Journey to Jerusalem: Child of God

Journey to Jerusalem: Child of God

Lord,
I revel in knowing that
I AM A CHILD OF GOD.

It is a truth that my parents instilled in me.
Because of their love,
demonstrated and told to me
over and over and over again.
I know that I am
"Beloved!"

Yesterday in worship,
we celebrated baptism.
Three children stood with their family
and received the gift of baptism.

As the bapitzer,
I said the same thing
to each one,
"Child of God,
I baptize you
in the name of
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
with water pouring from my hands
washing over their heads
and dripping onto the floor.

And then with my thumb,
I traced the cross of Christ
on their forehead and said,
"May the blessings of
God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
be with you
this day and everyday.
Amen."

Lord Jesus,
it is an important reminder.
On our way to Jerusalem,
as we face difficulty,
as humanity does its worst,
as sin and evil seem to take charge,
we need to remember the truth:

"I am a Child of God,
sealed by the Holy Spirit,
marked with the Cross of Christ forever,
and nothing anyone can say or do
will ever change that."

Young or old,
Lord Jesus,
remind us all
that NO MATTER WHAT
we belong to you,
we are loved by you,
we are made in your image,
we are children of God,
and we are beloved!

That's what I want my son
to grow up knowing
to the core of his being.
That's what I want the three I baptized Sunday
to know to the core of their being.
That's the truth
you reveal to the WHOLE WORLD
in Jesus' living, loving, suffering, dying, and rising again:
"We are the beloved Children of God,
sealed by the Holy Spirit,
marked with the Cross of Christ forever,
and nothing anyone can say or do
will ever change that."

THANKS BE TO GOD!!
AMEN.

___________

Track and share your miles by clicking here.

At Westminster Presbyterian Church, we are committing to journey the 6,284 miles from Columbia, SC to Jerusalem, Israel in our walking, running, swimming, cycling, etc.

You are invited to track and send your miles to our church office, we will post those miles online and on banners in the sanctuary and in our fellowship building.  Together we will make our journey to Jerusalem!

I challenge you:

1. How many miles is it from your community to Jerusalem?
2. Invite others to make the journey with you.
3. And pray together along the way.
4. Warning: the journey will be painful; there will be suffering; we will witness betrayal, denial, and death.  And yet, resurrection awaits us!
5. See you in Jerusalem at the empty tomb on Easter morning!