Last month a group of us from MK Camp joined together at Whaddon Way Church to witness the Baptism of Nat Bates & Keira Hamilton. This month, we have the opportunity to witness the Baptism of Ayesha Gunn & Rosie Wilkinson at Newport Pagnell Baptist Church [details below]. But what’s all the fuss about Baptism?

Baptism is essentially going public about your faith; it is a bold public declaration of your faith in Jesus Christ. It is also an act of obedience in response to the call of Jesus on your life; it shows us following Jesus’ own example (see Mark 1:9) and His final command to His followers (Matthew 28:19).

The word ‘baptise’ means ‘to dip or immerse’ and so baptism usually involves the candidate being fully submerged in water (see picture). It is more correctly referred to as ‘believer’s baptism’ – specifically in Baptist churches, as we don’t baptise infants/children, only those who have made their own profession of faith (and are therefore believers).

Let’s be clear: baptism does not make you a Christian, that happens when you make a commitment to follow Jesus and live as He calls you to live. But baptism is a way of publicly demonstrating that commitment & change in your life, in front of family, friends & anyone else you care to invite. Also, baptism doesn’t make you a better Christian than an unbaptised believer.

What does it mean?

It is a symbolic act which represents Christ’s death, burial & resurrection.

“I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. That part is: Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say. He was buried, and three days later he was raised to life, as the Scriptures say.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

“And when you were baptised, it was the same as being buried with Christ. Then you were raised to life because you had faith in the power of God, who raised Christ from death.” (Colossians 2:12)

“Don’t you know that all who share in Christ Jesus by being baptised also share in his death? When we were baptised we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptised  so that we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father.” (Romans 6:3–4)

Who Should Be Baptised?

Every person who believes in Christ should be baptised. Believers realise their sin separates them from God. They conclude that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross bridges the gap between them and God. Having decided to trust Christ alone for their salvation, they follow Christ in baptism as a symbol of their new life in Christ. This is made in the first sermon preached at the start of the Church – about three thousand people are saved and the first thing Peter tells them to do after salvation is baptism:

“Turn back to God! Be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:37-38)

When Should I Be Baptised?

As soon as you have chosen to put your faith in Jesus Christ and committed to follow Him.

“But when they believed what Philip was saying about God’s kingdom and about the name of Jesus Christ, they were all baptised.” (Acts 8:12)

Most churches will expect you to attend a short course which will prepare you for baptism. These are usually really helpful. It will give you a chance to fully understand baptism and provides an excellent opportunity to ask any questions you may have. But it’s not always necessary – read the story of Philip and the Ethiopian and a shotgun baptism in Acts 8:26-40.

There is no reason to delay. If you wait until you are ‘good’ enough, you will never feel ready for baptism. Since baptism is not a part of your salvation but a symbol of it, it is OK to wait until the next scheduled baptism.

Questions?

That’s a basic understanding of baptism. But I’m sure you still have questions. Feel free to ask them in the comments below, or via the MK Camp page on Facebook. Or better still, speak to someone at your church.

Ayesha & Rosie’s Baptism

Here are the details of the Baptism service at NPBC next Sunday, to which everyone is welcome!

Date: Sunday, 28th October 2012

Time: 10:30am (probably good to arrive at about 10:10)

Venue: Newport Pagnell Baptist Church, Lovat Hall, Silver Street, MK16 0EJ

So where did the Summer go? I trust you’ve now thoroughly recovered from Camp, and many of us have been on holiday since then too. Well, I’m sorry to break it to you, but the new academic year starts this week! Actually, I’m not sorry to break it to you. In fact I’m excited – let me tell you why:

In the previous Xtra post I challenged you to think about the change others will have seen in you since your return from Camp – what evidence is there of the work God has done in you? What evidence is there of God’s love in you? A wiser man than me recently put it like this:

If we claim to have encountered the God of the universe + been saved by the grace of His gospel, our lives really should look different!

— Dai Hankey (@daihankey) August 26, 2012

The passage from Galatians we focussed on at Camp it says:

‘A little yeast can change a whole batch of dough…’ v9

In that context Paul was referring to someone having a negative influence. But elsewhere Jesus uses the image of yeast as an example of a good influence (see Matthew 13:33).

You are only one person who has decided to follow Jesus. Just what difference can you make? Every one of you, even though you’re just an individual can have a huge impact. Not just by living out your faith in Christ day by day, but also by speaking to people about what you did this Summer and what a difference it has made in your life. Pray for your family & friends, pray for your classmates, even pray for your teachers (gasp!). Pray that God will be revealed to them through you.

And don’t forget you’re also one of 18 new Christians across Milton Keynes. Pray for each other – that God’s love will be known through you all. Ask God to do the impossible – because with God all things are possible. What seems like ‘mission impossible’ with God becomes ‘mission possible’.

Be encouraged. Take a look at this map which plots where each of you is at school/college across & beyond Milton Keynes. Each ‘sun’ represents a school/college – click them to see who attends. What an impact we can have for Jesus!

‘I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.‘ Ephesians 3:20

God bless

Ricky

This year it was a privilege to be able to serve on the Staff team at Spring Harvest, and to help lead the youth work programme for the 11-14s group called ‘Distinctive’. The Spring Harvest motto is: Encounter God. Be Changed By That Encounter. Go Out & Change The World!

We believe that the teaching, worship & reflections at Camp this year will have taken care of the ‘encounter God’ part for most of you. And we’ll come back to going out and changing the world at a later stage. But what about ‘be changed by that encounter’?

We know that almost one third of the Camp this year not only encountered God but also gave their lives to Him (Alleluia!). In addition lots of others recommitted themselves to following Jesus. But I want to ask: what difference has it made? I don’t mean to you as an individual, or to your relationship with God, but rather what change has there been in your life and what outward evidence is there of that change?

One of the passages we referred to repeatedly during Camp was Galatians 5:1-14. As we explored it primarily we referred to its focus on freedom. But there’s a great phrase in verse 5 which I’ve stolen for the title of this post: ‘all that matters…’ In the passage (as I’m sure you’ll remember) Paul was writing to the Church in Galatia about how they’ve been set free by Jesus, but they’re at risk of tying themselves up again in the finer details of the Jewish law (all 613 commands). He majors on the subject of circumcision, but for reasons of decency we’ll skip over that for now. But then he uses this key phrase ‘all that matters…’:

‘All that matters is your faith that makes you love others.‘ v6b

He says forget the 613 commandments which will only tie you up in knots/hold you back, and remember that the only thing that matters ‘is your faith that makes you love others‘. Paul seems to be in no doubt that faith in God & a relationship with Him will result in you loving others. It is a by-product of your faith; a by-product of your relationship with God. You can’t have one without the other.

So I ask the question again: what change has there been in your life & what outward evidence is there of that change?

If I asked your family, would they say that you were a different person now? What changes would they say they’d noticed in you?

When you return to school, will you be so different that your friends & classmates can’t help but notice? How will that difference be evident to them?

 ’My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. All that the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself.‘ Galatians 5:13-14

God bless

Ricky