Baptism Service Mar 2025
Message Moments & Highlights
The Meaning of Baptism: Burying the Old, Embracing the New
Come As You Are: The Heart of Baptism at Connect
Baptism Service March 2025
Baptism marks a pivotal moment of transformation in a believer's journey, symbolizing the death of old patterns and the emergence of new life in Christ. Through full immersion, participants physically express their internal decision to follow Jesus, being clothed in Christ rather than worldly things. The testimonies of those baptized reveal diverse paths - from lifelong believers making personal commitments to individuals finding hope after difficult circumstances.The impact of baptism extends far beyond the ceremony itself. Those who take this step often experience profound changes, including freedom from past guilt, discovery of new purpose, and strengthened faith to face life's challenges. They find themselves part of a supportive church family, experiencing God's love in tangible ways. This transformation isn't about achieving perfection, but about embracing a journey of continuous growth and renewal in faith.
Key Insights From The Message
Related Bible Verses
2 Corinthians 9:7
◦ https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.9.7.NLT
◦ "You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure, for God loves a cheerful giver."
2 Corinthians 5:17
◦ https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.5.17.NLT
◦ "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
Matthew 3:16
◦ https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.3.16.NLT
◦ "After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him."
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Finding New Life Through Baptism: Stories of Transformation and Faith
At its core, baptism represents a powerful moment of transformation - saying goodbye to an old life and embracing a new identity in Christ. Through several moving testimonies, we witness how God meets people exactly where they are and offers them a fresh start.
What Does Baptism Symbolize?
Baptism through full immersion carries deep symbolic meaning:
Going under the water represents burying your old life of sin
Rising up represents embracing new life in Christ
It's an outward expression of an inward decision to follow Jesus
You are "clothed in Christ" rather than worldly things
Why Do People Choose to Get Baptized?
The testimonies shared revealed various paths that led people to baptism:
Some grew up knowing about Jesus but wanted to make their own commitment
Others came from difficult backgrounds and found hope in God
Many described feeling lost and finding belonging in church community
Some made the decision after just one church visit, moved by God's love
What Changes After Baptism?
Those who were baptized spoke of significant life changes:
Freedom from guilt, shame and past mistakes
A new sense of purpose and identity
Stronger faith to face life's challenges
Being part of a supportive church family
Key Scripture About Baptism
2 Corinthians 5:17 captures the heart of baptism: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
Life Application
Consider these questions as you reflect on baptism and transformation:
What old patterns or beliefs do you need to "bury" to embrace new life?
How can you support others in their faith journey?
What's holding you back from taking next steps in your walk with God?
Challenge for this week: Identify one area where you need transformation. Spend time in prayer asking God to help you leave behind old ways and embrace His new life. If you haven't been baptized, prayerfully consider if God is calling you to take that step.
Remember - you don't have to be perfect to come to God. He meets you exactly where you are and walks with you into new life.
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A discussion guide for the sermon can be found here.
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Good morning. Good morning, Church. How are we all doing this morning? Excited for our baptism Sunday service. Come on.
It's always such a powerful weekend when we do baptisms in the house. If you don't know who I am, my name's Alex. I'm one of the pastors here, and this guy is. Good morning, Church. My name is Fua, one of the pastors here, and my wife Alex.
And we thought, you know what, for many years, me and Alex have been on the worship team. And can I just say real quick, didn't they do a great job? Come on now. So this is our first time hosting, so if you're here for the first time, please have patience. We'll get through it.
If you're here for the first time and you're visiting, welcome to the Connect family. Welcome. We do have a gift bag that we want to give you. It's got hot chocolate, it's got chocolates in it. Got all the information and a welcome card if you're comfortable in filling it out.
If you're joining us online, welcome. It's great to see you. And this morning, Church, can I encourage you that if you want to get baptized, it's never too late. We've got to change our clothes, we've got towels, we've got a cuppa. Right.
But if not this morning, tonight at Casey. Isn't that right, Alex? Yes, it is. We've got lot. We've got lots of things going on.
