what God expects with regard to holiness, such as Hebrews 12:14, which says, "…seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord."  And 1 John 3:9, "Those who have been born into God’s family do not sin, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they have been born of God."

God’s Prevenient Grace draw us to Him. His Justifying Grace forgives us and sets aside our sin.  However, God doesn’t want us to remain in sin, so His Sanctifying Grace heals our sins and leads us to become holy. 

Now all Christian denominations know this and preach about sanctification.  However, sanctification has always been the hallmark of the Methodist movement.  John Wesley and the early Methodist were specifically motivated to urge Christians everywhere to "Spread Scriptural holiness across the land" (in other words, to truly be reformed and to help reform people everywhere to live holy lives).

Perfection In Love
Methodists believe God’s sanctifying grace through the Holy Spirit can perfect us in love in this lifetime.  We will still be tempted.  (Even Jesus was tempted.)  We will still make mistakes. We will never have perfect knowledge in this life, but we can have perfect love.  John Wesley taught perfect love is when everything you do is motivated by sincere love.  Thus, in this state, even the mistakes you make flow from love.  That is what we are aiming for! 

Strive for perfect love!  Let God change you!  Don’t be lazy and don’t you dare sell out!  God wants more for you than mediocrity!  He wants you to be holy!  And you can be holy, because God’s Sanctifying Grace can heal you and make you Holy.  Eventually, Lord willing, everything you do may be motivated by love!  But you can’t sit back and make the excuse, “Oh, no body’s perfect…”  That won’t get you anywhere.  But God’s healing grace can take you all the way to perfection in love—if you will let Him! 

Personal and Social Holiness
True Methodist doctrine shouts holy sanctification loud and clear!  It motivates us to be changed and to help change the world. 

Some Christians live their lives as if they’re just waiting to die.  They say, “I’ve been saved. 
I know I’m going to heaven.  What more is there?” 
There’s a lot more!  We are not just waiting to die.  

We pray in the Lord’s prayer:  “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  These are not empty words.  They should be the yearning of every Christian’s heart.   I believe God answers prayers, don’t you?  So why would He not answer the Lord’s Prayer? 

It is not God’s will that you continue to be dominated by sin.  God wants you to actually be free!  Does that seem impossible?  Well Jesus reminds us in Mark 10:27:  “With men it is impossible, but not with God.  Nothing is impossible with God!”  And Jude 1:24 says, “All glory to God, who is able to keep you from stumbling…”

We cannot free ourselves or stop ourselves from sinning own our own.  But God—through the Holy Spirit—helps us & sanctifies us to grow more & more like Jesus.  We ought to pray for and hope for and cooperate with the Holy Spirit, trusting God will heal us.  If you aren’t aiming for perfection, what are you aiming for?  And if you aren’t aiming for perfection, what do you think you will get?  

This is not a burden, because we don’t do it by our own strength. It’s not a matter of will power.  It’s not us buckling down extra hard, gritting our teeth, and making ourselves better people.  Sanctification is a matter of cooperation.  God makes the changes in your life, but, you’ve got to cooperate. 

Jesus is a wonderful physician, but you’ve got to follow His treatment plan.  Are you?  Are you actively praying?  Are you reading your Bible?  Are you celebrating the sacraments regularly?  Are you serving God and others?  Are you supporting God’s mission financially with a cheerful heart?  Are you devoting yourself to the Lord above all else?

The Christian faith is not just a personal thing.  It is also social.  We are called to spread scriptural holiness across the land.  Christians have changed the world for the better over the last 2,000 years.  It’s not God’s will that our world continues to be broken or that Christians throw up their hands in resignation and say, “There’s nothing we can do about it.” 

True Christians have always worked to better the world.  Even Christians who were being brutally tortured and executes for their faith, have followed Christ’s example of sacrificial love and sought the salvation of their persecutors.  Surely Christians today can change our world in 21^st century America for the better, but it won’t happen unless you take seriously God’s call to be Holy People.  It cannot happen just because you, by you sheer will power, resolve to make the world holy.  It can only happen when you cooperate with what the Holy Spirit wants to do in you today. 

