Big Idea: Kid’s are the future of our families, of our neighborhoods, of our churches, of the world, but even though we know that, we often times don’t live as though kids are that important. Sometimes our relational priorities with our kids get out of sync with God’s priorities for our kids. Sometimes our jobs, our need for status, our “to do lists,” and our “Want to” lists trump the priority of creating great relationships with kids. Jesus focuses in the right direction.

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Big Idea:  Adult baptism is like marriage, but instead of making a commitment to another person, we’re making the committment to God. Marriage is the holy union of a physical relationship; baptism is a holy union of a spiritual relationship.

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Some of us work very hard to make lots of money or to climb the corporate ladder, or to fill our homes with lots and lots of things – big boy toys, closets full of cloths, all those things, but when you get to my age – the age when many begin to experience mid life crisis – you realize that the American Dream is really a nightmare, because if you are lucky enough or unlucky enough to actually achieve the American Dream, you realize that it’s empty.  It doesn’t bring lasting fulfillment. It doesn’t bring lasting joy. It doesn’t bring lasting peace in our souls. At the end of the day, you still don’t have contentment. It’s not strong enough or good enough to fill the void inside of us.

But when we enter God’s mission and God’s vision we find purpose and identity and a unprecedented peace and joy and love that fill us up.

The commitment is great. The cause is greater. The blessing is the greatest.

Our baptism service is next week. This is not about numbers. This is not about ceremony, but about commitment to the cause of God and his kingdom – the cause of bringing heaven to earth – the cause of fighting against evil and fighting for good.

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Big Idea: Sin Stinks; it stinks to high heaven; it stinks all the way to God’s house. God hates the stink of sin; he is repulsed by it; he would do anything to get rid of it, including die. Why does Sin stink so much to God? It’s because people, you and I, are hurt by sin. Everything we do or that has been done to us that is outside of God’s will is sin. Sin means that it’s not good for us; we weren’t created for it; that it hurts and goes against who God created us to be. God hates sin. You and I should hate it too, because, “Sin stinks”.

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Guest Preacher – no manuscript