But before we get into what's happening in the life of the church, we're just going to come around our time of giving. So if you need an envelope, please raise your hand and our lovely ushers will come and bring you an envelope. You know, I'm always reminded about how generous our church is. Every time I look around, I just see generosity. You know, we serve a generous God and we can be generous in return.
You know, because of your generosity and your giving, we're able to do things like free coffee, we're able to do things like free morning tea, and that this is all to bless you and bless anyone that comes into our church. Every Saturday night after our service, we have dinner and we're able to bless you with that. We're able to put on things like growth nights, which we'll talk a little bit about, where we provide free dinner and free dessert and that's to bless you guys. And, you know, it's just beautiful because we serve a generous God and, you know, worship tithing and giving is an act of worship. Yeah.
And it comes from a heart of gratitude to say, thank you, God, for what you've done, thank you for what you're doing in our life. And we just want to give back to you. And I love this verse in 2 Corinthians, verse 9, chapter 9, verse 7. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly, not under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
And God is able to bless abundantly so that in all things, at all times, having all you need, you will abound in every good work. Our God provides all our needs. He's a generous God and he loves us that much that he will make sure that we always have everything we need. Isn't that right? It is.
And your giving of your finances, your time, your hands to the plow, is met with a heart of gratitude that your giving sees lives changed. And we're seeing that all across the church. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to pray, and then we're going to move the buckets. Would you like to pray, Alex?
Yes. Thank you. I would just thank you for this time that we can give with a heart of gratitude. We can give as an act of worship to you, God, because we thank you for what you've done. And what you're doing in our life.
And we know who you are and you are a person of your word. And when you say you will provide, we believe that. So, God, today we pray that you just bless our giving God, that you use it to advance your kingdom, that you use it to do whatever needs to be done. And we thank you God, that we can come freely just to give back to you. So bless it in Jesus name and we pray.
Amen. Amen. Let's give the buckets. So as they give the buckets. Alex, what's going on?
What's happening this week? Okay, so we have a few things happening in the life of our church, which is so exciting. Tonight we have Encounter night at Casey where we'll continue our baptisms and have some testimonies. So as Pastor Fouer said, if you are being stirred today to get baptized, you haven't been baptized before, there's still an opportunity tonight. Can we encourage you to go down to Casey, bring a towel, bring a change of clothes and then just jump in that water, right?
Wash that old life away. Your family are there to support you, to love on you, to encourage you. So it's a safe space to do that. What else do we have going on this week? We got growth nights starting back up.
Come on now, raise your hands if you're doing growth nights. Three more weeks. Let's push strong to finish. And can I encourage you, you're happy to sign up for term two and we encourage you to complete all the courses, the Alpha, Alpha plus culture course and Bible course. He's freed and freedom and dessert.
These fellowship, these relationships, these, these conversations. And that's what I love about it, where the groups get together. But here's the thing, it doesn't finish there. If you've completed all the groups here in Alpha, Alpha plus culture course and Bible course, we also have connect groups, right? Flow on Connect groups.
Different types of connect groups for young adults. Bible, Bible studies. So there's a whole heap we can sign up to in the Get Connected desk. So sign up for term two and if you're finishing term one, let's finish strong. Amen.
On Thursday we have our Connect Together service. So we have a service here every Thursday morning at 10 o'clock. If you're free, can I encourage you to come on down? They have an amazing time of fellowship. They also have morning tea afterwards.
So as I said, if you're free Thursday morning and you just want, want a little bit more of Jesus, then come down on Thursday at 10:00am and this Friday, we have Friday Connect Youth. Come on. Last Friday, they had over 100 people. Hundred kids there packed out the field. They had a barbecue.
They had. What is it? Spray painting. They had such rugby touch footy. But more importantly, they had relationship.
They had fellowship, they had. Here's the thing you may or may not know on our Friday night, youth is. It's not just the kids here in Connect. There is a large number of community kids. And that's what I love, because that's so hard, isn't it, to reach community.
So community kids can come and say, I can call this home. I saw one of the brothers here this morning. Welcome. And I just want to honor and say thank you to our youth leaders. Want to give them a hand this sacrifice volunteer every Friday.
