Jesus is Our Home Base // M-Note 7.20.24

When I was a kid, we played a made-up game that was a cross between capture the flag and tag. We had neighborhood boundaries, special house rules, always played at night, and played on several teams. Each team had a home base. Like any normal game of tag, you could wander and roam, but you always wanted to be mindful of where your base was. You never wanted to get too far away. The further away, the more vulnerable you were. Drifting was dangerous. A smart player would check back in at home base every so often.
 
I was thinking about that recently, because the same thing is true in our faith life. Jesus encourages us to stay connected to God. Like branches that are connected to a vine, we are supposed to say connected to Christ. But life is often like a game of tag. We are out there playing the game – school, work, activities, relationships, etc. But while we are living our lives, it is easy to wander away from our home base. And just like in tag, the further away from our home base we get, the more vulnerable we become. Drifting from Christ is dangerous. So sometimes, it is important to purposefully check back in at home base to reorient and recenter ourselves.
 
One way we do that is through weekly worship. This weekend is going to be all about returning to our base and recentering ourselves in faith. Sunday, at all of our sites, I will be finishing our series Hello, I Am…Jesus. The sermon will end with a time of baptism and a chance to remember and recommit yourself to your baptism. I hope all of you will come ready to participate.
 
We will have the baptism pools available at all sites for full immersion or the font available for those that prefer water on their heads. If you have never been baptized, this is a great Sunday to do it. Baptism is simply the act of receiving Jesus’ gift of grace and making a commitment to follow him. At the end of the sermon anyone who has not been baptized (children and adults) will have the opportunity to come forward and do so.
 
For all the rest of you that have already been baptized, you will be able to come forward to reaffirm your baptism and recommit to follow Jesus. For some of us, baptism was long before we can even remember. Others maybe have drifted far away from God since our baptism. Many of us have had profound experiences of Jesus and want to mark our new commitment to follow him. Reaffirming our baptism is a great way to do this. You will be able to reaffirm your baptism through full immersion or with water over your head at the font. It is powerful, especially if you feel like you have drifted from faith, to recenter yourselves on Jesus and make a new commitment to follow him.
 
Everyone will be invited to come forward to either be baptized or to reaffirm your baptism. I hope all of you will participate. If you want to be immersed, wear comfortable, casual clothes. We will have t-shirts and plenty of towels available.
 
I know that for many of you, this is outside your comfort zone. But it is one of the most powerful Sundays at The Gathering, and I hope you will be there. Not only that, but I hope you plan to come forward to either be baptized or to reaffirm your baptism. Why? Because we all tend to drift, and drifting is dangerous. Think of this as a time to check back in at home base.
 
Have a great weekend, and I can’t wait to see you Sunday.

Peace,
 
Matt