Sunday, January 11, 2026

Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon Title: Remember Your Baptism

This morning during our Mission in Focus, we heard from Phil Reeves, one of the members of Community UMC where I served 3 years before being appointed here to Tomoka. Phil is one of the kindest people I know. Phil is a great volunteer for the Food Pantry, he’s an amazing woodworker, some of you might have even bought some of his items at the Christmas Bazaar. But one of the things I loved talking about with Phil and his wife Jane about not that is not related to church stuff at all, is their love of travel. They love to go on European River Cruises. Every time I see them, I have to ask, “where was your most recent trip, and where are you going next?” Many of you know Jesse and I love to travel, but we have never done a cruise. If I ever do a European River Cruise, I’m getting Phil and Jane’s advice first.

The thing about a river cruise is that especially in Europe, because so many of the cities were built along rivers, you can travel down a river and stop at various cities along the way. Water is so precious that it’s no surprise that so many of the world’s most famous cities are built along rivers. This is because water is precious. Water is sacred. Water is necessary for growth and healing. We cannot survive without water for longer than 3 days. And so, especially before modern day plumbing, it was vital to live near a source of water. Rivers were important for crops and were important for trade routes as well.

It makes sense that we see cities like London along the Thames, Paris along the Seine, Cairo along the Nile, New York along the Hudson, and many more cities around the world.

In today’s scripture, we see the sacredness of water 2,000 years ago. We see another very famous river; the Jordan River being used for a sacred purpose. We see the water of the Jordan River being used for the Holy Sacrament of Baptism.

In today’s scripture reading we heard of the baptism of Jesus, and I don’t know about you, but I have always felt like it seemed a little strange that Jesus needed to be baptized. Anyone else ever felt this way? Why does Jesus need to be baptized if he’s the Son of God, God in the flesh? After all, he’s perfect and sinless. 

Well, if you’ve felt this way, you aren’t alone. Even John the Baptist, the one doing the baptizing felt this way. When Jesus comes to the Jordan to be baptized by his cousin John the Baptist, John tries to deter Jesus. John says, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14, NIV) John’s a little confused. 

Imagine Michael Jordan showing up and saying, “can you show me some basketball tips?” Or world-famous chef Gordan Ramsey asking you to cook something for him? Or Elton John asking for some piano tips? Wouldn’t you think the situation sounded a little backwards?

But that’s how Jesus and the Kingdom of God often is - backwards and upside from how you would expect things should be. 

Jesus’s response to John’s confusion about Jesus being baptized is that Jesus says, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15, NIV)

These last few weeks we have talked about the coming of Christ, the birth of Christ, and then last week we celebrated Epiphany and the Magi coming to visit Jesus. But here in today’s scripture is the first place in Matthew where we see Jesus all grown up. About 30 years have passed from last week’s scripture to today’s scripture. Jesus’s baptism serves as the initiation to his earthly ministry. During Advent and Christmas, we talked a lot about Emmanuel, the idea of God being with us - God living and dwelling with his people. And Jesus’s earthly ministry will be three years of Jesus physically dwelling with his people. But all of that is kicked off in his baptism. 

Jesus will eventually die the death we deserve so that we can be forgiven of sins. Jesus will be resurrected so that we too can one day be resurrected with him and experience eternal life. But it all starts with baptism, the place where Jesus stands in the water where we should. Baptism was a symbol of repentance.  And Jesus is in no need to repent, he is sinless. But as a God who dwells with his people, as Emmanuel, God who will later take our place on the cross, he first takes our place in the waters of baptism. He repents for the sins of his people. He repents for the sins of the world. 

Although John is confused by Jesus’s need to be baptized by him, John is obedient and baptizes Jesus. May we too be like John and be obedient even when we are confused or don’t understand exactly what God is doing.

Jesus’s baptism is special in a few ways, but one of the greatest is that here we see the Trinity all together in one place in scripture. We see Jesus, the Son being baptized, the Father speaking from heaven, and the Spirit of God descending like a dove. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all here together at this beautiful moment in scripture. 

