Linear or Non Linear?

Have you made the move from linear to non linear?

I am digitizing some of my cassette library at present which prompted these thoughts.

This is not about video or sound editing but uses those mediums as an anology.
It may appeal to those of you who are tech heads.

When I was a lot younger, 1960's,  I was into the pop music of the day.
I loved that music and still do.

Along with the Beatles and all the others I discovered I could make my own recordings from the radio and record players on reel to reel audio tape decks.

I spent many hours with my finger on the pause button so I could cut out the radio station ads and make my own "best of" compilations.

Strangely I still have a lot of those recordings.

Then came cassette recorders where we could do the same thing but take up less space.

Then came  equipment to copy them with.

A fun time.

There were complications though.

If you dropped a reel to reel tape it wasn't much fun trying to respool them again with tape unravelling all over the floor.

If you wanted to find certain tracks for replay then you had to do a lot of rewinding and fast fowarding.

 If you were repairing a broken cassette tape and dropped it that was even harder to recover and repair.

If you got your tapes too near a powerful magnet you could wipe them out.

 Editing tapes could be done from recorder to recorder but using what we called the linear method.

Much stopping,starting, rewinding, fast forwarding.

I was into 8mm home movies and there you had similar limitations.
You literally had to cut and paste movie film to do any editing.

When video tape movie cameras came along you still had to edit using similar methods as audio tape editing.
Setting up in and out points on your editing tape deck etc.

Then along came digital.

Cd's, DVD's, Mini DV tapes,computers,macs,Final cut pro,garage band etc.

The world of technology had gone non linear.

Instant location of a track of a cd or movie file at the touch of the mouse.

Amazing!

So I said there is an analogy here!

Well here is my simple thought.

From the minute we are born, we are receiving information and experiencing life, good and bad experiences constantly.

They start off being recorded in our conscious mind and readily recallable memory.

This all happens in real time.

Some memories stay instantly recallable,  but many experiences are pushed down into our sub conscious or our  brain's archives if you like.

Some of this stuff is what psychologists and psychiatrist like to explore with us.

Some of what they may do may be helpful.

It may take a lot of unravelling and is difficult to repair.

Many things can trigger off memories of bad experiences, some we don't remember at all.

They lurk below causing us all sorts of problems,

Enter our non linear Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Jesus has a time line that is eternal;

He is not bound by time,

He can instantly touch our souls at any point in our past or present.

He can touch us through prayer and the work of His Holy Spirit.

The great thing is we can also enter His non linear world while we are still living.

That is very liberating.

Before we become Christians we are locked into a linear experience.

We are born, we live , we die,

The Bible talks of us like this as being in "Adam."

We share the same linear, lineage as Adam, the first man.

You mat not believe Adam in the Bible was real, but commonsense tells us there was once a first Man or Human.

But----- when we are born again, become Christians, we are said to be "In Christ" .

We have joined the timeline of Jesus,

We are no longer "in Adam"

In Ephesians Chapter 1 we have this amazing statement:

Spiritual Blessings

^"3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. ⁴ Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. ⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. ⁶ So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.^{[b] 7} He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. ⁸ He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

⁹ God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. ¹⁰ And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. ¹¹ Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God,^[c] for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan."

We are already in Heaven with Christ even though for a time we are still experiencing the linear world,Adam's world, and watching our bodies slow down and disintegrate.

The Bible tells us many are called but few are chosen.

Only God knows who is going to respond to His call.

He wants all of us to hear that call and have opportunity to respond.

When you do He can touch you in any area of your life, past, present and future and bring you healing and joy,

will you respond to His call today?

are you hearing His call?

Resurrection Power and the things we learn from Thomas

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This is an outline of the message I brought to  the Renmark West and Renmark Town Uniting Church congregations on 27/4/14.

I am occasionally speaking as a layperson in these two congregations.

This is not how I actually delivered the sermon as there were some extra content introduced as I went but I trust  you will get the idea from this.

I also introduced the Congregation to 3 Christian Books that are not widely known about or talked about these days.

