The Greatest Honor



This past Sunday I had one of the greatest honors and privileges that a Dad could have. I baptized my two older children, Emma and Luke, at the first Cornerstone church service held on our new land. It was truly a special day for our family. I am one proud daddy! We had incredible weather. The sun was out, the sky was clear, and the view was magnificent. We were able as a church family to celebrate the Lord’s Supper and Baptism in the same service. It was a hectic day, but everything went smoothly. God just took over and truly blessed our service. I was there early Sunday to setup the tents and fill up the baptism swimming pool. I was blessed with seeing the sun rise over the mountains and just illuminate the entire property. Considering earlier in the week the forecast was calling for a 40% chance of rain, we were truly blessed with the sun and warmth of the day.

I explained the significance of Baptism by describing it as the wedding ring of the Christian faith. In a wedding ceremony, the bride and groom exchange vows, they make a covenant between each other and to God. Then, after the commitment is made, rings are exchanged as a symbol of the vows that were taken. Baptism is symbolic as well. After we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ and accepted the new covenant of His blood, we are baptized to show the world that we are united in Christ. Baptism is a beautiful symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Hopefully, there will be many, many more baptisms as our church strives to fulfill the Great Commission.

We also were able to celebrate as a church about the land that God has blessed us with. About a year ago, we financed an 18 acre site for $225,000 as a future building site for our church. We still owed around $60,000 for the land as of last week. We were able to announce during Sunday’s service that the land is now completely paid for. We were able to burn the bank note and surprise everyone with the announcement. An anonymous donor paid off the remaining balance on the land. For a church of our size, this shows incredible sacrificial giving. Everyone is looking forward to being a more visible part of our community and having a building that we can use throughout the week to reach people. God is moving here, I’m just glad to be part of it.

Mike

I am a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. I'm passionate about following Jesus and I love technology. I've been married to Jennifer for 28 years, and we have three adult children.

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *