Category Archives: Baptism

Team Colors

02 Tuesday Feb 2021

Posted by in Baptism, Baseball, Decisions For Christ

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God’s game is back! Did you know baseball is God’s game? The Bible DOES start in Genesis by saying, “In the BIG-INNING!”
Get it?
Beginning… Big-INNING.
In the … you get it.

Anyway, I’m so excited to kick off another amazing season of baseball! We’re a just a couple weeks away from Spring Training, if they don’t push it back a month like they are talking about doing. And I want to know … what team colors are you wearing this year?

Whenever we join a team or become a fan, we put on their team uniform and colors. 
The same goes for when we decide to follow Christ! When we’ve made a decision to follow Jesus, we put on a NEW uniform. If we join the Padres, we wear brown and gold (The best uniforms in the league if you ask me). We don’t join the Padres and say “I want to wear Dodger blue.” No, we wear the team colors. It is our public profession that signifies that we believe in this team.

When we make a big decision like following Jesus Christ, we do something similar in putting on the team colors, the Bible calls it baptism. Christians confirm they are on “Team Jesus” by participating in baptism. It is the Christian’s public profession that they are on Team Jesus.

It’s important to note that you don’t have to be baptized in order to attend a church service, read the Bible, or learn about Christianity. But … if you come to a point where you’re ready to admit that you’re a sinner and need the Savior … you may be ready to take a step of faith and follow Jesus. 

If you’re new to Christianity, you may be wondering what baptism looks like. As Jesus demonstrated in the New Testament, we too are fully immersed in a body of water. By completely submerging your body in water, you’re symbolizing a burial to your old way of life. When you come out of the water, this symbolizes new or like Jesus, resurrected life.

There isn’t anything magical about the water. Many people ask if they have to be baptized in a church. The answer is no. In fact, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River! You can be baptized in a lake, the ocean, a friend’s pool … any body of water. We do this as an outward display of an inward decision to follow Christ.

Following Jesus isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it. Many of you know exactly what I’m talking about. You won’t magically and instantly have it all together. Every day is a willful and conscious decision to become more and more like him. We say it all the time at Skyline Church, God does not require perfection out of your spiritual walk, but he does require progress. And sometimes that’s two steps forward and one step back. When you’re ready to make a decision to follow in HIS footsteps, we’d like to invite you to celebrate that choice through baptism.

So let me ask you again … what team colors are you wearing? All season long I’ll be wearing my Padre gear. When I wear Padre gear, I’m saying I have faith that I’m on the winning team. I’m wearing the brown and gold jersey rain or shine. Are you ready to put on a winning team jersey? I can promise you, that Jesus IS the winning team.

Jesus will beat anxiety every time.
Jesus will beat stress every time.
Jesus will beat depression every time.
Jesus will beat financial struggles every time.
Jesus will beat temptation every time.
Jesus will beat pride every time.
Jesus will beat deception every time.
Jesus will beat religion every time.
Jesus will beat diseases every time.
Jesus will beat _____fill in the blank with your specific circumstance___ EVERY TIME!

Soon, we’re going to see our Padres take the field (and for our Kansas Church baseball fans, the Kansas City Royals will be playing too!) And maybe, we’ll see you take the field for Jesus THIS weekend, February 7 at our Baptisms. Come join the over 50 people who have already signed up to be baptized on Super Bowl weekend! 

Maybe you’re on the fence and want to know what it really means to be on this team. We want to help you navigate those questions. Let us know if you have any questions about baptism!

Baptism

05 Thursday Sep 2019

Posted by in Baptism, Baseball, Decisions For Christ, Salvation

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September 2, 1997 was a big day for me and my friend Dukes Knutsen. We were both Christians  and Dukes was our local Fellowship of Christian Athletes leader in Duluth, Minnesota when I was playing Independent League baseball for the Duluth Superior Dukes of the Northern League. While we had both been Christians for years at that time, neither one of us had been baptized.

We decided to do a study of the WHY behind baptism. We realized it is not something that is salvific, in other words, it was not a prerequisite to being saved and going to Heaven. However, there was something more, it is certainly emphasized in Scripture and especially in the Great Commission. As we studied, it became apparent that baptism in Scripture was the beginning of something more. It was both a demarcater of something that had taken place, namely salvation, but it was also the beginning of something else.

Baptism is an outward sign of something that has taken place on the inside of an individual. It is a moment where we put our priority on our obedience to Jesus Christ and obeying His command to be baptized and follow Him no matter what. Whether we do this in front of the whole church or only in front the person baptizing us (Acts 8:26-40), it has the same meaning in Scripture. It is an identification of whose team we are on. It is as if we are putting on the jersey of Jesus Christ’s team. We are no longer a free-agent, we have signed with our team and made it public.

Island Lake in Duluth was our place of baptism. Although the weather outside was at a comfortable temperature, the lake felt as though it was mid-December. I believe it was in that moment of commitment in that freezing cold lake, that my future in ministry was cauterized.  It was a time where I made a decision, that no matter what was to come, I would follow Christ. No matter what difficult paths may lie ahead, I would follow Christ. No matter what my future may hold, I was, at that point confident of who held my future.

The Lord has been so good to both Dukes and I. Dukes remained in Duluth for years until heading to Florida full time and ministering to people from inmates in county prisons to Major and Minor League baseball players on the Rays and Twins among other teams.  I’ve been so thankful to be able to preach the Word and minister to people through being a local church pastor. We’ve both seen lives changed and God do special works in people’s lives. And I truly believe, God’s greatest works are still ahead in our lives, but I am not sure we would have seen all God has done, had we not committed through our decision to be baptized.

Every year on our baptism date, we send each other a note. A note to relive that moment, and to remember that decision, that commitment to follow Christ, no matter what.

What about you? Have you been baptized? I want to encourage you, think it through, process it, study it, the decision certainly is not about your future in Heaven, as that is already sealed with your decision to accept Christ as your Savior. While it does not have to do with your place in Heaven, I believe it has a lot to do with your place on Earth.

Salvations and Baptisms

17 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Baptism, Decisions For Christ, Oikos, Salvation

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Salvations and Baptisms!!

Over the last week or so we saw 14 people say Yes to Jesus for the first time and also celebrated 8 Baptisms!!

That is awesome. We helped start more parties in heaven! We are so excited about the over 125 People who have said YES to Jesus for the first time this year and the 85 people who have been baptized this year at Seven SD!

And THERE’S MORE TO COME!!! Keep praying for your Oikos! it’s only a matter of time before they say YES!

This is gonna be a great weekend!

I’ll end with this quote from Abraham Lincoln, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Have a great day!

Pastor Jeremy