Verse of the Day

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” Luke 24.5b-7

Verse of the Day

And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mark 15.42-46

Verse of the Day

And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”  Mark 15.37-39

Eucharist: holy communion in a worthy manner

Today is Holy Thursday (a.k.a. Maundy Thursday). It is the anniversary of the Lord’s Supper that Jesus Christ instituted on the night he was betrayed by Judas in the middle of the passover celebration. For the Christian Church, this is our passover celebration. Having said that, I might add that I have often enjoyed celebrating a Passover Meal with friends, especially my messianic Jewish friends, as a teaching moment and as a time to celebrate God’s faithfulness to his people. The point is that the Eucharist is what Jesus gave his disciples to celebrate when they came together in his memory.   

In the church that I pastor we celebrate Holy Communion every Sunday, and at other times as well, as a normal part of our worship. Prior to the Reformation the Eucharist was a normal part of regular celebration in the church but the evangelical church sought to break the hold that the mystery of the mass had over the church, and moved the pulpit to center-stage making the sermon the high point of protestant worship. Over the years a number of “restoration” movements have attempted to put the Eucharist back at the center of protestant worship but with little success.  The reason I put the Eucharist back into every Sunday morning worship celebration has nothing to do with restorationism and nothing to do with my Roman Catholic upbringing. It has everything to do with thanksgiving, my great love of Jesus, my grateful appreciation of his sacrifice and obedience, my deep desire for communion with him and with the larger body of Christ, to proclaim my faith in Christ, and because, just like you, I need a constant reminder of God’s goodness. Those are the very same reasons Jesus Christ instituted the supper.  It is a concrete reminder of what Jesus did and why. I say all of this to clarify that while I see the normal practice of the early church being a weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper, I do not think that Jesus’ mandate to, “Do memory of me . . .” came with a specific directive to do this every week, once a month, or once a year.   So I in no way want to sit in judgment of any church that celebrates holy communion less frequently than we do. 

So back to this anniversary, the mandate was to do this remembrance of Jesus and that is the point of every anniversary and every memorial, to remember. Don’t forget what happened, don’t forget what Jesus did, don’t forget his sacrifice, don’t forget that he is coming back for us. This whole point of not forgetting is driven home by the situation in Corinth. The Corinthian church had turned the Passover Meal and the Eucharist into a big party, and along the way, it became about something other than giving thanks, and remembering what Jesus did. They forgot that the point of the Lord’s Supper is to remember what Jesus Christ did for them and they forgot about what Jesus Christ did for their brothers and sisters in Christ. To this end, the Apostle Paul wrote them and said, “. . . your meetings do more harm than good . . .” (1 Corinthians 11.17). For this reason he wrote them to stop making the meal about food and drink, and to partake of the meal in a worthy manner (1 Corinthians 11.27).  This is important because many people here miss the point and then start to think that examining themselves and partaking in a worthy manner has to do with being worthy to partake of holy communion. That of course misses the point of the meal all together. This memorial is not really about you and it certainly isn’t about you being worthy of it. If anything it is a reminder that I am not worthy. I partake of this meal to remember the only one who is worthy, Jesus Christ. My partaking in a worthy manner is that I not make the meal about feasting or drinking or my personal failure, or even about me, as much as I put my focus on Jesus Christ and his work. I remember him, and anything less than that, is an unworthy manner.  Any other focus that takes my attention off of Jesus Christ is an unworthy manner. 

So how should I partake of the Lord’s Supper? I should remember, and give thanks, and commune with Jesus Christ and his body, the church in a holy way. So if you find your self at the Vineyard Christian Church celebrating holy communion with us, let me invite you to do that with us. This is the Lord’s table and anyone who belongs to him is invited to partake in it with us and with him. 

Verse of the Day

And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Luke 22.15-16

Verse of the Day

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12.32

Verse of the Day

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” Matthew 21.43-44

Verse of the Day

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him. Matthew 21.31b-32

Verse of the Day

And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” Matthew 21.9-11

Verse of the Day

This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
    humble, and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Matthew 21.4-8

Verse of the Day

 “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” Luke 19.38-40

Verse of the Day

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” Luke 18.29-30

Baptism: What do I teach?

Because the Vineyard is a non-denominational church I often get asked a number of questions about baptism. The truth is that because every Vineyard is autonomous I can’t answer for every Vineyard Church, only the one I pastor. What I can tell you is that every Vineyard pastor signs a statement of faith that says they believe in water baptism. So what do I believe about baptism? 

Well, I believe that the precedent for baptism is our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Mark 1.9 we read of Jesus being baptized in the Jordan river by John the Baptist. Then again we read in the Great Commission in Matthew 28.19-20 that they were to make disciples and baptize them. So as I understand it, anyone who would be a disciples of Jesus would be baptized. As the church was established in Acts from chapter 2 to chapter 22 those who became disciples of Jesus were being baptized as part of their response to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.  The stated reason for this response seems to multifold. For instance the Apostle Paul said that our baptism was partaking in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ."    Colossians 2.12

"By our baptism then, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised form the dead... so also we may live a new life!" Romans 6.4

Other verses closely link baptism with salvation, washing away our sins, and becoming a new creature in Christ:

“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ …” 1 Peter 3.21

“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2.38

Looking at each of these verses individually it could be easy to conclude that either one gets baptized because you have already become a disciple of Jesus or in order to be saved.  The fact is that baptism in the New Testament has a very close relationship with salvation. Which has generally created a concern among evangelicals because of our commitment to salvation through Christ apart from any works. The fear of most evangelicals is that too close of an association between baptism and salvation could lead people to believe that the water itself saves a person from sin, thus giving rise to the concept of “holy water.” On the other hand, the disassociation of baptism and salvation has actually led to more of works centered concept of baptism becoming nothing more than a ceremony that must be performed. Why? No one really articulates anything other than obedience, which is good enough, but could lead people to conclude that baptism is still a “necessary” obedience, thus works that must be done in order to stay saved. What is at stake in such a debate is the question, is salvation by grace or by works. This is a false dichotomy!

