Hey there and welcome to our live stream. Whether you're watching from home, on the go, or somewhere in between, we're glad you're here. At Harmony Hill, our mission is simple: Awakening people from death to life in Christ. And we believe that begins with moments just like this, coming together to worship, to hear God's word, and take steps towards Jesus. If this is your first time with us or you're looking for a way to get connected, we'd love to hear from you. You can visit our website, scan the QR code on the screen, or send us
a direct message, and we'll be in touch. Today's services include worship through song, biblical teaching, and a chance to reflect on what God is doing in your life. So, get comfortable, grab a Bible, prepare your heart. We're glad you're with us. Welcome to Worship on the... >> Good morning, church. My name is Dylan Sandlin. I work with our students. If we haven't met yet, nice to meet you. Um, as you can tell, things look a little bit different this morning. Today is a special Sunday. It is baptism Sunday. And so we are going to get
to celebrate with those that have given their life to Christ and baptism this morning and hear a message about baptism. But whether you've been here a long time, whether you've been here... um... whether this is your first time, I just want to welcome you. Those of you that are viewing online, we'd like to welcome you and just say thank you for joining us in worship this morning. And as it is Memorial Day weekend, we just want to take a moment to remember those... um... and honor those who have given their life in service for our
country. And those of you who are family members, who carry those... who carry those sacrifices with you daily, we just want to honor and... and welcome you as well. Um, if this is your first time visiting, we have this "next steps" card in the seat back in front of you. If you wouldn't mind, we would love to get to know you. And if you take that card and fill it out, um, you can just drop it in the offering plate on the way out or you can take it across the hallway to our next steps
room, and we'd love to get to... get to know you and meet you and give you a gift from our church. Um, as the next few weeks come up, there's a few things coming up that you need to know about. Um, one of those is that next week is family Sunday. That means that we will not have kids ministry or youth ministry on that Sunday, but we will invite everybody to come worship in here as one church family in our family group. So, we'll have kids... um... and students all in here, and we will not
have services for those. If you need any more information about that, you can check your bulletin for that. Also, parents, um, sign your kids up for VBS just in a couple of weeks. VBS is here. It's June 1st through the 4th. Um, the... the theme is "illumination station," where we... we'll just talk about Jesus and getting to know Jesus and how he illuminates our life and our world. And so get your kids or your grandkids or whoever it is signed up for VBS. And if you need to know anything else happening on the hill, you
can do that by looking at our app, by looking at our website, by looking at our bulletin. Um, but let's start worship and let's start off baptism Sunday. Well, as Dylan said, the service is going to be a little bit different today. It's going to be an exciting day. I'm looking forward to what God has in store for us. We're here to worship the one who is holy. Holy is the Lord God Almighty. And the beginning of this song says, we stand and lift up our hands. So, let's stand together, raise your hands and worship
to Him, to a God who is holy and worthy of our praise. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Here we go. We stand and lift up our hands. For the joy of the Lord is our strength. >> We bow down and worship him now. How great, how awesome is he. And together we sing. Everyone, everyone sing. Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The earth is filled with his glory. Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The earth is filled with his glory. The earth is filled with his glory. As in the beginning, we stand
and lift up our hands. For the joy of the Lord is our strength. >> We bow down and worship him now. How great, how awesome is he. And together we sing. Everyone sing. Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The earth is filled with his glory. Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The earth is filled with his glory. The earth is filled with his glory. And it's rising up all around. It's the anthem of the Lord's renown. It's rising up all around. It's the anthem of the Lord's renown. >> And together we sing. Everyone sing. Here
we go. Holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The earth is filled with his glory. Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The earth is filled with his glory. The earth is filled with his glory. Oh, the earth is filled with his glory. Holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. Holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. Holy, holy. Amen. You guys can... Amen. There we go. Amen. I'll get that amen eventually. You guys can have a seat as we turn our attention to... uh... a time of prayer on this baptism Sunday. This picture of our salvation
in baptism. So, as we start in prayer, if you're a believer in Christ today, would you begin in prayer just thanking God for your death to life story? And then secondly, maybe you want to pray for someone specifically that you know is still dead in their sin, that God would draw them to themselves for salvation. We're going to take just a few moments to pray, and then in a moment we're going to have a... a testimony of someone's death to life story. So, take a few moments to pray. ...to play underneath. Okay. My name is
