I did a quick Google search on ‘baptism’ this evening and got roughly 13,700,000 hits!  I found sites attempting to define baptism, defend baptism and denounce baptism.  There are sites that declare the practice necessary for salvation and sites that insist that it should never be done by Christians.  I read what fifteen different religions say about it, each implying the other was wrong.  Arguments, debates, definitions…on and on and on.  13,700,000 pages!

Guess what I didn’t find, though I’m sure such pages exist?  Baptism celebrations! 

I didn’t see any stories of people willing to publically confess their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior! 

I didn’t see any celebrations of people willing to die to themselves and live for Him!

I didn’t see any pictures of people simply being obedient to their King!

Well, may this be such a story.  I witnessed today what to me what was a spectacular event in God’s Kingdom.  Fifty one men, women and children got baptized at the beach in Lewis Center, Ohio this morning!  Fifty one!  We heard stories from ten of them about their journeys toward and into the arms of Christ!  Hundreds came to watch their friends and family.  IT WAS AWESOME!

I don’t have pictures yet, but they are coming.  For now, let me just praise God for allowing such an event to happen in the Grace Point family!!!  I pray this is a day that we won’t soon forget!

Check out this article from a California news station. They say that everything starts on the East or West coast and works its way toward the rest of the country…

SAN DIEGO — A local pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a San Diego County official, who then threatened them with escalating fines if they continued to hold Bible studies in their home, 10News reported.

Attorney Dean Broyles of The Western Center For Law & Policy was shocked with what happened to the pastor and his wife.

Broyles said, "The county asked, ‘Do you have a regular meeting in your home?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you say amen?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you pray?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you say praise the Lord?’ ‘Yes.’"

The county employee notified the couple that the small Bible study, with an average of 15 people attending, was in violation of County regulations, according to Broyles.

Broyles said a few days later the couple received a written warning that listed "unlawful use of land" and told them to "stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit" — a process that could cost tens of thousands of dollars.

For the full story, click here.

The good news?  Persecution almost ALWAYS strengthens the church, forcing people to consider and stand for what they truly believe in.

The question is…what will we do when it comes to our little church?

Tomorrow evening (5/7) from 6:30 to 8:30, Grace Point will participate in the annual National Day of Prayer event.  During a time when we are all too busy and frankly uninterested, why in the world should we gather together to pray?

Here is one man’s thoughts on why we DON’T pray:

Failure to pray means that we have "accepted" the world as it is, ourselves as we are, Satan’s lies and deceptions as they are, a lost and dying humanity as they are, and a surrender of the power of the omnipotent God that we sing and talk about. We "accept" what is and give up. The only reason that we don’t pray is unbelief. We don’t believe that it will make a difference. – Herschel Martindale

Here are the thoughts of the National Day of Prayer Task Force on why we SHOULD pray:

God is sovereign and nothing comes as a surprise to Him. Whether we face fluctuating economics, threats from abroad, unrest at home, or other troubling circumstances, our Heavenly Father is not caught unaware. Through prayer, we are able to tap into His wisdom, strength, protection and peace. He stands ready to respond to our needs when we humbly ask for divine intervention in the affairs of men.

I truly do hope that everyone will dedicate a significant portion of tomorrow to pray for our government, military, media, businesses, education, churches and families.  If you can’t make it to a gathering of other like-minded Christians, then pray from home.  But by any means possible…PRAY!

What we believe dramatically impacts the way we live.  For example, I believe in the law of gravity and therefore avoid walking off tall buildings.  I believe that saving for retirement is important for my family, so I do it.

In the same way, what we believe about ourselves, our world and God dramatically impacts the way we live.  For example, the belief that God created us in His image, loves us and knows us even before we are born requires us to be dramatically opposed to abortion.  The belief that Jesus lived and died in order for us to be reconciled to God requires us to decide whether or not to follow Him to heaven.  The belief in the authority of Scripture requires us to know what It says.

It is these core beliefs that are topic of Grace Point’s next Discipleship class:

Rooted in the the Bible 3: Christian Beliefs

Watch the video below and strongly consider taking this five-week class that starts May 17th.  If you are interested, please email me at tom@gracepoint.cc.  If you are new to the faith, or if it has been a while since you consider the implications of what you believe…this class is a MUST for you!  If you know someone that would benefit from the class, offer to take it with them.

Outflow: Outward focused living in a self-focused world.  It is easy to read a book like Outflow and think things like:

• “I could never do it”.
• “I don’t have the right personality to do it.”
• “I don’t know how to do it.”
• “Those are nice thoughts, but I don’t want to do it.”
• Etc, etc, etc.

The last few chapters of the Outflow book contain simple reminders of how to really do the things the book talks about.  First, they remind us “how much more fruitfulness God can bring into our lives if we’re willing to listen to God and do what he says (p. 207).”  No one can bear much good, lasting fruit unless we know and obey God.  Period.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. – John 15:1-4 (NIV)

Second, at some point we have to “just do it”.  It is good read about it, good to talk about it, and even good to write about it.  But Jesus wants us to do it, not discuss it.  I would challenge you and I to put into practice some of the ideas contained in Outflow.  It would be a tragedy to be challenged so richly and have no life change happen. 

Here is one suggestion for successfully incorporating Outflow into your everyday lifestyle: follow someone else who does it.  This is how Jesus taught his disciples, and it is often how Paul taught others:

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9 (NIV)

Early in the Outflow book, the author challenged us to imagine a world filled with Christians were constantly on the lookout for ways to fill themselves up with God.  Imagine a world where those same Christians were constantly on the lookout for ways to outflow that love onto their families, friends, neighbors, coworkers, community and even the world.  What would such a world look like?  What role could we play in it?

Here are links to some prior posts that might also be good reminders for how to live a life of Outflow:

• Thirsty?
• A Life That Sucks
• Gratitude
• Stop!
• Answers or Arguments

If our country’s current financial mess has you anxious, you are not alone.  The numbers are big, the news is bleak, and the everyone has an opinion on the right way to react to the situation.  To try to help, Christian financial expert Dave Ramsey hosting an event called "Town Hall for Hope" April 23rd at 8:00pm.  Their website has more information about the event, including a way to find a place in the area for you to attend. 

I don’t know the exact content of the event, but thought it might be helpful for some to participate.  Here is a statement and a video about the event.  Let me know what  you think!

Tired of hearing the fear, doom and gloom that’s filling the airwaves? Join Dave Ramsey for a nationwide town hall meeting and discover what’s happening with the economy, how we got here, and where we’re going. Plus, Dave will answer your questions live throughout the event!

As a kid, I’m sure I often complained that one of my buddies was a “copycat”.  He would do or say something just like I did, and he would do it over and over!  I should have realized that it was really a compliment.  He was copying me because he thought what I said or did was funny.  But still, it was annoying to me at the time.

Unlike us, God loves it when we copy Him.  Reading 21 of the Outflow book reminded me that I should “imitate Jesus in how I connect with each person I meet and, like Jesus, I’ll begin impacting one life at a time as I go about my daily routine.” 

Does Jesus really want us to imitate Him?  Am I really supposed to do that?  Yes.  Jesus was looking for followers that would be transformed more and more into His likeness.  Paul told the church at Ephesus:

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children – Ephesians 5:1 (NIV)

There is something transforming about imitating God.  C.S. Lewis put it well when he said in Mere Christianity, “do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did.  As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets.  When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”

As Pastor Terry reminded us on Sunday, it is important for us to believe that God loves the people around us, and it is equally important to believe that we can love them too.  If we imitate His love for people, the unthinkable will happen: we will find ourselves loving them too!