What is the definition of a testimony? It is the story of how Christ has made a difference in your life. How Jesus has transformed you, how He has made you alive. Despite the personal nature of testimonies, we still have a tendency to rank them. But let me say, it takes the same miracle and the same amount of grace to save a person who accepted Christ at an early age. And there is nothing to be ashamed of because our testimony may not seem exciting.
Has God promised the security net of his hand to keep believers from the eternal fall? Is there eternal security for a Christ Follower? Once a person is saved-born again-can they be assured of their salvation for the rest of their lives, until they reach heaven? In other words, the question we need to wrestle with this morning is another important Baptist doctrine. As Baptist Christians, we don’t have to constantly doubt, wondering, hoping that we are saved and secure…
We believe that there are 2 ordinances (an ordinance is that which is ordered, set out, decided or put in place) of the Lord to the Church that we must follow. They are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Both of these were clearly commanded by Jesus to His disciples and to us as well in Scripture. For Baptism is commanded in the Great Commission. So, what does Baptism mean exactly? “Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus."
There was a millionaire in Texas before the Great Depression. As a member of First Baptist Church of Dallas he was very faithful in giving. He became known as a generous and kind man to others. Then the crash of 1929 came and someone asked him, “How does it feel now that you have nothing?" His response, “I only have what I gave away.” He understood the eternal principle of the word stewardship: we only have what we have given away.
A distinctive and theological Baptist doctrine that most Protestant denominations share is the priesthood of every believer. It was lost in the Dark Ages but Martin Luther recovered it as part of the Reformation…
What is our identity? What makes us distinctive, different as Southern Baptists? Two weeks ago we learned the first letter of BAPTIST was the B: the Bible is our sole authority above anything else! We will read this morning that the clear foundation and head of the Church Universal (including all Christian Churches) and our Church as well is Jesus Christ...not me or any other Church leader...
We had a Secret Agent theme this week at Kid Extreme. Today we will look at the three Ds that our kids learned about all week: Discover, Decide, Defend.
You are either a believer or not, a child of God or not, there is no middle ground. A Christ Follower or not! Our identity is wrapped up in the cross and the Word of God. Once you have encountered the cross and the Word of God and that impacts you and changes you. You are never the same and now have a new identity in Christ. That is first and foremost. It’s not about where you go to church, if your parents or grandparents went, or you used to be a member, you must know, love, serve Jesus and have been transformed by the His power...
At this point, we are thinking, “Chapter 4 will be great! The party that must be happening, Jonah must be thrilled. He probably had to go home and tell everybody. And before left, he probably rejoiced with the people of Nineveh!” Not a chance. Jonah witnesses an incredible miracle: an entire city turning to God, and Jonah is upset, angry and walks out of the city. We will find he was just like the prodigal son’s older brother!
We are now talking about a different Jonah than the one in Chapter 1. No longer rebellious, no longer running from God and His plan for Jonah but now ready and poised to do what God was calling him to do. Jonah was humbled, and he had been lovingly disciplined by God and God was not through with him yet. You may think you have blown it, been disobedient, and that God couldn’t possibly use you again, but as we will see in the life of Jonah: God is never through with a person who is repentant and ready to walk with Him again.
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