Armando Flores, and this is the story of my rebirth. I was raised in a Baptist church. I was even baptized. From the outside, it probably looked like I had a good foundation. But even at a young age, I was already losing the fight. Temptation had a grip on me early. Shame became normal. Hiding became who I was. When I joined the military, that darkness did not go away. It had gotten stronger. I tried to fight it on my own. I thought I could fix it myself, but I couldn't. I got married and not long after
I was deployed to the Texas-Mexico border. That's where things really started to fall apart. I drifted from my faith. I drifted from my wife. I started to lean on alcohol just to feel okay. But then I lost a close friend. But instead of running to God, I ran further away. I started questioning everything. My marriage was hanging by a thread. And I was the one cutting it apart with the choices that I kept on making. Eventually, I deployed again, this time to... to Egypt. Early in that deployment, a helicopter went down and I had to
handle what was left behind. Pieces of someone's life. My job was to make sure that they were preserved before being sent home. And that changes you. It made me realize how short life is. But instead of waking me up, it hardened me. I started making dark jokes, even about suicide, like life didn't matter anymore. Then a close friend of mine, a believer, tried to take his own life. That broke something in me. I couldn't understand it. I couldn't understand how God could allow that. I started spiraling, drinking to black out, trying to silence everything in
my head. When I came home, my marriage was barely standing. My wife tried to hold me together, but I kept pulling us apart. And the truth is, I wasn't following God at all, even though I said I was. Then I lost my job. I already felt like I was drowning in anxiety, depression, addiction, no direction. Losing my job made me feel completely worthless. I clung to my next mission just to have some kind of purpose. But even that was taken from me. The day before a major training mission, a year after training with my guys,
I crushed my thumb. And just like that, I was sidelined, left behind while they went forward, and I sat in a medical recovery group alone with my thoughts. That's when everything hit me all at once. The anxiety, the depression, the emptiness. And in my weakest moments, I crossed a line I never thought I would cross it. I started a secret relationship with another woman. And it wasn't physical, but it was real. And it was betrayal. For about a month, my wife didn't know. I was in the shower. And when I came out, everything was exposed.
I told her everything. No more hiding. No more lies. And she ran out shattered. And I stood there and then found myself in a closet, wearing nothing but a towel, completely broken. No pride left, no excuses left, no strength left, just a man at the end of himself. And then for the first time in my life, I truly cried out to Jesus. Not casually, not out of routine, but desperate. I begged him to save me, to change me, because I knew I couldn't change myself. And in that moment, he met me. I can't fully explain
it, but the weight I had been carrying for years was suddenly gone. I knew it was him. Not emotion, not coincidence, but God. I went to my wife and I told her what had happened. And by his grace, she saw it, too. And from that moment, August 19th, 2024, my life changed. Not perfect, not easy, but different. Now, when I fall, I don't stay there. Jesus is there pulling me back up and guiding my steps. A few months later, my wife became pregnant with our first child. A blessing. And I thank God every day. Since
then, I've surrounded myself with strong and faithful men who are discipling me and helping me grow. And now I feel called to be baptized again. Not because the first one didn't matter, but because this time I understand. This time it's real. This is my rebirth. God is good. I'm so bad. I remember I was lost. I was blind. I was running out of time. Separations... throne to build it here inside. And there at the cross, you paid the debt I owe. Broke my chain, freed my soul. For the first time, I had Jesus. For the
blood of life. Thank you, Jesus. It has saved me. Thank you, Jesus. You have saved my life. Brought me from the darkness into glorious light. You took my place, laid inside my tomb of sin. You were buried for three days, but then you walked right out again. Now death has no sting and life has no end. For I have been transformed by the blood. Thank you, Jesus, for the blood. Thank you, Jesus. It has washed me white. Thank you, Jesus. You have saved my life. Brought me from the darkness into glorious light. There is nothing
stronger than the wonder-working power of the blood. The blood that... sons and daughters, we are ransomed by our father through the blood... of blood. There is nothing stronger than the wonder-working power of the blood. The blood that calls sons and daughters. We are... ransomed through the blood. >> Sing with this church. >> Thank you, Jesus, for the blood... of... Thank you, Jesus. It has saved me. Thank you, Jesus. You have saved my life. Brought me from the darkness into glorious light. Thank you, Jesus. You have saved my life. Brought me into glorious light. Glory to
his name. Glory to his name. >> There to my heart was the blood of... glory to his name. >> Sing that again. Glory to his name. Glory to his name. There to my heart was the blood of... Christine. Glory to his name. Amen. Heat... Heat... Heat... Heat... Heat... Heat... Heat... Heat... Heat... Heat... Amen, indeed. Yeah. Give a round of applause for what God's done. Good morning. I know you've been welcome to baptism Sunday already. Let me welcome you again. Uh, we have an exciting morning planned, and we've already begun to celebrate, but we're going to
