Good morning. We're going to
begin this morning service by standing and singing 447 out
of your heart back hymnal, 447, the lily of the valley. 447. I have found a friend in Jesus,
he's everything to me. He's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul. The lily of the valley, in him
alone I see. All I need to cleanse and make
me fully whole. In sorrow He's my comfort, in
trouble He's my stay, He tells me every care on Him to roll. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star, He's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul. He all my griefs has taken, and
all my sorrows borne. In temptation He's my strong
and mighty tower. I have all for Him forsaken,
and all my idols torn. From my heart and now He keeps
me by His power. Though all the world forsake
me and Satan tempt me sore, through Jesus I shall safely reach the
goal. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star. He's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul. He will never, never leave me,
nor yet forsake me here, while I live my faith and do His blessed
will. O wall of fire, about me I've
nothing now to fear, with His manna He my hungry soul shall
fill. Then sweeping up to glory, I'll
see his blessed face, where rivers of delight shall ever roll. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star. He's the fairest of 10,000 to
my soul. If you would, turn to 255, Blessed
Assurance, 255. Oh, what a foretaste of glory
divine, heir of salvation, purchase of God. ? The horn of his spirit washed
in his blood ? This is my story, this is my song ? Praising my
Savior all the day long ? This is my story, this is my song
? Praising my Savior all the day long Perfect submission,
perfect delight. Visions of rapture now burst
on my sight. Angels descending break from
above. Echoes of mercy, whispers of
love. This is my story, this is my
song. Praising my Savior all the day
long. This is my story, this is my
song. Praising my Savior all the day
long. Perfect submission, all is at
rest, I in my Saviour am happy and blessed, Watching and waiting,
looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love. This is my story, this is my
song, praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story,
this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. Thank you. You may be seated. Good morning, everybody. I'm
going to be reading this morning out of 1st, or I'm sorry, 2nd
Peter, chapter 1. Started in verse 1, 2nd Peter,
chapter 1, verses 1 through 11. Simon Peter, a servant and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, to them who that have obtained like precious
faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge
of God and of Jesus our Lord, according to his divine power,
hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,
through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory
and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises, that by these ye might be partakers of divine nature,
having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust, and beside this giving all diligence, add to your faith
virtue and to your virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance,
and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to
godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you
and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he
that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off.
and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore,
the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election
sure. For if ye do these things, ye shall never foul. For so an
entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you again, once
again, for bringing us together today, Lord, to hear your son
preached, Lord, to look to him. We pray for our brother, Eric,
that you would give him the words, Lord, to encourage us today,
to encourage our hearts, Lord, to look to your son, to trust
him and him alone, Lord. We're thankful to be here today
for baptisms and to see the same baptism, Lord, that
you started, Lord, that it was in you and continues to this
day, Lord. In your name we pray, amen. Good morning. All right, we're gonna be, our
text is found in Galatians chapter three. Galatians chapter three,
and I wanna look at verses 25 through 29 with you. As you're
turning there, I want to note that Peter, in 1 Peter 3 verse
21, the apostle tells us that baptism is the answer, the answer
of a good conscience toward God. And by answer he means it's a
response, it's an answer, a response to the work of God's grace accomplished
in the sinner. So our baptism is a response,
an answer to what God has worked in us by His grace and power. So just like faith is a response
to the Spirit's regenerative work in us, we that believe,
faith is the response, it's the answer to what the Spirit has
done, it's His fruit, that's the response, it's a gracious,
fruit of the Spirit of God worked in the believer who's now been
regenerated by the Spirit's work. So, water baptism is a response
as well. Now, baptism follows the hearing
of faith. Paul speaks of the hearing of
faith in Galatians 3 verse 2 and verse 5. He speaks of the hearing
of faith. And so baptism follows the hearing
of faith. It never precedes or comes before
the hearing of faith. It's a response to the hearing
of faith. And so faith is the obedience
worked out in the living soul, the one who's been regenerated
by God, in a believer. It's a spiritual fruit. Born
in that new man that Christ himself has created in us by his power,
even so, baptism is the obedience of a living soul. It's the obedience,
it follows the faith that God has worked in us. And baptism,
when believers are baptized, we're doing so in faith. in faith,
