“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment.”.” – Galatians 3:27

Abram was a man accredited after God…a faithful servant of the Lord who was shielded by God. – Genesis 15:1  God made a promise to Abram that his descendants would be more than the stars in the sky. – Genesis 15:5  But Abram was confused as he had no offspring, but he trusted God to keep his promise.  When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; Walk before me, and be blameless.  I will establish My covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.” – Genesis 17:1-2   “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham (Father of many). – Genesis 17:5   Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai you wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.” – Genesis 17:15

As you read this, it can all seem so confusing.  God making promises to a man barren of children who is 99 years of age.  Then there is the whole thing about descendants being as many as the stars in the sky.  Why no one can count the vast amount of stars in the sky, of course!  Then God changes Abram’s name, (meaning exalted Father), to Abraham (meaning father of many), as well as Sarai’s name to Sarah.  Ever wonder why?

I have a very common name, Donald.  There are many variations of that name – Don, Donny, Donnie, etc.  I have even been called Ron, Dan, Dawn and many other names.  But here’s the deal…God has a special name for you.  And it is much more important that we accept and respond to the name that God calls us than to any other name.  The name God calls us is more important than any name we have been called – rightly, wrongly or in respect or in sarcasm or anger.  John the Apostle tells us that God calls us, “…children of God.” – 1 John 3:1  So while your name may be Bill, Mary, Sue, John or even Donald…the most important name you wear is Child of God.  And since God made his promise to Abram and sealed it with a new name, so the promise he has made stands for us today as well – as he has sealed that promise to us with a new name as well.  I hope you will wear your name proudly!

Basket Dinner…will follow services this Sunday.  Come join the fun and be a part of our worship service too!

A Disciple of Jesus…is one who knows and follows Jesus, is being changed by Jesus and is on mission with Jesus in their daily life. – Matthew 4:19

A Quote from Billy Graham…”The central theme of the Bible is salvation, and the central personality of the Bible is Jesus Christ.”

Midwest Bible Camp…kicks off this weekend and several of our members will be involved in this ministry.  Please keep them in your prayers for safety and the good works for the Lord they will be doing.  May they have great impact on the lives of the young they lead.

This Week at MCoC…the logical follow up to our study of the Holy Spirit is to look at what the Bible teaches on Baptism.  Last week we took a deep dive into just that, what Jesus modeled and commanded regarding baptism.  This week we will continue to examine this subject again – this time focusing on how baptism is related to salvation.  In doing so we will also answer questions like:   What does baptism mean?  Is it necessary that a Christian be baptized?  I was baptized somewhere else at a different time in my life.  Do I need to be rebaptized?  All of these questions are legitimate, and we will deal with them this week.  I hope you will be able to join us, either in person, on-line via our website, or on MPW cable Channel 3 at 10:00am

May God bless you all!

DJA