Acts 2:37-38 37Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

As a church, we are devoted to baptism because:

IT’S A PICTURE OF BEING CLEANSED.

Acts 22:16 What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.

IT’S A PICTURE OF BEING BURIED WITH CHRIST—FULL SUBMERSION.

Romans 6:1-7 1Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. 5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.

•  It doesn’t mean we are perfect; it means we are forgiven.
•  It doesn’t mean we can sin however we want; we died to sin.

Galatians 2:20-21 20My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

•  It’s a constant reminder of being dead to our old selves.
•  We can’t treat the grace of God as meaningless.

4. BAPTISM IS..

•  It’s someone coming into God’s family—our family.
•  It’s a form of worship not just for the person being baptized but also for us seeing God change a life. It’s a miracle.
•  It’s a gift to us for us to walk in freedom.
•  It’s darkness coming into the light.
•  We are on a journey of being transformed and renewed. (Romans 12:2) o through the Word, communion, prayer, worship, baptism, and relationship
•  We are better together.

NEXT STEPS

• Do you need to take the step to be baptized?

• Do you need to ask the Lord to re-engage your heart for the gathering of believers?

• Do you need to step out and seek prayer?

• Do you need to praise the Lord for the gift of baptism and what it means? We are set free and new in Christ through faith and following Jesus!

• Do you need to sit quietly and pray that you would see yourself through God’s eyes? In Christ, you are new; the old has gone, and the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

1. What stood out to you in the message this week?

2. What stood out to you when Christian talked about baptism is an illustration of being cleansed and buried with Christ?

3. Have you ever (in the past or in your life presently) treated God’s grace as meaningless in your life or as not enough?

4. What do you think Christian meant when he said, “Baptism isn’t the end game; it’s the beginning”?

5. What does it look like in your life to do your part in letting God renew your mind? How have you been pursuing that in your life currently? (Read Romans 12:2)

6. What is your number one take away from this series, “Ever Wonder Why?”

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.