Amen. What's coming up, Alex? Okay, so next Sunday, we have our new friends lunch on the 23rd, straight after the service, 12 o'clock over in the kids hall. If you're new here and you haven't been to a new friends lunch, can I encourage you to sign up at the Get Connected desk? We would love to bless you with free lunch, get to know you a little bit better, and connect you in.
In. We'll also get to hear from our senior pastor who will share a little bit about Connect and the culture and just the vision. So can I encourage you to sign up? We also have 21 days of prayer and fasting starting Tuesday 25th March. Who likes 21 days of prayer and fasting?
No one. I know it's challenging. I get it. I know. But you know what?
It is such a challenge. A special time where we can seek God more, that we can get closer to him. When we give up that one thing that we feel to give up for 21 days, to spend more time with him. God sees our heart and he meets us right where we're at and he goes, I see you're hungry. Yep.
Come on. Fresh encounter, fresh revelation. So can I encourage you to start praying about your 21 days of prayer and fasting? What are you gonna give up for 21 days? You can't give up like broccoli or like Brussels sprouts, if you don't eat it right, that doesn't count.
So something like legit, like Netflix or social media or, I don't know, whatever it is. Dessert. Desserts. A good one. Sweets.
Who's a sweet tooth? Yeah, I don't know if I could do that. I'll try. I'll try. Come on.
We can all give up. Sweets, right. For 21 days. And then what else do we have going on in April? I want to introduce.
Introduce. I want to welcome my brother, youth pastor, Pastor Michael.
Good morning, church. How are we? You feeling good this morning? Hey, can we give it up for the two pies? Aren't they doing a great job MCing this morning?
Wow. Come on. Hey, we've just got a promo that we're going to watch real quick up on the screen. Then we'll talk more about youth camp.
Come on. Who's excited for camp? Wow. Hey, can I just. Can I just encourage you, church, for a moment?
Fu just mentioned it a little bit before, but last Friday night, we had over a hundred people at youth on a Friday night, which is awesome. That's a milestone that we've been praying for for kind of like the last 12 months. And we've seen it happen three times in our last six youth events, which has been amazing to see. God's really doing an incredible thing. But, you know, I'd love you to look around the church because we don't have a hundred kids in the church right now, do we?
We're getting them on a Friday night, but we're not getting them on a Sunday morning. And again, Fua mentioned it before, but. But we're getting a lot of people coming to youth ministry that are outside of church, families that don't really know necessarily what goes on here on a Sunday morning. And we're trying to encourage them to come along, but they're still really early in their faith journey right now. And can I encourage you?
Youth camp is one of those things where it draws a line in the sand and kids are challenged to either go, I'm either in this all the way or I'm gonna back out. And I'm really believing that as we come to youth camp this year, that we are gonna see kids get amazingly on fire for God. Amen. I really believe that God's got some world changes in our youth ministry right now, and we're praying as a youth team that this youth camp is just going to set a light, a whole bunch of fires in people's hearts. Amen.
But, you know, we, you know, these things are expensive to do. We've got a lot of kids that can't afford to come to camp. So can I just encourage you, church, can you pray about it if you feel it in your donate a kid to come to camp? It's only $100. I think it's the cheapest youth camp in Victoria at the moment.
It's unreal how cheap it is. Only $100. If you would find it in your heart to donate and sponsor a kid to come to camp, can I tell you it's gonna change that kid's life? It is such invaluable blessing sending a kid to youth camp. Amen.
You know, I remember when I was, I was 12 years old and I joined the youth ministry for the. Some of you might know my story, I've shared it a little bit before, but me and my family, we grew up in a pretty toxic church. And when I was 12 years old, I know that's really young, but I was really made up in my mind and I was like, I'm done with Christianity. I'm done with God. If this is what church is like, if this is what Christianity is like, I don't want anything of it, you know?
And we moved to a different church and I got to that youth ministry and they had a camp coming up in just two months. And the camp even back then was like $300. It was expensive. And that's, you know, that's 2007 money, you know. But someone in the church, I don't know who it was, but someone in the church gave my parents the money for me to go to a youth camp.
