We Are Christchurch

Lindsey and Lewis are back! And this week, they’re digging a little deeper into Matthew 18: 5 - 10. What’s the difference between a friendship and a clique? Does it matter that I’m naturally introverted? How does the gospel compel me to welcome others?

We’re back! Join Lindsey and Lewis as they go a little deeper into the opening sermon of our Life Together series. 

You can listen to the sermon here: https://christchurchnewport.co.uk/media/jdhhg84/life-together-childlike

If you’d like to submit a question for upcoming episodes you can do so here: https://ccnewport.churchsuite.com/forms/7mfga0rn

Over the past few months, we’ve been privileged to witness a number of people from different backgrounds, with different stories and various experiences of the Christian faith come to know Jesus and express an interest in being baptised. So in this episode of We Are Christchurch, Lewis and Bob run through some of the most common questions regarding this ancient practice.

What is baptism? The New City Catechism describes baptism as “the washing with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; it signifies and seals our adoption into Christ, our cleansing from sin, and our commitment to belong to the Lord and to his church.”

As complicated as this sounds, baptism is actually very straight forward. To be baptised is to be immersed and raised out of water by another believer. This simple practice has been performed by the Church for over 2000 years, and is laden with symbolism: our sins being washed away; our belonging to the One who died, was buried and rose again; our rebirth and new life by the Spirit. In being baptised by the church, we’re acknowledging that we are part of Christ’s people, and in so doing before the watching world, we’re making a public declaration that our allegiance now lies with him.

But maybe most importantly, baptism is an act of obedience. At the end of Matthew’s gospel, the risen King calls his church to follow his commands and baptism is often the first step in this new life of discipleship (Matthew 28: 18-20). This is why for centuries, before being baptised ‘in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit’, disciples have uttered the ‘sacred confession’ that ‘Jesus is Lord’ (Philippians 2: 11).

Who should be baptised? Everyone who believes in Jesus! The sole requirement for baptism is faith in Christ (Acts 2:41).

But… What about children? Faith is not age dependent. But for various pastoral reasons, we would advise caution before baptising children. If in any doubt, come chat to a pastor.

What if I was baptised as a child?  On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached the gospel and 3000 people believed and were baptised. This sets a pattern to follow. From here on, regardless of ethnic background or history or previous experience, baptism is linked to the faith of the individual believer and this is the practice we adhere to at Christchurch (Acts 2: 38, 41; 8: 12, 36; 9: 18; 10: 48; 16: 14-15, 30-33; 18: 8; 19: 4-5; 22: 16; Col 2: 12; 1 Peter 3: 21).

What if I was baptised, fell away and have since returned to Christ. Should I be baptised again?  Maybe?! The answer to this one depends entirely on your personal story. If this is is you, come chat!

When should someone be baptised? As soon as possible! Believers in the New Testament were baptised the same day (Acts 2:41; 8:35-39) and we see no reason not to follow this example and baptise believers at the first opportunity.

What do I do now?  If you’re faith and trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ, get in touch and one of our pastors will be in touch to chat more.

We’re welcoming a host of guests to come preach throughout the summer. And returning on August 25, by popular demand, is Sammy Davies.

Sammy is an old friend to us as a church. He’s pastored Ammanford Evangelical for over 15 years and though he’s preached with us a bunch of times, we’ve never heard his story.

So here it is. Last week Lewis traveled to the Union campus in Bridgend and found out more about him.

Simon Voth is a Masters student at Giessen Seminary in Germany, and from September through to April, we were delighted to welcome him as a pastoral intern.

It was a pure joy and we’re delighted to welcome him back to preach on Sunday August 18. 

Simon became well loved among us as a church, but his personal story isn’t well known. So ahead of him preaching, Lewis sat with him to find our more.

As we conclude our series through Romans 8, here’s one last teaching - not a sermon, not a conversation - but a rewording of the glorious grace found through life ‘in Christ’.

Last week Lewis flew to Scotland to catch up with Sam Wilkins.

As you’ll hear in the pod, Sam left Newport in order to turn his back on a previous life of drug dealing and gang violence. Five years later, he’s preparing to plant a church on the Gorgie estate.

As a church, we’re delighted to support this work through our mission fund, and so in this special episode of We Are Christchurch, Lewis and Sam recall those early days of his conversion and subsequent story of grace.

Ahead of Christopher returning to preach at Christchurch on April 7, here’s a short interview Lewis recorded with him.

On Sunday, our friend Steve Levy is joining to preach the penultimate message from our 1 Peter series. Get to know his story by listening in on this conversation he had with Pete Greasley from 2015.