The Journey Continues: Baptisms and Holy Communion
My journey last week began with a telephone call from Houston. “This is M------; I’m the daughter of ‘R’. My mom and my sister were both baptized at Redwood Baptist Church.”
I replied “Yes, I remember your family, in fact, I am presently at the church and standing in front of the rosebush your mom gave us before she moved.”
She continued: “I also want to be baptized—if I come to San Marcos, would you consider baptizing me?”
I joyfully replied, “Yes,” and we started planning for Aug. 2.
My text for the morning sermon at Redwood last Sunday was Acts 2:38—“Repent and be Baptized.”
As we left the church to go to the site for her baptism on the San Marcos River, ‘M’ commented: “This morning, I followed a RV a long way on the Interstate 10. On its bumper was a sticker that said ACTS 2:38 —seems like confirmation to me!”
Baptisms and Holy Communion are the two ordinances that serve our Protestant faith. The act of baptism is mentioned over 70 times in the New Testament.
The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-19 (NIV) says: “Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
The Redwood Church uses the San Marcos River for baptisms, and with City Parks closed because of COVID-19, I had to find an alternative site. My family friend, Alan Cummings, whom I have known since his Baptist Academy days, provided the solution, granting access to the river on his property. He mowed a fresh path to the riverbank and provided parking for seven cars.
At 2 p.m. last Sunday, we all drove to the river. After testimony of her journey from the old life to being “born again,” I commented: “Jesus was baptized; in Matthew 3:16, we read: … and Christ came up out of the water.’ If you go in the water as a dry, unrepentant sinner; you will come out of the water, a wet unrepentant sinner. What happens on the inside is what counts. A believer’s baptism is an outward sign of an inward change—announcing to the world that ‘I am a follower of Jesus.’”
And we entered the water, she repeated: “I take God as my Father, Christ as my Savior, and the Holy Spirit as my Guide.” I lowered her into the river and she came up triumphantly out of the water.
Then, the sky opened, and it started to rain accompanied by lightning and thunder.
The young woman said, “what a beautiful day!” The life verse is Exodus 14:14: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
