Good morning, and welcome to Church of the Advent.
My name's Jeff, and I'm one of the pastors here.
If you're new or this is your first time,
thanks for joining us.
I would love to meet you at the front steps
after the service.
Before we get to the sermon this morning,
we just want to create some space briefly this morning
to pray about the events of last weekend,
specifically the attempted assassination of President Trump.
We didn't get, because of the timing,
we didn't get a chance to pray about this
in the worship service last Sunday,
but we wanted to pray about it this Sunday.
Of course, we always grieve and lament any act of violence
that brings about injury or loss of life
of people made in the image of God.
But the reason why we want to pray about it this morning
is we recognize that many of us might be feeling
a particular kind of anxiety or dread
with this particular event,
wondering about what comes next in our national life,
knowing that this was committed against a president
and all of the implications that follow that
in the midst of what is already an extremely heated
and divided political moment in our country.
So we just want to take a couple moments
and do what the church does best
and take a couple minutes to pray for our nation,
for our church, and our world.
So join me in prayer together.
Amen.
Lord, first we grieve and lament this act of violence
and the loss of life and injury that occurred.
Every person is first and foremost made in your image,
regardless of their title or position.
And we mourn whenever that image is threatened,
and we know that you mourn as well.
We pray for comfort for those grieving the loss of a loved one,
and we pray for healing for all those who were injured in body or mind,
including President Trump.
We pray for our country as a whole,
that you would preserve our common life together as a nation
and sustain us in peace.
We pray that this act would not beget any further acts of violence,
but rather we pray that it would lead to a humbler discourse in our politics,
a more gracious tone in our debates,
and a more generous spirit toward those with whom we disagree.
We pray this especially for those who speak publicly
or hold elected office,
including President Biden,
Mayor Bowser,
the D.C. City Council,
and all those who represent us and serve us in public office.
Give them courage to live lives of moral character,
even when it's inconvenient.
And give them wisdom to lead in the complexity of this moment
in ways that bear the fruit of unity,
peace,
virtue,
and the common good.
We also pray for our church
using the words of the Book of Common Prayer.
Increase, O God,
the spirit of neighborliness among us,
that in peril we may uphold one another,
in suffering tend towards one another,
and in homelessness, loneliness, or exile
befriend one another.
Grant us brave and enduring hearts
that we may strengthen one another
until the disciplines and testing of these days are ended
and you again give peace in our time
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
And I can think of few things
to transition to
and to talk about next
than baptism.
In a moment,
we are gonna have the joy
and opportunity
to celebrate
the sacrament of baptism
and to hear the story
of a changed life,
of God's power
to save
and to redeem
and to transform.
And so,
we thought that on a day
when we're celebrating
a baptism,
we would reflect together
for a few minutes
on God's word
and what God's word
has to teach us
about baptism
and what it means for our lives.
Maybe you're here this morning
and you're not a Christian
or you haven't been baptized
or you're still trying to figure out
what you believe.
I hope that this can bring some clarity
this morning on what baptism is
and what it means
and what is offered to you
should you choose to respond
to the good news
about Jesus Christ.
Maybe perhaps you've been following Jesus
for a long time.
I hope that this is
an encouraging reminder
about the significance
of your own baptism
and how it continues
to shape our discipleship
to Jesus
and our life together
as a church.
So we're gonna briefly look
at a couple things
about baptism.
We're gonna look
at the story of baptism
and we're gonna look
at the meaning of baptism
and look at what baptism is
and why we practice it.
So first of all,
the story of baptism.
The story of baptism.
The easiest answer
to why we do this thing
called baptism
is that because Jesus
commanded us to.
In Matthew chapter 28,
the Great Commission,
he says,
all authority in heaven
and on earth
has been given to me.
Go therefore
and make disciples
of all nations,
baptizing them
in the name of the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
And on one hand,
this would be sufficient.
If the Lord Jesus
has commanded us
to do something,
then we should obey
and follow him.
But of course,
Jesus is not speaking
in a vacuum here.
There's a background.
There's a greater story
behind this command
and there is a greater story
behind baptism.
And it's the story
of God's covenant relationship
with his people.
God's covenant relationship
with his people.
A covenant
is that special
kind of relationship
where people
willingly bond
themselves to one another,
bind themselves
to one another
in a sacred bond
of love
and trust
and obedience.
And the thing
about covenant relationships
is that covenant relationships
always involve
a covenant promise
and a covenant sign.