And can I tell you, I walked into that youth camp with a lot of bitter feelings about church, about God, about what my purpose in life was. But can I tell you, when I went to that camp, man, God got a hold of me in a whole new way. There was a fire that was lit in my spirit and it totally transformed the trajectory of my life because God got a hold of me on that camp, you know, and since then I've seen it happen in thousands upon thousands of kids that have gone to a camp like this. And so I'd love to encourage you, church, if you can sponsor someone, that'd be great. If you can't, that's cool too.
Hey, can I ask you to just pray into this thing that we're doing? Can I ask you to pray that, that we see kids that are totally against God, that just come and experience his love. Amen. Because I'm believing God's gonna do something amazing on this camp. Amen.
So thank you, church. Thank you for your love and support. Appreciate you. How good is that? Alright, so just before we move on, I believe, Alex, we've made a few changes out there in the foyer.
Yes, we have. We have indeed. Awesome. So if I, if I wanted to sign up for Growth Nights, if I Wanted to sign up for connect groups. If I wanted to register for something, where would I go?
This is a great question, Pastor Fua. Thank you. You can head out to the foyer and just left of the door, you'll see a TV screen. That's our get connected area. You can sign up for any of our courses.
Growth night, Connect group baptism. That's awesome. Yep. You can do it all day and there'll be someone there to help you as well. I'm also thinking of giving.
I want to give to the church. I want to bless someone. I want to bless someone in the youth camp. Maybe one day I'll start reading. So is there any way where I can put those two together?
Yeah, well, sure. Reading is always a good thing, right? We should all do some more reading. So in our bookshop area, you'll see there's a couple of shelves there that are full of books. We have a little desk and it's says bookshop and giving.
So if you want to buy a book, you can purchase a book. If you're wanting to give or donate, you can do that there as well. Awesome. And lastly, I'm new to church. I don't have a Bible.
Where can I get a Bible for free? Where can I give my details to someone? Is there anywhere I can go? Yes, absolutely. So on the other side of the bookshop, by the doors that lead out, out to the courtyard, is our new persons and new Christians area.
So if you're new here or you're new to connect or new to faith, we would love to bless you with the Bible. If you don't have one, we would love to grab your details as well, just so we can journey alongside you, encourage you, help teach you how to read the Word, get you connected in. If that's something that you would like to do, we would love to have a chat with you. There'll be someone there to help you out as well. Awesome.
That series. Things happen in the life of the church. You know where to go. Why don't we give Pastor Alex a hand? This is a great job.
Now we're going to move on to the next next part of our service. Important part. And I want to welcome up all of those that are getting baptized this morning. Why don't we give them a hand?
Come all the way up.
That's it. Come all the way up the front, up the front, all the way up. Come right up to the edge. Awesome. We'll line up here.
Yep, yep, yep, yep.
You can come around. Come around. Yeah, you guys come around. Around here? Yep.
1, 2, 3, 4. Awesome. Awesome. I'll come over this way here.
Just want to say we're proud of you for making the decision to follow Christ. Thank you for your courage to step out. It's not easy to stand in front of all these people, but I want you to know they're your Connect family. They champion you, they love you. And I know this pleases the Lord, so I just want to encourage you with something here.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, and the new is here. And I commend you because you've made a decision to follow Christ, an outward expression, inward decision to say, jesus is my Lord and Savior. I want to encourage you, and if you've never seen baptisms or this is your first time seeing baptisms, here at Connect, we do what they call full immersion, where we lower them in water fully covered, and then we bring them back up. And the act of that is when we lower them into the water, it represents a life no longer lived. No longer am I living that life of sin.
I will bury my old life. And as they come up out of the water, they embrace and receive a new life in Christ Jesus. That is what you're saying here this morning. You're not just here because your name is on a list. You're here because you're going, I'm going to put you rest.
My old life. And when I rise up, I'm going to be fired up with a purpose and a vision and a heart to say, lord, send me wherever you lead me.
