PROLOG JOHN THE BAPTIST AND JESUS

PROLOG JOHN THE BAPTIST AND JESUS

By the first century, special baths, mikvahs, were used by Jews for cleansing a<er childbirth, sex, touching blood or the dead, or before entering the Temple. It expressed a desire to be clean before God. This form of bapbsm was used for someone converbng to Judaism.

John began to expand the meaning and symbolism from Moses ritual. It became an expression of a desire to repent and a sign of God s grace and forgiveness. Early ChrisBans conbnued to add new layers of meaning and reinterpret the act for the next few centuries. What does bap<sm mean to you?

There is more symbolism by being bapbzed in the Jordan River. It flows into the Dead Sea where nothing survives. Your sins and guilt are washed away to the Dead Sea never to be held against you again and no longer having power over you. Israelites crossed into the Promised Land leaving slavery behind and becoming free. Just as you become free from slavery to sin.

Jesus experienced this bapbsm himself and spoke of the importance of being spiritually reborn. Why do you think Jesus was bap<zed by John? Do you think the church today talks enough about the spirit bap<sm?

Paul observed that in bapbsm we die to the person we have been. We idenbfy with Jesus death. We are buried with him, and as we come up out of the water, we are raised up with Him. Did you feel this sense of death and resurrec<on at your bap<sm?

John stood by the Jordan River playing the part of Elijah announcing God s Kingdom and invibng people to repent and return to God s path. Read Mathew 3:11 Read John 3:1-5 So we see that John bapbzes with water and Jesus with the spirit and the bapbsm of the spirit is needed to enter the Kingdom of God. What do you feel about this in terms of your own bap<sm?

John s message is to repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near. Need to be bapbzed in the spirit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus bapbzes in the spirit.

Read Romans 8: 9-11 One cannot grow spiritually unless one has the Spirit dwelling within them. Being bapbzed in the Spirit does not mean being filled with the Spirit. Becoming filled with the Spirit happens as we change into a new person in Christ.

What does it mean to be spiritually hungry and do you find yourself with that hunger? This year Warwick Memorial is asking each member to begin or conbnue growing spiritually.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH PROCESS SERVE LEARN WORSHIP LOVE: to embrace diversity, to live as His family LEARN: to be centered on Christ, to be Biblically grounded, GROW: spiritually SERVE: others passionately

What are you doing or planning to do for spiritual growth this year? Lent is the ideal Bme to begin growing spiritually.

The Greek word for repentance is metanoia which literally means to think differently or to change one s mind. In the Gospels it takes on a deeper meaning. It means to have a change of mind, which leads to a change of heart, ulbmately leading to a changed life. How would you say your life has changed since you accepted Christ?

What does the word sin mean to you? The Greek word for sin is hamarba. It means to miss the mark or stray from the path. In English, the word sin carries a lot of baggage that may or may not have been intended in the Bible. How do you feel about sin in these terms?

How would you say you have missed the mark or strayed from the path, the ideal we should be living by? Those who heard John s call to repent wanted to know what to do, what does the right course look like. In your life, what does the right course look for you?

Read Luke 3:11-14 This verse gives us an idea of John s understanding of the path of righteousness. There were tax collectors and soldiers who came to John to be bapbzed. They hated by the people. They were mean, they asked for more than they should, the loved money. But some were spiritually hungry and longed to be right with God. John tells them how to get back on the right path.

We see in these three examples, that money and material possessions played an important role in causing them to stray from God s path for them. Greed was a common theme in John s preaching. Lent is a Bme that each one of us can acknowledge that we have strayed from God s path for us, repent, and return to the correct path.

We have each in some way strayed from the path. This path is called The Way. John is called to prepare The Way for the Lord. Jesus tells us that He is The Way John pointed us to Jesus, and in the teachings, preachings, and healings of Jesus, he show us what God is like.