Remember Who You Are

Introduction
I love all my children.  It’s fascinating to me to see picture of them all as babies and compare them to pictures of my me and my wife when we were babies.  Can you tell who is who? (left to right, top to bottom:  Kelly, Grace, Chris, Gavin, Abigail)

We had another child before Abigail was born—in between Grace and Abilgail.  Kelly was about 7 or 8 weeks pregnant.  We had already heard the heartbeat at a doctor’s visit.  We went for another doctor’s visit and were excitedly anticipating hearing the heartbeat again; but unfortunately, there was no heartbeat.  The baby had expired.  We never got to meet that child, but we do keep a picture ornament of the sonogram on our Christmas tree.  One day, when we go Home to be with the Lord, I believe that child will be there and we will get to meet it. 

I don’t know why things happen the way they do, but I trust God does.  One thing I know is that we really love Abigail (the last child we raised).  And we probably wouldn’t have had Abilgail if the little baby we lost had been born because we were planning to stop after three kids.

God knows it all and He has a plan and He even works tragedies out for our good when we love the Lord.  God knows us before we are even born.  And that’s what this message is about to day.  It’s about the prevenient grace of God that helps us, even before we realize it.

Jeremiah 1:4-8
⁴ The Lord gave me this message:

⁵ “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
    Before you were born I set you apart
    and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

⁶ “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”

⁷ The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. ⁸ And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Grace
This passage is the call narrative of the prophet Jeremiah.  God called him to speak God’s Word to the people of Jerusalem, even as the Babylonians were gathering around their city, poised to destroy it and carry them off to captivity.  It was a tough appointment and Jeremiah didn’t feel qualified.  He was young and had “imposter’s syndrome”.  (Most people God calls for a special purpose don’t feel qualified.)

Jeremiah felt like God had chosen the wrong person.  “I think you got the wrong guy!  I’m not made for this!”  That’s a funny thing, when a creature tells it’s omniscient Creator they made a mistake.  God says, “It’s no mistake.  I made.  I designed you specifically for this task.  I gave you your own unique personality, your strengths and weaknesses, specifically for this purpose.  I didn’t make a mistake and I’m calling you to the task now.”

You have a purpose too.  God designed you for it.  And if you’re facing an identiy crisis, trying to remember who you are and why you are here, the best place to look for answers is the Creator who made you.

God tells us in His Word that He made us all.  And even though we turned away from Him and stayed from our purpose, God didn’t give up on us.  He sent His Son, Jesus, to atone for our sins and brings us back into a right relationship with Him—not because we deserve it, but because God is gracious and full of unconditional love.

I heard a joke this week.  A priest was talking to a group of kids about "being good" and going to heaven.  At the end of his talk, he asked, "Where do you want to go?"  "Heaven! Heaven!" Yelled Little Lisa.  "And what do you have to be to get there?" asked the priest.  "Dead!" Yelled Little Johnny.

That’s a funny joke, but it’s an example of a wrong way of thinking.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” 

All Christian denominations believe people are saved by God’s grace alone.  It’s not by being good enough.  We cannot earn our way to salvation.  You are only saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  This is true Christianity.

Each Christian denomination emphasizes different facets of the Christian faith.  One of the distinctive emphases of the Methodist tradition is our focus on God’s grace.  Not only does God’s grace save you for Heaven, God’s grace helps you in this life.  You see, it’s not just about heaven.  God wants us to live for Him in this life too.  In the Methodist tradition, we see that God grace encompasses ever part of life and we really focus on that.

God’s grace is His undeserved, unearned, Divine help.  Jeremiah 1:5 reminds us God’s gracious help starts before we are even born.  “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.   Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

 

Prevenient Grace
And this kind of grace is what Methodists call Prevenient Grace—grace that helps us before we even know it.  Prevenient grace is the grace of God that Goes before.  Prevenient grace forms us, nurtures us, and pulls us toward God.  It seeks to reveal God to our developing consciousness and woos us to turn to God for a relationship of mutual love.