Heaven was opened and The Father declared, “This is my Son, whom I love; with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17, NIV) God declares this is His Son, God loves him and is well pleased in him. Now I know I said this is not the typical baptism, we don’t normally hear a booming voice from heaven declaring these things. At least I have not heard that at any baptisms I have witnessed.

However, this is a typical baptism in that this is what the Father declares about us when we too are baptized. The Lord says this is my son or daughter, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased. Maybe you need to be reminded this day that you are a son of daughter of God. Maybe you need to be reminded that you are loved by the Lord of the Universe. Maybe you need to be reminded that the Lord is well pleased with you.

Anyone remember their baptism? That’s great if you do. I’m guessing many of you are like me in that I can’t remember my baptism because I was baptized as a baby. I was actually baptized twice as a baby, which is technically a big no-no in the United Methodist Church. We believe in only baptizing once. I was first baptized by a hospital chaplain when I was in heart failure at 10 days old, and my parents didn’t think I would make it. This can be common with babies in the hospital facing a medical crisis. And I was later baptized in my local United Methodist Church when I was a few months old. I’m not sure if my parents shared with the pastor whether or not I had been baptized before.

But what exactly do we as United Methodists believe about baptism?

In the Protestant Church we believe in two sacraments. A sacrament is an outward sign of an inward and invisible grace. Basically, it’s how we experience the invisible grace and work of God in a visible and tangible way. God understands we are physical people. We like seeing things with our eyes, touching things with our hands. And that’s why faith in God can be difficult sometimes, we can’t see God. But in the sacraments, we can experience the grace and love of God in a real and tangible physical way. Those two sacraments we believe in are the sacrament of baptism, and the sacrament of Holy Communion, which we experience weekly here at Tomoka United Methodist Church. In the sacrament of baptism, we experience the invisible grace of God through the water that we can feel. In the sacrament of Holy Communion, we experience the invisible grace of God through the visible bread and juice that we can feel and taste.

The reason in the United Methodist Church that we believe in only being baptized once is because it’s about the work of God, not our own work.  Maybe you have heard someone say before, or maybe you have said yourself before, “I want to be rebaptized because I was a baby, and I don’t remember it, or I didn’t understand it, and it didn’t mean anything to me then.” Anyone heard this before or said it themselves before? And that’s perfectly normal and ok if you have felt that way.

But the truth is, even if you don’t physically remember your baptism, God has not forgotten your baptism. God remembers your baptism. Even if your baptism didn’t mean anything to you because you were too little to remember or understand, your baptism certainly meant something to God.  God’s grace was at work in your baptism even if you couldn’t comprehend it at the time. That’s why we only baptize once in the United Methodist Church. Because God’s grace was at work whether you remember it or not.  Baptism is about God and the work God is doing. It’s not about our own work, or our own memory. 

In our United Methodist Hymnal when we recite our baptismal vows, we “renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of our sin. We accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. And lastly, we confess Jesus Christ as our Savior, put our whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as our Lord in Union with the Church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races.”

Today is a Special Sunday in the Church known as “Baptism of the Lord Sunday.” And on this Baptism of the Lord Sunday, I invite all of us to Remember our Baptisms. And if you have never been baptized, I encourage you to pray publicly declaring your faith, experiencing the inward grace of the Lord in an outward way through the waters of baptism. And if you feel the Lord is calling you to be baptized, please come and talk with me sometime and I’d love to baptize you.

But for the rest of us who have been baptized, may we remember our baptisms. Even those of us, myself included who maybe don’t actually remember our baptism because we were too young to remember it. But may we remember what our baptisms mean. May we remember that we are a beloved child of God, and that the Lord is well pleased with us. May we remember our baptismal vows. 

On this Baptism of the Lord Sunday, I want us all to think about, where in our lives is God calling us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression?  How is God calling you to live out your baptismal vows? 

And in this life, while water may fail us sometimes, through droughts, the waters of Baptism never run out. The waters of Baptism never run dry.  The good news that we are a beloved child of God, a part of the family of God, and that is good news that always stays with us. 

