Today, we’ll discover that healthy churches have a healthy view of ordinances. Healthy churches embrace the two ordained practices of baptism and the Lord’s Table.
OUTLINE
I. The Ordinance of Baptism
A. Baptism is a Symbol of Salvation (Rom 6:3-11)
B. Baptism Identifies the Believer with God (Matt 28:19-20)
C. Baptism Identifies the Believer with the Church (Eph 4:4-6; 1 COr 12:13)
D. Baptism is an Act of Obedience (Mtt 28:19-20; Acts 2:38)
II. The Ordinance of The Lord’s Table
A. Partake in Unity (1 Cor 10:16-17; 11:17-18, 20, 33)
B. Partake with Remembrance (1 Cor 11:23-25)
C. Partake with Reflective Obedience (1 Cor 11:27)
D. Partake with Anticipation (Lk 22:18; 1 Cor 11:26)
QUESTIONS FOR APPLICATION
1. Have you been baptized? If not, do you know the gospel? IF you profess faith in Christ but have not been baptized, what is stopping you from being baptized?
2. DO you know the baptism stories of other members of the local church? Try and ask a member or two in the congregation when and where they were baptized. Ask another Christian in your life that is not a member of this church about their baptism.
3. Are you aware of the communal implications of the Lord’s Table? It is easy to reflect on our relationship with God during the Lord’s Table, but we cannot neglect the implications it has on our relationship with other members of the church.
4. How do you prepare for the first of the month when our local church partakes of the Lord’s Table? Take time on Saturday December 2, 2018 to reflect upon the gospel and how Jesus has changed your life. Confess your sins, ask for forgiveness, and repent.
Selected Passages
The Gospel Visualized: The Biblical Ordinances
Pastor Mark Pakingan