"If" by Amy Carmichael,

"Looking Unto Jesus" by Theodore Monod and "100 days of Love" by Thomas Albert Carruth.

These are useful books in showing us in "If" just how far short we actually fall from the Glory of God, "Looking Unto Jesus" shows us how to focus on and go to Jesus only, and "100 days of Love" helps us to learn how to love unconditionally on a daily basis.

Scripture readings:  1Peter 1:3-9; John 20;19-31.

John 20

The Apostles Commissioned

¹⁹ Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled,^[c] for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

²¹ So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” ²² And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Seeing and Believing

²⁴ Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” ²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Thomas,^[d] because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

That You May Believe

³⁰ And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

1 Peter 1

A Heavenly Inheritance

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, ⁸ whom having not seen^[a] you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹ receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

SERMON

Resurrection Power and things we learn from Thomas. By Geoff Thompson

How many of us can identify with Thomas?

Just about every one of us if we are honest!

Many of us are people who when we start off in the Christian Faith are people like those who would love for the Ark to be discovered and proven to be on the sides of Mt Ararat.

There are many who want the Turin Shroud to be authentic beyond doubt and that it definitely shows the imprints of Jesus’ suffering.

Many of us are like those who look for signs and wonders like a mysterious apparition on a church wall, a bleeding picture of Jesus, or all sorts of mysterious supernatural happenings.

We look for healings and even sometimes people being resurrected from the dead like a new television show that has recently arrived on our screens.

We probably all would have liked to have been like Thomas or any of the other disciples who saw Jesus after His death and resurrection.

To actually have been there to witness these things first hand.

But God has chosen not to do things how we would like them to be to authenticate our faith.

No! the Bible teaches us that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”

And in Hebrews 11:1 “faith is the evidence of things not seen, the substance of things hoped for.”

So is all faith blind?   Blind faith?

Far from it!

Can we say our experience is the same as Peter describes?

^“7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, ⁸ whom having not seen^[a] you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹ receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”

Of course there is much that is visual and visible for us to see that fits in with the Hebrews definition of Faith.

The evidence of things not seen!

The evidence is all around of the marvel of God’s creation.

Particularly in a rural area like Renmark with beautiful River Murray on our doorstep and all the associated wildlife and sustenance to crops and surroundings the river gives.

In Romans chapter 1 we have this gem:

^“20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead,---“

How can one look at a beautiful sunset and say there is no God?

Look upon a new born baby human or animal and not be overcome with wonder and praise?

Another evidence we can see clearly is when God transforms someone’s life.

When someone has their life turned around completely by God as they come to Jesus in faith this has an amazing impact.

We may not see what is going on in that person’s mind but we can see the evidence of the transforming of their mind into becoming more and more the likeness of Jesus.

For us of course, if we are Christians, and if we have been soundly rescued from sin through faith in our Lord, the evidence inside us is overwhelming because we know how much we have been saved from.

We know how hard God has had to work on us.

We know that Jesus and His death on the Cross was the only way for that inward miracle to take place.

What I am talking about is how God’s Spirit engages with our spirit, He meets us in the dark places, recesses of our being.

The places we really have difficulty sharing with others.

He ministers deep to deep.

From Romans 8

¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

So what about doubts? 

Is it a problem if we have doubts?

It is healthy when we say as someone once said “Lord I believe, help me with my unbelief.”

That person was actually in the presence of Jesus Himself and had been watching Him heal people but still could not believe.

Where does unbelief come from?

Unbelief, I believe, comes from the fact we were all born in the footsteps of our first ancestor, Adam.

From the moment we are born into this world our own nature is bent towards sin and no matter how loving an upbringing we have somewhere along the way we are confronted with the reality of a sinful world that is in rebellion against God.

From the time we can think clearly, most of us are having fed into our minds many happy thoughts, feelings and memories but we also we have a huge amount of negative stuff bombarding us.

We can believe in our conscious mind but all the negative stuff in our subconscious, or heart as the Bible calls it, is feeding us a lot of doubt.

We can allow God to penetrate that stuff and set us free.

When we become Christians the Bible tells us we become new creations in Christ.