in that faith that he's given to us. Because without faith,
it's impossible to please God. So if it's done outside of faith,
it's not pleasing to God. It's not of his fruit or his
work. So this morning, I want to speak
to you about who is baptized. Who is to be baptized into Christ? And what it means to be baptized
into Christ. What does that mean, baptized
into Christ? What is Paul speaking of there? And then, what does
it mean to be Christ's? What does it mean to be Christ's,
okay? So I've titled this message,
Believer's Baptism. Believer's Baptism. So let's
begin here with who is baptized. Let's pick up in Galatians 3,
and we'll read verses 25 and 26. But after, Notice, after that faith is come,
we are no longer under a schoolmaster, for he are all the children of
God by faith in Jesus Christ. So in answering this question,
who is baptized? I want to, for this first point,
focus on that phrase, but after that faith is come. So as noted
in our introduction, baptism follows the hearing of faith. Baptism follows the hearing of
faith. precedes, it never comes before the hearing of faith worked
in the believer. Now, Paul is addressing, in this
letter, he's addressing believers. All who have heard the word of
God, the word of faith, all who have heard the gospel preached,
and by it, heard the Spirit speaking, heard the word of faith, and
believed by the power and grace of God. That's who he's addressing. So in reference to water baptism,
what we're to understand is it's not, he's not speaking to infants,
right? He's not speaking to those who
have not heard, because infants haven't heard. He's not speaking
to young children, right, who are going to be baptized, or
sprinkled rather, because their parents would have them to be
sprinkled. That's not who Paul's addressing,
who have made no profession of faith, nor are they religious
persons. There are people that do religious
things. They haven't heard the word of
faith, but they do religious practices because they think
that in doing those things, God will be gracious to them. And so they're seeking to do
those practices that they think will earn them some grace or
favor with God. And they might just do it in
Christian things or they may do it in a number of different
things that are called religion, right? The religion of this world. And so they do those things as
a lucky charm, if you will, hoping that God will be gracious to
them because of it. But believers are baptized after
that faith is come and not before. Now, the scriptures, they also
teach that Believers are disciples of Christ. Believers are disciples
of Christ. And what does that mean? It means
that they follow Christ. They follow his teaching. They
seek to honor him in hearing his word and following him in
obedience to his word. And after our Lord's resurrection,
he came to his disciples. And in Matthew 28, we're told
in verse 18, He said, all power is given unto
me in heaven and in earth. That means that He, right now,
has all authority. The Father has given Him all
authority to implement the will of God here in the earth, even
now. And He's the reigning Lord and
King. He's over all of creation, and
He is the King, and our King. speaks to us, and we hear him
who believe, and he gives instruction to his church. And there in Matthew
28, verse 19, he says to us, go ye, therefore, and teach. Go ye, therefore, and teach.
Preach my gospel, he says. And to all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost." Now note there that the teaching precedes baptism. We're to preach that gospel,
not to start baptizing, but to preach that gospel, faithfully
exalting Christ our Lord and Savior, exalting Him and what
He accomplishes in His people by His grace and power. We're to teach, and those that
hear it and believe are to be baptized. baptized in faith,
after that faith has come, right? We preach it because faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We preach Christ
as faithfully as we are enabled by his power and spirit, knowing
that it's our God who works faith in his people. He bears that
creation, he brings forth that new creation, that new man, which
hears the word, believes him and then seeks to honor him and
and obey him and everything he's commanded us to do and he says
he goes on teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you and lo I am with you always even unto the end
of the world amen and so when I What He commanded us here in
this very verse is to be baptized. Once we're taught and hear it
and believe, we are to be baptized. And He doesn't leave it to us
to do in the flesh. It's not a fleshly work being
baptized. He says, I'm with you. When you
go to be baptized, Christ is with His people who are following
Him in obedience. You're not there alone. He's
with you. And He's with you and will never
believe you, even unto the end of the world, he'll be with you.
And so our Lord sent out his disciples, commanding them to
teach first, and then to baptize believers after that faith is
come. After that faith is come. So
if you believe Christ is Lord and Savior, that God has sent
him into the world to save his people from their sins, then
observe, obey your Lord's command to be Baptized that's what he's
teaching us here in this passage now if you were baptized or sprinkled
right if you were If you had these things done to you when
you did not know the Lord, either as an infant or a child or under
a false gospel, or because you thought it was a religious ceremony
to be done thinking that God would be gracious to you for
doing that practice, that's not baptism. That's not believer's
baptism. That's not baptism as taught in the scriptures. But
if you now believe, Regardless of that, don't even look to those
things. Don't worry about those things.