keep that going. I'm sure when you walked in, you could tell that something was going on with the baptismal moved into the center stage. Of... this is an exciting morning. And every baptism is just as important and holy as any other. But we want to set this day aside to remind ourselves of the importance of Christ, what he has done in our lives, moving us from death to life in Christ and testifying to it with the baptism ceremony. So, we have a special group with us this morning. They're on the front row here, and we're
going to celebrate with him, and they're going to testify to God's goodness through baptism. So, uh, we have two statements that we are making this morning. And if you are following along in your outline, you're welcome to do that. Uh, you have a Bible in front of you as well if you need it through the service. But if you want to look at that outline, there are two statements that we are making. One is being made by those who are coming. They're saying, "I will follow Christ no matter the cost." And that links to our
sermon title this morning: "Cost Counted, Fully Committed to Christ." That's what we're talking about, is giving our lives fully to him. The second statement is being made by those of us who are the church, those of us who have submitted our lives to Christ. We've followed through in believer's baptism. We say to them, "I will encourage you to walk with Christ daily." We celebrate with you. So, those are the two statements being made this morning. So, let's jump into that first statement. This is being made by those coming: "I will follow Christ no matter the
cost." I want to look at Luke chapter 9, verses 23 through 26. You can go ahead and find those verses if you would like. I want to give you a little bit of a background. The verses will be on the screen as well. But in these verses, so Jesus has begun his public ministry. So he is already starting to teach. He's starting to heal. So there's a large crowd that started to follow him. Everywhere he goes now, there's a crowd coming with him. It's a big movement. So people are starting to hear about it. Uh,
even local leaders are starting to learn about it. There's a man named Herod Antipas in chapter nine of Luke, and you know him. Uh, he is the one who had John the Baptist killed. So he is the regional leader, uh, sort of like a mix between a governor and a mayor. He's the leader of a large area appointed by Rome. So even he has heard about Jesus and what's going on. So he's intrigued. He wants to meet with Jesus. So the word of Jesus is spreading across the region. Everyone is starting to hear about him.
But in this moment, as Jesus often did, he pulled away from the crowd. He needed to spend time alone with the father. And so you can see God calling him, and Jesus goes and he prays with him. And I want to pick up with those verses here. Uh, this is after Jesus is pulled aside to pray, and then he addresses his disciples, and he says this. So this is Jesus speaking to them. He said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For
whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the glory of the holy angels." So we have Jesus. He's in prayer. And I believe that God called him to come to pray with him. Much like his prayer
in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was crucified, he spent time with the father. He was in intense prayer. And I believe this is a time that God called him to pray, to spend time with him. He's reminding him of that journey, right? He sees the cross in the distance. The disciples just have a... a very... uh... unclear picture right now. They don't know what's going on. But I believe Jesus is reminded of that journey he's going to take, and he has to die on the cross. And then he turns to his disciples and says,
"But you're coming with me." Right? They don't understand at this point. There's one really quick sentence there in chapter nine. And he says, "I'm going to be taken. They're going to kill me, and I'm going to rise." Really brief. So they don't fully understand what's going on, but he's trying to help them. There's foreshadowing here when he says, "Take up your cross daily." The word used there, that's the word for the crossbeam. This was known during the Roman period. There were... uh... Roman plays and poems and stories. There were characters who... they had to take
their cross, their cross beam, at the point where they were convicted of their crime. They had to take it, and they had to carry it all the way to where they were crucified. So the disciples would know what he's talking about here. And he says, "Take up your cross daily and follow after me." So it is a... it is a change in identity. That's what's wrapped up here. We hear that word identity a lot lately. Have you heard that? I get some nods. I know people are listening. And... all right. Yeah, we hear that. "I
identify as" or "so-and-so identifies as." Jesus is saying here, your identity is in me. Take up your cross, carry it daily, and walk with me. So we deny ourselves. We turn from that old life. That's what we symbolize right here is that death to... to the old life. Death, buried with him in his death. Buried in baptism, coming up out of the water. We are alive in Christ. And that's in your outline this morning. Those coming today, they proclaim through their baptism that they have been made alive in Christ. And so that's what he's telling
his disciples here, is this is a change of life. You've got to completely reorient your life around me and take up everything wrapped into that with you every day and follow me. So what is that? That's everything. What we do with our money, what we do with our leisure time, how we talk about people, who we text, what we text them about, kids, what we read, what we listen to, what we watch, everything. It literally means everything. Take up your whole self. Deny your whole self. Take up the cross daily and walk with him. Right?
