Should you be Baptized?

This Sunday Dagsboro Church of God will be doing something that i truly love to see, accepting new members and baptizing people in water. I love both of these thing for many reasons. It is important when you become a Christian to join in fellowship with the body of Christ and membership in a local congregation is one way to do that. For more on why to join a local church check out my earlier post on Who Needs The Church! http://mathetesproject.blogspot.com/2011/05/who-needs-church.html .Another Part of our service this week will be to baptize those who are ready to make a public commitment to Jesus Christ. I wanted to take some time to review some reasons for water baptism and why the church does it.

What is Water Baptism?

The word baptism comes from the Greek word baptizo which means to immerse or dip. To baptize someone, then, means to completely submerge it in a liquid. In a biblical sense, to baptize a person in water means to put that person completely under the water, then immediately raise him or her up again. The Church of God does believe in baptism by immersion, and that all who repent should be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Matt 28: 18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.
According scripture, water baptism is a symbolic act whereby a new Christian identifies with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Water baptism is a public profession of a person's repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and a way of giving outward testimony to the inward work of God.

What Does Water Baptism Signify?

When God baptizes you into Christ, you become a new creation, something inside changes. Your heart is washed clean by the blood of Jesus, and your spirit is quickened (made alive) by the Holy Spirit. You now have the ability to love and obey Him, overcome sin, and walk out your salvation by faith.
Acts 8:36-38 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?37 Then Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

Therefore, water baptism symbolically identifies us as new creations in Christ. By going down in the water, we illustrate that our old man is dead to sin and buried by faith in Christ. As a result, we are free from our old master Satan. By being raised up out of the water, we show that our new man is raised by the Spirit and made alive by faith in Christ. Since our new Master is the Lord Jesus, we commit to walk in righteousness (not by our old ways and fleshly habits but by our new life in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us). "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [make alive] your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Romans 8:11).

Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?

The Bible tells us that there is a baptism necessary for salvation; however, it is not water baptism! A person must be spiritually baptized into Christ in order to be saved: "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27). At the moment of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, a person is "buried with him [Jesus] in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead" (Colossians 2:12).

So you don't have to be baptized to go to heaven, but if you are truly following Jesus why would you not want to!

So if you want to be baptized showing Jesus as your Lord and Savior this week, contact me. And if you don't live in southern Delaware please take time to talk to your pastor about being baptized.

For more info please contact me at cjones@dagsborocog.org

How God feels when we cry…

Wanted this week to share this post my wife, Amy, had the other week on her blog. I am a blessed man to have a woman that hears from God and is not afraid to share it with others enjoy.

“…May be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height. To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; and you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” -Eph.3:18-19

Today I believe I got a glimpse of how God feels when we, his children, are sad/upset even hurt.
EJ was really rowdy yesterday after school and I had warned him several times yesterday about running in the church, being loud, etc. He unfortunately had gotten in trouble yesterday and I told him that he was not allowed to go in our Chapel to play today after school. He was restricted to our nurseries.

He seemed to be rowdy again today after school. You know, I was really thinking after not being in school for a week, going back would make him tired and worn out … I was wrong! To have the energy of a 6 year old boy – the things I would accomplish!

Unfortunately, his energy got the worse of him today and he had one time out after “play wrestling” and kicking someone, within 15 minutes of being out of school. Soon after that, I hear some noise coming out of the chapel. Yes, the chapel that he was told not to be in yesterday. So here I am, wanting him 1. to listen to me the first time he is told to do something and 2. a little frustrated now that I have spent more time having to correct him in the first 30 minutes he has been out of school than doing anything else … so I do the only thing I can think of.

TIME OUT … yes the dreaded time out scene. It was horrible, instantly the tears came rolling.
And instead of EJ taking his time out peacefully, I continued to battle, yes battle, him over the reason of his being punished.

