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Well…listen in and find out:
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Thank you, Pastor Mark.
And thanks to flickr and agonist, for the photo.
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“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;” – Ephesians 2:8
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The young man called out of the blue and wanted to talk. The next morning found him in my study, wringing his hands, full of doubt. He had been baptized and grew up in a Lutheran congregation. During his college years, a friend convinced him that his baptism meant nothing and that he must make a free-will decision to accept Christ. The next few years found him in a so-called non-denominational church.
He went on to describe a Christian life, as it had been presented to him, that was a source of chronic uncertainty. It began with the demand that he make a free-will decision. Then, the message he heard continually prodded the will to keep choosing, setting up Biblical principles for living, ladders of spiritual achievement, rules for godly living. The questions poured out of him. Am I doing what God wants? Am I praying often enough? Am I loving enough? Do I have enough faith? Am I sincere in wanting to love God or am I just afraid of judgment? When I die will I have done enough to escape God’s judgment? Am I really a sincere Christian? He had reached his limits. “If the Gospel is Good news”, he remarked, “why do I always feel so unsettled and uncertain?”
After listening to his litany of questions, I replied; “I don’t know you, but I can say with certainty that the answer to all your questions is ‘no’. At the same time, I can say with even more certainty that the answer to your doubts is Christ and what He has done for you. Basing faith on your decision for Christ is a formula for uncertainty. Basing faith on Christ’s decision for you in your baptism plants you firmly in the Gospel.”
What the young man who came to me was discovering is that when we look to ourselves, to what we have done, to our willing, all God will show us is our unwillingness. God deliberately drives us to uncertainty, doubt, despair, or, even worse, to pride. What I hoped he would see is that when we begin with baptism, with God’s decision for us, God shows us the righteousness that is His gift to us by faith, deliberately leading us away from ourselves to the foot of the cross, to the forgiveness that flows from His merciful heart.
“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
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From Pastor Mark’s blogsite:
http://www.lightofthemaster.net/apps/blog
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Filed under: Assurance, Baptism, Pastor Mark Anderson's blog | 6 Comments »
There are several very specific, important things that God gives us in our baptisms.
Listen in to the sermon that Pastor Mark gave just minutes after the Baptism of little Emma Marie, and hopefully you’ll have a better understanding of why we Lutherans baptize infants…or anyone else for that matter.
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Pastor Mark’s Good Friday sermon for April 6th, 2012:
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There are a few rough spots (not too many) in the recording due to some gremlins in our sound system and an aging and rusty (literally) sound board. We plan on getting a new one, soon. If anyone would like to help us in any way toward that end, it would be greatly appreciated.
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Thanks, Pastor Mark.
And thanks to flickr and Waiting for the Word, for the photo.
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Filed under: Baptism, Good Friday, Pastor Mark Anderson, Sermon | 2 Comments »
I think I’ll call these short outtakes, ‘quick hitters’. Here’s a ‘quick hitter’ with a bit about “putting on Christ” (Baptism)…and then how important it is to distinguish the law from the gospel and the purpose of each.
This ‘quick hitter’ is under 8 minutes long. Perfect to send to someone who may just be learning about some of these important theological issues in our faith. Or…as a good refresher or reminder to someone like me, who constantly needs to hear it.
Filed under: Baptism, Law and Gospel, Pastor Mark Anderson, Quick Hitter | Leave a comment »
How much of God’s grace can this world really handle? How much can you handle?
There’s some law in this sermon, and a lot of grace.
If you believe that you are making a pretty fair showing of your life, and are maybe not perfect, but you are steadily improving since you’ve made your decision to accpet Jesus, then you might not hear very much grace in this sermon.
And to that we say, take another look at yourself, and then another look at Jesus.
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Filed under: Baptism, Grace, Pastor Mark Anderson, Sermon | 6 Comments »
Yes, believer’s baptism is merely a symbol of the believers commitment, and seriousness to God….for whatever that is worth. Not much, for anyone outside of the Lord Jesus, Himself.
But in a biblical Baptism, where God is doing the Baptizing, then something is REALLY happening. The Living God is actually choosing to make us His own in Baptism, totally apart from any commitment on our part.
Isn’t that great! ( I know some of you really detest that notion – but that’s ok )
Actually it is great, and liberating, and assuring.
Give this one ten minutes (out of the seventeen) and see if there’s maybe a chink in the armor of ‘believer’s baptism’.
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click here > The meaninglessness of believer’s baptism and the greatness of being Baptized by God.
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Thanks, Pastor Mark.
And thanks to flickr and ARTExplorer, for the photo.
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Filed under: Baptism, Pastor Mark Anderson, Sermon | 1 Comment »
‘Water only’ baptism is the same baptism that John the Baptist used, and it is still used by many churches today.
‘Water accompanied by the Word’ Baptism is the Baptism that we use because it is the Baptism that contains Jesus Himself.
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Pastor Mark shows us the differences in those baptisms in his 3rd Sunday in Advent sermon (below):
Filed under: Baptism, Free will, Pastor Mark Anderson, Sermon | 4 Comments »
Here’s a sermon by our good friend, Dr. Jim Nestingen.
It was first delivered at First Lutheran Church of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. http://www.flcsf.org/
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Thank you, Jim.
And thanks to First Lutheran Church of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Also, thanks to flickr and wblyons, for the photo of the River Jordan.
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Filed under: Baptism, Dr. James Nestingen, Sermon | 2 Comments »
Pastor Mark’s class this past Sunday.
In minute 27 he reveals the 4 secrets to Christ-like spiritual growth and lets out of the bag the exact substance that angels wings are made of (and where you can purchase this heavenly material). Just kidding. You can’t buy the stuff…you have to earn it by your steadfast obedience.
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Filed under: Baptism, Pastor Mark Anderson, Vocation | Leave a comment »
The Old Adam Lives! 