You don't even need to wrestle with those things. You that now
have heard and believe Christ, that He is Lord and Savior, be
baptized. Observe that which He's commanded
us in His Word. We've been taught, we've heard,
after that faith has come, be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ. I wanna show you an example in
the scriptures. Go over to Acts 8, and I wanna
show you that baptism is important, because I don't doubt that to
this day, after 2,000 years with much religion having been worked
in the church, that some probably don't give much weight to baptism,
right? They do believe, they profess
Christ, they declare him to be their savior, But they maybe
don't think that baptism is that important. Maybe it's just the
work of the flesh, and they don't want to do it. They don't think
they should do it. But the scriptures declare that
baptism is important. So in Acts 8, verse 35, this
is where Philip is sent by the Spirit to preach Christ to the
Ethiopian eunuch. And this is a pattern here of
believer's baptism. Acts 8, 35. at the end of that
verse there, after Philip preached unto him Jesus, right? He first preached unto him Jesus. We're told verse 36, and as they
went on their way, they came unto a certain water, and the
eunuch said, see, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, if thou believest
with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Now, do you think that
after Philip preached unto him Jesus, that this eunuch of his
own understanding, of his own power, understood that he was
to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ? No, Philip made
it a point. When he was preaching unto him
Jesus, Philip made a point to declare that believers are baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ. And that's why, when this eunuch
saw that water, asked, can I be baptized? Here's water. What's
hindering me from being baptized as you've preached and declared
to me? Let me be baptized, right? And so, I bring you there to
show you, baptism is important. That's the one time this man
heard the gospel, and Philip made it a point to speak of baptism,
and that's how important it is. So we're not to take it lightly
either, right? If we that believe that haven't
been baptized, we should be baptized just like this eunuch was baptized.
And so the reason why we're baptized is it's a confession. We're confessing
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. that he was sent of God,
that he is our Lord and our Savior. It's a public declaration that
we have cast all our hope upon him. We're confessing, Lord,
I can't save myself. World, I can't do anything in
this flesh to obtain or earn the favor and the grace of God.
And I'm trusting, I'm believing God's word. that he has done
this work for me and we're saying, Lord, you're all my hope, you're
all my salvation. I'm not looking to this world
and its inheritance or its works or its ways or its religion.
I'm looking to you, believing your word and that your son saves
me, just as you say in your word. All right? Now that we've heard
what the scriptures declare concerning who is baptized, and it's believers,
those that after that faith has come. They are the ones who are
baptized. What does Paul mean in our text
when he says that we are baptized into Christ? What is that speaking
of there in particular? All right, so let's look at verse
27. For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ, have put on Christ, all right? Well, there's two things that
are mentioned there, being baptized into Christ and putting on Christ. One is a spiritual work of God
done for, accomplished for the sinner by the Spirit of God,
being baptized into Christ. The other, putting on Christ,
is a work of obedience born out in the sinner. It's a continued
work of faith that the Spirit bears out in us as we follow
Christ. That's obedience done after that
faith has come. So Paul says, for as many of
you as have been baptized into Christ. Well, let me just say,
it doesn't mean, when he says for as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ, he's not saying, well, in the church there's
some that are baptized and some that weren't baptized, because
they didn't see the importance of that. That would be contrary
to Christ's command. That's not what he's saying.