A covenant promise
and a covenant sign.
So marriage,
for example,
is an example
of a kind of human
covenant relationship.
There are covenant promises,
the vows that husband
and wife make to each other
and then there's
a covenant sign,
normally rings.
And we see
throughout scripture
that the story
of redemption
is a covenantal story.
And you can only
really understand baptism
through that covenantal story.
It's a story
that begins
all the way back
with Abraham
in the book of Genesis.
After Genesis 3,
when things go wrong
with the rebellion
and the fall of humanity
in the garden,
there's this question
looming in the background
from Genesis 3
to Genesis 12.
And it's this,
how is God going
to restore his creation
back to its original goodness?
And so,
beginning in Genesis chapter 12
through Genesis chapter 17,
God begins
to answer this question
in the story of Abraham.
And he begins
to answer this question
by giving Abraham
a promise,
a covenant,
and a covenant sign.
A promise,
a covenant,
and a covenant sign.
In Genesis 12,
God gives Abraham
a gracious promise
that through Abraham's family,
he is going to bless
all the nations
of the earth.
That though all people
are alienated from God
and that creation
is fallen and broken,
God is committed
to bringing his salvation
and his blessing
to every nation,
all of creation.
It's a gracious promise.
And then in Genesis chapter 15,
God makes a covenant
that confirms this promise
to Abraham.
And if you have a chance
to read it later this afternoon,
Genesis 15,
or if you've read it before,
is this strange to us,
kind of strange to modern ears,
but this beautiful story
where God tells Abraham,
not only am I going
to keep my side
of the covenant relationship,
but I'm also going
to keep your side
of the covenant relationship too
because one day
you and your descendants
are going to break my covenant,
but I have already made
a provision for that.
So God makes a covenant
that confirms
his promise to Abraham.
And then in Genesis 17,
which was our Old Testament passage
that we read earlier,
God then gives Abraham
a sign of this covenant,
and it's the sign
of circumcision,
a sign that involves
the shedding of blood.
And God says to Abraham,
I want you and your family
to remember the promise
and the covenant
that I made to you.
And so I'm going to give you
a sign that you belong to me,
that you're my people,
and all of my promises
I have made to you are yours
if you embrace me,
if you embrace this covenant
relationship from the heart.
And those who receive
that covenant sign,
Abraham received it,
most of them received it
before they expressed
covenant faith.
And this is a key detail
that we'll come back later to
in the sermon.
But to summarize,
in the story of Abraham,
we see that God's story
of redemption,
to redeem a fallen world,
to restore his creation,
unfolds in the story
of Abraham through a promise,
a covenant,
and a covenant sign.
And this is crucial
to unlocking the meaning
of the whole Old Testament
because these realities
defined and shaped
the story and identity
and the mission
of the people of Israel.
And it's also crucial
to unlocking the meaning
of baptism
because it's this story
that's in the background
in Matthew 28
when Jesus gives us
the sacrament of baptism
in the Great Commission.
Jesus says,
I am the author
and the hero
in the fulfillment
of this story.
All the promises
to Abraham
and the people of Israel,
the covenant
that confirms those promises
and the sign
of that covenant
are all fulfilled in me.
In Jesus,
a new and better covenant
is here.
And it's a covenant
that both fulfills
and expands
God's covenant
with Abraham.
As Galatians chapter 3
tells us,
we,
all of the nations
of the earth,
we are the nations
and we are grafted
into Abraham's story
and Abraham's covenant
through Jesus.
And because now
the new covenant
in Christ
is greater
and more expansive
and the promises
are greater
and more expansive,
we therefore now
have a new
and greater covenant sign.
And Colossians 2,
11 through 12
shows us
that baptism
has replaced circumcision
as the sign
of the new covenant.
Listen to Colossians 2,
11 through 12.
In him,
that is Jesus,
you were circumcised,
but not with a circumcision
made,
with a circumcision
made without hands,
by the circumcision
of Christ,
having been buried
with him
in baptism.
Paul links circumcision
to baptism
because both circumcision
and baptism
point to the same reality.
The everlasting covenant
that God makes
with his people
through the blood
of Christ
shed on the cross.
And because the blood
of Christ shed
on the cross
fulfilled the sign
of circumcision,
in the new covenant
we now have
the sign of water.
Water,
something that pictures
washing and cleansing
and rebirth and renewal.
And so this
is the story
of baptism.
