Baptism: A Matter of Death and Life
January 8, 2023
AS WE GATHER
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) This free gift of God takes us from certain death to a life that never ends. For many of us the gift was given to us in the water and Word of Holy Baptism when we were infants. For others this gift came to us later in life after hearing God’s Word and being baptized. We remember Jesus being baptized and beginning His journey that took Him to death on the cross and a place in a grave before He came back to life on that first Easter, setting the pattern for resurrection given to all who follow Him. As the apostle Paul reminds us in our Epistle reading today, “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)
Bible Readings:
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Isaiah 42:1-9
(The LORD’s Chosen Servant)
EPISTLE READING: Romans 6:1-11
(The apostle Paul reminds us of the freedom we have in Jesus Christ.)
HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 3:13-17
(The baptism of Jesus.)