This week we focused on two very important events at the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry: his baptism in the Jordan River, and then the 40 days he spent in the wilderness, which included being tempted by Satan. But first, each student had their first opportunity to recite a Building Block they had memorized - and EVERY SINGLE student did one! Rex, Sam and I were all very impressed and proud of each student who either memorized the statement defining who Jesus Christ is or Matthew 16:15-16 (see last week's post). To start our discussion on baptism, we went through our next Building Block, #11: |
WHAT IS THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM?
Baptism is the sacred use of water, commanded by Jesus Christ, to signify God's cleansing of our sins and our welcome into the family of God.
"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20
We had lots of good questions about baptism, like, "why do we baptize?" (short answer: because Jesus was baptized and because he told us to baptize) and "why doesn't the Covenant Church do immersion baptisms?" (short-ish answer: we do do immersion baptisms, but we also baptize by sprinkling; we believe Scripture does not detail specific instructions on how to baptize, and throughout history, Christians have not always been able to baptize by full immersion). If you're interested, you can read more about the Evangelical Covenant Church and baptism here.
To study Jesus' experience in the wilderness, we spent a little time outside, reading and thinking through Luke 4:1-13.
After students got a good sense of the three ways that Satan tempted Jesus, we moved to another spot and wrote down some of the ways we are tempted today.
It's important to remember that temptation itself is not sin; Jesus himself was tempted, and he never sinned. When we act on our temptations is when we sin, which puts distance between us and God (and others, usually).
We finished our time reading 1 Corinthians 10:13 and taking turns praying for God to help us remember he is always with us, helping us resist temptations.
We finished our time reading 1 Corinthians 10:13 and taking turns praying for God to help us remember he is always with us, helping us resist temptations.
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (1 Cor. 10:13)
For next week:
Read session 6, where we'll learn about Jesus and his disciples. Work on memorizing building block #11 so we can fill up that marble jar!