It's the story
of a gracious God
who makes a promise
to bless all the nations
of the earth
and who confirms
those promises
by dwelling
in covenant relationship
with his people
and who gives them
a sign
that they belong
to him
and that his promises
belong to them.
And so in light
of this covenant story,
a question comes
to the surface
and it's this.
In light of this covenant story,
what are
the specific promises
that the new covenant
sign of baptism
signifies?
What is the meaning
of baptism
in particular?
That's what we're
going to look at next,
the meaning of baptism.
At its core,
baptism is about
union with Christ.
Union with Christ.
That's what we see clearly
in places like Romans 6,
3 through 5.
Romans 6,
3 through 5 says,
don't you know
that all of us
who are baptized
into Christ Jesus
were baptized
into his death?
We were therefore
buried with him
through baptism
into death
in order that
just as Christ
was raised from the dead
through the glory
of the Father,
we too may live
a new life.
For if we have been
united with him
in a death like his,
we will also
certainly be united
with him
in a resurrection
like tis.
In baptism,
the Holy Spirit
unites us to Jesus
in a way that his story
becomes our story.
His life
becomes our life.
His death
becomes our death.
His resurrection
becomes our resurrection.
His ascension
becomes our ascension.
And someone who has
helped me understand
this well
is not a pastor
or a theologian
or a scholar,
but an NBA player
by the name
of Jack Haley.
Jack Haley
is an NBA player
that probably
most of you
have never heard of.
Almost no one
has ever heard of him
except if you
follow the NBA
closely.
Jack Haley
was a member
of the 1996
Chicago Bulls.
And the whole
1996 season,
Jack Haley
played a grand total
of seven minutes
the whole season.
The whole season
he had five points,
two rebounds,
zero assists,
zero steals,
zero blocks.
His season performance
was negligible.
But amazingly,
at the end
of the 1996 season,
Jack Haley
got a championship ring.
Why?
Well,
if you know
anything
about the 1996
Chicago Bulls,
you know
that although
they did have
a good team,
there is really
only one reason
why Jack Haley
got a championship ring.
And that reason
is Michael Jordan.
And I can almost
guarantee
you have heard
of that name.
Michael Jordan.
Jordan's
exemplary,
unrivaled,
stellar performance
on the basketball
court carried
the Bulls not to
just one championship
in 1996,
but to six
NBA titles.
And even though
Jack Haley
contributed nothing
to the Bulls'
performance that year,
he was united to,
he was grafted
into,
he was credited
with the story
and the performance
of an amazing
player named
Michael Jordan.
Our baptism
is Jesus Christ
placing his
championship ring
on our finger.
It's the covenant
sign
that the Holy Spirit
takes the performance
of Jesus Christ
and applies it
to us.
And all
of the covenant
promises made
to us in baptism
flow from
our union
with Christ.
Listen to some
of the promises
that the New Testament
tell us
that we receive
in baptism
through union
with Christ.
We are washed
and cleansed
and forgiven
from sin.
we are justified
before God
and have peace
with him.
We are adopted
as God's beloved
sons and daughters.
We are joined
to God's new covenant
family,
the church.
We are made
members of his
own body,
his bride,
his beloved.
We are filled
and sealed
with the Holy Spirit
who regenerates us
and gives us new hearts.
And we are given
an inheritance
of eternal life
and the resurrection
of the body.
And as a result,
what the Father
says
over his Son,
Jesus Christ,
at his baptism
in the gospel reading
that we read earlier,
Matthew 3,
the same thing
that the Father
says over the Son
in his baptism,
he says
over you
and me.
This is
my beloved
Son.
This is
my beloved
daughter
with whom
I am
well pleased.
The meaning
of baptism
is nothing less
than all the
spiritual blessings
that we have
through union
with Christ
by faith
and all of the
privileges that flow
from it.
we are
grafted
into
the championship
story
of Jesus.
And from all
of this,
I just want
to draw out
two brief
implications
about baptism,
about the story
and the meaning
of baptism.
I want to talk
about two implications.
One,
about baptism
as a sacrament
and about how
baptism impacts
our discipleship.
So first
of all,
what do we
mean when
we say
that baptism
is a sacrament?
There's a lot
of things we could
say.
Sacramental
theology is a
deep well.
But one of the
things we mean
when we call
baptism a
sacrament is
related to the
covenantal story
of Scripture.