We see the power of raising up. In Matthew 3:16, it says this. This is Jesus after his baptism. As Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, this is my dearly loved son who brings me great joy.
There is power. When you guys come out of that water, there is power in you. There is a spirit. The Word also says, clothed in Christ. No longer are you clothed in the things of this world, but you are clothed in Christ.
And he sees. He sees your heart. More than that, he sees who you're called to become.
So this morning and ask you guys to confess your faith, I'm going to ask you three questions. Three questions. And you're going to respond. Yes. Isn't that right, Ashton?
Yes. This guy came to church for the first time last night. First time.
As you know, Pastor Fu, I'm gonna hold it together. Hold it together. Here's the three questions I want to ask you guys, right? And you're gonna respond, yes. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God?
Do you believe that he died for your sins and he rose again on the third day? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and savior? Then, on the confession of your faith, I now baptize you in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and the name of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Give him a hand. Give him a hand.
So here's what we're going to do. CHURCH I'm going to pray for them, but just before that, just a few things so we all know what has happened happening. We're going to do two groups. So this is group number one here. So you guys are going to stay on stage.
And this is group number two. And then if you have. If you have loved ones, friends or family on stage getting baptized, can I encourage you? Come, come forward, come forward, video, whatever it may be, but come and celebrate with them. If there's room on the stage and you can jump over the kids, then do it.
Lay hands on them and that stuff, right? But enjoy that moment. And then once, once your family member or your loved one is finished, then I'll get you guys to take your seats and the next family will come. Now, one more important note. If we can keep this area free, right?
Our media team are very passionate about our camera angles, and I'll get in trouble if anyone stands in front of here. All right, so video camera here. And you're going to see the live footage on our tellies, but more importantly, so our loved ones supporting from home can be a part of it. And if you're. If you're watching online, you want to get baptized, you couldn't make it this morning.
Casey, 5:00 tonight. Lock it in. Amen.
Ready, team? So I'm going to pray for you, and then you three will stay up and I'll get you forward. Take your seats. Heavenly Father, why don't we reach out our hands? CHURCH Heavenly Father, I thank you for this opportunity to glorify you, to exalt you, to honor you by seeing lives change through your power, through your love.
Lord, I pray for every single person on here, Lord, that have made the decision to follow you. And I pray that you will continue to fill their hearts with the spirit they need. I pray that you would make moves in their lives so they can see opening and doors opening and opportunities to step up, to have that courageous faith that comes through. Father, I pray that you continue to be the firm foundation along the riverbank, Lord. And your living water will always flow now and beyond.
So in this place right now, Father, I pray. I pray that you would have your way. I pray that you will guide them. And when they rise up, Father, I pray that you will fill them afresh. You'll fill them afresh.
In Jesus name we pray. Church. Amen. Amen. Why don't we give him a hand?
I'll get you guys to take a seat.
There we go. You guys can stay up here. You three. Yep. So we're gonna do now.
I'm gonna hand it over to you guys, and you guys can introduce yourself, share your heart, share your story. And the team are going to baptize you. We're good. I'll hand it over to you. All right.
Right. Hey, everyone. My name is Balin. In case you ever met me before. Hey, look, I'm not too good at talking, so I'll try to get right to it.
I guess my testimony that I came from a place, life that had nothing to do with God. Had nothing to do with his fruits, his spirit. I was caught up in all the wrong places. I had a lot of pain. I was hidden behind drugs, violence, alcohol.
Name it, I probably did. Was dark. It was very, very dark. And there was no light at the end of that tunnel. I like to say I would come to God.
But the truth is, it came to me. It would be hard to tell you the moment I met him. It felt like a year. I had these encounters on and on. Whether I was sober, high, sad, mad.
It didn't matter. God chased after me. Life was very different the moment I stepped into this church. I found a community, family. It was a blessing.
Life was never the same. And I don't remember. Regret that I can't act as if everything's been sunshine and rainbows. I've had my hard times. Trust me.
I've fallen time and time again. I make mistakes. But there's never been anything so worth, so rewarding than chasing after God. Through trouble, through heartache. I will rise again.
