Storytellers: Week 5
This week, our Sunday service is being held at Lake Cammack, before our annual baptism. On our online stream, we are replaying Pastor Pete’s sermon on baptism from last July. Below you will find the scripture and Sunday Guide from this sermon.
Join us back on campus at St. Mark’s Community Church next Sunday, September 3 for our final message in the Storytellers series.
Immerse
Pete Stearns | July 24, 2022
We hope this guide will help you take the good news you hear today into your daily lives.
Jesus’ final words to his disciples were to baptize, and he empowers his followers to immerse the world in his Spirit. But we can only do this by first being immersed in the love of God ourselves.
Scripture and Notes
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:16-20
One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:35-40 (NIV)
Going Deeper: Immersed in God’s Love
We can become “immersed” in many things: our careers and the ladder of success, the emotions and lives of our children and family members, our social circles and social media, and even our favorite athletic teams. These things are not inherently bad, but they don’t always draw us closer to God either.
In today’s passage, Jesus calls his disciples (and by extension, those of us who follow him today) to immerse people in the name of the Triune God. As Pete said, to do this, we must first be immersed in the love of God ourselves.
So how do we become immersed in God’s love amidst our busy, often noisy lives? Below are just a couple ways.
Time is essential to any relationship, and our relationship with God is no exception. Spend some time reading the Bible this week, immersing yourself in God’s love for you. Slowly read one of the following passages as part of your daily prayer time:
Psalm 136; Lamentations 3:22-33; Hosea 11:1-9; Joel 2:12-13; John 3:16-17, 15:12-13; Romans 5:6-8, 8:31-39; Ephesians 3:18-19; 1 John 4:7-19.
Breath Prayer, or Prayer of the Heart
This is a simple way to immerse yourself in God’s love. Seated in silence, with eyes closed, focus on your breathing, allowing your thoughts to flow from your head down into your heart. Some find it beneficial to repeat a word or short phrase as they breathe in and out.
Below are two different options, but you can also create your own, perhaps based on a favorite verse.
IN: Yah OUT: Weh
IN: Abba OUT: I belong to You
