APOLOGIA Baptisms

The Public Meaning of Baptism

Hey, for those of you guys that are family and friends visiting, thank you guys for coming. This is a huge day in the sense that today is a day where people who have already come to Christ and trusted in Him as Savior and Lord, today is that public profession of faith.

It's really, today is a day where we identify ourselves with Jesus. And the Bible uses a lot of terminology like, believers are in Christ, and there's this unbelievably amazing union between a believer and Jesus that the Bible sees you as in Christ.

Just really intimate and amazing. That His death counts as your death and His resurrection is yours. And that's what today symbolizes. Going under the water represents your death, and then coming up represents your resurrection with Christ.

It's really a public identification of you with Jesus, so this is a really hugely significant.

Day.

And today, just raise your hand if you're getting baptized today so we can see. That's pretty good. Awesome.

There you go.

So, this is a big day. It goes down in the calendar of your life. It's a huge day to get baptized. And just for those of you guys that are also visiting, baptism does not save you. This is not, we're not coming in the water to get saved.

When you come to Christ, you are saved, when you've trusted in Him and believed in Him. That's a gift. Salvation's a gift. God paid it all. You come to Christ by faith and trust in Him and what He's done for you.

And so these people today enter the water already right with Christ, already reconciled with God through faith in Jesus. And that's a gift you can't earn, you can't pay it back. No action, no work will be worthy to somehow reconcile with God.

It's all a gift through what Jesus has done through His death and His resurrection on behalf of His people. And so entering the water are people who are already saints, people who are already right with God and they're displaying publicly this hugely significant thing of being dead and raising from the dead with Christ.

So it's awesome. So let's pray before we start. Father, thank you Lord for the gift of today. Lord God, this warm water, thank you for the warm water. And thank you for all the family and friends that showed up.

Thank you God for salvation and forgiveness through your son, Father. And thank you God for all that you accomplished on our behalf. Just want to just praise you right now. Let these baptisms, God, just be a sweet aroma to you, God, that it would just be an amazing display of your goodness, God, and your grace through what you did, Lord Jesus, for us.

Thank you God and we praise you in Jesus' name, Amen. Alright, first up is Lauren.

Lauren’s Testimony and Profession of Faith

Yay!

Alright, Lauren!

Did I hold you up?

I don't know.

Let's kind of angle this way like this. I'm going to fall backwards so you're going to catch me.

Is that a deal?

One of those?

So we're going to give everyone that comes in an opportunity just to talk, maybe for whatever you want, just give a chance to give a testimony to everyone watching. So, Lauren, go ahead.

I had a somewhat relationship with God for the last year and actually with my former addiction problem, I was in county jail and I heard the pastor say something to the fact that trusting in God and you shouldn't worry.

And that really hit home with me. And I met a lot of actually really cool people in there that were believers too. So, when I got out of jail, I met Jeff at the 1008. He told me about Apologia. And I thought I had a relationship with God but when I actually came to your church and we studied, I studied scripture and I started turning from my sin and really trusting in.

The Lord.

That's when I actually came to Christ and through your church with you guys.

Praise God.

Praise God.

You ready?

Yeah.

Alright.

Alright, Lauren, have you turned to God and put your faith in Christ as your Savior and.

Lord?

Yes.

Are you trusting in Jesus and in Him alone for salvation?

Yes. Alright.

Based on your profession of faith, I now baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Mike’s Testimony and Self-Righteousness

Alright.

He looks so good too.

Look at him. He looks good.

I'm looking cold.

I'm looking hot.

Who else is getting wet? Mike, you want to come in next? Alright.

Let's hear it for Mike.

Alright Mike, you want to talk for a minute?

I guess this is really me actually coming to develop my own faith through God. Growing up, I had faith explain to me that that's how life was and that's where it was through my parents, but I really never developed my own relationship with God.

So, through my addiction problem, I was able to realize what was lacking in my life the whole time through all my struggles. And, you know, I was really self-righteous through that. And then I was able to come to God and I met Pastor Jeff and I got into scripture and really started to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ and understand that, you know, his righteousness is what's cured my heart.

And with that, you know, I just feel like I needed to make that proclamation.

All right, Mike. Good. Well, okay, here you go. So, have you turned to God and turned to Christ as your Savior and Lord and trusting in him alone for salvation and forgiveness?

Yes.

All right, Mike. I'm your professional of faith and I'll baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. All right. That's awesome. Praise God. Okay, who's next? Let's go, Jeff!

Jeff’s Conversion and the Cross

Yeah, Jeff!

Thank you so much. Yeah, actually, if you study the history of the church, the early church, when they were baptized, they were baptized naked. So, we're not going to be doing that. Okay. All right, I'll give Jeff a chance to tell you guys what happened to him.

My conversion was a long time coming, and it's something I always wanted my whole life. But through God's grace, I received his faith, and now the cross means every single thing to me.

And Jehovah-Jireh.

There you go. Jehovah-Jireh.

That's right. Jehovah-Jireh.

