Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 John went down to the Jordan to preach a message of repentance and baptize everyone who responded to the message. Despite his odd appearance and the harshness of his message, hundreds came to be baptized. Some in the crowd wondered whether or not he was the Messiah, but John pointed away from himself to another. While he baptized with water, the coming one, the one whose way he prepared, would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with Fire. One day, as John was baptizing, Jesus came and got in line. Unlike elsewhere in the Gospels, John doesn’t try to stop Jesus from being baptized. He doesn’t even seem to recognize him. He just immerses Jesus in the waters of the Jordan, like everyone else. However, when Jesus emerges from the water, the heavens open, a dove descends, and a voice calls out from the heavens: “You are my son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.” At this moment God makes a cl...
Sermons of a Disciples Preacher Ministering in Troy, Michigan