NewDayvotional

From the pastor for the people

Archives for January 2015

Two Essential Questions for Bible Study

By

Our guest speaker this past Sunday (Sean Wiles) taught on the importance of reading your Bible. In this post I want to cover two great questions to ask as you listen or read the Word of God. When reading your Bible you want to look for both the doctrinal significance and the theological significance of the passsage. Let me explain.

Certain passages have theological significance. That is, they teach you about God. Other passages have doctrinal significance. That is, they teach you about how to live in a way that is pleasing to God. 

Both types of passages are important in helping you develop a deeper relationship with God. Through the Scriptures we both learn who God is and what he is like, as well as the lifestyle he requires us to live.

So here’s two great questions to ask when reading your Bible:

  1. What does this passage teach me about God?
  2. What does this passage teach me about how God wants me to live?

Four Tips for Bible Study

By

Awhile back I preached on what Psalm 119 says regarding how to have a meaningful daily Bible reading experience. Since Sean Wiles preached this past Sunday on the importance of God’s Word I wanted to summarize that message in today’s post (to help you apply Sean’s message).

1. Pray

Psalm 119:169, Give me understanding according to your Word. Suggestion: Ask God for insight into what you’re about to read.

2. Read

Psalm 119:15, I will study your commandments…Suggestion: Read four chapters a day to read through the Bible in one year.

3. Reflect

Psalm 119:15, I will…reflect on your ways. Suggestion: Ask yourself the following nine questions to discover an application:

  1. Sin to confess?
  2. Promise to claim?
  3. Attitude to change?
  4. Command to obey?
  5. Example to follow?
  6. Prayer to pray?
  7. Error to avoid?
  8. Truth to believe?
  9. Something to praise God for?

4. Respond

Psalm 119:34, I will…put it (God’s law) into practice with all my heart. Suggestion: Using a journal, write out how you plan to apply what you’ve read.

To listen to the whole sermon, simply click here.

Six Common Questions About Water Baptism

By

In this post I’m sharing John Weirick’s answers to six common questions about water baptism:

1. What is baptism?

Baptism is an outward expression of an inward change. It’s a public declaration of how Jesus changed your life. Being baptized shows others that you’ve decided to follow Jesus, and allows them to celebrate this decision with you (Acts 16:31-34).

Baptism doesn’t save a person; it’s a symbol and celebration of salvation (1 Peter 3:21). The power that brought Jesus back to life is the same power Jesus uses to change our lives – and that’s worth getting excited about!

2. Why should I be baptized?

Jesus instructs us to be baptized and set the example by being baptized (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 1:9). Obedience to Jesus shows we believe and follow Him. (1 John 2:3). Because Jesus went public about His love for us, we can go public about our love for Him. Being baptized shows that we turn away from a life of sin toward Jesus, the only one who can change us (Acts 2:38-41).

3. When’s the best time to be baptized?

For everyone who decides to follow Jesus, baptism is the next step. Anyone who commits his or her life to following Jesus is ready to be baptized (Acts 8:12).

4. Do you baptize children?

As parents, we can help point our children to Jesus, but they are the ones to decide if they will commit their lives to Him (Romans 10:9). Any instance of baptism follows a person’s decision to trust Jesus for his or her salvation and commitment to follow Him (Acts 10:47-48). At New Day, we wait until children are old enough to express their own decision to follow Jesus and understand the meaning of baptism.

5. What’s the difference between immersing, sprinkling and other ways of baptizing?

Baptisms in the Bible were by immersion. The original word for baptism most often referred to being immersed or submerged in water. Jesus was baptized by being immersed in the water and rising out of it (Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10). Submersion in the water symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Being submersed underwater represents our death to sin and old way of life, and being raised out of the water is a picture of how Jesus raised us and gave us a fresh start in life (Romans 6:3-5).

6. Do I need to be baptized again?

If you haven’t been baptized by immersion since you decided to follow Jesus, we want to help you take your next step of being baptized. Once you’ve taken that step, there’s no need to be baptized again. God never asks us to take a next step that isn’t good for us. He always gives us more than we deserve or can imagine, including the joy we receive from listening to Him and doing what He says.

Is baptism your next step? Sign up at www.newdaychurch.cc/baptism

The Symbolism of Water Baptism

By

Water baptism is a symbolic ceremony and a public confession of your salvation. The act of water baptism is a ceremony that symbolizes what took place spiritually when we got saved: the death of our old life and the birth of our new life. Romans 6:1-14 explains it this way:

  • Jesus was crucified (v.6) Our sinful nature was crucified (v.6)
  • Jesus died (v.3) Our sinful nature died (vv.3,7,11,13), we are to count it as dead
  • Jesus was buried (v.4) Our sinful nature was buried (v.4)
  • Jesus was raised in newness of life (v.4) We were raised in newness of life (v.4)
  • Jesus was freed from death (v.9) We were freed from sin (v.11)
  • Death no longer has mastery over Jesus (v.9) Sin no longer has mastery over us (v.14)

So when you’re water baptized:

  • The water = A symbol of any place a dead body would lie (a grave, a coffin, a tomb, etc.)
  • Going under the water = A symbol of our sinful nature being buried
  • Coming up out of the water = A symbol of our new nature coming alive

You see, 2 Corinthians 5:17 teaches that when someone gets saved the old life is gone and a new life begins. That is, you choose to reject the old sinful lifestyle and accept a new life of right living. Water baptism is the outward symbol of this inner decision. By the time we are water baptized all these things have already taken place. They happened at the moment we got saved. However, we are to act out this inward change in a public way (through water baptism).

Jesus wants us to make a public profession of how he has changed us. Once we’re saved it’s our job to share our faith. And that’s exactly what we do when we are water baptized. We share with others what God has done in our lives. Listen to what Mark 8:38 says “38 If a person is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in the glory of my Father with the holy angels.” Jesus wants followers that aren’t ashamed to follow him. Water baptism is a way you can publicly show that you are not ashamed of Jesus and what he’s done in your life. Once water baptized you can say with the apostle Paul “16…I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ…” Romans 1:16.

Don’t Wait to Be Baptized

By

After becoming a Christian some people choose to wait awhile before getting water baptized. Some people even wait years before obeying this command of Christ. What I want to show you though, is that waiting is not the biblical pattern. In the Bible the pattern was to be saved and then get baptized immediately or shortly afterward. For example…

  • In Acts 2 three thousand of those listening to Peter preach on the Day of Pentecost get saved. In v.41 the Bible records “ Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church—about three thousand in all.”
  • In Acts 8 we read of an Ethiopian eunuch who gave his life to Jesus. Verses 36-38 record that as they went down the road they came upon some water and the eunuch said “Look! There’s some water. Why can’t I be baptized?” The eunuch ordered that the carriage be stopped and they went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
  • In Acts 16:14-15 Lydia is saved and baptized right after.
  • Also in Acts 16 we read of the Philippians jailer getting saved. In v.33 we read “…immediately he and all his household were baptized.”

We’ll let these three examples suffice to show that the biblical pattern was to be saved and then to be baptized immediately or shortly afterward. If you’ve been saved Jesus has commanded you to be water baptized. Why wait? I would challenge you to be brave and follow the command of God and the example of the New Testament church in being baptized as soon as possible. Our next water baptism at New Day is scheduled for Sunday January 18th. To sign up just click here.