Baptism: That Getting Dunked Thing
July 7, 2024 • Garry Firth • Acts 8:32–38, Romans 6:3–9
1. What time do you consider to be early in the morning? What time do you normally get out of bed? What’s the latest you’ve ever slept in?
2. Read Acts 8:26-29, Have you ever experienced God - the Holy Spirit - asking you to do something? How did you know it was God nudging you?
3. As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” (Acts 8:36) What are your thoughts about baptism? What are some things that have kept you or people you know from getting baptized?
4. If someone asked you about baptism and what it is, how would you describe it?
In the book of Romans we read: That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country. Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin’s every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. (Romans 6:3-9 The Message)
5. What else stood out to you in this message?
If you haven’t been baptized, what’s standing in your way?
