{"id":42,"date":"2013-12-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2013\/12\/01\/sunday-13th-january-2012-the-baptism-of-our-lord\/"},"modified":"2013-12-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-12-01T00:00:00","slug":"sunday-13th-january-2012-the-baptism-of-our-lord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2013\/12\/01\/sunday-13th-january-2012-the-baptism-of-our-lord\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday 13th January 2012 &#8211; The baptism of our Lord"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align:left;\">Listen:<br \/><\/h2>\n<div class=\"wsite-html5audio\"><audio id=\"audio_760867248823946440\" style=\"height: auto;\" class=\"wsite-mejs-align-left wsite-mejs-dark\" src=\"https:\/\/theword-this-week.weebly.com\/\/uploads\/4\/1\/5\/2\/4152650\/audio_recording_4.mp3\" preload=\"none\" data-autostart=\"no\" data-artist=\"Preacher: Daryl\" data-track=\"13 Jan 2013 - Baptism of Christ\"><\/audio><\/div>\n<p>  <span class=\"imgPusher\" style=\"float:left;height:0px\"><\/span><span style=\"z-index:10;position:relative;float:left;;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px\"><a href=\"http:\/\/myworld.ebay.com\/orthodox_online_store?_trksid=p2047675.l2559\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/theword-this-week.weebly.com\/\/uploads\/4\/1\/5\/2\/4152650\/1358048994.jpg\" style=\"margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0;\" alt=\"Picture\" class=\"galleryImageBorder\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: block; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;\">Orthodox icon &#8211; baptism of Christ.  Click for source.<\/div>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<div class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;display:block;\"><font size=\"4\"><strong style=\"\">The Word This Week:<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n<ul style=\"\">\n<li style=\"\"><a style=\"\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=107#hebrew_reading\">Isaiah 43:1-7<\/a>\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li style=\"\"><a style=\"\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=107#psalm_reading\">Psalm 29<\/a>\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li style=\"\"><a style=\"\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=107#epistle_reading\">Acts 8:14-17<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li style=\"\"><a style=\"\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=107#gospel_reading\">Luke 3:15-17, 21-22<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><font size=\"4\"><strong style=\"\">Thoughts on the Word:<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"\">Luke 3:15-17, 21-22     <\/p>\n<p>\u00a0As  the people were filled with expectation, and all were  questioning in  their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the  Messiah, John  answered all of them by saying, \u2018I baptize you with water; but one  who  is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the  thong  of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His  winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to   gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with   unquenchable fire.\u2019 <\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Now  when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been  baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit  descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from  heaven, \u2018You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Today  we remember the Baptism of Jesus.\u00a0 As we recall this event in the life  of our saviour, and the epiphany &#8211; or manifestation of God &#8211; that  accompanied it, I wonder if it is not a time for us all to recall our  own baptism and the promises that we made &#8211; or that we confirmed later  if we were baptised as infants.\u00a0 As we remember Jesus baptism I want us  to focus on something in our reading that is unique to Luke&#8217;s account,  and what it tells us about Jesus, and about how we should live as his  followers.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s begin by remembering our own  baptismal promises. In my own church, those who seek baptism are asked  the following questions, I ask them of you as a reminder of what Baptism  is and what we are called to as baptised Christians.\u00a0 If you have never  been baptised, but are desiring to become a follower of Christ these  questions will give you an idea of what you would be committing to  through baptism.<\/p>\n<p>1.\u00a0 Do you turn to Christ?<br \/>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<em style=\"\"> Response:<\/em>\u00a0 <strong style=\"\">I turn to Christ<\/strong>.<br \/>2. Do you repent of your sins?<br \/>\u00a0\u00a0 <em style=\"\"> Response:<\/em> <strong style=\"\">I repent of my sins<\/strong>.<br \/>3. Do you reject selfish living, and all that is false and unjust?<br \/>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <em style=\"\"> Response:<\/em><strong style=\"\">I reject them all.<\/strong><br \/>4. Do you renounce Satan and all evil?<br \/>\u00a0\u00a0 <em style=\"\"> Response:<\/em> <strong style=\"\">I renounce all that is evil.<\/strong><br \/>5. Will you each, by God&#8217;s grace, strive to live as a disciple of Christ, loving God with your whole heart, and your neighbour as yourself, until life&#8217;s end?<br \/>\u00a0\u00a0 <em style=\"\"> Response:<\/em> <strong style=\"\">I will, with God&#8217;s help.