John Markum

Water Baptism

Baptism“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added to them about three thousand souls.” – Acts 2:41

Baptism is one of the greatest, simplest, and most meaningful expressions of our faith in Christ. I’ve had the privilege of being a part of many people’s story of coming to faith in Jesus over the years. It seems as if many people who make the initial step of deciding to follow Jesus, tend to immediately put on the brakes when it comes to the first easy demonstration of that decision: getting baptized.

The reasons I’ve heard for why people do not get baptized have ranged from:

  • I got baptized as a baby.
  • I’m embarrassed of being in front of people.
  • I need to get some things straightened up in my life first.
  • I’ll do it later.
  • I don’t see why I have to.

The hard part, in my opinion, is deciding that you will give your life, whatever condition it may be in, to Jesus and receiving the life and salvation that He alone offers. The one thing that the Bible asks us to do upon making that internal decision, is to demonstrate it outwardly via getting baptized. Yet this is where many balk.
The irony to me, is that getting baptized is literally as easy as falling in water. If you’ve ever jumped into a pool, you can get baptized – minus the splash.

So allow me a minute to explain what water baptism is, and why you should get baptized.

  • First of all, baptism is easy. It takes approximately 20 seconds to be baptized. At LifeCity, we don’t make you give an awkward speech. We simply ask you “Have you put your faith and confidence in Jesus Christ?” To which you only need to say yes, if you have. If you haven’t, or don’t understand what that even means,  let’s talk about that first. The word in the Bible for “baptize” is the Greek word “baptizo” which literally means “to dip” or “immerse.” This is why at LifeCity we do not spray people for baptism or pour water over them. There is a Greek word for that, but it has nothing to do with Biblical water baptism. It’s important that we baptize this way, because…
  • Secondly, baptism is a symbol. It does not “save” a person, wash away their sins, or send them to Heaven one day. It is a picture of a relationship that you already have. When a person stands in the water, gets dipped under the water, and then brought back up it is a symbol of Jesus living, dying and being buried (under the ground…), and then rising again from the grave. But it’s also a symbol of ourselves. Baptism says, “I once lived a life outside of Christ. That life is dead and has now been buried. And now I have a new life – a life in Christ!”
  • Baptism is also a choice. Like the decision to ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, no one can “make” you get Biblically baptized. At LifeCity, we do not baptize children under the age of 6, and many times not even then if the child doesn’t understand, is scared, or just not ready. If you were baptized as a young child or infant, and placed your faith in Jesus later, we encourage you to get baptized again on your choice. While we celebrate the fact that your family cared enough about your spirituality to baptize you early in life, it’s time that this expression of faith was taken on your terms, not simply your parent’s. We look at getting re-baptized as a fulfillment of what your parents wanted for you in the first place, not as a disrespect toward them. Besides… if you’ve genuinely made the decision to follow Jesus, this is a simple and easy thing that God is asking of you. Why put it off? We find that most people in this situation who are afraid of what their parents will think, are usually surprised to find that their family is mostly supportive of their decision.
  • And finally, baptism is a celebration! This isn’t a somber, boring, religious exercise! It’s a symbol that we’ve been made right with God through Jesus!!! It’s a picture of a new life – an abundant life in Christ. We shout, clap, cheer, hoot, whistle, and generally celebrate what baptism means. People take pictures, video, give hugs, and invite friends and family to come out for the occasion.

We are having our first baptism service at LifeCity Church on Sunday, July 27th, at our 10:30am service! If you have questions about baptism, or want to get baptized on that day, please email us at [email protected]. If you want a picture of what people getting baptized looks like, here’s a video that might bring it all together for you.

Blessings,
Pastor John

4 Things I want to say to The Awakening

  1. You are a great church! Seeing your openness to what God wants to do in your lives, your willingness to take bold steps, your influence on your relationships for Christ, your passion in worship every week all make me feel like a very blessed Pastor. Thank you for following me as I follow Christ. We’re in this together!
  2. The summer time is always a very relaxed time of year. But it is also just as important to us as a church as other times in the year. While we are having some fun this summer, we are also preparing ourselves for what God wants to do in our church in the fall. Expect to hear a lot of vision as summer winds down, and be ready to follow where God leads us!
  3. This Saturday we begin a new series, “You Asked For It!” based on the several questions that YOU submitted to us. We hope to see everyone there at 6 with friends! For more info click here.
  4. Baptism Time! We are excited to see people take their next step of faith in Christ. July 16th you have the opportunity to take that step. I am personally available to anyone who wants to ask questions or might be ready to take the plunge!

See you soon!

Blessings,

John

Baptism Crazy!

In case you missed it, Edgewood had an incredible Easter this year! We had 4 worship experiences, with 1,880 people in attendance. Many people gave their life to Christ and many others came back home. In staff meeting this week, we were discussing the wave of momentum that has been upon Edgewood, and as a result, we have baptisms scheduled every week for at least the first 3 weeks after Easter, and maybe as much as 5 weeks straight! And we’re not doing 1 per week to stretch it and make ourselves feel big and important; 2 weekends ago, we baptized 5! Last weekend we baptize another 7 to 9! Within 6 weeks after Easter, we will see a total of 20-30 people go public with their faith through baptism!

I’ve said many times before, but there is no place like Edgewood! It is amazing to experience God’s hand of blessing and power on our church and to see lives being impacted as a result of it all. It never gets old! To everyone in our church family: DO NOT TAKE THIS FOR GRANTED! Let us celebrate all that God is doing and be active in reaching more people for the Kingdom of God. When we see God change a life, it is nothing short of the miraculous, and we must never get to a place where we treat the extraordinary as mundane.

If we give God our praise for all that He is doing, and do our part in leading people to Him, then 20+ baptisms in 6 weeks is just the beginning!

Let’s turn these cities upside-down with the Gospel!

Blessings,

John

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