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The Gospel Message in Reverse

                Last week started with me flying to Victoria, BC to conduct a funeral service for a former member of our congregation.  It may sound strange to say that a funeral was enjoyable, but, in many ways, this one was because it was a celebration of life and faith.  There were a few tears, but, for the most part, we remembered, laughed and were thankful for a life well lived.
                When I returned home, we met at the church building with some good friends of ours because their son had decided that he wanted to be baptized.  We engage in what is called “Believer’s baptism”.  In other words, we baptize those who are old enough to make the choice for themselves and this young man decided that “Good Friday” was the day.  Romans 6:1-4 tells us that baptism is a participation in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and so this dad and his son went down into the water where the son was immersed and raised to his new life in Christ (see also Acts 2:38 and Galatians 3:26-29).
                Then came “Easter Sunday”.  As a church, we celebrate Christ’s death, burial and resurrection every Sunday with the Lord’s table (or “Communion” as some call it), but Easter is still special.  We know that that since Easter is tied to the Jewish celebration of Passover that the resurrection happened around this time in the calendar year.  While it is good to remember the resurrection every day, the promises seem to take on added meaning in the spring when we see creation being re-born around us. 
                Taken in reverse order, the events of my week illustrate both the message and the importance of the gospel.  Christ’s death, burial and resurrection paid for our sins and opened the way to our eternal home.  Our acceptance of that gift and our reception of God’s Spirit is seen in baptism.  Those two truths then allow us to live with hope and face everything, even death, in a new way. 
                In the end, real faith is much more practical than most people imagine.  In fact, it changes everything.
                “[God’s] divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3).

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