The covenantal
story of Scripture
shows us that
as a sacrament,
baptism is not
primarily about
the promises
that we make
to God,
but about the
promises that
God makes to
us.
Let me repeat
that.
As a sacrament,
baptism is not
primarily about
the promises
that we make
to God,
it's about the
promises that
God makes to
us.
Just like with
Israel and
circumcision under
the old covenant,
baptism as the
new covenant
sign is about a
gracious covenant
keeping God who
always fulfills the
promises that he
makes to his
people.
Yes, we
respond in faith
and trust and
obedience.
But the covenant
sign is not
primarily about our
faith or our
trust or our
obedience, but the
eternal unfailing
promises of God
offer to us by
grace.
Baptism isn't
about the quality
of our faith.
Baptism is about
the quality of the
object of our
faith.
And this is why
baptism is something
that is done to
us.
We are baptized
by someone else.
This is also why
the great tradition
of the Christian
church, Protestant,
Orthodox, and
Catholic churches
have baptized
children of
believers who have
not yet expressed
covenant faith.
If you're like me,
maybe you grew up
in a tradition or
you're familiar with
a tradition that
did not practice
infant baptism.
And so it might
be, if you're like
me, this might be
something new or
unfamiliar or
unusual to you.
But what I hope
you've seen this
morning is that the
covenantal story of
scripture shows us
that the promises of
God always precede our
faith.
Whether the covenant
sign is applied to us
as a three-month-old
or as a 30-year-old.
Yes, we respond in
faith and obedience,
but our faith is
always a response to
God's gracious
initiative that goes
before us even
before we've been
born.
In fact, it's God's
gracious initiative
that makes our faith
even a possibility.
That's part of what
we mean when we talk
about baptism as a
sacrament.
It's not primarily
about the promises
that we make to God,
but about the promises
that he makes to us.
Secondly,
if Christian
discipleship
had a theme song,
the title of that
theme song would be
Remember Your Baptism.
What's striking about
Paul's letters in the
New Testament is how
often he repeats the
same message to
different churches who
are dealing with all
different kinds of
issues and problems.
He says, remember who
you are in Christ because
of your baptism.
You've been buried with
Christ in his death.
You've been raised with
him in his resurrection.
You've been seated with
him in his ascension.
Now, therefore,
be who you are
in him.
Live out of that
identity.
Obey God's commands
out of that identity.
Fight sin
out of that identity.
Worship
relates to your
brothers and sisters
in Christ
out of that
identity.
And I think even as
we think about what
we prayed about at
the beginning of the
sermon, about the
anxiety around the
political division in
our country, I can
think of few things
more needed in the
church today than the
need to remember our
baptism.
what if Christians in
the church today,
particularly the
American church, what
if we related to one
another more on the
basis of our baptism
than on the basis of
our politics?
What if our church
family, the church of
the advent, related,
what if we related to
one another more on the
basis of our baptism
than on the basis of our
opinions on any number
of issues?
It would change the
church and it might
even possibly change
things outside the
church.
Remember your baptism
is the theme song of
the entire Christian
life.
If you are struggling
with sin, remember
your baptism.
If you feel tempted
towards gossip and
slander, remember your
baptism.
If you feel yourself
isolating from Christian
community and corporate
worship, remember your
baptism.
If you're in the middle
of a conflict with
another brother or
sister in Christ or
wrestling with
unforgiveness, remember
your baptism.
If you're doubting your
faith, if you're
overwhelmed with shame
and self-criticism, remember
your baptism.
Why?
Because in baptism
we trust in a gracious
covenant-keeping God
who promises us every
spiritual blessing through
union with Christ, who
confirms those promises
with his own blood shed for
us and who gives us a
covenant sign that we
belong to him and he will
never let us go.
In our baptism we have the
assurance that our faith is
not rooted in the promises
that we make to God but in
the promises that he makes
to us not in the quality
of our faith but in the
quality of the object of
our faith.
And in baptism we see that
being grafted into the
story of Jesus means that
we are joined to his body,
to this covenant community,
to this new family called
the church.
And that regardless of our
politics or our opinions or
our race or class, who we
are as disciples and who we
are as a church is that we
are his.
We are his sons and
daughters.
We are his bride.
We are his body.
We are dead and buried in
him.
We are raised in him,
ascended in him, seated in
him, hidden in him.
We are secure in him.
We are forgiven in him.
We are accepted in him.
We are known in him.
We are beloved in him, in
Christ.
Let's pray together.