I went to church today thinking about myself....my to-do list, my children, my problems, my life. I left church today thinking how I never want to do that again. I want to go to church thinking how can I encourage others in their walk with Christ, and how can I help someone change their life today. Let me start from the beginning...
We had church outside. There was a hot tub filled with cold water for a baptismal. It was hot and muggy. It was beautiful to see the ones I know serve the ones I don't by giving up chairs and giving umbrellas to shade from the sun. This is church. Brad spoke about the next steps to take when you've given your life to Christ. He talked about baptism and the many ideas people have conjured up from many different traditions and backgrounds. He spoke the truth in love about what the Bible says about baptism, what Jesus Himself did and the steps to take after making Jesus your Lord. He led them in the salvation prayer at the end of the service for those who didn't know Him yet. During that prayer...I pray. Every week I pray that God would pour down His love and speak to hearts that came. I usually don't get to see the fruits of that prayer, but today I did. At the end of this prayer, Brad said he was going to baptize 8 people and that anyone who wanted to, who just gave their life to Christ, could. He said--just stand up and say "Today is the Day!" and not seconds after he said that, a young Mom to the left of me spoke up. She was already standing so she said loud and clear...."Today is the Day!" Tears were streaming down her face. A few other people stood then too. I remembered how nervous I was when I was baptized, so I decided to go encourage and cheer on those who were brave and emotional, for sure. Inside I found Kelly who wanted to pray and didn't know how. She said she didn't want to do life on her own anymore, and knew that God was whispering into her heart. We prayed together. It was glorious. Then outside as I walked her back to her seat to watch the baptisms, her friend wanted to pray too. Tami had been sprinkled as a baby, but didn't remember it and wanted to give her life to Jesus. She wanted to give up control and let God lead her. We prayed the prayer. She was so excited! It was an amazing time. After I'd gotten them bibles and introduced them to Brad, I wanted to give them my name and phone number so that they could call me if they needed anything this week. We couldn't find paper, but I had a pen. And only at RiverPoint Church would this be just the coolest thing ever, I think, but I wrote my name and phone number on a pack of cigarettes. :) How funny is that!?! I loved it.
Oh and in the end, 25 people were baptized.
Today was a great day.
Thanks God for letting me be a part of it.
Just Added: Here are some links to see more pics taken on my husband's phone.
