SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Well, welcome again to this morning's spring baptism service 2026.
SPEAKER_00: If you're visiting here today, one of the main central values of who we are is that we're a gospel-centered church, which means we desire to see the good news about the salvation of Jesus shape all of who we are and everything about what we are called to pursue.
SPEAKER_00: And so today is really a day of getting back to the basics, getting back to the fundamentals.
SPEAKER_00: Let the church say, keep it simple.
SPEAKER_00: All right, all right.
SPEAKER_00: Here's a way.
SPEAKER_00: Two weeks ago, we had Resurrection Sunday service where we celebrated together the resurrection of Jesus, how he died on the cross for the sin of the world.
SPEAKER_00: He took on all sin, hell itself, the very wrath of God in our place.
SPEAKER_00: And he conquers the grave.
SPEAKER_00: He conquers sin once and for all.
SPEAKER_00: And he promises abundant life, forgiveness, new life in him.
SPEAKER_00: So that was a celebratory service two weeks ago.
SPEAKER_00: And we looked at Matthew 28.
SPEAKER_00: Well, church family, soon, a little bit later into Matthew 28, Jesus gives a very important set of instructions.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: He gives a few words about time to go.
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, turn to your neighbor and say, it's go time.
SPEAKER_00: It's go time.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: All right, here we go.
SPEAKER_00: What Jesus gives in this great Sermon on the Mount by calling the church, his followers, to go into the world is something called the Great Commission.
SPEAKER_00: And so, in honor of God's holy, living, and active word, if you're able, please stand to your feet.
SPEAKER_00: And let's all read together today's fundamentals of the faith scripture that unifies the church globally, historically, and especially today.
SPEAKER_00: This is just one slide, all right?
SPEAKER_00: So let's read it together.
SPEAKER_00: Here we go.
SPEAKER_00: Three, two, one.
SPEAKER_00: Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
SPEAKER_00: And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.
SPEAKER_00: This is the Holy Word of God.
unknown: Thanks be to God.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks be to God.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, you may be seated today in the presence of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And I just want to highlight two phrases to get us going today where it says, All authority.
SPEAKER_00: Then Jesus came to them, his disciples, and said, All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.
SPEAKER_00: God gave Jesus all authority, which means all strength and power.
SPEAKER_00: And through that, he calls the disciples then to go in that strength, in that power.
SPEAKER_00: And so they do, and they begin within where this was first given in Jerusalem, and then it spreads to Judea and Samaria and to the known areas of the biblical world at that time.
SPEAKER_00: From one season after the next, from one decade after the next, from one century to the next, to where we are today.
SPEAKER_00: This command, this great commission, church, is just as relevant as it was when it was given as it is right now.
SPEAKER_00: So maybe a way to get at this is if you've ever had a good goodbye with a friend or a loved one, and before you guys parted ways, they shared something with you that deeply mattered.
SPEAKER_00: I've learned this from my wife.
SPEAKER_00: She's got this phrase that good goodbyes make for good hellos.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank you, hun.
SPEAKER_00: She helped me out on that.
SPEAKER_00: And it's an encouraging way to end conversations or meetings in order to build on the previous conversation or interaction.
SPEAKER_00: These are the last words that Jesus gives to his followers.
SPEAKER_00: They're instructions to go and make disciples.
SPEAKER_00: And this is a lifelong calling that continues until we are united, church family, with him.
SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to highlight that.
SPEAKER_00: And then the phrase, go and make disciples.
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: Go and make disciples.
SPEAKER_00: Now it's it's helpful every once in a while, yeah, to keep things simple.
SPEAKER_00: Just look at the fundamentals, the basics of the faith.
SPEAKER_00: What does it mean to be a disciple?
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm so glad that you asked.
SPEAKER_00: Here are a couple of ways.
SPEAKER_00: The first way of what it means to be a disciple is someone who lives, or sorry, someone who believes in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
SPEAKER_00: Starts here, on the inside, with the heart, right?
SPEAKER_00: Romans 10 says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved.
SPEAKER_00: For it is with your mouth that you profess what you believe, which means we have a purpose with our voice, right?
SPEAKER_00: And it's with your heart that you are justified.
SPEAKER_00: So discipling begins on the inside, right here.
SPEAKER_00: But then it leads into living, living as a disciple of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: One of the things I appreciated about what Sarah had previously mentioned is that this is a praying church.
SPEAKER_00: And if you are longing or hoping to be connected to pray over what you may be experiencing, check this out Sunday mornings or Tuesday mornings, there are prayer opportunities here.
SPEAKER_00: We would love to pray with you.
SPEAKER_00: That's why we also have uh devotions in the back every Sunday to help be a supplement to your time in the Word with God day in, day out, as the Spirit leads you.
SPEAKER_00: It's why we also give plugs for different apps, like the Street Lights app, which is listening to Scripture with a beat.
SPEAKER_00: I love listening to that as I drive around the city.
SPEAKER_00: Or the pray as you go app to meditate on the Lord, whether you're driving, walking around, or doing dishes.
SPEAKER_00: God calls us to be a people who live the life as a disciple of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: That that is that personal call.
SPEAKER_00: But it doesn't stop there, which is very much the theme of today.
SPEAKER_00: The next step is to desire to disciple others.
SPEAKER_00: That God calls us to be people who make disciples who make disciples.
SPEAKER_00: Here's another quote I've learned from my wife.
SPEAKER_00: Got a few this morning.
SPEAKER_00: People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
SPEAKER_00: Right.
SPEAKER_00: So you may have a few things that you know about the word, but then it's meant to be shared intentionally, graciously, truthfully with one another.
SPEAKER_00: Or this one, Pastor Troy Evans, he once said at a local youth conference, who is one person?
