People often ask me how old a child should be before they can be baptized. Many are surprised to hear I was just seven when I was baptized. I still remember the night – I was lying in bed, thinking about the cross and Jesus’ love for me. I decided I wanted to be baptized. I … Continue reading –>
Have you ever gotten home from work but you don’t remember driving there? You’re on auto-pilot. It happens whenever we’ve done something so many times that our brain doesn’t really have to engage in what we’re doing to make it happen. It’s almost like our muscles just take over – tying our shoes, playing a … Continue reading –>
Read The Ministerial Association of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, chapters 15-18, in Seventh-day Adventists Believe. “Baptism is a most sacred and important ordinance, and there should be a thorough understanding as to its meaning. It means repentance for sin, and the entrance upon a new life in Christ Jesus. There should be no undue … Continue reading –>
“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come” (1 Cor. 11:26). What great hope is presented here? With these words we see how closely entwined the Second Coming and the Communion service are. That makes so much sense, too, because the Second Coming is, … Continue reading –>
Read Matthew 26:26-28. What meaning is evident in what Jesus is telling us to do here? Why is it important to see this in terms of symbols? The Lord’s Supper replaces the Passover festival of the old covenant era. The Passover met its fulfillment when Christ, the Paschal Lamb, gave His life. Before His death, Christ … Continue reading –>
Key Thought : Baptism, footwashing, and the Lord’s Supper are symbols of sharing Christ’s suffering, death, and life of commitment and service. [Teaching plan for The Church: Rites and Rituals November 26, 2012] 1. Have a volunteer read Acts 2:38. A. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of … Continue reading –>
It’s hard to imagine the pain that must have been going on in the heart of Jesus as He – about to face the Cross, the greatest humiliation possible – saw the jealousy and infighting among His own disciples over who would be the greatest in His kingdom. Read Luke 22:24-27 (see also Matt. 18:1, 20:21). What crucial truth … Continue reading –>
The New Testament uses several images to describe what baptism means. First, baptism symbolizes a spiritual union with Christ (Rom. 6:3-8), involving participation in His suffering, death, and resurrection, as well as the renunciation of one’s former lifestyle. In this way, baptism is linked with repentance and the forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38); the new birth and … Continue reading –>
During the early stages of the Christian church, believers in the eastern part of the church, where Greek was the common language, used the word mysterion, ‘mystery’, to describe Christian sacred rites. In the West, where Latin predominated, the term employed was sacrament (Latin, ‘sacramentum”). A sacramentum was an oath that a Roman soldier swore, declaring his obedience to the commander’s … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 28:19-20; Rom. 6:3-8; Matt. 26:26-28; John 13:1-17; 1 Cor. 11:24-26. Memory Text: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38, NKJV). Key Thought: God has instituted ordinances that, … Continue reading –>