What he means is that those who have faith in Christ, those who
follow Christ because of the work of the grace of God in them,
right? It wasn't just a carnal profession
of faith. It's really, it's the fruit of
grace being borne out in them. He's saying, you that have been
baptized into Christ, You've been born again by the Spirit
of Christ. You've been born again. You were
dead in trespasses and sins, unable to save yourselves. You've
been born again and born in Christ. And so our God and Savior takes
his people and he delivers them by removing nature's veil which
resides over the natural heart of man. That's a work of God. That's something we can't do
in this flesh. But the Spirit of God, when He
comes upon us, delivers us from nature's darkness, lifts that,
rips that veil off of us, and reveals to us the light and life
of Jesus Christ, whereby we see Him and we hear His voice. And we're made alive and made
to rejoice in what Christ our Savior has accomplished for us. And that Spirit reveals faith
in us. It's the revelation of faith
in His people, believing, looking to Christ alone. Now, to better
understand this verse here, Galatians 3.27, I want to look at the parallel
passage. There's a parallel passage in
Romans 6. Romans 6. And this verse 27 is
traced out a little more fully in verses 3 and 4 of Romans 6. So the first part, this, for
as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, that's what Paul
is saying in verse 3 here. Romans 6.3, he says, know ye
not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were
baptized into his death? Now here's the part of putting
on Christ. Verse four, therefore, because
we have faith revealed in us, faith in Christ revealed in us,
we are buried with him by baptism into death. That is, we go into
water baptism as he's commanded, a type of burial, right? That's why we are immersed in
the water, a type of our being buried just as Christ was buried. It pictures our death so that
we are separated from Adam. Christ has conquered that sin,
that dominion of sin and death in his people. And we have no
part in Adam. We're dead to the law. We're
dead to that inheritance of Adam. We have no part in Adam. Now
we stand in Christ. And we have no part in that inheritance
which the children of wrath and disobedience have in Adam. For
the wages of sin is death. And that's not our part anymore.
We stand in Christ. And that which God has given
him, the inheritance, the father has given to the son, that's
our inheritance. We that are born of Christ, we
stand in him, hope in him, trust in him that we are received by
the grace of God because of the righteous blood of Jesus Christ,
which has washed us of our sins and delivered us from the bondage
and the prison of death and hell and sin and corruption were delivered
from those things. We're alive in Christ, right? And so we are buried with him
in by baptism into death, believing. that like as Christ was raised
up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. So that putting on Christ, having
been born again, being baptized into Christ, being born by the
Spirit of God in Christ, dead to the flesh, dead to the things
of this world, alive unto God in Christ, We walk in faith. We walk in faith, declaring Christ
is all my righteousness. And it's not just words that
we say, we believe them. We believe indeed that Christ
is my all, that I can't save myself. God isn't being merciful
to me because of something I've done. He's merciful and gracious
to me because he chose me in Christ before the foundation
of the world. And now he's manifested his glory
in me, in calling me by the preaching of the gospel, giving me faith
to hear and to believe that he really is all my salvation, my
perfection, my glory, my hope, my inheritance. And so he works
that in his people. So all those works of obedience
is the putting on of Christ, which you have revealed by faith
in you, by believing him, and so you're baptized after that
faith is come. After that faith is come. Now
turn back to Galatians. Let's go back to Galatians there,
and we skipped over a number of things in verse 25 through
27 there that I just want to look at with you briefly. So
Galatians 3, 25. He says, but after that faith
is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. So previous to
life in Christ, men and women of all ages, all people, of the
Jews, right? They sought righteousness by
the works of the law of Moses. That was their schoolmaster,
the law of Moses. Now, the Greeks, they were never
under the law of Moses. They had education, they had
their learning, they had their philosophies, but they weren't
under the law of Moses. And what we know in the scriptures,
when we preach the law, why would we preach the law? Well, the
law, when we declare what the law says, it reveals to us the
necessity of Christ. The law reveals to us that we
are sinners. The law shuts our mouth from
boasting before God and declaring our righteousness. It humbles
us. It shuts our mouth and says,
Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner, because I cannot save myself.
I cannot keep this law perfectly as your righteousness and holiness
deserve. So the preaching of the law reveals
to us the necessity of Christ. It is not a rule of life. The law is not a rule of life.