And this is why I'm here today. To honor my God. To honor the Lord. And no matter what happens, to always return back to him.
Hi, my name's Rach. For those of you who don't know me. And I've been coming to connect for about six months now. After my husband and I moved to the peninsula last year, we'd been searching for a church for quite a while, but had never really felt at home anywhere. I grew up knowing Jesus and I've wanted to get baptised for a long time.
I'm so grateful for all of the things that God has done in my life, including leading me to this church, a place that does really feel like home. I'm choosing to get baptized today to commit to continuing to follow Jesus for the rest of my life.
I'm very nervous right now, but I'll be all good. Hello, everyone. My name is Brady and I'm gonna tell you guys a short testimony of my faith and why I want to get baptized. So before I started building a stronger relationship with God, I would doubt myself, like, at times and everything. Every little mistake I would make, like, you know, when I play basketball and I make a mistake when I play or if I'm in class.
And I don't understand the work that has been assigned to me, even in, like, my personal time, when I'm at home, like, I doubt myself a lot and make a lot of mistakes, but, oh, well. And when things like this happen, I start to become, like, even more doubtful and ashamed of myself. But now that I have built my relationship with God and actually started to lock in, I began to recover more easily from my mistakes and become less doubtful of myself. Every time I felt ashamed of myself. The best thing I do is just pray and talk to God about it because I know God has better plans for me and everybody else and his love is more powerful than anything.
I want to get baptized because now that I know that I'm fully ready to accept Jesus Christ into my life, life and put my full commitment through Him, I won't ever have to doubt myself or be ashamed of myself because God is always with me and everybody else. Thank you for listening.
Why don't we give them a hand? How good is that? So what we're going to do, the worship team, going to lead us in worship? Can I encourage you to really step into worship? Believe, intercede, pray.
Pray for those that are getting baptized or whatever it is in your life that you need change for. So I'll get the team up, get the team, and I'll hand it over to you.
There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus There is power Here is the name of Jesus Break every chain Break every chain Break every chain There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus Chain Break every chain Break every chain Break every chain Break Every Break every chain Break every chain sa there's an army rising up there's an army rising up Break every chain Break every chain Break every chain Break the army rising now risen ar let break every chain Break every chain Break every chain Break every chain Break every every chain Break every chain Break the power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus Break every chain Break every chain Break every chain I hear the chain shamefulness I hear the shameful name I hear this chainful name I hear the chains falling Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus Break every chain Break every chain Break every chain Break every chain Break every chain Break every chain sa all right, ready for our second group? So why don't we welcome up our second group, give them a hand all the way up. There we go. So we'll do the same. I'll hand it over to you, introduce yourself, and where I want to get baptized this morning, I'll hand it over to you.
Thank you. Hi, everyone. I'm Emily. For those who don't know me, that's probably most of you. I think I've been coming along since about October.
Bear with me. I'm going to tell a bit of a story. I first learned about God during my teen years in a rather legalistic church. I learned that God was angry with me, that he wanted to punish me for my sin. He was kind of like, oh, I'm not allowed to cry.
He was kind of like my earthly father. He was a bit like that, too. I tried. There's a lot to go, so I've got to get it.
That might not help.
I tried to be pleasing to God, to measure up to his high standard. I used to pray that I'd bite my tongue every time I swore I was living. Living like this was exhausting, and there wasn't much of my tongue left. My struggle with legalism meant I failed more than I succeeded in doing what God wanted me to do. I became pregnant.
I married my partner and had a beautiful baby boy who's with me today. And then I stepped away from legalism.
By 19, I became a Christian. I finally learned what God's grace meant and. And the incredible gift of Jesus that meant I didn't have to do it in my own strength. Soon after, for whatever reason, I felt that I needed to wait for my husband to get on board. He was a Christian, and he had his own walk with God, which was different to mine.
But even so, I remember kind of making this Deal with him, with God, where I said, look, I'll still walk with you, but we kind of need to pause on the intensity of our relationship so that he can join us. I wouldn't recommend this, by the way. So fast forward. Over the next 18 years, I had two more beautiful boys, got a master's degree, had some big life challenges that happen with life. And over that time, we attended church and served as usual.
