Happy Birthday Colin

Colin turned 3 today!

Always New

Have you ever been to a buffet where you inhaled so much wonderful food that you had trouble remembering exactly what you ate? In a weird way that's how I felt earlier this month when I attended the Ohio Valley Presbytery Men's' retreat. In less than two days I had listened to 5 hours worth of preaching/teaching by the following, wonderful men of God: Bryan Chapel, Zach Eswine, Dennis Hack, and John Sartelle. Even though it's been a few weeks since the retreat, I'm still digesting everything I heard. As a matter of fact, the presbytery recently uploaded the sessions to their website, and I'm currently go through them again. Over the next few weeks I intend to write a little more on what I've learned from these teachings. However, one thing that did become extremely clear to me at the conference was that when the Gospel of Christ is properly preached (and/or read), it is always new. Too often I come to the Word of God hoping that I will discover something new and exciting; something I've never read or thought about before; something that will spark an idea in my head that will initiate a solution to a problem. Unfortunately when I do this I often walk away from the Bible feeling unsatisfied. What these speakers at the retreat taught me (not necessarily intentionally), was that no matter how many times the Gospel is preached and heard, it is always refreshing to our souls. The Gospel of Christ is more than food for thought, it's a feast for the soul, and no matter how often we hear it, it is always new. Never stale or bland the, Gospel of Christ is to the soul as a king's feast is to a weary Pilgrim; refreshing and effectual.

May the Gospel of Christ nourish your soul and bring you nigh to God; today, tomorrow and forevermore.

Colin's Penmanship

Below is Colin's first attempt at writing his name. Not too shabby...

Anna Chuckles

I admit that this is unnecessarily long, but I just love baby laughs:

More Than A Tradition

Today my wife and I celebrated the baptism of our our daughter, Anna Elizabeth; an event I've been yearning for ever since her first breaths. Watching the pastor sprinkle water on her little head and pray for her, reminded Lizz and I of the wonderful love of our God, and the hope we have in the promises of His Son.

Although baptism is a tradition in the Christian church, it is not rooted in tradition but in the very Word of God, and although it is an outward sign, a spiritual element is involved as well. The Westminster Confession of Faith describes baptism as "a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized in to the visible Church; but also, to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace." Much more than a symbol, baptism is a sacrament ordained by Christ himself:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising then in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." - Matt 28.19

Unfortunately, baptism is too often viewed as a sign of an individual's commitment to live a Holy life, versus a sign of the commitment of God to save and care for His children.

In regards to why Lizz and I have decided to baptize our children as infants, our convictions (once again) don't rest in tradition but in the Bible. First of all, we don't believe that the child is regenerated during baptism. In other words, we don't believe that baptism makes the child a Christian. Instead, we believe that baptism serves as an outward sign of the individual entering into the covenant community (i.e. visible Church).

In addition, we believe that there exists a strong link between the Old Testament sacrament of circumcision and the New Testament sacrament of baptism. As a matter of fact, we believe that baptism fulfills the sacrament of circumcision. As believing parents were instructed to have their sons circumcised in the Old Testament, believers are now called to baptize their children. In fact, there are several instances in the New Testament where all members of a believer's household are baptized (Acts 16.15, Act 16.33, 1Cor 1.16).

Finally, although baptism is, in part, a dedication, the basis of this dedication rests not in the ability of the parents, but in the promises of God. Although it is our responsibility to raise Colin and Anna "in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Eph 6.4), we realize that their salvation rests not in our dedicated effort, but in the love of our gracious Savior. This is where our hope lies, and this is what we are reminded of every time we witness a baptism.

Below is a clip of Anna being baptised. Before playing it, make sure your volume is turned up (high), and get comfy...it's a long 'un but a good 'un.