Reaffirmation of Baptism - Part 3 of Sermon Series

I have three challenges for you to take from today: First, recommit your presence. When you were baptized, you promised that you would offer your time to grow in your faith and to be a faithful member of the church. Recommit to those goals; I hope that no one just comes to church and goes home unchanged. We are meant to be changed. We are meant to grow. Second, think about what is rich in your church experience. Take a moment to write it down in the space in your bulletin; what is rich for you about church?  What makes you want to keep coming back? If you cannot think of anything that is currently rich, write down something that you think you need to make it rich, and then please share it with myself and others. Together, we can make our experience of God rich, so long as we are both committed to spending the time to make it happen. Psalm 112 tells of those who delight in the commandments being happy because they are gracious, merciful, and righteous. They “conduct their affairs with justice” (112:5) And, “in the end they will look in triumph on their foes” (112:8). Isaiah offers us a conditional statement: “If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, … the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like the spring of water, whose waters never fail” (Is. 58:9-11). This contains your third challenge: Remove the pointing of the finger and the speaking of evil from among you. Do not cast blame. Only spread love. To fully experience God’s presence, we need to bring our presence in our commitment to our promises and to the growth of Christian love. That is why we are here. We can only grow together. May all glory and honor be to God! Thanks be to God! Amen.