Baptism

This midweek service centered on an honest question many believers carry into prayer: what do we do with our negative emotions, our pain and confusion, when we come before the Lord? The preacher first reminded us that Scripture is not a book of magic formulas that works automatically. God has set real conditions for our walk with Him, and our difficulties often appear where we fail to do our part, so we are called to cooperate with God rather than treat His Word mechanically. Drawing on the so-called psalms of cursing, the book of Job, and Psalm 62:8 - pour out your heart before Him - the message used the picture of a full cup. A heart already overflowing with bitterness has no room for God's presence. Job and the psalmist brought their rawest, even shocking words straight to God instead of venting them on other people, and God listened in silence, giving them room to be honest before turning their hearts back to praise and trust. The evening also welcomed three young people preparing for water baptism and prayed for several in need. The closing call was to be real before God: empty your heart of every burden, and let Him fill the space with His peace, just as Jesus, when reviled, did not retaliate but entrusted Himself to the righteous Judge.

This communion service centers on remembering and proclaiming the death of Jesus Christ. Drawing on 1 Corinthians 11, the pastor reminds the congregation that every time we eat the bread and drink the cup we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. We are to do this not in gloom or discontent but with faith and joy, receiving the table as a blessing for our lives. The preaching then turns to Psalm 27 and Matthew 6:33. King David's one desire was to dwell in the house of the Lord and behold His beauty, and Jesus calls us to seek first the kingdom of God. The pastor warns that many believers look to Christ for comfort and happiness rather than holiness, yet nothing unclean enters God's kingdom and the bride must be without spot or blemish, an idea pictured by a stained baptismal robe that could not be used. The gathering also welcomes new believers baptized the day before, each of whom asked for a Bible as a gift. Christianity is described as a bridge into God's eternal kingdom rather than a life of ease: the enemy will oppose these new believers, but God will guide them as He led Israel through the wilderness. The service closes with prayer for healing, placing our names in the wounds of Christ, and rejoicing that our names are written in the book of life.

The service opened with a call to stay awake and ready for Christ's return (Mark 13). The preacher recalled a train engineer who, half asleep, kept mechanically repeating the signals while the train rolled on - a warning that we too can drift into spiritual sleep, even though our final destination is the eternal Kingdom where Christ reigns. A young brother preparing for water baptism explained its meaning: baptism in water does not save by itself; it is a public witness that we have died to sin together with Christ, and an act of obedience. The baptism of the Holy Spirit, in turn, gives us power to be witnesses and to keep fighting sin throughout our lives (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:4; Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:8). The main message came from Jeremiah 23:29 - God's Word is like fire and like a hammer that breaks the rock. False prophets speak from their own hearts and dreams, but the Lord's true servants declare only what they have heard in His council. Like a stonemason chipping a rough stone so it fits the wall, God uses His Word to break off what is wrong and shape us into living stones of His house. To live with Christ we must first die to self. And as Elijah did on Carmel, when we lay ourselves on the altar, God's fire falls and the people confess that the Lord is God.

This preacher seminar begins with a simple picture: a good sermon is like a fine meal, prepared carefully beforehand so it can be served on time and well. The teacher urges ministers never to assume that everyone in the room knows the Bible. When you quote Scripture, name the reference clearly so people can read it and check it at home. He mentions that the church has just begun a shared Bible reading plan to rebuild that knowledge of the Word. The heart of the session is how to preach at a funeral. Such a sermon has three aims: to support the grieving family, to conduct the service with dignity, and to turn those present gently toward eternity - never trapping mourners with a heavy-handed altar call. Common mistakes include opening with "Glory to God for this day," inventing virtues the deceased never had, hunting for someone to blame, or treating the loss lightly. He then turns to water baptism, which must be handled as a sacred ordinance commanded by Christ, not merely a festive gathering. Keep the focus on the meaning of the event rather than the decorations; affirm those being baptized instead of sowing doubt. Throughout, the call is to speak with care, anchor people in God's sovereignty, lift the spirit of the church, and always point to the hope of resurrection.

