Preaching Christ’s Gospel in the Gallatin Valley

Baptism does not ultimately point us to water or to ourselves. It points us to Christ and the promises of his covenant. In this message, we consider infant baptism, 1 Corinthians 7:14, the place of children in the covenant community, and the comfort and warning found in the sacrament.

How can the church trust someone who once sought to destroy it? In Acts 9:19–31, Saul goes from persecutor to preacher, hunter to hunted, and feared enemy to a brother eventually embraced by the church. His credibility, however, is not found in his personality, intelligence, or gifts, but in Christ who called him and the gospel he faithfully proclaims.

Baptism is more than a mere symbol, but it is not a magical act that automatically regenerates everyone who receives it. As the Heidelberg Catechism reminds us, baptism visibly communicates and confirms the promises of the gospel. Through the sign of water, we are pointed to the cleansing found in Christ’s blood and the renewing work of the Holy Spirit.

Baptism calls us to remember who we are in Christ. We have passed from death to life, have been set apart as his people, and are called to walk in the new life he has given us. We do not pursue holiness to prove ourselves worthy of Christ. We pursue holiness because Christ has redeemed us, made us his own, and continues to work in us by his Spirit.

Saul traveled toward Damascus breathing threats and murder against the church, convinced that Jesus was a failed Messiah and determined to destroy his followers. But Christ had another plan. On the road to Damascus, the persecutor was captured by the risen Lord, confronted with the reality that in persecuting the church he was persecuting Christ himself. Acts 9 reveals the sovereign grace of God, the presence of Christ with his suffering people, and the remarkable transformation of an enemy of the gospel into a servant and messenger of Christ.

How does the gospel advance? It advances not only as people come to faith, but as the church grows together as the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul reminds us that we have been joined together by one Spirit, called to serve rather than compete, and to find our worth not in our gifts or accomplishments but in Christ alone. Through the preaching of the gospel and the visible testimony of the sacraments, our eyes are continually directed back to our Redeemer as we grow in gratitude and are increasingly conformed to him.

We are easily tempted to measure God's presence by visible success, large crowds, and obvious strategy. Yet in Acts 8, the Holy Spirit redirects Philip away from a thriving ministry in Samaria to an isolated desert road to meet a single seeker. This message shows how God uses unlikely places, ordinary preaching, and faithful obedience to accomplish His extraordinary redemptive purposes.