Father, we come before you thankful for who you are, that you are the creator of all things, the one who exists outside of space and time, who has made everything for your glory. The God who we could never approach in our lack of righteousness and our sinfulness. A God who's above all else and who's perfectly holy and righteous and who cannot exists in the presence of sin. We thank you for your holiness and righteousness, and we also thank you for making us righteous so that we can approach you and we can have fellowship with you. We thank you for saving us and redeeming us, justifying us, and continuing to sanctify us through our Christian walk. We thank you that you have not only united us to yourself, but also to one another. so that we can come together and gather on the Lord's day to worship you in spirit and in truth and to encourage and love one another and to encourage each other to press on and persevere as we battle our sin and seek to live more righteously to your glory. We thank you that you've given us each other to walk through that with and that we're not alone but we have your grace and your people. They're instrumental in moving us forward. So we thank you for that reality that we can enjoy. We pray now as we begin this worship that it would first and foremost be glorifying to you. We desire to fix our eyes upon you today and to be reminded of your goodness towards us. And because of the great work that you've accomplished on our behalf, we desire to glorify your name this morning. So please bless this time, bless our worship. As the word goes forth, I pray that you'd be met by the Holy Spirit and that you would edify us and encourage us. Let us learn more about you through your word. We pray that, again, this would be used for your glory and it would be used to conform us more into the image of your Son. It's in his name we pray. Amen. Please turn with me to 1 Peter 3, verse 21. 1 Peter 3, 21. We'll be continuing our study this morning on the ordinary means of grace, our series rather, on the ordinary means of grace. And we've already studied two of the four elements that we will be looking at in this series. We learned in our first study, if you'll remember, that to hear the faithful preaching of God's Word is to hear the voice of Christ. And that's how preaching is used as the ordinary means of grace to build us up and to sanctify us. We get to hear God's voice through preaching. And we also learned in our last study, that prayer is used to align our wills with the will of God, and it's also used as a mechanism to carry out God's decree. So those are the two ways that prayer is used to sanctify us. And so that now brings us to our third topic of the four, and that topic is baptism. The next and final topic that we'll look at next time I'm able to preach will be the Lord's Supper. So these last two are the two sacraments given to the church. And so we'll begin this morning by looking at the first, which is baptism. And so the first thing I want to note is that this sermon is not meant to be primarily an argument for the Reformed Baptist view of baptism or a polemic against other views of baptism. As tempting as that is as a Reformed Baptist, we're not going to be focusing on that aspect of baptism this morning. Rather, we'll be concerned this morning with looking at specifically how baptism is used by God as one of the ordinary means of grace in the church. We'll consider how baptism is used by God to conform us more into the image of His Son. And so with that said, please look with me at our text. Our primary text will actually be just four words in verse 24, but let's look, we'll read a little bit further back just for some context. We'll begin in verse 18. So, 1 Peter 3, verse 18. It says, For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. in which also he went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you." And it's those final four words that will be our main text this morning. Baptism now saves you. So we'll examine four points on how baptism is used as a means of grace, and each one of these points will be represented by one of those four words. Or perhaps a better way to present it is that we'll ask four questions about baptism, and each one of these words will bring us an answer. So the first word in our text is baptism, and here we'll see an answer to the question of what is it? What is baptism? We'll define it. The second word is now, and here we'll ask the question, when does it work? When does baptism work? The third word is saves. Here we'll answer the question, what does it do, right? How is it effectual? And the fourth and final word is you. And there we will answer the question of who does it work for or through. So let us begin with the first of these questions. What is baptism? So Peter writes and he starts by saying that baptism saves. But what is baptism? And so I'll be jumping around a little bit. You can follow me or stay in First Peter, whatever you prefer. But I'll read all the texts that I cover. So arguably the best place to go to in scripture to answer the question of what baptism is, is found in the Great Commission of Matthew 28. So Matthew 28, verse 19 is what we read. Jesus says to the disciples, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. So, right off the bat, we can understand baptism on a surface level by just the definition of the word baptizo in the Greek. And so that word means to plunge, dip, or wash something for the purpose of renewal. That's what it means. And so this is the same word in 1 Peter, obviously, and in Matthew 28. And at face value, it just means the cleansing or washing of something. So that's the service level definition of it. But when we consider what Jesus says in the Great Commission, we gain insight into what else it means and what else it does. So two points to notice in Matthew 28, 19, is that baptism is to be administered to disciples, okay? He says, make disciples baptizing them, right? It's only those who are followers of Christ who are to be baptized according to the Great Commission. It says baptizing them, right, the disciples. And it's the duty of the church to administer baptism to those that claim Christ as their Lord, not infants, not households, disciples, individual disciples. The next thing to notice is that Jesus commands baptism to be administered in the name of the triune God. This is very important. One side note with the name of the triune God is that this displays the plurality and the unity of the Godhead. So baptism is administered in the name, singular name. of the three persons, right? The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So you see the oneness of God in the singular name, but then the plurality of the Godhead and the three persons being listed in the individual singular name. So it's a Trinitarian passage there. But what does this mean, though? To be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What does that mean? The word name, is used often in the scriptures to communicate the character or the honor of someone. Consider when Jesus teaches that anything that we ask in His name will be given to us. This does not mean that as long as our prayers end by saying, in Jesus' name, that they'll necessarily come true, right? But what Jesus is saying is that anything that we ask that's aligned with His character and His desires will be given to us. Remember our last study when we saw that praying the right way aligns our will with the will of God. And that's why when we ask things in