- From the Jewish Scriptures: Isaiah 43:1-7
- Psalm 29 (VU p.756)
- From the Life of the Early Church: Acts 8:14-17
The Hymns this week are:
- #371 Open My Eyes, That I May See
- #100 When Jesus Comes to Be Baptized
- #449 Crashing Waters at Creation (tune #444)
- #420 Go to the World
The Sermon title is Spirited Water of Life
Early Thoughts: What is the power of baptism? What difference does it make?
Apparently it isn't about the water. Whether splashed on the forehead, dumped by the bucketful or fully immersed it must not be about the water itself. At least that is what the Acts passage suggests. [It sure seems like there is a story not being told there too about how/why the baptism hadn't "taken".]
The power of bpatism is in the SPirit. It is the Spirit that gives life. It is the Spirit that brings transformation. As Christians we are called to be baptised by water and teh SPirit.
And yet there is something special about water. Water is the stuff of life. We are mainly water. Water has the potential to be creative (Genesis 1) and destructive (Noah). Water is cleansing -one image often used for baptism- and reviving
And the scripture is also clear. Once we have received the SPirit, once we have received the water of life, we are called to respond. Baptism makes a difference when we let it chnge our response to the world. THe SPirit's movement is only evident when there are results.
On Sunday, let us all explore some more about the SPirit, and WAter, and Life.
--Gord
PS> did you know that the Gaelic name of Scotch Whiskey also translates as water of lif? Talk about Spirited!
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