Now we are going to read through together as a congregation renewing and remembering our baptismal vows on page 50 in the hymnal. Like a married couple may renew their vows after many years of marriage, may we renew our baptismal vows and be reminded of our baptismal vows. And may we live a life of faith, living out our baptismal vows in all that we do. 

We’re in a New Year, and a New Year often includes New Year’s Resolutions. As I mentioned last week, the top New Year’s Resolution is normally to lose weight. And that’s great if that’s your New Year’s Resolution, getting healthy is always a good thing. But I invite us to think of maybe a spiritual New Year’s Resolution, a way to grow in your faith in 2026.

This past Thursday we had Clergy Day Apart at Camp Warren Willis. United Methodist Clergy all across the Florida Conference were there, and we heard from Bishop Tom Berlin. And one of the things he mentioned was something I don’t think I’d heard of before.

He shared with us that the 2nd Friday in January is known as Quitter’s Day, because most people have given up on their New Year’s Resolution by then. But I want to remind us, especially if we are trying to make new habits to grow spiritually and become more like Christ, we’re going to mess up, we’re going to fail. But we don’t have to be quitters, we don’t have to give up. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, everyday is a new day to be transformed into the people God is calling us to be.

From what I gathered, it didn’t sound like Baptism of the Lord Sunday or the act of remembering your baptism was something this congregation has done much before. Or if you have, maybe it’s been a while. It’s not something I remember doing in my home church growing up as well. But I think it was maybe my first or second year in ministry that my DS at the time strongly encouraged us to celebrate Baptism of the Lord Sunday and remember our baptisms and I have done it every year in my churches every year since then.

And it has been a meaningful practice for me, and I hope today as we remember our baptism, it will be a meaningful practice for all of you as well. If you were older when you were baptized, I encourage you to actually remember that day, the joy and the emotions you felt when you were baptized. And for those who don’t remember that day. May we remember what it means. That we are beloved children of God, that we are part of the family of God. May we remember God’s grace in our lives.

But may we also remember our baptismal vows and recommit to living those baptismal vows out another year.

It’s been a difficult week in our country. And sadly, I often feel like we’re having more and more difficult weeks than non-difficult weeks. In Minneapolis there was an ICE officer involved shooting of a US Citizen. And I know that here in this sanctuary we have a mix of opinions on that issue.

One of the things that struck me most about this week is that we are so divided in this country that we can watch the same video and depending on our political leanings, we see the video differently. To me that’s a reminder that for many of us, politics have become an idol in our lives. And so, as we remember our baptisms and renew our baptismal vows, maybe we need to remember that Jesus is Lord, not a political party or politician. Maybe we need to recommit to that truth.

I encourage us all to try to put ourselves in the side that we don’t understand. And believe me, I’m preaching as much to myself as all of you. Maybe put yourself in the shoes of the officer. Or put yourself in the shoes of the woman killed. Put yourself in the shoes of the family and friends of Renee Nicole Good who lost a beloved family member. And put yourself in the shoes of the family of the officer who I wouldn’t doubt is probably facing death threats. We must remember that whether we believe the officer was justified in his actions or not, death and violence is not the way of God, and we must lament that this incident took place. No matter your stance on immigration, let’s also put ourselves in the shoes of immigrants who are living in fear right now. And let’s also put ourselves in the shoes of officers who are trying to do a job to provide for their family and believe that they are trying to make the country safer. And let’s also put ourselves in the shoes of protestors who are trying to stand up against injustice and oppression and stand in solidarity with their immigrant brothers and sisters.

We serve a God who walked this earth and lived and dwelled among us. A God who didn’t need to repent but stood in the waters of baptism anyways to repent for the sins of the world. May we too live and dwell among others we maybe don’t understand or agree with.

And may we be reminded that the God who declares us sons or daughters, also declares people we on the side we don’t understand sons or daughters as well. May we remember that in the waters of baptism we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Amen