We are to look to him daily. Just like the reminder on the wall when our baptismal is usually in that area, we have the reminder there of the cross that he bore for us. So, we walk with him daily. And I want to share a brief story with you, uh, as you get to hear other testimonies today. It was an amazing story about Armando and how Jesus did not forget him. He continued to call to himself. And I got to meet with a lady, a young lady named Rebecca. She'll be baptized in the next service.
Um, her story... she grew up, she thought it was a Christian home. They called themselves Christians. Uh, heard about God. Sometimes it was the wrong way you should hear about God. Uh, but she heard this name thrown out, but she didn't really know what it meant to follow God. She grew up in this home, and then she went through middle school and high school, and she kind of thought she was a Christian, but she wasn't sure. But God just began chasing her. And she bought a Bible just on her own. She thought, "I need to
read the Bible." They called themselves Christians, but they really didn't open the Bible together. And so she began reading that. She began going to church just on her own. Just decided, "I need to be going." And she said at that point she was kind of disconnected because she had fallen into a not-great crowd, making some bad decisions. But then at the same time, she was reading the Bible and learning about Christ. And at one point, as she's going to church, she realized, you know what? I want to be a member of the church. She didn't
know fully what membership was, but she wanted to be a member. So, she went to our membership class, and through that, I got to meet with her, and I got to ask her why she was there. And we got to talk about Christ. And I realized, as she shared her testimony, she had never had that point in life where she gave her life completely to Christ. And I got to ask her, "Do you want to do that?" And it... without hesitation... said, "Yes, I want to make that decision." And I told her, I didn't use
Luke 9, but I talked about how when we commit to Christ, it is complete submission, right? It's a... it's counting the cost. It costs everything. We have to give him our whole lives and not just part of it. Like we can't just give him our hand, right? We can't just say, uh, "Okay, I'll give you Monday and Tuesday, but the rest of the week, that's mine," right? It's a complete submission to him. And she said, "Yes, I want to do that. I'm ready." So she prayed right there, and I said, "Okay, the next step is
believer's baptism. Uh, we want to testify to this decision and make it public." "Yes, I want to do that." And it lined up where we could do it today. So just an amazing story of God chasing after her, didn't give up on her, and he took her from where she was all the way to the point of submitting her life to him. She counted the cost, just... just like we're talking about here, following Christ no matter the cost. So that's the... the statement that they are making today. And we, as the church, we are saying
to them, "We celebrate with you, and we will encourage you to walk with Christ daily." That's that second statement. Uh, I want to talk about Acts chapter 2. All right. To capture this, and I'll be brief. Then Acts chapter 2, you can turn there if you want. I encourage you, uh, if you don't read it today, go back and read Acts chapter 2 and read the whole book of Acts. It's an amazing story of the early church. But in Acts chapter 2, we have what's called the birthday of the church. I didn't really think of
it that way until I read... uh... someone in preparation. And they call it the birthday of the church. Of course, that's Pentecost. So 50 days... we're... we're about day 49. So right there at 50, from when Jesus... uh... rose from the dead from Easter, we've got 50 days and Pentecost. So that was linked to the Hebrew festivals. We had Passover. So Jesus was crucified during Passover week, and then 50 days later they had Pentecost. So the events that happened on Pentecost started the church. We have an amazing movement of the Spirit. Jesus ascended to the
Father in Acts 1, and he told the disciples, "I want you to wait in Jerusalem. Just wait here. Okay. The... the... the Holy Spirit is going to come in power, and you will receive it, and you'll know what to do next. But wait here." So they were in Jerusalem waiting in Acts chapter 2. And then, many of you will remember these events, as they are there in the upper room. They're waiting for whatever Jesus has promised, and they don't fully know. And then a mighty rushing wind. The word literally means violent. I mean, this is
a loud, violent wind, shaking shutters, knocking stuff down. It was probably as loud as a freight train. People were coming out of their houses to see what was going on. "What in the world is happening?" And then, if that wasn't enough, there's flaming tongues of fire on... on the disciples' heads. They could see this visible fire on their heads. I think "tongue" is the closest thing that they could relate it to. But they see it on their heads. So it's not just the wind; it's visible as well. And then, uh, by the power of the
Holy Spirit, everyone there starts hearing in their own tongue, in their own language. So these are people, if you think of a map, if you think of... uh... modern-day Turkey, um, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, that whole area. Hey, they have come for this festival, and they're all hearing in their own language. It's amazing what's happening here. So the Holy Spirit is moving. I think it was obvious to them, "Okay, I think this is what we're waiting for." So then Peter speaks powerfully. He talks about Jesus. He talks about... uh... David and the prophets. But then