If any man seeks life by keeping the law, he shall surely perish
in his sins and die the death of eternal judgment. He shall
die in his sins. That is, unless God gives him
repentance and baptizes him into Christ. gives him eternal life,
regenerates him in the Lord Jesus Christ. But we know that there
are churches today that seek to yoke those who confess Christ
with the law. They seek to yoke their hearers
with the law of Moses. That ought not to be done. That's wickedness. Those are
spots in your feasts, as it were. They have a form of godliness,
but deny the power thereof. We preach Christ knowing that
it's the power of God who gives you life and causes you to walk
in faith, looking to Christ. And He teaches and keeps and
leads His children. He doesn't lead them into iniquity
and lead them into sin. He reveals to them faith and
hope in Him. And they walk in love and they're
taught of Him. And He'll chasten them and correct
them, and lead them, and guide them in faith, ever looking to
Him, not seeking to use their liberty as a cloak of unrighteousness,
but we don't need the law to teach us that, we have the Spirit
of Christ who teaches us this, and reveals Christ in us, the
hope of glory. We don't tempt God, right? Peter was speaking to the brethren
in Acts 15, and he called it tempting God by putting a yoke
upon the neck of the disciples, which neither the Jewish forefathers
could bear, nor the apostles themselves could bear. They weren't
able to bear it either. We don't do that. After that
faith has come, we're not to go under the yoke of the law
of Moses. We're in Christ, who tells us
My yoke is easy and my burden is light. He doesn't put us under
Moses' yoking law. We come under the spirit of Christ
and we walk in faith, trusting him. And so Galatians 3.26 says,
for ye are all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. And that's what all the word
teaches us, that the just shall live by Faith, faith. All right, not trusting how good
we're doing under the law, not trusting how good we're doing
in comparison to others, but trusting. Lord, when I look at
myself, I don't see what I think I should see, but I see Jesus
Christ, the hope of glory, and I trust him and I believe your
word that his blood is sufficient to cover all my sins. and that
you have put it away just as you promise in your word. That's our hope, that's our confession,
and why we're baptized into Christ, believe in that. That's our hope
and confession, all right? Now the word says, for as many
of you have been baptized into Christ, spiritually born again
by Christ's spirit, you have put on Christ. And that putting
on, well, before I get there, Paul, I just want to say one
more verse in Titus 3, 5 through 7, Paul gives a beautiful description
of what it is to be baptized into Christ, that spiritual work
of the Holy Spirit. Titus 3, 5 through 7 says, not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration renewing
of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Savior that being justified by his grace not by
the by the law but by his grace we should be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life and so that brethren is a wonderful
description of what it is to be baptized into Christ, born
again, washed, and renewed by the Holy Spirit, apart from any
works of righteousness we've done. And so, being made alive
in Christ, we're made obedient to the call of God. That is,
we hear, we confess Christ according to the faith which he reveals
in us by his Spirit, and that obedience includes water baptism. just like that Ethiopian eunuch
who on day one heard the gospel, believed, and was baptized in
water baptism. We don't need a time for people
to prove that they believe. If anyone hears this word and
believes Christ and would be baptized, I'll baptize you this
day if Christ is all your hope. If you confess Christ and have
no other hope, that's all I'd ask you. Is Christ your all,
or is there some other righteousness you're looking to? But if you
would be baptized, I'll baptize you in the name of Jesus Christ,
just as Philip did. We're testifying of Christ's
righteousness. It's an expression of faith which
he gives to his people, whereby they walk in him, all right?
And we obey him in water baptism. So one more word on that to you
that say, well, I believe Christ, I confess Christ, I trust him,
but I don't think I don't think water baptism is that important. Well, Paul said to the Thessalonians,
2 Thessalonians 2.15, and then we'll move on to our next point.
He said, stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have
been taught, whether by word or our epistle." Well, I don't
like the traditions of man. Well, that's fine, but what about
the traditions of Christ and what he's given to his church,
that we are to be baptized, believers are to be baptized into Christ,
all right? So walking in faith is to put
on Christ in all that he commands us to do. To believe Him, to
be baptized, and to love one another, to walk in love towards
one another. All right, now, to be Christ's. Paul says in
verse 28 and 29, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all
one in Christ Jesus. He's saying in God's family,
all distinctions are lost, we're one, in the body of Christ. And we're many members in the
body, but we're in that body of Jesus Christ, and all those
distinctions are removed. And he says, if ye be Christ's,
that's our point. What is it to be Christ's? If
ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the
promise. So Paul here declares that all
believers in Christ are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the
promise. So What the Spirit's teaching
us here is that we are first Christ's. We didn't make ourselves
Christ's, we are Christ's according to the election of God, the sovereign
election of God who chose us and put us in Christ, committing