And I know the I was mean, harsh, and that he could tell I was frustrated with him. And he after 15 minutes of crying said he understood finally why he was being put in time out, but didn’t understand why he couldn’t play. (I am sure everyone else in the church knew the same too).

Anyway to make my point. I finally told EJ we were leaving, that there would be no tv tonight because of his actions — well that was it. The world had come to an end. If you thought making him sit on the floor was rough, you should see what happened when ‘no tv’ was spoken.
I listened to sniffles and crys almost the whole way home. And I know that I got to play the bad guy today. I sure felt like it.

I was harsh with him, I punished him for disobeying me. I asked Curtis before I left church, if I was right in what I was doing .. I knew I needed him to know what he did was wrong – but boy did I feel like poo for doing it. I want to be the parent that he loves and has fun with, not the one that makes him cry, sit in time outs, and takes the tv away from him.
And that got me thinking …

Here I am, feeling like poo because I hear my child crying. His feelings are hurt, he is embarrassed, he’s sad … he’s crying. And all the frustration inside me melts away and all I really want to do is stop the car, get out, hug him and tell him I love him. I want to let him watch all the tv in the world tonight, if that will make him smile…

And as I run the entire scene in my head, seeing what I can learn from and what can be done differently next time – this pops in my head – Is this how God feels when we cry?

We cry for many reasons, but even as an adult we get upset when we don’t get our way. Maybe you asked God for something and He said no, maybe He didn’t answer. Have you done something wrong and had consequences from that mistake? And don’t we get the attitude when this happens at times?

Do you throw a tantrum, cry hysterically, display “the world is ending” attitude?
Have you ever once thought about what God is feeling when we act that way? Honestly, it is not something I have ever thought about until today. And boy did I have that feeling today. Here EJ was upset because he was being punished, by me, and I still wanted to just wrap my arms around him and love him and make it all better.

BUT
I didn’t. I didn’t get out and hug him. He has not watched tv tonight and will not. Because although my love for him is great, I want him to understand the lesson.
As adults, we are human, we make mistakes, we lie, we fail … and whether we know it or not. God is always right there in the driver seat. He’s with us during those times and all He wants to do is love us. But where would be without correction in our life, where would we be if everything we ever asked for was given.

I thank God for the experience I had today. He let me see a little more of Him today. I know He loves us, but I understood Him a little more today. We are His children, and with children there comes times of correction and its hurts both the Father and child.

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39″

Written by Amy Jones www.amylynnjones.wordpress.com/ 
Posted on 1/5/2012

What does taking care of your church mean?

Well our church, Dagsboro Church of God has started fasting and praying for 21 days for our family, church, nation, and world. We just launched our vision for 2012 which we are calling this "The Year of Repentance: Doing Our First Works Over"

We broke the year into four quarters. The first we are calling Jerusalem- Taking Care of our own, where we are spending much time devoted to prayer. In fact that is what we have devoted January for to pray and fasting. Also we are trying to take this time at the beginning of the year to help get people connected into ministry. Does not matter if it's helping in our kids church or join the ranks of the ushers, we want to take time to reach out to those who come but maybe aren't sure where their place is (as far as serving).

After all this is what Jesus called us to do, serve. To teach other and show other the love of God, and not just sit in a pew and watch, like being a christian is a spectator sport.

So we have set aside time in our Wednesday night classes and are trying to help those find their place to serve.

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:4-8

We have all been given different gifts and skills, God has called us to use them for His kingdom. It does not matter if you are a teacher in a school or a lawyer, he has a place and purpose in His kingdom for all of us.

Jesus taught us how to do this. After he taught the disciples about himself he sent them out at least two at a time to spread the gospel and to tell other about the savor so they could then go out and tell even more.

John 17:6-8
 I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me...................
(v16-19) They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

If you live in Southern Delaware and you don't have a place to worship, i want to invite you to join us this Sunday at Dagsboro Church of God. Service times are 9am and 6pm (bilingual)

Check out website for more info www.dagsborocog.org