But I stopped hearing God's voice and his prompting 12 months ago. Some really big changes happened in our lives, and I won't go into those details right now, but it's been incredibly difficult for our whole family. During that time, though, this strange thing happened. It was like my ears were unplugged and I could hear from God again. I guess the message for me has been when we look to our spouse or anyone else for that matter, to guide our spiritual life, they fall short.
They have to, no matter how great they might be or how much they demanded. You can't replace God and they're not meant to. The depth of the relationship I have now with him far outweighs the deepest moments I've had with any person on Earth. Just the other day, I felt God prompting me to get baptized, like, literally the other day. Honestly, there is so much happening in my life right now, I can barely keep my head above water.
So God was like, hey, let's add some more.
Anyway, it also makes a lot of sense. There's the closing of one chapter in my life and the beginning of a new one. He will be first in my life from here on in. No more waiting for others, no more people pleasing. I'm here to please him and him alone.
And through that lens, I choose to get baptized today.
Good morning, church. For those who don't know me, give her a hand.
For those who don't know me, my name is Jade. I'm 22 years old. I was born. I was born in New Zealand and moved to Melbourne when I was seven in 2009. I basically grew up in the church as Christianity is such a big part of my culture.
As a Samoan through my teenage years, I would attend these baptism services and be so moved by the Holy Spirit. And I look forward to the day that I was up here. So I'm here today to declare that Jesus is my king Now. I believe wholeheartedly that the Lord sent his Son, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life. Leading up to this day, I had my doubts, my trials and tribulations.
I had external things in the past. Few days that made me feel like I wasn't ready to be up here.
But I know that even if my heart and mind may not be in the right place, I know that Jesus died on that cross. And that's why I'm here today to be closer to Him. Thank you, church.
Hi, Church. My name is Jordan. Sorry if I stuck.
There's been many times I wanted to get baptized with the thought of not knowing a lot. Sydney. Every day not being worthy enough flew through my mind, which stopped me from giving my life to Jesus.
I would find help or love through the wrong things, which became a bad habit. It took a lot of conversations and praying with my parents to know the wrongs from right, which I am thankful to them for never giving up on me.
After every heartbreak or battles I face, I came to understand that my first everlasting love will remain with the Lord Jesus himself. I was encouraged by my younger brother Levi, who gave himself to the Lord, which I'm so proud of. His older sister and I would love to be a better role model to the rest of my siblings and my younger cousins, especially in this generation.
But other than that, what made me feel positive about. Positive about my decision is what Kathleen once said during growth night is that you don't need to perfect yourself or come as you are to the Lord. So that's why I'm standing up here with my sister, to take that leap of faith and surrender myself to Jesus.
My name is. My name is Ashton. I'm 18 years old and this is my second time here. As growing up as a child, I wasn't a true believer or anything, but I did feel that God was real, Jesus was.
But I had a rough childhood. My parents split up and growing up I went into my dad's custody. And as a teenager I grew up, stopped believing in it entirely. And throughout those years, I've just been so lost. So I don't know, I had so much distrust in my heart that as recently, I've got kicked out of my house.
I was tired of living thy life. I just wanted to leave. This is third time I've tried to leave from home, but I thought I'd.
I had nowhere to go and had nothing. And I was brought in by my Aunt Esther and I just felt so anxious in that. And I never thought I'd be here in like a week's time. But yesterday, last night was the first time I came here and I wasn't a believer in Jesus. I didn't believe in anything really.
But coming here, I felt I felt welcomed, I felt loved. I haven't felt that in years. And you know, it's good to come to a place where I feel loved, celebrated instead of tolerated. But I come here now to just. This feels like a new beginning for me, a new chapter.
And I feel like I must get baptized. It just feels right. I feel ready. And that's why I'm here.
Give him a hand. How good was that? So here what we're going to do, we're going to get the team, the worship team are going to lead us in worship. If you have love, one's family, please come up and and celebrate with them. So we get our team start baptizing.
Death could not hold you.
