BH Bulletin - Monday 12 July 2021

Thought for the Day by Stephen Demetriou
​(Youth Minister)

​I think the 4th July Sunday morning BH service was my favourite service I’ve ever been to at BH.
I’ve been here 7 years, so that is a VERY bold claim! And yes, it was in COVID times with people wearing masks AND no singing, still I absolutely loved it.

Baptism is so special. Because it’s all about Jesus. On Sunday we were celebrating Jesus.
 
We were celebrating the work that Jesus has done on the cross.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? 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 6:3-4
 
Down into the water and rising up out of the chaotic waters rising, baptism shows the lengths and breadths our Saviour went to for us and for our Salvation. It is an action replay of Jesus’ immense love for us that took Him to the depths of death on a cross and brought Him back up from the grave for us. Wow.
 
We were celebrating the work that Jesus is doing in the lives of the baptee (is that a word?!)
Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through your faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead…
Colossians 2:12
 
Through faith in Jesus we are united to Him. His story is our story. He died and rose again so we have died, died to our old self and old way of life AND we have been raised to new life, washed clean as new people! Baptism is the beautiful picture of how our life is entwined with Jesus! As new people Colossians goes on to talk about how we “dress” ourselves (Colossians 3:1-17) it is radically different to the old way of life and in baptism, as we celebrate the baptee’s union with Christ we also rejoice in the work He is doing by the power of the Spirit who lives in us to make our actions stack up to our new identity! Wow.
 
We were celebrating the work that Jesus will do when He comes again!
Jesus said ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’
John 11:25-26
 
We looked at this at KO on Sunday 11th July and isn’t God good!? I mean what a fitting follow up to a baptism service?! These words took on a different light one week on. These words felt more real after seeing the baptees going under and coming back up. Because baptism is a physical sign of Jesus the resurrection and the life; it is a visible reminder of our future raising; and it is a tangible picture of hope.
Jesus will not leave us in that water. He will not leave us sleeping in death.
He is the resurrection and the life. Wow.
​
I’m still smiling even now thinking back to everything that went on last Sunday.
If you weren’t there, you can watch it back right now, you can remember what Jesus has done, what He is doing and what He will do in the life of every believer.
 Stephen

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NGM Prayer meeting Thursday 22nd July 2021 7pm

NGM (New Growth Ministries) are having a prayer meeting on zoom on Thursday 22nd July at 7pm.  Please use the link below for an invitation from Mark Mackenzie to join the meeting. https://youtu.be/e0kosPXm20g
In order to get access to the Zoom link further details will follow.

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