he gets to Jesus and how he was taken by the religious leaders. He was crucified. He rose from the dead victoriously. And it says the people there, they were cut to the heart. And they said, "What do we do?" They were moved. And they're asking, "What do we do about this?" And Peter said, "Repent and be baptized." And that was his instructions for the early church. His... his instructions for us, right? When we turn from the old way of life, we turn to Jesus, submit to him, and then we follow through and we give testimony
to that through baptism. And so that's what's going on here. And do you remember how many were baptized that day? 3,000. That's right. 3,000. That's... uh... almost as large as the little town I grew up in. That's crazy. 3,000 people. I don't think we're getting 3,000 in there, but they had the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River. Not sure where they did it, but 3,000 people. Well, that's a celebration. That's something to get excited about. And from there, we have the start of the early church, the end of Acts chapter 2. As you read through
that, they started meeting together. They're a new family. We are the family of God, right? We're a family of faith in Christ. They began meeting together. I was looking through, and there aren't many commands to meet together. Believe it or not, in Hebrews chapter 10, it says, "Do not forsake the assembly together." Right? So, you need to be meeting together. They did it because they needed one another. Immediately they start meeting together, and you see that throughout the New Testament. You see them meeting together, uh, devoted to the disciples' teaching. They're praying together. They're fellowshipping
together. There's a spirit of unity. They're breaking bread together, doing the Lord's Supper, having meals together. Immediately they started gathering with one another. And it even says that they did that daily. They... they knew that they needed one another. They were there to encourage one another. And so that's the beautiful picture, uh, of the church, and how they didn't leave these people alone in their decision. They walked beside them. So that's the opportunity that we have this morning. And I encourage you to get into a life group if you're not in one. That is a
picture of the church meeting together. We get to do that on Sunday mornings together. We also do that in homes. Some of you, I know, are meeting as families and... uh... we don't even know about it. That's awesome. That is what this is talking about, is whenever you can get together, in work groups, at school, study the word together. And if you want to look more into life groups, I encourage you to. They will start up full force again in the fall. And, uh, you can be looking on the website or call the office, talk
to me about it, talk to Chrissy, talk to anyone on staff. We want you plugged into these communities if you're not sure how to do that. It's important that we are together, meeting and encouraging one another. So again, that's the opportunity we have this morning to encourage those who are coming in their walk with Christ. So I'm going to ask this first group if you would. Emma and Isaac, come on up here. Those baptizing, Tracy, you can go ahead. As they come, we have... I have an encouragement for you, and we are going to support
those who have come. So we've been a little bit... uh... shy this morning. I'm gonna need you to wake up a little bit. All right? You just have to say one word two times. I just need you to give me a yes. Wait for the questions. I've got two questions for you this morning. And we're going to say these together. And I want it to be a resounding yes. Okay? I want you to encourage them. Okay? Y'all ready? Are you happy for those who come to be baptized today? >> All right. We're going to practice
one more time. Are you happy for those who come to be baptized today? >> All right. We heard that one. You guys feel supported? We're happy for you this morning. One more time. Will you commit to encourage them to keep walking with Christ and be their Christian family? >> All right. I believe you. So, we're going to keep partying together and celebrate with those who come today. >> All right. First up, we have Isaac Jones. Before coming to faith in Christ, Isaac describes life was marked by anger and self-focus. He was not kind, did not
seek opportunities to serve others, and generally stayed within his comfort zone. There was little desire to step out, volunteer, or live for something or someone beyond himself. Over time, he began having conversations with his parents about what it means to follow Jesus. One evening, while watching the movie "Bonhoeffer" with his mom and dad, the Lord used a powerful moment to awaken conviction in his heart. As they watched the persecution and evil committed by the Nazis against the Jewish people, Isaac began thinking about the reality of sin and judgment. He realized that sin separates all people
from God and that they, too, need forgiveness and salvation. In that moment, deeply convicted by his own sin and need for Christ, he stopped the movie and asked his parents to pray with him right then. He repented of his sins and placed his faith and trust in Christ alone for salvation, asking him to forgive him and take control of his life. Since trusting in Christ, there has been clear evidence of God's work in his life. He now willingly steps outside of his comfort zone to volunteer, serve others, and engage in selfless acts of kindness where