All right. Jeff, you ready? I don't know. Okay, you can wait. No, it's okay. Ready? All right. So, have you turned to Christ as your Savior and Lord?

Absolutely.

Are you trusting in Him and Him alone for salvation?

Absolutely.

Okay. All right. Based on your profession of faith, I now baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. All right, Jeff. All right. And Jen, now. Let's hear it for Jen. Come on down.

Jen’s Testimony and Coming to Know God

Yeah, it's not bad. Until you get your top wet and then the wind blows on you.

Yeah.

All right. So, I'll let Jen tell you about herself.

I'm really excited to be here right now. So, I was telling Tim on the way over here, I realized it was a year ago today that I went into Calvary. And the first time I met with Pastor Jeff, I sat down and right off the bat I said,.

And I kind of started to keep talking and he said,. And when we talked about it, I realized it didn't look like a whole lot. And looking at what I had put everyone through and how far I had moved away from God over those years.

And just finally coming to the realization of the condition of myself and what I was. And finally getting into the Word and trusting in Him has just been everything to me. And just His grace that He has poured out on my family, on me, and I just love Him.

All right. Okay. You ready?

Okay.

All right, Jen. Have you turned to Christ as your Savior and Lord?

Yes.

Are you trusting in Him and Him alone for salvation?

Yes.

Based on your profession of faith and Christ, I now baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All right. All right, who do we got left? You cold, Jeff?

A little bit.

All right.

Stephanie’s Conversion from Hopelessness

All right, this is Steph. Let's hear it for Stephanie. All right, Steph.

All right. About...

Hold on.

Probably four months ago, I went into Calvary and so lost and so broken inside. I'm so confused and, you know, that made me... I realize now, you know, I went into Calvary on my knees, hopeless, and that's...

It made me a perfect candidate for God. And I had a little concept of Christ before I went in there. And I remember this day that I asked Christ in my heart. I was kneeling beside my bed in detox, and I walked in...

Because I went into Calvary, and I said, God is not real. And I remember asking Him, I said, if you're real, just reveal yourself. And ever since that day on, He has changed me inside. Who I am today is not me.

It's all because of Christ. He's changed my heart. And the desires that I have in life, it's all for the glory of God now. And it's amazing how when I came to Christ, God instantly started working with my family.

And I got out of Calvary, and I started going to Apologia, and I just completely abandoned myself every single day for Christ.

Okay, you ready?

Yeah.

Alright, Steph. Have you turned to Christ as your Savior and Lord?

Yes.

Have you been trusting in Him alone for salvation and forgiveness?

Yes.

Based on your profession of faith, I now baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He's ready to go. Alright, Steph. Okay, Jen, you ready?

Jen’s Catholic Baptism and Desire for God

Uh-oh.

I will. We will.

Do you want to watch that? That's your Luke. He's kind of rough. Yeah, I got that.

He's got that side.

Okay, Jen.

Okay. I was baptized when I was three weeks old. This is why all the girls cry. As a Catholic. And it isn't until now where I feel like I really know God. I feel Him in my heart. Every single day I just want to get to know Him more and more for the rest of my life.

Whatever He gives me. And I want to please Him. I want to make Him so happy and so proud that He chose me as His daughter.

Steph.

Alright, Jen. You ready?

Okay.

Have you turned to Christ as your Savior and Lord?

Yes.

Have you been trusting in Him alone for salvation and forgiveness?

Yes.

Based on your profession of faith, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Kristen’s Desire to Die to Self

Alright.

I think that's it, right? Is that it? No? Okay, there you go. Where's everyone at? Kristen, there you go.

Alright.

Yeah, you can't cry. That'll make me cry, guys. I cry.

Okay.

I was baptized when I was ten years old. And I've been through a lot in my life. A lot of difficult things and bad choices.

I really want to be with God.

I want to die to myself and be with God. I just want a relationship with God. I want to be close to God. I want to live.

Ready?

Kristen, have you turned to Christ as your Savior and Lord?

Yes.

Are you trusting in Him alone for salvation and forgiveness? Based on your profession of faith in Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Closing Prayer and Final Thanks

Alright.

Okay.

Is that it? Yeah. We got them all?

Yes.

Alright.

Well, let's say a prayer. Let's say a prayer. And then we'll try to get dry and go back. I think we're going to go back to Van Arkans for dessert afterwards. So everyone's welcome back to get some food afterwards.

So let's all pray. Father, I want to thank you, God, for just your grace, forgiving us, bringing us to this place. Thank you, Lord. It's all a gift. I just want to pray that, God, you're glorified with our lives.

And we thank you so much for the gift of salvation and today these baptisms that display that gift to the world. And we want to thank you so much. And we're just so in love with you, Jesus. We want to grow in you and love you more every day.

We pray that you just bless the rest of our time together, God. And I just want to pray that today's baptisms lead to more baptisms. It's in Jesus' name.

Amen. Alright.

Thank you, guys, for coming. That's why everyone loves you.

Hey, guys.

Everyone got baptized? Let's do a quick picture with all of us together.