This morning we celebrated the Baptism of our Lord. at Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA). Sermon My message, “Living Wet” is based on Luke 3:1-22. You can watch the message below or read the manuscript. Excerpt Getting back to Martin Luther . . . There are so many stories about him and baptism, including the one I shared during the children’s message. You have to wonder if there is something to the legend of him with a large sign in his room that read “when you wash Read More …
baptism
Preaching God is Still Speaking (#2101)
This morning I served as guest pastor at Central Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Dallas, Texas. It was a joy to be with them for a second time (last year I joined them for worship as a guest preacher). Central Lutheran Church is among the founding member churches of White Rock Center of Hope. It was also WRCH's founder, Donagene Christian's church. I'm thankful for their continued strong support of WRCH and for Rev. Veronika Czutor's invitation to step in this morning while she is Read More …
Water is Life (#1683)
I grew up taking water for granted. Wherever my little feet took me, water flowed freely whenever I turned on a faucet. It was always there when I was thirsty. It was a given for bathing and toileting. It filled pools and lakes and oceans providing endless options for summer fun. Water was everywhere. Water was always there. Water is More and Less Of course, water was, is and always will be far more and far less than my childhood memories. It is more as it signals the Read More …
Sermon: Living Wet (#1571)
Sermon Text: Matthew 28:18-20 (The Inclusive Bible) Sermon Excerpt The great reformer Martin Luther was fond of saying “remember your baptism.” With that in mind, I placed some words on the front of this morning’s worship bulletin designed to invite you to remember the details of your baptism as you prepared for worship. I admit that a few of you who saw the bulletin well beforehand told me that I was asking the impossible as they had no recall of their own baptism. So I will share Read More …
Southern Baptist Decline (#1425)
Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant tradition in the United States, are in decline. They have lost nearly 1 million members over the last decade yielding a membership of just under 16 million. Conversion has always been an essential reason for growth in this Evangelical denomination. Since peaking in 1999, the number of baptisms conducted each year has declined by 25%. So What? Emma Green, associate editor for The Atlantic and author of the article I linked to Read More …
Southern Baptist Decline (#1121)
2012 was another rough year for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). More specifically, "according to the Annual Church Profile (ACP) compiled by LifeWay Christian Resources in cooperation with Baptist state conventions, most of the ACP metrics declined in 2012 including membership, average attendance, baptisms . . ." Expressed as percentages, the declines are membership: 0.7%, average worship attendance: 3.1%, and baptisms: 5.5%. So What? While the SBC still Read More …
Catholics to Recognize Protestant Baptisms (#0189)
After working for the last six years on a means to provide mutual recognition of baptism with several Reformed Protestant denominations, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops voted in favor of the measure at their annual Fall General Assembly. While similar agreements have been reached in other countries, this is the first of its kind in the United States. According to Religion News Service, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, chairman of the ecumenical and Read More …