The service opens with a study of Acts 7, where Stephen, falsely accused before the high priest, refuses to defend himself and instead preaches the whole story of Israel from Abraham and Joseph to Moses and David. He shows how God faithfully guided His people, yet they repaid His love with ingratitude, resisted the Holy Spirit, persecuted the prophets, and finally betrayed the Messiah. Stephen becomes the model believer. Full of the Holy Spirit, he sees heaven opened and Jesus standing at God's right hand, and even as the stones strike him he keeps praying: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" and "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." The preacher contrasts this with Zechariah in 2 Chronicles 24, who under the old covenant cried out for the Lord to see and avenge. Under the new covenant we follow Christ instead, blessing our enemies, and the very man who guarded the executioners' coats was later forgiven and saved. The evening closes with the presentation of water baptism candidates, who confess before the church why they want to follow Jesus. Citing 1 Timothy 6:12 and 1 Peter 3:15, the pastor urges them to make a good confession before many witnesses and to be ready, even at work or among strangers, to give a reason for their hope without shame.

On Pentecost Sunday the church remembers how, nearly two thousand years ago, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles in Jerusalem with the sound of a rushing wind and tongues of fire (Acts 2). But the preacher insists this is far more than a historical festival or the birthday of the church. It is a living celebration for every believer who has personally received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The message walks through what the Spirit actually does in a believer. He brings about the new birth, for no one can enter the kingdom unless born of water and Spirit, and He leads us to repentance. He then baptizes and indwells our reborn spirit, so that the Father and Son make their home in us and we are never left as orphans. He also empowers us as bold witnesses, just as Peter was filled and preached, and He distributes gifts to the church such as words of wisdom and knowledge, healing, and discernment, along with the ministries of apostles, prophets, teachers, and pastors. Finally the Spirit leads us as sons of God who cry out Abba, Father, and grows His fruit in us, replacing our old Adamic nature with the character of Christ. The sermon closes with an invitation to receive the Spirit afresh and to keep this fire burning every day, not only once a year, so the church stays alive and ready for the coming of the Lord.

On Pentecost Sunday this English evening service opened with worship, and several young believers shared words the Spirit had laid on their hearts. They spoke of the Holy Spirit as a faithful Friend and Comforter who walks with us daily, the spiritual weight of our words and the need to tame the tongue, the call to separate from the world and walk in the light as children of God, and the simple joy of obedience through serving at a local nursing home. The main message came from a visiting preacher, Brother Bill, who urged the church not merely to teach about Pentecost but to experience it. Pointing to John the Baptist's promise of One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, to the Comforter promised in John 14, and to the signs that follow those who believe, he called everyone to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire and to walk in His power every single day. He proclaimed this as the appointed hour for a fresh outpouring, the latter rain of Joel's prophecy, that empowers young and old alike to prophesy, heal, and witness boldly. Repentance prepares the heart, faith carries us through the change God is bringing, and the Spirit launches each believer into a God-given calling to bring revival to their city and nation.

The preacher celebrates the feast of Pentecost and returns to Acts 2, where one hundred and twenty believers waited together in one accord for ten days, expecting something from God. Suddenly a sound came from heaven, tongues of fire rested on each of them, and the Holy Spirit filled them so that they spoke as the Spirit gave them utterance. Some onlookers marveled, others mocked that they were drunk on new wine, yet three thousand repented that day and the church was born. The question is pressed to everyone present: which side are you on? He reminds the congregation that God has given us a spirit not of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind, and that the same Spirit who emboldened the apostles and the martyr Stephen still fills believers today. Sharing his own testimony of being baptized in the Spirit as a young man under persecution, and of hundreds of young people filled at past gatherings, he insists the promise is for everyone, for you and your children and all who are far off. The message closes with a call to renewal. Many who once knew the joy and fire of the Spirit have grown cold or lost their first love. The preacher invites them to come and receive a fresh filling, then blesses the missionaries going out that evening to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth in the power Christ promised.