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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Sermons for the Baptism of Our Lord</P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Matthew 3:13-17 - "Water that Brings a New
Beginning"</P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Matthew 3:13-17 - "You Bring Me Great Pleasure"
by Leonard Sweet</P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">________________________________________</P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">[Members: Please see Matthew 3 the sermon titled
"The Water that Brings a New Beginning"] </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Water has been in the news a lot over the last
decade, with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Tsunami in Southeast Asia,
and the ongoing cycles of drought and floods.<SPAN> </SPAN>The
Western United States witnessed massive flooding over the holidays.
Australia has seen historic flooding even just this week. Even the less
dramatic storms and snowstorms that disrupt our daily lives make the
news. Water is part of the drama of our life. It brings life, but
not enough or too much can bring destruction. Let us focus on the life
giving power of clean, fresh water. <BR><BR>There are two very different ways to
think about baptism. The first approach recognizes the time of baptism as a
saving moment in which the person being baptized accepts the love and
forgiveness of God. The person then considers herself "saved." She may grow in
the faith through the years, but nothing which she will experience after her
baptism will be as important as her baptism. She always will be able to recall
her baptism as the time when her life changed.<BR><BR>The second approach
wouldn't disagree with any of that, but would add to it significantly. This idea
affirms baptism as the time when God's love and forgiveness are experienced. It
also recognizes baptism as a time of change. However, where the first approach
isolates the act of baptism as the most important moment, the second approach
understands baptism more as a beginning. While it is true that in the waters of
baptism God laid claim on our lives, it is also true that we spend the rest of
our lives trying to figure out what that means. The first understanding often
overlooks the journey which follows baptism.<BR><BR>Baptism too frequently
carries the connotation of having arrived. Sometimes people say to their
ministers, "I want to be baptized and join the church as soon as I get my life
in order." Of course, if that is what any of us are waiting on, we will never be
baptized. None of us will ever have our lives sufficiently in order to be
baptized. Baptism is not something we earn, nor is it a sign that we have found
all the answers. Nothing could be further from the truth.<BR><BR>Baptism is a
beginning. It is the desire to see the world differently, to see each other
differently, and even to see ourselves differently. Baptism is a fresh start,
not a destination. Baptism calls into question our previous lives, it does not
bless them. Baptism is not a trial-free membership, but a rite of initiation
into a way of life in which Jesus promised there would be trials.<BR><BR>Jesus'
baptism serves as a model for our baptism. For Jesus, baptism represents the
beginning of his ministry. While some ultimate questions may have been answered
when he was with John the Baptist in the Jordan River, Jesus continued to deal
with questions and temptations throughout his life. The baptism of Jesus is one
of our favorite stories. We love to hear how the heavens opened, to imagine the
dove descending, and to hear God's blessing on the Son. We would like to think
something like that happens when we are baptized. What we should be prepared for
is that our journey of faith, much like Jesus' journey, continues to unfold long
after our baptism as we try to discern what our baptism means in our daily
living.<BR><BR>We can begin to understand more about our baptism by thinking of
it in three ways.</P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">1. First, baptism is
about beginning anew.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">2. The second part of
baptism is the good news that we have been included.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">3. The third part of
baptism is ordination. With baptism comes the Spirit, and with the Spirit come
gifts to be used in the service of God.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">_______________________</P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">[Members: Please see Matthew 3:13-17 the sermon
titled "You Bring Me Great Pleasure" by Leonard Sweet] </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">How many of your New Year's Resolutions have made
it intact through the first full week of 2011? Have you missed a day of exercise
yet? Have you stuck to your diet? Are you texting less, talking more, always
telling the truth? </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Most "resolutions" we make are self-directed: get
thinner, work smarter, be stronger, take control of your life. We want to make
changes that will help us, improve us, and bring us good feelings about
ourselves.</P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Jesus said to be "in" the world but not to be
"of" the world. So let's start with being "in" a world that begins each year
making resolutions: let's make a New Year's Resolution. But what if we weren't
"of" this world of resolutions we're "in"? Instead of resolutions to live 2011
in a way that makes us feel good about ourselves, that brings ourselves
pleasure, what if we resolve to live a life that brings pleasure to God. </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">What if we were to forget the little resolutions
and resolve something big (did you catch it? another in-not-of alteration since
the world is filled with lots of resolutions but little resolve)? What if we
were to resolve to so live in 2011 that in January of 2012 God can look back at
our year of living and declare - "Your life brings me great pleasure. Well-done,
good and faithful friend."</P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Could there be any greater joy than hearing those
words? </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Remember how as a little child you lived and
loved to get the approval of your Mom and Dad? Piano recitals, school plays,
science projects, Christmas and Easter pageants - all were at the same time
fearful and fun. But for you to feel like you'd really accomplished something,
it took a parent, one of your grands or that "special someone," watching and
cheering, applauding and effusing--"great job," "well done," "bravo," "I'm so
proud and pleased." Or even just an "I love you."</P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">If the praise of our imperfect human parents
could bring such a sense of satisfaction to our childish hearts, think how much
more the affirmation of our perfect, all powerful, heavenly parent would mean to
our life. </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The absolute best thing we can ever know in life
is that we have lived in such a way that it brings God great pleasure. </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">But there is always a flip side... </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The rest of Leonard Sweet's sermon can be
obtained by joining www.Sermons.com </P>
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