he once held back. He talks with Jesus daily through prayer and has experienced noticeable change in his heart, including a release from anger. Through God's grace, he is learning what it means to follow Christ faithfully and is grateful for his forgiveness, love, and transforming work in his life. >> Isaac, is it true that you've asked Jesus to come into your heart and save you, repented of your sins, and... >> ...you seek to follow him all the days of your life? >> Yes, sir. Well, I baptize you, my little brother and my son, in the name
of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, buried with death in death and raised in new life in Jesus Christ. Next, we have Emma Robinson. Although Emma was baptized at 5 years old, as she got older, she began to realize she had never truly surrendered her life to Christ. She describes that season of life as filled with doubt, emptiness, fear, and confusion. She had allowed the world to shape her choices, surrounding herself with the wrong influences, and living a faith that only showed up on Sunday mornings instead of throughout the week. Deep down,
she knew something was missing. Anytime the topic of salvation came up, she felt an overwhelming pit in her stomach that she could never ignore. Even though she tried to brush it aside, the Lord continued to draw her towards him. After opening up to her mom about what she was feeling, she was encouraged to keep praying and trust God to make things clear in his timing. Then one night, while laying in bed watching TV, everything clicked. In that moment, she realized she needed Jesus to truly be Lord of her life. The next day, on September 12th,
2025, she prayed in repentance and surrendered her life to Christ. Since that day, Jesus has completely changed her heart and mindset. God has surrounded her with people who encourage her faith and continue helping her grow closer to him. Instead of worrying about the world and what it offers, her desire now is to follow Jesus and live for him. Today, she is excited to take the step of obedience through baptism and publicly declare the new life she has found in Christ. Emma, is that your confession of faith? Yes, sir. >> Well, then it is my privilege
to baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, buried with Christ in baptism, risen to walk in a new way of life. >> Thank you. You know, that same old story that... uh... we've heard all of our lives is the story that's being told today. And that story is the same. Jesus died for our sins. He came, he lived, he died, but he rose again. And we serve a... uh... risen savior. He's in the world. And how do we know that? Because he... he lives within us. And so today, we're
going to stand and we're going to sing together: "Victory in Jesus." >> Sing it, church. I've heard an old, old story. How the Savior came from glory. How he gave his life on Calvary to save a wretch like me. I heard about his groaning, of his precious blood atone. Then I repented of my sin and won the victory. Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever. He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood. He loved me. I knew him, and all my love is due him. He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.
I've heard about his healing, of his cleansing power revealing, how he made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see. And then I cried, "Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit." And somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory. Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever. He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood. He loved me. I knew him, and all my love is due him. He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood. I heard about a mansion he has built for me in glory. And I heard
about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea, about the angels singing and the old redemption story. And some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of victory. Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever. He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood. He loved me. I knew him. And all my love is due him. He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood. Thank you. You may be seated. ...today is to celebrate... >> ...looking at some of our global baptisms. So, our partners... uh... that we have throughout many parts of the world,
including the Northwest... uh... and... and beyond in South Asia. There's... I want to share a quick story, and then we're going to look at some other baptisms that have happened recently. But, uh, this story starts with the team that... uh... that went back in the end of February, early March... uh... to South Asia. And here you see a picture of... of our own Heather Cooper sharing with a family there. I think we have... one other picture of her... uh... sharing as well. The next picture there... um... a sharing... they just went into villages and in
the mountains, and they got to share with people, many of whom... most of whom had never heard the gospel before in their lives. And so this is a picture of Heather with one family sharing with them. I got an update just a few... a couple weeks ago, and since this... uh... so you need to understand the idea that when... when our teams go and share and people hear for the first time, they shared with almost 750 people in... in a week, a little under a week, and about 160-something people said yes for the first time