We are no longer in Adam we are in Christ.

All things become new.

Many of us might have felt like that when we experienced the joy of first knowing Jesus as our Saviour but the reality is the pull of our flesh nature, the old man as the Bible puts it, can bring us down.

We do need to learn how to take who we are to Jesus.

Give him permission to work on us. To transform us.

A friend the other day in conversation told me it was impossible to change the disposition we are born with.

Now in a sense that’s true !

I believe I was born an introvert and a very shy person.

You might see me here in front of you and thinking here is a person with some degree  of confidence.

Not giving the appearance perhaps of an  introverted and shy person.

But I still am an introvert and quite shy.

When I was young I had difficulty engaging in conversation with anyone unless I talked about football or cricket.

My wife will tell you today my demeanor changes when anyone talks to me about photography.

But the good news is that while I might not be able to change that disposition, when I became a Christian, I exchanged my disposition for the disposition of Jesus.

In Christian parlance this is called the Exchanged Life. The doctrine of Romans Chapter 6.

We can learn to say with the Apostle Paul,"It is no longer I that lives but Christ who lives in me."

Our natural disposition can become a non event through Jesus.

I remember when I had not been a Christian for very long when I was asked if I would be a part of a role play for people being trained in interviewing.

I was to play the part of a person being interviewed for a job.

This was something I was terrified of.

I thought what if I make a fool of myself and can’t answer their questions.

I stewed about it but decided I would claim the promise in the Bible that says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Well I came through with flying colors and for the majority of my working life I had roles where I interviewed and counselled people.

I should really give the credit to Jesus as in no way was it natural for me to be able to do that.

I never would have believed that could happen as a young person growing up.

Now that sort of thing is second nature(good term) to me.

Occasionally I will lapse back into my old nature but that is soon dispensed with when I remind myself of who I am in God’s eyes.

Not my eyes or how anyone else might look at me.

We can all really become new creations in Christ, just like I am sure Thomas did, and we can do this without ever needing to see Jesus literally face to face and as Jesus said to Thomas,

²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Thomas,^[d] because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

I could finish there but one more thing.

A couple of months ago I attended my six year old grandsons’ first cricket practice.

The coach said to these young kids.

“Boys I want you to repeat after me, cricket is the greatest game in the world.”

As much as I like cricket I thought that was bit over the top.

But I would like to say to you today, one week after Easter, that Resurrection power is the greatest power in the world.

I won’t ask you to repeat that after me but it is good thing to be reminded of.

The Bible tells us that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us.

Resurrection power, the power of he Holy Spirit, is not like a sounding gong, doesn’t make a lot of noise, resurrection power is available to us and in us as Christians, to enable us know and experience the fullness of God’s salvation.

We don’t need to feel that power overcome us before we serve Him, but as we step out in Jesus name we will certainly know the presence of God.

And it is ok to say to Jesus “Lord I believe but help me with my unbelief”

Will you go away from here today having had a glimpse of how to deal with some of your doubts or knowing how to move forward?

Move from doubt to Faith that works?

Shall we pray that that can become reality?

The Centrality of the Cross

Below is an extract from a book or series of sermons with the above title by Jessie Penn-Lewis.
Every serious Christian should consider her work and teachings.
These are a few paragraphs taken from her writings.
You can find all this book at the following link.

http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/jessiepenn-lewis/8791/8791tc.htm

Put simply the cross of Christ is the key to Christian Living,Experience and Victory.
Some teachers like John Stott,Neil Anderson, Charles Solomon,Frank Hunting and others will show you how we can exchange our lives for the life of Jesus.
The Great Exchange.
Romans 6 is the key.

