Looking Forward to May 17, 2015

The Scripture Reading this week is Romans 6:1-14

The Sermon title is Dead to What? Alive for What?

Early Thoughts: From ancient times baptism has been understood as a passage through death to life.  That is to say, in our baptism we have died and been resurrected.

But what does that mean?

For Paul, the process is transformative.  For Paul we are a new creation.  For Paul we have been released from bondage.

Paul sees the world in a state of conflict.  On one side is God and life.  On the other is sin and death.  The death and resurrection of Christ, for Paul, defeats the forces of sin and death.  In baptism we share in the death and resurrection of Christ (an image which works really well with baptism by full immersion where the baptized goes under the water and then rises back up).

SO as those who have been baptized we are, in theory, dead to sin.  WE are alive to a transformed life.  We are called to live as transformed persons. Sin and death have no power over us.

How do we live that out????
--Gord