Silence.
The heavens are roaring the praise of your glory. For you were raised to life again.
You have no rival, you have no equal. Now and forever the God you reign. Yours is the kingdom, yours is the glory. Yours is the name above all name. What a powerful name it is.
What a powerful name it is the name name of Jesus Christ my king. What a powerful name it is. Nothing can stand again what a powerful name it is the name of Jesus. What a powerful name it is. What a powerful name name it is the name of Jesus Christ my king.
What a powerful name it is and nothing can stand again. What a powerful name it is the name of Jesus.
Sa could not hold you the veil to before you the silence above Austin and grave the heavens are roaring Praise of your glory for you you have no rival, you have no equal. Now and forever God you reign your kingdom your the name of the What a powerful name it is What a powerful name it is the name of Jesus.
What a powerful name.
What a powerful name it is the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
Hallelujah. Throw up, throw up my hand Praise you again and again it's all that I have is a hallelujah. Hallelujah. And I know it's not before Hallelujah.
Come on my soul oh, don't you get shy on me Lift up your song. Cause you got a lion inside of get up and praise the Lord.
Oh, don't you get s on me Lift up your song. You driving lion inside. Get off your praise alone.
Come on my soul oh, don't you get s on me Lift up your song if you got a life Hallelujah. And I know it's how much I've nothing else before except for a heart singing hallelujah. Hallelujah. How good was that, huh? Why don't we give them another hand and a Final hand.
Well done, well done. And I wanna leave you with encouragement and something for many years been a part of baptism service, whether on the worship team or hosting for the first time is their the courageous heart to say yes. And we heard their stories. We heard their stories. The young man turns up yesterday and the next day he's baptized.
Next I'd baptize. And I love how some of the stories come as you are. Come as you are, you know, and the big encouragement for our younger people, especially living in a world where you have to be someone, you have to wear something to be included. But can I tell you, church, you come as you are. And if you're watching online and you're looking for a home church, you come as you are.
And this morning I want encourage you whatever it is that God's putting your heart to step into with that courageous faith, the courageous heart to say yes, yes, yes. I don't have it all together, but yes. I don't know the word fully off my heart. That's okay. Yes.
I'm on the journey. I don't know the Father just yet, but I'm willing to know him today.
And we're going to pray together. We're going to pray together. I want to leave you with the prayer. We're going to pray this together. And I, brother, if you've been, if you've been away from Christ, if you've fallen short somewhere, if you lost your way, I say this to you and these guys may not have said it, but it's them your home.
You are home in the presence of the Lord, a place I can call home, a refuge. My Lord, my Saviour. So with every eye closed and head bowed, I want you to pray this with me. That if you've been away from Christ, maybe you need. You want to know who Christ is.
Maybe you want to give your heart to the Lord. This morning, I want you to raise your hands. No one's looking. Just. Just me.
See something stirring in your heart and you've been away from Christ and you want Christ to do a work in your life and you want to accept him as your Lord and Savior. I see you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Courageous, Courageous heart. Courageous heart. Starts inwardly, but our outward expression, our outward. That's our courageous part. That's the part that we can do.
Thank you. Thank you.
Whether you raise your hand, whether you haven't, I want you to pray this after. Repeat after me. Heavenly Father, I believe you are Son of God. I need you in my life. I believe you died for our sins and I believe you rose from the dead.
So come into my life, fill my heart and be my Lord and Saviour. Forgive me for my sins. I'm no longer a slave to sin. I am a child of God. In Jesus name we pray.
Church. Amen. Amen.
If you're one of those that raised your hands, thank you. We want to give you a free Bible, right, not just a free book. We want to give you an opportunity to pursue the purpose on your life and we want to journey that with you. Amen. So you come out.
Like Alex said, it's all in the foyer. Come get connected. If you want prayer this morning as well, I'll be up in the front. If you want to talk to pastors, we'll be around. So, church, other than that, we love you.
Thank you. If you're watching online, thank you. We've got free morning tea cafe team. We're going to finish with a song. God bless you.
We'll see you next week. Amen. Thank you.