from Jessie Penn-Lewis

"Now let us pass on to see the Cross as the centre, or 'fixed point', for VICTORY OVER SIN, OVER THE WORLD, OVER THE FLESH, AND OVER THE DEVIL. For a clear unveiling of the Cross as the 'fixed point' for the Christian's victory over sin, we turn to Romans 6. It is the basic chapter in the whole of the New Testament, where the deep meaning of the death at Calvary is set forth, in language which is extraordinary in its simplicity and clearness, and marvellous in its comprehensive explanation of the gospel. No wonder that the "god of this world" has influenced so many to relegate Romans 6 to the theologians, so as to keep believers from understanding its simple truth, because the deceiver knows it to be the CRUCIAL MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL from the experimental standpoint.
God-ward, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ was the atonement, and the propitiation for sin, but in Romans 6 we are shown the Cross in its manward aspect-in its dealing with the sinner. Here is the practical, deep and vital message to the sinner, showing him the way of deliverance from the power of sin, from the world, the flesh and the devil. Here in the Romans 6 message of Calvary, Paul laid the foundation deep and, strong. Here lies the bed-rock depth of the Cross, as the 'fixed point' for the personal life of the believer, personal equipment, and personal victory in every aspect of need.
Let us read the passage slowly and carefully: Verses 1-2, "What shall we say then? Shall we persist in sin that the gift of grace may be more abundant? God forbid! WE WHO HAVE DIED TO SIN." Here is the Cross in its aspect of the death of the sinner with the Saviour. It is clear from this that Christ's Cross was the sinner's cross, not, of course, in the matter of atonement God-ward, but in the taking of the old creation life to the Cross, that the believer should be delivered from the power of sin; and that, not by conquering it, but by dying to it. Here is the key to victory. The deepest things are the simplest.
The real trouble about understanding the sixth of Romans is not a theological, but a moral one. When we sincerely want deliverance from the power of sin, it is within our reach. It lies just here for the simple soul who will take the statements as a fact. For the sake of a lost world, let us have no 'moral' hindrances to our knowing the reality of the Cross. If men and women would be utterly willing for the deepest work of the Cross to be wrought in or applied to them, there would be a trembling of the powers of hell, a shaking of the kingdom of darkness. The pivotal secret of God's plan for the redemption of a lost world lies in the meaning of Romans 6. The central fact of the Cross being the sinner's cross, as well as the Saviour's.
Moreover, this Romans 6 meaning of the Cross must be recognized as the root foundation of the Christian life, just as the 'root' is necessary to the life of the tree. A tree cannot part with its root, but must strike it deeper into the ground, so that all external growth may have strong support in the earth, and strong life-force for its maintenance.
" We who have died to sin," how can we any longer live under the mastery of sin? Or "have you forgotten that all of us ... were baptized into fellowship with His death?" writes the Apostle. 'All of us'-not the few who wish to be advanced souls, but young converts also! If every convert to Christ was 'born again' through the gospel message of this chapter, and they knew its power in experience at the very beginning of their Christian lives, there would be less backsliding, and need of careful nursing lest they fell away, for a new life would be imparted to them in stronger power, and Christ as the Living One would be known as a real Saviour."

The Baptism of Jesus and Ours. by Geoff Thompson

 Below is the message I was going to share with the Renmark West and Renmark Town Uniting Church on 12/1/14.
I cancelled due to a health scare on Saturday morning.
I have posted for those who may be interested. 
Many thanks to Cyril Gulliksen who presented this in both services on the day and thanks to those who sent me a get well  card of thanks and prayers from Renmark.

Pastor Harold Long being baptised as a young man.

 

SERMON- THE BAPTISM OF JESUS and OURS

There are several Baptisms and types of Baptisms  mentioned in the Bible.

I want to touch on three of them today.

I want to look first at

John’s Baptism.

By that I mean the baptising that John the Baptist was doing.

We need to distinguish between the Baptism of John the Baptist

(the forerunner sent by God to prepare the people of Israel for the coming ministry of Jesus)

 and Christian Baptism.

Christian Baptism was the Baptism practised by the Apostles of Jesus and the early Christian Church.

This was after the Christian Church had been established as in Acts 2.

Just before Jesus began His ministry here on earth John the Baptist began to preach along the banks of the Jordan River.

His fiery preaching began to stir the people and ended with multitudes of people from all walks of life going out to where he was to hear him.

His preaching caused a national stir up.

He was so outspoken and fiery it was to later cost him his life.