us to the Savior to do all that was necessary for our salvation. He did all the work to redeem
us and to secure our salvation and keep us safe in Him, delivering
us from the wrath of God which cometh upon the children of disobedience. And so this is to be Christ's
and this is His gospel. All the scriptures teach all
are sinners, dead in Adam, dead in trespasses and sins, but Christ
When Adam fell, we fell in Him, being His seed in Him. But the
promise of the seed is Christ. And there in Galatians 3.15,
when God spoke to the serpent, the hearing of Adam and Eve and
he said in Genesis 3 15 I will put enmity between thee and the
woman and between thy seed and her seed it shall bruise thy
head and thou shalt bruise his heel what he's saying there is
that Christ the promised seed crushed the head of the serpent
right his heel was bruised when he was crucified on the cross
and bearing the sins of his people, to put away the iniquity and
that which separated us from our God, his heel was bruised,
but he crushed the head of the serpent and thereby delivered
us from the power and the enslavement of the dominion of sin and death
which rules over the children of Adam, those that are yet in
darkness and believe not the truth of God. But in doing that,
He accomplished our deliverance. He accomplished our salvation
and deliverance from the prison of darkness and death, and secured
us in Himself, washed in His blood, and has given us His righteousness,
whereby we stand before the Father, holy, righteous, unblameable,
accepted of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so He's made propitiation. He's made atonement. He's reconciled
the children to God and our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and
His Holy Spirit. He's reconciled us to God. And
so we have fellowship with Him. And having fellowship, brethren,
we rejoice in Him. And we're happy to follow Him
according to His word. And it's not a dead letter, cold
religion. It's not. It's a living faith,
a living hope which he works in his children who have heard
his voice and believe the Lord Jesus Christ and are happy to
walk in faith and obedience to him. So I pray that's an encouragement
to our sisters who are being baptized this morning and to
you that have been baptized into Christ, believing on him. I pray
that's an encouragement to hear it again. And to you that do
believe in Christ and have not been baptized, I encourage you
If He is all your hope, come be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ. And you that have not heard,
I pray that the Lord keep you coming to hear His word because
it's by the hearing of faith that He saves His people and
delivers them out of that bondage and darkness. So I pray He blesses
His word to you this morning. All right, let's close in prayer,
and then, brother, you say hymn, and then I'll just come back
up and give an announcement of what we're gonna do afterwards,
okay? Our gracious Lord, we thank you, Father, for your grace,
your power, which conquers the hearts of your people, and does
not leave them to themselves to figure it out, and to try
and make a righteousness for themselves. But Lord, you have
come in power and in glory, and have delivered your people from
death and from sin and the dominion of it, and that you have baptized
us into Christ, giving us life and hope and joy and faith in
Him. Lord, help us. Help us to walk
in faith, to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior, Lord, that you would indeed add these things to us,
that we would put on Christ and walk in the new man in your power
and glory, and that we would be a living testimony of what
our God does for his people in grace and in mercy. Lord, we
pray for your people, especially those being baptized this morning,
that you would indeed be with them, comfort them, Give them
joy and peace and gladness in the Holy Spirit. Ever looking
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Not trusting feelings, but trusting
Christ is all. It's in the name of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ that we pray this. Amen. No, well, yeah, go ahead. Let's stand and sing a closing
hymn, 452, My Savior's Love, 452. You. I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how he could love me, a sinner
condemned unclean. How marvelous, how wonderful,
and my soul How marvelous, how wonderful
is my Savior's love for me. For me it was in the garden He
prayed, not my will, but Thine. He had no tears for His own grief,
But sweat drops of blood for mine. How marvelous, how wonderful,
and my song shall ever be! How marvelous, how wonderful
is my Savior's love for me! In pity angels beheld him and
came from the world of blood To comfort him in the sorrows
he bore for my soul that night How marvelous, how wonderful,
and my soul shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful
is my Savior's love for me. He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own. He bore the burden to Calvary
And suffered and died alone How marvelous, how wonderful And
my song shall ever be How marvelous, how wonderful Is my Savior's
love for me When with the ransoming glory his face I at last shall
see, It'll be my joy through the ages to sing of his love
for me. How marvelous, how wonderful
that my song shall ever be! How marvelous, how wonderful
is my Savior's love for me! So what we're going to do now
is we're going to retire to the Moore's house, Joe and Joanne.
The address is in the bulletin there on the first page. When
you turn on the left there, you'll see their name and then the address.
And so you're all invited. And we have a meal that we'll
share together afterwards, after the baptism. So then I'll just
speak to you two ladies before, so that at least you you know,
just the order and how we'll do it. So, all right. Well, I pray the Lord encourages
your hearts and blesses our time of fellowship together. See you
all soon.