Sermon Sampler (January 11th) - Claimed by God

This past Sunday, being the Baptism of the Lord Sunday, we spent our time first talking about Jesus' baptism and then about baptism in general.

Mark 1:4-11 contained the story of Jesus' baptism, and also included a brief description of the baptism that John was giving people. It illustrates that the primary reason John was baptizing was so that those being baptized might repent and receive forgiveness of their sins. It is somewhat difficult at first to understand why Jesus, who was without sin and therefore had no need to repent, came to John to be baptized. Of course as we read on, it was clear that the baptism of Jesus was not for repentance but for Jesus to be claimed/marked out for who he was (the Son of God).

Our other scripture passage, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, finds the Apostle Paul dealing with divisions (seemingly linked to baptism) in the Corinthian church. Paul rightly points out that who baptizes a person should in no way matter, because baptism is not about who performs the act, but in whose name the act is performed. The same is true in the United Methodist Church, where infants, children, youth, and adults all can be baptized by a variety of methods including sprinkling, pouring, or immersing. Unfortunately baptism is still a divisive issue for many Christians today and likely will remain so.

The main drive of our message this week, was not to fully discuss baptism and all it's theological implications (although some of that was done). Rather this Sunday's message was to explore all the different places and times in our lives when we are claimed. I will use myself as an example of this:

--As a young child, I was claimed by my parents with phrases like "that's my boy!", but when I misbehaved the phrase went more like this "look what your son did!"
--As a teenager, when involved in dating relationships, I was claimed by the young ladies I dated, but when things went sour, no longer was I claimed by them, but rather several terrible things about me were claimed about me!
--As a young man I worked for a company that claimed me as their employee, until the day I was greeted at the front door and escorted to my locker to remove all my possessions.
--As a father I am proudly claimed by my daughters as "my daddy", but know that inevitably someday the phrase will shift to "I don't know that guy"!

The list could go on, and inevitably several of you are able to relate to these four examples and likely all of you could think of more. The point here is that in life we are constantly being claimed by this person or that group, but almost always the way we are claimed ends or at least shifts over time.

Just as Jesus was claimed by God through his baptism, so you and I are also claimed as sons and daughters of God's through our own baptisms. The difference between the claiming that occurs in baptism and that which we experience throughout our lives, is that God's claiming of us never ends, never decreases and never shifts. God's claim on our lives, God's claim to love us always, God's claim as our loving Parent remains!

So today, as you're reading this message I would remind you that if you've been baptized, whether as a child or an adult, with lots of water or only a little, whether you remember it or not, you have been claimed by God and you forever will be a beloved son or daughter of His. If you have not been baptized, know that God is longing to claim you as a beloved son or daughter too! Baptism is a sacred gift given freely to anyone who would accept it, so reach out and take hold of what is openly offered to you.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Christmas Program

This week we had our Annual Christmas Program at Oxford and it was a HUGE success! McDonough's services were canceled, because your pastor is a huge wimp and apparently needs four-wheel drive, but their Christmas Program has been re-scheduled for January 4th, so be there or be square!

I'm pleased to say that despite the weather (it still wasn't great at 11:00 am) many people showed up for church in Oxford, and they were treated to the traditional Christmas story complete with Jesus, Mary and Joseph, wisemen, shepherds, angels, and a whole host of others. If you missed Oxford's program, don't fret, you can get pictures from Rich Howard, and you can go to McDonough's on the 4th of January, it also promises to be educational and a good time had by all!

On another note, our Advent Facial Hair (or other hair) seemed to be a huge success! I noticed many gentlemen in both congregations who grew some form of facial hair, and also noticed that each week a new person or two had begun to grow some facial hair. This hopefully was fun for those of you that participated and a minor curiosity to those who did not. The main goal was twofold, first to remind us all that we are in the midst of a special season (Advent) where we are to remember Christ's birth and anticipate his 2nd coming. The second goal (which those of you who participated found worked almost immediately) was to spur conversation with people who you would normally not talk to about church. Many gentlemen reported being asked questions about their facial hair and thus having an opportunity to talk to friends, co-workers, family, etc. about Advent, Jesus, God, Church, etc. I too had a conversation with my grandfather about our Advent Beards, and he was so intrigued by it that he decided he too would grow a beard. The conversation was Saturday, so he only has a few days before Christmas! But the point is, I was given an easy opportunity to talk to another person about my faith, without being pushy or intrusive.

Grace & Peace and Merry Christmas,
Pastor John