SPEAKER_00: Who is one person beyond your family?
SPEAKER_00: He said, Yes, you're called to disciple your family.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Well done.
SPEAKER_00: Be intentional with that.
SPEAKER_00: But in addition to that, who is one person that God is calling you to come alongside and to disciple in Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Because church family, in order to keep things real, here's a painful reality.
SPEAKER_00: If we are not walking in the great commission of the discipleship of Jesus, then something or someone will disciple you.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: And the baby gave an amen on that one.
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00: Let me say that again.
SPEAKER_00: If we're not following the great commission of Jesus, church, to be discipled by him, then something or someone is guaranteed to disciple you.
SPEAKER_00: I've got a few of these, but let me just highlight two.
SPEAKER_00: The first one is fairly easy.
SPEAKER_00: Um, just think of technology for a moment.
SPEAKER_00: And uh, how many of you remember or can recall what's now considered vintage uh or retro technology?
SPEAKER_00: If if you guys remember these days, raise your hand.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, all right, there's a good handful of us.
SPEAKER_00: The kids are like, what is going on there?
SPEAKER_00: All right, this is the era of floppy disks, VCRs, cassettes.
SPEAKER_00: But actually, this stuff is becoming quite popular.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: And what's the deal with that?
SPEAKER_00: Well, one reason why vintage technology is making a comeback is to counter today's digital fatigue.
SPEAKER_00: Let the church say, hmm, on that, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Back in the day, tech was uh quite tactile and tangible without constant social connectivity and screen saturation.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but something has happened between now and then.
SPEAKER_00: The smart and efficient smartphone, right, has conveniently collected and consumed and pretty much ate all the tech that has come before us into a sleek device.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, this top uh corner, you see that yellow little cartridge there?
SPEAKER_00: That roll, raise your hand if you remember what those were.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: That was a a little bin, a little roll for cameras, right?
SPEAKER_00: You you put it into a little camera and then you take a shot and you'd hear the click, right?
SPEAKER_00: It's 20 years ago since the last time I touched one of those.
SPEAKER_00: And no matter how we feel about it, the internet is here to stay.
SPEAKER_00: The digital world has immense power to influence us, right?
SPEAKER_00: And it can be a great tool for good when used with discernment.
SPEAKER_00: God wants us to be rooted in biblical truth in the digital age and to develop healthy digital discipleship today.
SPEAKER_00: Check this out.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, Pastor Patrick Miller writes, he's real here, Jesus calls us to something greater than the digital media slot machine in our pockets.
SPEAKER_00: With its constant drip of misinformation, tribalism, pornography, outrage, and hot takes.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, he invites us to follow him, conform to his mind, walk in his steps, enjoy the beauty of the good world he's made.
SPEAKER_00: Let's disciple one another to see the grandeur of Jesus' vision, resist the digital Babylon around us, and also use the internet wisely as a gospel witness for discipleship, showing a better path forward, the path of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Can I get some finger snaps on that?
SPEAKER_00: I thought that was that was pretty good.
SPEAKER_00: So there is a discipleship challenge today, and that is online with the internet.
SPEAKER_00: But I also want to mention another discipleship challenge, and that is within the world that we live.
SPEAKER_00: You know, we're in spring, so hopefully we can get outside a bit more and enjoy God's green creation.
SPEAKER_00: Well, check this out a few years ago.
SPEAKER_00: Andrew Webster uh was a he got his pilot's license, and he was in a small plane flying right over our neighborhood.
SPEAKER_00: And he snapped this photo and he sent it to me.
SPEAKER_00: And this is a bit of a snapshot of us, right?
SPEAKER_00: On the left side is the intersection of Madison and uh Franklin are now MLK, right?
SPEAKER_00: On the right side is Pleasant Park, and we're in the middle, the church.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, I'll be your neighbor and say, that's us, that's us right there, right?
SPEAKER_00: This is a whole sermon series in and of itself, but let me say this discipleship begins with our neighbors, right?
SPEAKER_00: One at a time.
SPEAKER_00: It could be as simple as I'm gonna walk across the street this week, ring the doorbell of someone that I've known for maybe five, ten, twenty years to simply say, hey, we've been neighbors for a long time, and I just want to introduce myself.
SPEAKER_00: One relationship at a time.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Not knowing the names of our immediate neighbors is a place to start in discipleship.
SPEAKER_00: There are many things facing the church today.
SPEAKER_00: Here's one that we often overlook, and it's the calling to know the names of those who God has specifically called you to live near with proximity, and to trust how the Lord will lead you with Matthew 28, great commission, intentionality.
SPEAKER_00: All right?
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because being a disciple is this believing in the Lord as your Savior, who is sovereign over all things.
SPEAKER_00: He calls us to live lives that are disciples of him, and then he stirs in us a desire to make disciples who make disciples.
SPEAKER_00: We close with this from uh Ephesians 2.
SPEAKER_00: This is a great calling as we look ahead to this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians 2, 8 through 10.
SPEAKER_00: For by grace you have been saved, church, through faith.
SPEAKER_00: And this is not from you, it is the gift of God, not from words so that no one may boast.
SPEAKER_00: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
SPEAKER_00: God has prepared great works for you to do, he's prepared them in advance, and now we have an opportunity to walk in it.
SPEAKER_00: Turn to your neighbor and say, walk in it.
SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00: And especially for today, sometimes what we need is a little bit of inspiration, a little bit of encouragement along the way.
SPEAKER_00: Because we can't do this alone.
SPEAKER_00: We need one another, especially the gift of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: And I pray that today's testimonies and baptisms inspire you to grow in this calling to make disciples who make disciples.