Identity Revealed – Powerful Act of God

Identity Revealed – Powerful Act of God starts off a new sermon series for the new year.  Epiphany is a Greek word that mean reveal.  Every Sunday during this season we will see that Jesus is revealed to be God.  This Sunday we see that his public ministry all started with his baptism.

Cold Enough For Ya?

I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In that part of the world the second week in January is historically the coldest of the whole winter. Throughout my childhood we jumped off the roof into ten foot high piles of snow. We routinely went sledding, and later on we even played hockey. However I never experienced a polar vortex. But now I have. Some people have called drastic winter dip in winter temps a natural disaster. It maybe. Sadly some people have died due to the cold weather.

Acts of God

Natural disasters are nothing new. In fact insurance companies call them acts of God. Floods, tornadoes, and lighting strikes are other examples of acts of God for which nobody can be liable – unless you purchase a special insurance policy which your agent will be happy to sell you. Many farmers in California and Florida own just such insurance policies to protect themselves against a loss to the orange or grape crops from a severe case of frost, another act of God.

Baptism is a Powerful Act of God

Today you recall the baptism of Jesus and rejoice in your own baptism…both of them acts of God similar to insurance policies put into effect in the past and they continue to be binding arrangements that remain valid.
Baptism isn’t like a car wash in January when you drive out of the car wash and immediately the shiny effects of the act deteriorate as your car gets pelted by the rain and plastered with road grim and peppered with mud and you need to go back and do the whole thing again. Baptism is a powerful act of God – not covered by a special policy but it is the policy – a powerful, binding promise that will always be effective.

Want to hear more?  Watch this week’s message taken from Acts 10, Identity Revealed – Powerful Act of God.