If we buy into this idea of grace and works being at odds with one another its a quick step toward saying that repentance and prayer are also a works required for salvation. (Which I have heard taught.) The work of salvation was done on the cross by Jesus Christ, and not by any one of us. That being said, our repentance, our prayers, and our baptism have done nothing to save to us. Only Jesus can do that! 

I know, I know, what you want to know is, “Do I think that a person needs to be baptized to be saved?” What I want to know is why are we so interested in splitting hairs? If you and I are seeking to be obedient to Christ why would one refuse to be baptized, since it is indeed Jesus Christ explicit command to be baptized? And if I am baptized in some ritual, without any faith in Jesus Christ what could I possibly hope to gain from Christ apart from faith in his saving grace and his completed work? I can’t help but conclude that dissecting this any further comes from an agenda that is either to exclude those who baptize with a view toward salvation or to exclude those who are baptized out of response to salvation. Funny how both extremes still revolve around salvation, no matter how hard you try to disassociate baptism from salvation.  

So then, why do I think a person ought to be baptized? A person should be baptized because Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. If Jesus Christ is Lord then I must obey, and if he is Savior then I must be buried with him and raised to a new life. For that same reason, that is why I teach baptism by immersion. Let me explain.

First, because I believe that Jesus Christ was baptized that way.  

"As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water."  Matthew 3.16

Second, because every example in the New Testament seems to follow this same pattern of immersion. 

"...then both Philip and the man went down into the water and Philip baptized him.  When they came up out of the water..." Acts 8.38-39

Thirdly, because we get our word baptism from the Greek word that means to immerse, while the Greek word for sprinkle sounds like ran-teed-so and the Greek word for pouring sounds like kee-oh, but the Greek word from which we get our word baptism sounds like bap-teed-so meaning to sink or dip. 

Lastly, coming full circle I believe that immersion best symbolizes burial and resurrection. And I am in pretty good company. Look at these two quotes: 

Martin Luther, founder of the Lutheran Church: "I would have the candidates for baptism completely immersed in the water as the word says and the sacrament signifies." - The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, 3-23. A.D. 1520

John Calvin, founder of the Reformed Church: "The word 'baptize' signifies to immerse.  It is certain that immersion was the practice of the ancient church." -Institutes of the Christian Religion, vol.2. A.D. 1536

For these reasons, I baptize those who respond to Christ’s invitation by immersion. This is not to say that I reject those who have been baptized differently. If you were baptized before you were old enough to decide, or baptized by sprinkling, or pouring, that is honestly between you and God. I know from the testimony of history that Christianity is full of disciples who were sprinkled as infants and were used in a mighty way by God. There is also the thief on the cross who was never baptized (Luke 23.43) yet was promised by our Lord Jesus Christ that he would be with the Lord in paradise. With that in mind, I practice to the best of my understanding, immersion of those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ to save them, and I accept every follower of Christ on his or her word who says that he/she has trusted Christ for their salvation regardless of how the person was baptized and when. 

That naturally leads to some follow up questions like, “When should a person be baptized?” Well, the repeated example in the New Testament is when you believe. 

"Those who believed ... were baptized ... that day!   Acts 2.41

"Then Philip began with the scripture and told him the Good News about Jesus.  As they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the man said, 'Look, here is water!  Why shouldn't I be baptized right now?'  So they went down into the water and Philip baptized him." Acts 8.35-38

There is no reason to delay.  As soon as you have decided to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you can and should be baptized.  

Another concern is whether you and your family can be baptized together? Yes!  If each family member understands fully the purpose of baptism, and each one has personally paced his/her trust in Christ for salvation, and each one has made Jesus the Lord of their life. We encourage family members to be baptized at the same time.  It is a wonderful expression of commitment.  I do ask that young children who wish to be baptized meet with me or one of our pastors for a pre-baptism conversation. However, it is important to remember that baptism is a personal statement of faith and commitment. It is not a family tradition.  It is usually not wise to delay your baptism while waiting on other family member to accept Christ, particularly children.  This puts an undue pressure on them, and delays your obedience.

A functional question I get asked is, “What should I wear when I am baptized?” I prefer that women should wear dark shorts and a dark top rather than a swimsuit, and that men should wear dark shorts (which could be swim trunks) and a t-shirt. And that you bring a change of clothes, a towel, and a plastic bag for your wet clothes.  I will provide a place to change your clothes. The reason I say dark clothing and not swim suits is simply that over the years I have learned/seen more in the process of baptism than I ever wanted to know or see. So honestly, to keep from exposing yourself to me and others, please follow these guidelines. 

One of the most fearful concerns that people have is, “Will I have to say anything?” I will ask you only one question, “Who do you believe that Jesus Christ is?” You need to make a statement something like, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, my Savior and my Lord.” then upon your confession I will baptize you by the authority of Jesus Christ into the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to wash you clean and raise you to new life.   

Afterwards I want to make sure you get some prayer. Lots of wonderful things happen to people after they get baptized. As well, we remember that Jesus was tested by Satan after his baptism. So our prayer is for God to stir up the gifts of the Holy Spirit and to cover you with his protection. 

Now if you have any special needs, I will do a private baptism in special circumstances. Regardless, If you have other question I would be happy to answer them. Just drop me a line or leave me a comment and I will do my best.