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0When  we are baptised it is a new beginning, it is a burying of the old and  rising of the new.\u00a0 We are reborn &#8211; remade- through the waters of  baptism.\u00a0 However baptism is a beginning, not an end.\u00a0 Our baptism,  whether as an infant, or as an adult was the beginning of our journey as  Christians, a journey that is lifelong and not a one time event.\u00a0\u00a0 As  we read of Jesus&#8217; baptism, you&#8217;ll note that it is not something that  happens to complete his ministry, it is not a culmination but the  beginning. The last of the questions for baptism candidates  reflects this &#8211; we are asked to strive to live as a disciple of Christ &#8211;  to love God with our whole heart and neighbour as ourselves&#8230; sound  simple enough? The thing is it isn&#8217;t simple at all, living a life of  dedication to Christ in today&#8217;s world marks you as an outcast.\u00a0  Mainstream society, at least in the Western world has moved away from  God, those with faith are increasingly derided, and seen as legitimate  targets for ridicule and outright hostility.\u00a0 No it isn&#8217;t easy to live  our lives as faithful disciples, when we encounter so much pressure to  conform to the norms of this world &#8211; we need help.<\/p>\n<p>  As we reflect on our own journey so far, I want us to notice something  very important, and unique to Luke&#8217;s Gospel in the recounting of Jesus&#8217;  baptism &#8211; after he is baptised, Jesus is <em style=\"\">praying.\u00a0 <\/em>It is while  he is praying that the spirit descends on him, and it is during prayer  that the epiphany in this account occurs, and that is important.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>We know it is important because as we read about the life of Jesus we find that he spent a lot of time in prayer.\u00a0 Throughout  his Gospel, Luke shows us Jesus praying. He prays before he calls his  disciples (6:12), before asking them who he is (9:18), at the time of  his transfiguration (9:29), before teaching his disciples how to pray  (11:1), on the night of his arrest (22:41), and at his death (23:46).  Luke has a strong emphasis on prayer in his writing on Jesus, and this  emphasis is carried on in the Acts of the Apostles, where the burgeoning  church seeks to follow the model of Christ by being a church of  prayer.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>You see what we begin in our baptism we  live through prayer, for it is through prayer that we receive the  guidance of the Spirit, it is through prayer that we receive strength  and encouragement on our journey.\u00a0 If our faith was a car, then prayer  would be the fuel.\u00a0 Without the fuel that car goes nowhere.\u00a0 Likewise  without prayer our faith stops growing and becomes stagnate.\u00a0 When we  fail to pray regularly, we begin to view faith like the car without fuel  &#8211; it was great while it was moving, but now it is stuck, it won&#8217;t move  so we leave it and start walking &#8211; we set out on a journey without the  car.\u00a0 Without prayer faith stops growing, our journey of faith stops,  and we find it to hard or pointless staying on a journey that seems to  be getting us nowhere.\u00a0 This is when people walk away from faith, it is  at this point that people strike out on their own, to the relatively  easy journey of conformity with the world.\u00a0 I tell you that no-one who  has a strong prayer life, who lays before God all things and trusts  their journey to His care will ever find themselves in a stagnate  faith.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>If your faith journey has become stalled, I am  willing to wager that your prayer life is not healthy.\u00a0 How much time do  you dedicate to prayer each day? A very large number of Christians only  ever pray at Church on Sunday, and when they find themselves in  desperate need.\u00a0 That is not the model Jesus gave us, and it is not the  model of the early church.\u00a0 Many will say that they simply don&#8217;t have  time &#8211; that my dear brothers and sisters is rubbish.\u00a0 You <em style=\"\">can <\/em>find  10 minutes of your day to start a regular prayer time &#8211; it might mean  waking up a little earlier, it might mean turning off the radio in the  car on the way to work so you can pray, it might mean missing some tv  time&#8230; The thing is, it is about priorities. What priority are you  giving God in your life when you can&#8217;t find just 10 minutes a day for  Him? <\/p>\n<p>So, let us all, as we remember Jesus&#8217; baptism,  recall our own and recommit ourselves to being faithful, and prayerful  disciples of Christ.\u00a0 Let us commit to making time with God a  part of our daily routine, so that we are strengthened and fuelled for  our journey, so that we all reach our final destination.<\/p>\n<p>May almighty God bless you and yours this week.<\/p>\n<p>Daryl.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr style=\"width:100%;clear:both;visibility:hidden;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen: Orthodox icon &#8211; baptism of Christ. Click for source. The Word This Week: Isaiah 43:1-7\u00a0 Psalm 29\u00a0 Acts 8:14-17\u00a0\u00a0 Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Thoughts on the Word: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 \u00a0As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2013\/12\/01\/sunday-13th-january-2012-the-baptism-of-our-lord\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Sunday 13th January 2012 &#8211; The baptism of our Lord&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}