Infant Baptism
Infant Baptism is one of the signs of God’s Prevenient Grace for Methodists (and many other denominations). I didn’t grow up as a Methodist.  I only ever attended Baptist churches as a child.  My perspective was limited to that tradition.  Baptists have a unique view of baptism.  They are call “Baptist” for a reason, because when they formed their sect in the 1600s, they believed Christians should only be baptized after they were old enough to understand and believe in Jesus.  Thus, Baptists practice “believers baptism”, and reject infant baptism.

When I was a Baptist, I thought every Christian practiced believer’s baptism (except maybe some strange heretical cults).  I didn’t understand how anyone could think baptizing a baby made sense; I mean, a baby doesn’t understand and can’t believe.  What I didn’t understand, given my limited perspective, is that the vast majority of Christians have practiced infant baptism as opposed to believer’s baptism.  In fact, it was mostly the very first generation of Christians who were baptized as adults, because they were adults when they starting following Jesus.  However, their children were baptized as infants because those early Christians wanted their children to be part of the church from the very beginning of their little lives.  And from that second generation onward, for 2,000 years in al parts of the world, Christians have baptized their infants.  Infant baptism is the norm.  Believer’s baptism is the innovation that has only been a limited part of the Church’s experience for a few hundred years.

Infant Baptism is a sign of God’s Prevenient Grace.  Christians baptize in obedience to Christ’s command to “…go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

Some Christian denominations consider baptism and ordinance (something done primarily out of obedience).  Baptism is a sacrament to Methodists, because we believe it is a sacred moment when God piurs out His grace upon the child, the family, and the Church.  God gives us His divine help so the child may grow up in the faith with everything they need to one day accept faith in Jesus Christ for themselves.  When they do, they confirm their faith and the Baptism is complete.

Infant baptism is real baptism.  It’ not a christening.  I often hear people where I live in the Bible Belt who are more familiar with believer’s baptism say, “I was only christened as a child.  Now I’m an adult and I want to be baptized.”  This is a misunderstanding of what happened to you as a child.  If water was placed on your head in a Christian church, you were baptized, not just Christened.  “Christening” is technically the part of the Baptism where the child is given their Christian name.  The pastor asks, “What is this child’s name?”  The parents say the name and that is the christening.  If water is placed on the child, the child was fully baptized.  There is no need to be baptized again once the child grows into an adult.  Do you not think that God did it right the first time?

You see, through sacramental infant baptism, we trust that God is acting.  God’s actions are not dependent on whether we are old enough or understand enough.  It’s not even dependent on whether the pastor does the ceremony correctly.  God is not limited by our mistakes orlack of understanding.  This grace, prevenient grace.  God does His sacred work in Baptism regardless of our understanding or ability.  And this is a good thing, because no one ever has enough understanding or ability to earn God’s grace.  Infant baptism is the perfect sign of this truth.

Remember Your Baptism
The goal should be that our children always grow up surrounded by and knowing the loving presence of God.  I often hear people apologize, “You know, I never remember a time when I didn’t know God.  I wish I had a more dramatic testimony to give.”  Don’t apologize that’s good!  And that’s what we want for our kids too, isn’t it?  Who ever says, “I hope my kids grow up and spend frty years of their life living as an absolute scoundrel until the Holy Spirit gets ahold of them, shakes them, and they fall on their knees and turn to Jesus and become a Christian.”  No one hopes that for their kids.  We want our kids to start out in the loving embrace of God’s grace, surrounded by a family and a church that loves them unconditionally, and raises them with every possible advantage until the ay they accept faith in Christ for themselves. 

From time to time in a Methodist Church, you may have moments when we are asked to “Remember your Baptism.”  For some, that’s a challenge because you were infants when you were baptized; you can’t remember the ceremony.  That only reenforces the whole point.  Aren’t you thankful for your parents and the people of your church community who surrounded you with God’s love since before you could even remember it?  So remember them with loving fondness!  Remember what they promised on your behalf.  Remember that you are walking in their legacy and you have accepted their promises as your own.  We can remember them and be thankful.  We can remember God loved us before we even knew Him—before we were even formed in our mother’s womb—and be thankful. 

