Romans 6:4 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.

1. When you give your life pointing to Jesus you should expect __________, but also much ______________.

2. For the Christian, to live is _____________ and to die is _____________. (Philippians 1:21)

3. We can talk boldly about suffering and death because, in ______________, we have already __________ and been given the promise of ____________.


Scripture Readings
Isaiah 43:1-7
Romans 6:1-11
Luke 3:15-22


Take It With You!

From now until Lent we will be examining the early parts of Jesus ministry. Here we will offer thoughts and meditations on the various aspects of Jesus ministry to help us as we contemplate and discuss and wrestle with the messages.

Colossians 2:11-15 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Rather, in baptism, we are subsumed into a story of water and the word. A story of creation formed out of the dark waters. A story of a God so righteous that he was willing to make war on the world he created, only to hang up his bow and to promise never to give up on us again. A story of people, created out of nothing, by a God determined to be worshipped rightly, led through waters into the desert as imperial chariots foundered. A story of a Jewish woman visited by God in a way that confounded her fiancŽ but caused her to sing. A story of a crazy man out in the desert proclaiming a new kingdom coming in water and fire. A story of one who saved by an issue of water and blood... Water set next to the word, next to this story, is called baptism.
-William H. Willimon, Peculiar Speech. p. 5