to following Jesus. And this family was one of those. And since that time, uh, our friends... uh... our partners, local partners there, have gone... gone back at least two more times to share the same gospel with them. Um, to say to them, "Do you still... is this still what you believe?" Um, and they have... they have done that. And so now we have some pictures of something that has happened since our team has left: some baptisms. And I think you'll see a picture of them. These are people that Heather shared with being baptized. And before
they will do this, they go back at least a couple more times. They ask them some specific questions. "Do you still believe this? And are you willing to lose your family if God... uh... allows that to happen? If your family turns your back on you, are you willing to follow Jesus? Are you willing to go to prison? Are you willing to die if that is what happens? Are you willing to be beaten?" And I could share stories with you of people who we've shared with in South Asia that their village turns against them. That they
tell them, "We will beat you. That we'll kill you." And they still are following Jesus. These are some of those people. And since then, I think we have a picture of all of them. I think we already showed it... um... of them standing around. These people were baptized. And since that time, a church has been started in that village because one family came to faith. They were willing to go to do what was called... what Justin just talked about. "Are you willing to pick up your cross and to follow me?" And we're very blessed here
in America that we don't have to ask questions like, "Are you willing to go to jail? Are you willing to die?" Maybe, "Are you willing for your family to turn your back?" We don't have to ask those questions, at least yet. But we know that in... in scripture, that that is a thing that we all have to be willing to do. "Are you willing to give up everything, to sacrifice anything that God calls you to sacrifice, to be able to follow him?" And these people have said yes. And so that is an amazing story and
something we got to be a part of, and that God continues to do... uh... in this time. And that's just in South Asia. We have some other pictures that we'll look at now of other places. I think the first ones we're going to look at are in... uh... with Resonate. We partner with... uh... Keith and Paige Weezer in the churches there in over 16 different campuses. These are just a few of them. I think there's about 10 of them that... that we have pictures of that, in recent days, they have been able to baptize in
places where... um... where Jesus may be known as a name but misunderstood. Um, that college campuses and cities all across the Northwest, that people are hearing the gospel. They're understanding the gospel, and they're saying yes to Jesus. And in many cases, their families do turn their backs on them. They don't understand. They weren't raised with an awareness of Jesus like many of us may have been. And these people are saying yes. They are following... uh... on university campuses, and they are leading other college students and adults in these cities where the gospel is not well
known and it's very dark, and they are bringing them... and this is a picture in... uh... West Africa. You know that we partner... and Mark Phillips was here just a couple of weeks ago... and people who are being baptized even in the midst of a very hard situation that's still ongoing in West Africa. People are coming to faith in Christ. Muslim people are turning away from a hopeless religion and going from death to life in Christ. And I would encourage you, too, I just saw a picture of Adrisa and... uh... and Mark was... was sharing
about him. Continue to pray for him and his medical emergency... uh... as he goes out. But these are people who... uh... in the midst of a very hard situation are saying, "I put my hope and I place my peace and my joy only in Christ." And so... and then we have... I think a couple of more from... from Thailand. And this is our partner, Kristen Lazarini. And we know... um... Liz, Dr. Liz, as well. This is a... a young lady whose... her mother is Muslim, still is. Uh, but she has turned away from that. She
has said to her family, "I believe in Jesus, and this is what I'm going to do." And her family has accepted that, even though they may not understand it or agree with it. These are people all over the world. God is not just doing something here among us. Although we celebrate what he's doing in our local body. These are different local bodies, same global church, uh, where people are saying, "I will put my faith in Christ," just as we heard Armando and we've heard the many other testimonies this morning. And so we celebrate these global
baptisms, what God is doing among the nations. And now we get to celebrate some more baptisms in our local body. So, let's... uh... let's join with Tracy and our next baptizees as we celebrate more of what God's doing here. >> Up next, we have Joseph Flowers, and he says, "Before I became a Christian, I was not making good decisions. Even though I knew something was wrong, I would do it anyway. But after I accepted Christ's gift of salvation, God showed me that I... that he can forgive me for all my sins if I trust in
him. He will give me the strength to make good decisions and flee the temptation to disobey. I fully believe that Jesus saved me by dying on the cross and taking on the weight of my sins upon himself. Because of this, I have been forgiven, and he sent the Holy Spirit to be my guide, help me walk with Christ daily, and to hold me accountable to the truth of God's word. Now that Christ has become Lord of my life, I've started praying and thanking God more often for all he's done for me. I have become a
