It is a special day today because in a little while our friends will go into the water to be baptized. Baptism is a very special experience. Not because there is anything supernatural about the water, but because it is a symbol of something spiritual. It is a symbol of something that God is doing in the lives of his children.

In the bible it tells us that baptism is a symbol of death and resurrection. As each one goes under the water, it will symbolise that they are dying to an old way of life. An old way of life that depends only on our own efforts and that is spoilt by sin. As each brother and sister comes up out of the water, it symbolises that they are being born again, they are beginning a new life with the Holy Spirit in them as their helper.

Baptism is also a symbol of something else, baptism is a symbol of cleansing, of being washed and made clean. In John 15v3 Jesus told his disciples that they had been made clean through the word that he had spoken to them. That is also true for us, as we hear the good news Jesus brought, as we believe it, we are made clean; by faith we are saved. This afternoon we will think about what it means to be washed clean as we look at what the book of Hebrews teaches in chapter 10; Bible Reading 1 on your sheets.

Because of Jesus we have confidence, the word used in the bible also means boldness. Because of Christ’s love for us, and his power over sin and death, we have confidence to be his followers. But we are more that followers, through Jesus we are God’s children. The loveliest Christmas bible reading, John chapter 1 reminds us that to those who receive Jesus, who believe on his name he gives the right to become Children of God.

If we are God’s children, then we are brothers and sisters, therefore the writer of Hebrews says ‘brothers, we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place’. He talks about going through the curtain. We have a curtain here, when we worship on Sunday mornings that curtain is closed, to keep that part of the church separate. In the great temple in Jerusalem in Jesus day, there was a curtain that separated the Most Holy Place. That was the place of God’s presence.

The curtain was always pulled across. Only the priests could enter that place. But when Jesus died on the cross, something amazing happened. The curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom. The Old Testament way of worship was for the people to bring an animal to offer as a sacrifice for their sin. The priest would bring the blood from the sacrifice and sprinkle before God to make atonement for sin.

When Jesus died on the cross, he died as a sacrifice for all human sin, so that we might be forgiven and be able to approach God. The curtain of the temple was torn as a sign from God that the way is open for mankind to come to him through Jesus. So we can go through the curtain to approach God, we have peace with God. We can pray to him as Father.

Before, priests were in charge of worship, they were the guardians of the temple. Now Jesus is like a priest over the household of God, wherever his people gather in worship. He has opened the way to God for us all. We can know the joy of God’s presence today; we can come to him through Jesus. That is a new beginning, it is a new beginning for us all and it makes a difference to how we live.

Our reading tells us that there are four ways in which things are different for us now, four things that we do differently.

Firstly, or reading tells us; let us draw near, near to God. One characteristic of human life is loneliness. People are separated from each other, often because of sin. We do wrong things that cause others pain, and as he result we are not in harmony with others.
Sometimes we hide or avoid people because we have a guilty conscience. At the beginning of the bible, Adam hid from God because he has done wrong.

Because of Jesus, we have been forgiven. We are not guilty, our consciences are clear. Baptism is a symbol of that, being washed with water symbolises the fact that Christ has cleansed us from the guilt of sin. We can boldly and joyfully come into God’s presence. We come together in worship, but we can also know God’s presence wherever we may be. God is present with us in our work. God is present with us in our family. We may forget that at times, but God is with us, we can commune with God in prayer, we can find confidence in him.

Secondly the writer tells us let us hold to the hope we profess. Hope is about things that have not come about yet, but things that we hope will happen in the future. This time of year lots of boys and girls have hopes about what they might get for Christmas. Everyone has hopes and plans for the future. Maybe to go to university and get a degree, or a good job, or get married, or own a car or a home.

Sometimes we have high hopes. We hope for things that will not come about for us. Some hopes may depend on our own efforts, or the goodwill of others, there is a degree of uncertainty about such hopes. Some hopes we have to abandon. But we must never abandon our hope in God. It is grounded in God’s faithfulness; it will not disappoint us.

Thirdly our passage tells us to consider how we may spur one another on to love and good deeds. We cannot always fulfil each other’s hopes, but we can encourage each other to show love and to do good deeds.

Jesus has died on the cross so that our sins might be forgiven. Jesus is the light of the world. He said to his followers ‘you are the light of the world.’ Christ calls us to serve him. He says ‘as the father sent me so send I you.’ When he went back to be with his father, he told his followers that it was their task to continue his work of preaching the gospel. We do that, not just by telling others the message but by showing his love, and demonstrating the love of God by good deeds. But very rarely to we see Jesus calling people to follow him on their own.

Jesus called his first disciples to be part of a group of twelve. When he sent them out to preach he sent them in twos. God created us to live in community with others. When we are baptised, we are baptised into the church. God has given us each other to motivate each other in our Christian lives, to spur each other on. We have to persevere in that, and not give up on each other by staying away from church.

Finally, the bible reading tells us ‘let us encourage one another.’ All the athletes that we saw doing so well in the Olympic Games this summer only manage to achieve what they do because they have others to train and encourage them. We need the encouragement of others. That is what the church is for. It is for our coming together for encouragement.

Sometimes people discourage us, they point out our faults, or they emphasise the difficulties we face. We should not do that in the church. Yes there may be difficulties and discouragements, but ultimately they can be overcome. In Christ we are more than conquerors. He will complete the good work that he has begun in our lives.

Jesus promised that he would return one day, the bible tells us that one-day the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. That is the hope that we have been called to in Christ and with which we must encourage each other. But here and now men and women can make a new beginning, as they come to God through Christ. We can be baptised into the church of Jesus Christ, and so become citizens of God’s kingdom.
 

Amen.

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