Monthly Archives: November 2014

Discovery Church

WATER BAPTISM… what it looks like and what it means at Discovery Church

What  does WATER BAPTISM look like and what does it mean At Discovery Church Prescott?

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Are you considering taking the plunge and getting baptized in water?

Water baptism is a way for believers to outwardly express what God has done in their heart and lives in the presence of other believers. When you are baptized in water, you are identifying yourself with Jesus. It is an outward expression of an inward experience.

Family and friends are encouraged to attend and celebrate this significant decision.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who should be water baptized?
If you have just made a Fresh Start with God and accepted Jesus as Lord of your life, you should be baptized. If you were baptized as a child before you understood what you were doing, or if you just rededicated your life to the Lord, then you should consider being baptized again.

Why should we be water baptized?
We should be water baptized because Jesus was baptized and He is our example and because He commanded us to be baptized.

Mark 1:9 – At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

Matthew 28:19 – Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Water baptism was the first thing believers did in the early church after they believed in and confessed Jesus as Lord of their life.

Acts 8:35-38 – Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

What does Water Baptism represent?
It’s an act of obedience and an outward symbol that represents what Jesus has done in us and for us. It doesn’t bring us into a relationship with Christ, only faith does that.

Colossians 2:12 – For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ.

Water Baptism represents 3 things:
1. Death – Specifically Jesus’ death. Christ died on the cross for you. Revelation 1:5 says His blood washes away our sins. Romans 6 says that we died to sin and no longer live in it. Our old nature was crucified with Him. The water is a symbol of washing away the old person.

2. Burial- Going under the water represents His burial. Christ was buried and was in the tomb for 3 days. Our old nature and sin habits are buried with Him.

3. Resurrection – When you come out of the water. We are raised with Him and now live a new life in Christ.

Why do we have to go under water?
We go under water because Jesus did. The word baptism is Baptizo in Greek which means to immerse or submerge.

Matthew 3:16 – As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water.

Who is eligible for water baptism?
As Phillip says in Acts 8:37, the only requirement for water baptism is faith in Jesus Christ. Believing that He is the son of God and through his death, burial and resurrection, anyone can receive eternal life. Without such faith, water baptism just becomes a meaningless ritual.

Does water Baptism literally wash away my sin?
Only the blood of Jesus washes away our sin.

Ephesians 1:7 – In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.

I was water baptized as a baby, isn’t that good enough?
It could be considered a gesture of dedication by your parents but faith and repentance are both necessary ingredients as indicated in Acts 8:37.

Is water baptism optional?
As a fully devoted follower…No, Jesus both commanded and modeled water Baptism in the Bible.

Can my child be water baptized?
We advise parents to wait until their child is asking to be water baptized. This is usually a good indication that they are ready to be baptized and it will be a spiritual milestone in their life. While younger children under the age of 5 can have a relationship with Jesus, they will not necessarily remember or understand the significance of the event, so we encourage parents to wait until they are a little older.

We celebrate with you in your decision to follow Christ in water baptism.

See you in the water.

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Pastor Steve and your Discovery Tribe.

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Discovery Church, Men's Cafe

Guest Blogger Toby York

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At Men’s Cafe we have been visiting the 1989 movie Dead Poets Society. In the film we were challenged by this quote.

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“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”

Over the next few blog post we have guest bloggers who will contribute their verse.

We thank them.

Today’s guest blogger is Toby York.

Fear, life, pain, love, happiness
Life and death intertwined in a mind of questions.

Heaven…

While I believe it exists and strive each day to earn my right…
I don’t care to see it anytime soon.

Love, compassion and dreams keep me alive.
Life is filled with possibilities, experiences and again fears.

What then is failure but experience and opportunity.
Why does it hurt so many and why is the fear of it such a driving force.

Life is lived in passing moments.
Their depth determined by our ability to understand.

I strive to understand.
Myself, others, nature and of course God.

Maybe the best answer IS love.
Deeper love of Him, ourselves and others equals that depth of understanding.

Together we soar above the fears and failures.
We dive deep into understanding and we love to the very depths of life. 

With love compassion is possible.
Compassion for those who hurt us and themselves.

With compassion we walk in others shoes.
And abate our solitary existence. 

Compassion condemns control.
For even He has created free will.

Free will to love, walk, succeed. 
Free will to live, to soar, to understand.

~Toby

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Arizona Cardinals, Men's Cafe

Guest Blogger Jim Nowlin

At Men’s Cafe we have been visiting the 1989 movie Dead Poets Society. In the film we were challenged by this quote.