better listener of the word and has become important to allow God's people to help guide me and show me the way to live a Christian lifestyle. Now I'm excited to celebrate my death to life story with my church." >> Joseph, is it true that you've accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? >> Yes. >> Is it true that you've committed your life, your whole life, to follow him in everything you do? >> Yes. Well, upon your profession of faith, I get to baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Buried with Christ in baptism, raised to walk in newness of life. Um, all right, this a little different, but this is my daughter, Remy. And, uh, when... from the time she was born, we would share Bible stories with her. We would tell her about Jesus. When she... um... was old enough that we knew that she understood about Jesus's sacrifice for her, we started to end our gospel conversations with, "Are you ready to repent of your sins and surrender your life to the Lord?" Sorry, these testimonies get me, y'all. Um, and she
would always say, "No, not yet." And I think there was some fear for her. She was afraid of being in front of people or what God might ask her to do if she surrenders her life to him. And then last year at Baptism Sunday, I was the MC. And so I sat on the side of the stage, and Remy, my velcro child, had to be as close to me as she could be. She sat on the front row. And I told her, "You have to sit by yourself. You cannot come up on the stage." And
she said, "Okay, I can do that." And so after the first set of baptisms, um, during the first service, I noticed she was crying, and I thought, "Well, that's a little strange." And then she started saying, "Mom, can I come up there?" And I did the mom thing, right? I was like, "No, I told you stay down there." And she just said, "Please, mom." And I was just like, "What is going on?" And then I realized she does not like to be in front of people. And if she's going to ask to walk up on
stage in front of all of y'all, there's something going on. So during the last transition, I said, "Okay, come on." And when she walked up to me, I said, "What in the world is going on? What are you doing?" And she said, "I'm ready." And I said, "Ready for what?" And she said, "To be saved." And I said, "Oh, okay." And I said, "Why now?" And she said, "It's the joy." She said, "I see the joy that they have because they have Jesus." And I don't have him, so I don't have that joy. And I
said, "Remy, are you ready to repent of your sins and surrender your life to the Lord?" And she said, "Yes." And so, seeing her right over there on that stage, she did just that. And what I love about this is that she... um... calculates risk, and if it's going to be risky, she's not going to do it. And she realized that the joy that we have in the Lord is greater than our fear. And she surrendered to that. You got something to say? >> It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
Galatians 2:20. Amen. Have you had a good morning in the Lord today? Amen. I'm going to just briefly make a challenge to us. We've heard in various ways this morning death to life stories, that Christ brings us from spiritual death and makes us alive. And maybe your story can be just like Remy's story. One year ago at Baptism Sunday, she repented of sin and came to Christ. And maybe the testimonies and the joy and the reminder of what Christ has done is something you need to respond to today. And so if you're here today and
you've never asked Jesus to save you, I want to give you that opportunity today. We're going to sing one more song and then we'll be concluded, but I'll be up here at the front. I'd love to talk with you. You can go to our next steps room and talk with someone there. Or if you came here with a believing friend or family member and you're more comfortable talking with them, by all means, talk with them. Just let today be the day of salvation. And then for the rest of us who've already experienced what it means
to come to life in Christ, let us celebrate and worship him. And let us tell others about the good news that they, too, may experience life—abundant life, joy greater than fear, a fullness greater than emptiness—that we carry inside. He is good. I'm going to pray for us, and then we're going to sing one more song, and then we'll head out today. Thank you for being here. Father, thank you for sending Jesus Christ, our Savior, that he would humble himself to the point of death on a cross to pay the penalty for our sin. And Lord,
we give him praise as you have elevated his name above every other name. It is the name of Jesus that we worship, we glorify, we magnify, we lift up, we stand behind, we live for. Lord, we thank you for what you're doing, not only here, but around the world in countries that are free and in countries where there is persecution. You are at work, and we give you praise. Father, would you continue to move and expand your kingdom into the hearts of men, women, boys, and girls? And it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. >>
Tracy asked Remy, "Are you ready to ask Jesus into your heart?" If you haven't done that, as Todd said, let today be the day. It's been a great day, hasn't it? To God be the glory for the things he has done. Please stand as we sing together. To God be the glory. To God be the glory. To God be the glory for the things he has done. With his blood, he has saved me. With his power, he has raised me. To God be the glory for the things he has done. Just let me live my
life. Let it be pleasing, Lord, to thee. And should I gain any praise, let it go to Calvary. With his blood, he has saved me. With his power, he has raised me. To God be the glory for the things he has done. Amen. And amen. Have a wonderful day today. Thanks for being here.
