Testimony, Baptism, Communion

Sunday Sermon Review December 30, 2012
( from my home church I attend regularly )

Acts 16:30-31  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?   And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Today was a special day at church though there was no sermon. We heard the testimonies of 4 individuals and then they were baptized and then we joined together to celebrate Communion.
I didn't take a lot of notes this time but I will share a bit of the service.
Pastor Kellin lead the worship singing several favorites including "I'll Fly Away",  "The Solid Rock", and "Our God is Greater and Higher than Any Other" and Kellin stressed the excitement that testimonies bring - to hear and see how God is working today.

The first testimony was by a young man I will call Willie ( not his real name ). Though he grew up learning about Jesus, in his teenage years he became uninterested in the things of the Lord and went to a life of drinking and partying - spending his money trying to satisfy his unsatiable appetite for alcohol.  Wille has now decided to leave that all behind and live for Jesus. He now realizes how much God loves him.
The next testimony was from a couple who were recently married ( in early December ).  The young man who I will call Cam told how his choices led him down a bad path - choosing a life of alcohol and partying. He contributed his desire to change now to his wife and together they shared their desire to build a relationship with God.  Cam's wife shared next - She too chose the path of alcohol and partying which led to an unexpected pregnancy for her when she was 16. She shared the difficulties that come with being an unwed single teen Mom. After encouragement from her own mother, she decided she needed to change and do right for her young son's sake. Together with her new husband Cam, she wants to live for the Lord. Together they desire to raise her son for the Lord.

Lastly, we heard the testimony of a man whom I will call Steve, a man with many tattoos. Steve was a former inmate of an Alberta prison. He spent 20 years in prison. Steve shared how while in prison he got into a fight with another inmate, and seriously wounded the man. The man was paralyzed. Sometime later he got into another fight but this time Steve got the bad end of the fight and ended up in a coma for 14 days. While in this coma, he feels he experienced hell. He described the darkness, and the bottomless pit, and the aloneness that he experienced. He shared how in this hellish place he noticed he had no tattoos. After coming out of this coma, Steve knew it was time to change and get right with the Lord. He told how he got down on his knees and asked Jesus into his heart and asked the Lord to remove all his addictions. Jesus has gloriously saved Steve.
 Isaiah 50:10  Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.

Next were the baptisms - Cam and his wife were baptized by pouring while Willie and Steve were baptized by immersion.
Communion followed the baptisms.
Jesus is the final revelation.
The bread represents His body broken for us.
The wine represents His blood shed for us on the cross.

Note: For an indepth study on Holy Communion please check my Biblestudy blog - link here   http://livebyfaithonlinebiblestudies.blogspot.ca/2012/11/holy-communion-lord-supper.html

Thought for the week: New Years Resolution: "When you've done something wrong, admit it and be sorry. No one in history has ever choked to death from swallowing his pride".