I hope this week is going well for you. I am excited about this Sunday and praying for you and all who will be with us.
Two things that I want to share this week:
First: Renewed and transformed: On February 26th, we will baptize people at LFC. I felt I needed to remind some of you that have known the Lord awhile or recently said ‘Yes’ to Jesus, that we are encouraged and commanded to follow Jesus in waters of baptism. Water baptism is the way a person makes a public declaration of having received forgiveness of sins, new life and a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection. By being baptized you are proclaiming to others that Jesus is the Savior and Lord of your life, that you are a follower of His and that you are a part of the family of God. While it is not necessary for salvation, it demonstrates submission to God. We immerse at Lompoc Foursquare Church, because we believe Scripture shows that Jesus modeled that for us as the way to publicly acknowledge our faith in Him. Baptism is a tremendous landmark, for each person being baptized as well as for our church family to watch and celebrate. Each baptism is a reminder of the birth of a ‘new person in Christ! It is like celebrating a birthday! We will do it at 4:30 pm in the Sanctuary. I invite you to be baptized if you have not been and also for those who have, to come and celebrate the moment with others. There will be a common meal (pot luck) following, so bring a main dish and a side dish to share. We welcome you all. No sermon or long service, just communion, prayer and baptisms.
Infant Christening
Some denominations choose to christen infants. While we recognize the right of other churches to practice infant christening, we understand Scripture to teach that only professing believers qualify for baptism. Baptism does not make you a believer; rather it shows that you already believe. We do infant and child dedications at other times throughout the year.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19
“We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:4
“And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” I Peter 3:21
Second: It came in over my scanner. I have one in my office at church. I don’t have it on all the time, but when it is on, it allows me to pray for others in need and also for those first responders who are going out to help others in need. The call was simple: Unresponsive male’ and then they gave the location. He was not dead, just unresponsive. When the fire department arrived they began to work on him, gather information, medications and so forth. After a few minutes the ambulance arrived and they transported the gentlemen to the hospital. As far as I know, he still lives. The call reminded me of this: ‘How many unresponsive Christians are there?’ All through the bible, God interrupts people and asks them to go, do, give, believe, build, cross and more, and in all of it, there is a response that God expects.
Hearing or over-hearing the Word of God and the Word of God through His Spirit is still very much our task. God cannot make us responsive. He can garner our attention, He can move people into our lives to nudge us, but ultimately there are two options: respond or be unresponsive. In our response we can say ‘Yes’ to the Lord or ‘No’ to his call. But in unresponsive we simply choose to allow lethargy to set in. Like a 9-1-1 call of ‘unresponsive Christian.’ At first exposure, what we hear may sound like more noise in our already busy lives. But we need to listen and trust and obey. Amazing things will happen on the other side of ‘Yes.’ Our prayer for one another is that the Word of God that we read and the Word of God that we hear through the Holy Spirit, will be listened too and affirmed with a resounding yes. That His word will change our hearts; create realignment of priorities, and a reshaping of life.
Unresponsive people become fruitless.
One of the most interesting miracles that Jesus did was cursing a fig tree that wasn’t producing fruit. What if we had the courage to do that to our own areas of unresponsiveness? What if we identify things within our lives that aren’t producing fruit? Let us respond with open ears, willing hearts and a resounding ‘Yes’ to all that God is asking of us. This past Sunday as I was greeting families following service, children were coming down from upstairs with a craft in their hand. It was on the parable of the seed and the sower. They had sand in one section, weeks in another, hard rocks in one and a picture of a bird in another. In summary, one student told me that it means that we need to have our hearts open, so God’s truth can get into our heart and grow. YES, it is exactly what we need.
This is my prayer for you and me.
Speak Lord, for we are listening and we will obey,
Pastor Bernie