Multitudes went to hear him and great numbers did repent and as a seal of their repentance they were baptised in the Jordan.

His baptism was a baptism of repentance calling on God’s people to change their lives in order to prepare for the coming ministry of Jesus.

The Baptism of Jesus

John was preaching a message of repentance , a repentance from sin that included Baptism as a demonstration that the people were serious about their intentions.

Jesus appeared and John was incredulous that He was asking John to Baptise Him.

He suggested that Jesus should baptise him not the other way around.

This Baptism was signifying repentance from Sin and John knew that Jesus was without sin.

None the less Jesus said he needed to be baptised to full fill all righteousness.

Jesus was not in any way expressing repentance as were all others being baptised by John.

Jesus came to John to fullfill  something his Father,God, required of him.

He couldn’t repent as he had not committed sin but he could indentify with those who are sinners by being baptised as they were..

In this way he was indentifying with our great tragedy, sin,and in doing so he was fulfilling all righteousnous.

Jesus’ baptism was an act in which he identified himself fully with the fallen Human race.

Jesus was Human, as human as any other human except for one thing—he had no sin!

Jesus’ sinlessness put a great gulf between himself and us.

In being baptised by John, sharing in a baptism that signified repentance of sin, Jesus came as near as it was possible for Him to identify with our fallen human condition.

Without sinning Himself He took our sins and sorrows upon himself in His baptism.

This was also foreshadowing His real Baptism which was His crucifixion.

If Jesus is in any way setting an example for us by being Baptised by John it lies in His inflexible determination to do His Father’s will.

We do well to do likewise.

I would like to now touch on our own Baptism.

Christian Baptism

This was the Baptism that was instituted as an instruction to the Jewish people listening to Peter’s very spirit filled sermon in Acts Chapter 2.

Peter was speaking after the amazing events of the  day of Pentecost when the apostles were engulfed by a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire and began speaking in the tongues of those present.

Acts 2

 ^"36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."

This then was the institution of Christian Baptism as we know it today.

This was the call that we are all given, since the day of Pentecost, concerning becoming a Christian, and receiving the Holy Spirit and Forgiveness for our sins.

Our Baptism, as instituted by Peter,

the Baptism for the church age,

results in forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Note our Baptism is insignificant without real,

genuine repentance,

and belief.

In Romans 6  it tells us in our Baptism we are crucified with Christ, we are baptised into His death and as a result, into the power and wonder of His resurrection.

Romans 6

New International Version (NIV)

"Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin."

Friends  when we read the words of the new Testament about the subject of Baptism, we must come to a conclusion that there is something profoundly spirtitually significant in our own Baptism .

It is more than, as some people say, just an outward sign of something that God has already done inwardly.

Jesus gave us, in the great commission, the expectation that Baptism was something essential for the Christian.

Matthew 28:

^"19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Is Jesus leading you today, 

through His example and obedience to His heavenly Father, 

 to find out more about what your Baptism really means to you?

We have only  scratched the surface a bit today.

What will open up to you as you discover what being crucified with Christ really means?

(In our Baptism we are sharing in Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.)

 and how your experience of Christian living can be so much more that what it is?

Perhaps you have already discovered that!

If you have never been Baptised you might like to study the subject more with a view to stepping out in Faith.

Shall we join together now in singing our closing Hymn.

Ps. as at 13/1/14. There was also a 4th Baptism that had taken place on the day of Pentecost
That was the once only not to be repeated Baptism of the Holy Spirit that ushered in the Church age.
This was the experience of the Apostles who full of the Holy Spirit were able to instruct new converts in Christian Baptism and how to become Christians and live the Christian life. 
They were using the keys of the Kingdom given to them.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not some secondary blessing to be experienced by Christians.
It was the making available of The Holy Spirit, The Comforter, to all who would seek to follow Jesus.
The beginning of the Church as we know it.
The transition from the Law to Grace.

READINGS

Mt 3:3-17

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”^[a]

⁴ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with^[b] water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with^[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

¹⁵ Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Acts 2

 ³⁶ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Romans 6:

6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.