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“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”

Over the next few blog post we have guest bloggers who will contribute their verse.

We thank them.

Reclaimed

By James Nowlin

Stability- that commodity- of it I longed to obtain.

Seeking- and freaking- over riddles in my brain.

The answer- a transfer- of truth that does sustain.

The verdict- a perfect- love which will reclaim.

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Discovery Church, family

You Can Have A Happy Home – Part 3

There’s No Place Like Home

YOU CAN HAVE A HAPPY HOME
Part three
Steve Lummer

Psalm 107 The Four Groups of people that are invited to gives thanks at the Lord’s Table

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.

The first Group THE WANDERERS.
“not all who wander are lost “ – that may be true but they can end up lonely.
Vs. 10-16
10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.

The second group – THE PRISONERS.
Not long after a wealthy contractor had finished building the Tombs prison in New York, he was found guilty of forgery and sentenced to several years in the prison he had built! As he was escorted into a cell of his own making, the contractor said, “I never dreamed when I built this prison that I would be an inmate one day.

17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18 They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.

The third group – THE FOOLS – The opposite of wisdom is folly, meaning the short-term self-indulgence which marks out the person who doesn’t think about long-term priorities and goals but lives on a day-to-day basis, asking, “What is the most fun thing to do now?”
Vs 23-32
23 Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. 24 They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. 25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.

The fourth group – THE MERCHANTS
The risk takers – Entrepreneurship is the process of starting a business or other organization. The entrepreneur develops the model, acquires the human and other required resources, and is fully responsible for its success or failure.
Launch out into the deep

Luke 5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

 

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Discovery Church

Guest Blogger Cristina Dyer

Discovery’s Community Missions Project.

By Cristina Dyer

“We have a very unique and exciting opportunity to partner with Gary and Tammy at Opportunity, Community, and Justice for Kids. This is a care program that assists many of our youth that are entering and leaving the foster care homes in our state. Their program consists of mentorship, sponsorship, and building 3 different kinds of care packages.

The first is a suitcase. This is a medium size suitcase that is created for the young adults aging out of the foster care system at 18 yrs old.

The 2nd package is a Kinship Kit. This kit is medium- large size tote that was created for the children that are being stripped from their homes. They don’t have the opportunity to grab a toothbrush, a blanket, or even their favorite toy.These packs, are comfort packs.

The last package is a Welcome Kit. This is a plastic storage container that has a paper label for a name. These packs are held in each group home for the youth entering the foster care system. They have basic hygiene products and are specific to a boy or girl.

So our goal for Discovery Church is to create 5 of each package to sponsor the OCJ Program. This may sound like a small goal right now but I believe we can go above and beyond to sponsor the group homes in the Quad City area. This is the plan. For anyone interested, come sign up on the sheet and grab a shopping list. Hold onto your supplies, because on December 14th we will have a Packing party right after service to assemble all the packs and fellowship with one another. This is a great mission that hit my heart and I believe we can have a hand in making a big difference for the children in our community.”

Thank you for joining us in this very important effort.

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Cristina Dyer

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Men's Cafe

Guest Blogger Mark Montague

MENS-CAFE-BOOTS

At Men’s Cafe we have been visiting the 1989 movie Dead Poets Society. In the film we were challenged by this quote.

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”

Over the next few blog post we have guest bloggers who will contribute their verse.

We thank them.

“I stand here before you
Vulnerable and uncertain
But I am stronger because I tried instead of doing nothing.” 
– Mark Montague

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Men's Cafe

Guest Blogger Dave Sewell

dave-roacking-chair

At Men’s Cafe we have been visiting the 1989 movie Dead Poets Society. In the film we were challenged by this quote.

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”

Over the next few blog post we have guest bloggers who will contribute their verse.

We thank them.

Winds of Change

Change can be feared
Like a locomotive,
Belching steam as it bears down upon one,
Giant pizza cutter wheels ringing on the rails.
But, with a conscious choice,
Change can be something to move toward,
Like running headlong toward a precipice
Knowing,
Certain in fact,
that one will not be cast and broken among the rocks below,
but instead will soar on the winds that brought it.
~D. Sewell

  The River

The river is rolling,
and it also runs still.
We try controlling,
and breaking its will.

Yet out in the wild
‘tween the dams and lakes,
It does what it wants,
It gives and it takes.
~D. Sewell

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