We can be thankful for the love of God that drew us toward Him throughout out our lives.  Some may not have had the benefit of a loving family or congregation. Some live a hard, hard life with every reason to stray away from God.  Yet these can be thankful for God’s prevenient grace too.  God has to work extra hard for those who were wounded or traumatized as a child.  But God never gives up, and His prevenient grace is always working to overcome the brokenness that blinds people to His love.  And even those who had it all and still turned their back on God, God does not abandon them either, even though they took their blessings for granted.  For God’s grace is great, greater even than our selfish sin

Have you ever been baptized?  If not, I encourage you to find a church where you can be baptized.  It is a beautiful sacrament and sign of God’s grace to you that you are part of God’s family, saved for eternal life with Him in glory. 

 

If you have been baptized, I encourage you today to remember your baptism and be thankful.  Here is a liturgy to help you remember:

 

THE BAPTISMAL COVENANT IV

This service is for use by a congregation when there are no candidates to be baptized, confirmed, or received into baptized or professing membership, especially on Easter, Pentecost, All Saints Day, and Baptism of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ:
Through the Sacrament of Baptism
we are initiated into Christ's holy Church.
We are incorporated into God's mighty acts of salvation
and given new birth through water and the Spirit.
All this is God's gift, offered to us without price.
Through the reaffirmation of our faith
we renew the covenant declared at our baptism,
acknowledge what God is doing for us,
and affirm our commitment to Christ's holy Church.

RENUNCIATION OF SIN AND PROFESSION OF FAITH

On behalf of the whole Church, I ask you:

Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness,
reject the evil powers of this world,
and repent of your sin?
I do.

Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you
to resist evil, injustice, and oppression
in whatever forms they present themselves?
I do.

Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior,
put your whole trust in his grace,
and promise to serve him as your Lord,
in union with the Church which Christ has opened
to people of all ages, nations, and races?
I do.

According to the grace given to you,
will you remain faithful members of Christ's holy Church
and serve as Christ's representatives in the world?
I will.

Let us join together in professing the Christian faith

as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

Do you believe in God the Father?
I believe 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,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.]

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?
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.]

[*catholic means universal]
THANKSGIVING OVER THE WATER
The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Let us pray.

Eternal Father:
When nothing existed but chaos,
you swept across the dark waters
and brought forth light.
In the days of Noah
you saved those on the ark through water.
After the flood you set in the clouds a rainbow.
When you saw your people as slaves in Egypt,
you led them to freedom through the sea.
Their children you brought through the Jordan
to the land which you promised.

Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Tell of God's mercy each day.

In the fullness of time you sent Jesus,
nurtured in the water of a womb.
He was baptized by John and anointed by your Spirit.
He called his disciples
to share in the baptism of his death and resurrection
and to make disciples of all nations.

Declare Christ’s works to the nations,
his glory among all the people.

Pour out your Holy Spirit,

and by this gift of water call to our remembrance
the grace declared to us in our baptism.

For you have washed away our sins,
and you clothe us with righteousness throughout our lives,
that dying and rising with Christ
we may share in his final victory.

All praise to you, Eternal Father,
through your Son Jesus Christ,
who with you and the Holy Spirit
lives and reigns for ever. Amen.

REAFFIRMATION OF FAITH

When the congregation reaffirms the Baptismal Covenant, a deacon or pastor may invite the people to come to the water as the pastor says:

Remember your baptism and be thankful. Amen.

The Holy Spirit work within you,

that having been born through water and the Spirit,
you may live as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

THANKSGIVING

Let us rejoice in the faithfulness of our covenant God.

We give thanks for all that God has already given us.
As members of the body of Christ
and in this congregation of The Methodist Church,
we will faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church
by our prayers, our presence, our gifts,
our service and our witness
that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

The God of all grace,

who has called us to eternal glory in Christ,
establish and strengthen you
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
that you may live in grace and peace.