I recently visited a church in Myrtle Beach, where I was stranded on a Sunday. All the songs were unfamiliar to me. The look of the space, and the order of service, were unfamiliar to me. But there were prayers in the name of Jesus. There was teaching from the words of the apostles (New Testament). There were expressions of God's Spirit of love and fellowship. And some people got dunked in water.
For 2000 years the church has spread into all kinds of spaces around this globe of ours, and in every time and place, we find new ways to worship God, new ways to make music, new ways to express the Spirit of love and fellowship. If you think about it, Peter or James or Paul would find a lot of the things we do at Laughlintown Christian Church just a bit unfamiliar. That's OK; we aren't first-century Jews.
But Peter or James or Paul would find some things familiar. The love. The humble effort to exalt our Father in heaven. The prayers in the name of Jesus; the teachings from the words of the apostles.
And oh yes, two other things would look the same as the very first churches twenty centuries ago: the way we eat and drink the Lord's supper, receiving bread and juice that count as Jesus' body and blood. And the way we dunk people into water.
This Sunday, I'll get the opportunity to dunk someone in water again. It's something we're ready to do any time we meet, every Sunday--even on a weekday, for that matter. It only means as much as our faith makes it mean; the water isn't magic, and it is Jesus who saves. But for 2000 years, dunking people in water has remained the most vivid, most Biblical way of expressing God's grace poured out on sinners, washing us clean, birthing us into God's new life.
For 2000 years, dunking people in water has remained the most vivid, most Biblical way of expressing God's grace poured out on sinners.
The New Testament has a funny way of talking about dunking (baptism). It says that we are dunked, not just in water, but in the Spirit and in fire. It says that we are dunked, not just in a church or a religion, but in Jesus himself. It says that we get dunked, not just so our body will be wet, but so that our whole self will be made new.
I always feel like watching someone get dunked is one of the most exciting things that happens in church. According to Luke 15:10, God's angels feel the same way!
--Jonathan
REMINDERS:
Sunday worship service at 10 a.m. is a wonderful time to invite a visitor. If anyone wants to get a preview of what they will find here, offer to watch a service together on Youtube, and talk about what we do.
We are currently collecting "backpack" money for kids' meals, and "Easter" donations for audiovisual improvements.
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