Jesus' name, our prayer will be answered. Because we're asking of God that which God Himself already desires. So we're praying according to Jesus' character. when we're praying in his name. So name communicates character, right? It also communicates honor. The theological dictionary of the Old Testament says this of the Hebrew word behind name, which is sem, says sem comes to have semantic overtones of fame, honor, influence, power, et cetera. Furthermore, sem functions as a substitute for the person in question. So for God to do something in His name, in the Old Testament specifically, was to do something by and for His own glory and renown. For example, Isaiah 43 verses 6 and 7 says this, Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my name and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, even who I have made. So in speaking of the true Israel, the church, the coming redemption that was to come to them, God says that he will call them by his name and for his glory. So there's a connection there between name and glory, right? And so now back, taking that understanding of name back to baptism, to be baptized into the name of the triune God is to be baptized into his very character and for his own glory, right? Baptism is, on the one hand, our public commitment to live a life that's aligned with God's character and for His glory, but on the other hand, it's also God's public claiming of our life to be used by Him for His own glory. To be baptized in God's name is to claim God as our own, but it is also God claiming us as His own for His glory. So the one rightly baptized can truly say that I am God's and He is mine. So baptized in the name of the Trinity. So in summary of Matthew 28 19 we see that baptism is a commandment and an ordinance of the church whereby the disciples alone are to be baptized into water whereby they publicly pledge a life of submission to God's character for his own glory. And God simultaneously publicly lays claim of that disciple as one called to live for his own glory. And so that answers the question of what baptism is. Next we'll move forward in 1 Peter 3.21 and answer the second question. Peter continues, baptism now. So now, that's our second word here. The adverb now is very important in our text. It answers the question of when does baptism work? We'll get to the actual work of what it does, but first we need to address this is the order that Peter wrote. He tells us when baptism is effectual. So, Now is an adverb that is used to communicate the present time or effect of something, right? So this is, this baptism that we just defined is currently working. It's not something that worked before or it will work in the future. It's currently working. Peter's teaching the baptism as at work right now, right? Baptism now saves. There's a current effect taking place. We don't look back merely on the effects it once had, nor do we look forward in hoping that one day it'll have an effect. Peter says, no, baptism now saves you. It's working now. So there, we answer the question of when is it working? Now, forward in our text, what does it do? What is the work? And this will be the bulk of our sermon here. Look with me at the next word. Baptism now saves. saves. Now this terminology has been misunderstood by many people. And without understanding the biblical categories and multiple uses of this word, this text has led to great errors throughout church history. So in order to answer the question of how does baptism work, Or more specifically, in what way does baptism save? As Peter writes, we need to first address what it doesn't mean. So, there are many places in Scripture that use the word here in Greek to communicate justification. Justification. Consider a few. Ephesians 2, chapter 2, verse 8 says, By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God. Romans 10, 9 and 10 says, If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. And then Acts 4, 12 says, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. So that same word is used in all of those passages. And they're all talking about justification. The point in time in history where we believe in Christ and we receive his perfect righteousness and we're declared forgiven in the eyes of God, that's justification. That's what these verses are using that word to communicate. And so if we apply this use of the word to our text in 1 Peter, we find ourselves in grievous error. Could Peter mean that baptism justifies us? Absolutely not. I just mentioned a verse that contradicts this idea. Ephesians 2.8 says that we've been saved by grace through faith, speaking about justification. So then when Paul continues and he says, this is not of yourself and that it's not of works lest you should be able to boast, right? It's saying it's not works. It's not something you do. And so if justification were to be accomplished through baptism, then justification would be of works and we would have something to boast in. I'm saved, I'm justified because I was baptized. So it contradicts Paul's teaching in Ephesians 2. So it cannot mean that baptism justifies us. That can't be the way that he's using the word saves. But luckily, we not only see in scripture what it doesn't mean, but we see what it does mean. There's different ways that the same word is translated and used to communicate different things in scripture. Sanctification is also used, or this word is also used to communicate sanctification. And so sanctification, unlike justification, is the ongoing process of conforming us into Christ's image and likeness. When justification takes place in a moment, it takes us from unsaved to saved. Sanctification takes the person that is saved, that is justified, and brings them further into their holiness and likeness in Christ's image. And so, consider the scriptures that use that same word, but use it to communicate sanctification. First Corinthians 1.18 says, for the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. And second Corinthians 2.15 and 16 says, for we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one and aroma of death to death, to the other, an aroma of life to life. So in both of these verses, we see the present passive tense use of the word here, which communicates that the saving is being done in the present moment, right? And we know that the present work of saving, the present aspect of salvation is sanctification. So it's communicating here sanctification, not justification. So, we see that it's used in both ways, okay? So, interpreting Peter's words, baptism now saves, we can't interpret it as baptism now justifies. If we do that, we deny salvation by grace alone through faith alone. But rather, if we interpret it as sanctification, baptism now saves you as a sanctifying work, then it will line up with the rest of scripture and be consistent with God's testimony. And so Peter's teaching that baptism saves us in a sanctifying way. This also lines up with the last point that we covered that baptism is saving now, right? The now aspect of our salvation is sanctification. So it confirms that idea. And so let's look at further evidence of saving in this context, meaning sanctifying. Look back with me at the prior three verses in 1 Peter 3. Verse 18. Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. In which also he went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient. And here's our point. When the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through the water." So Peter brings up the story of Noah and the ark, bringing him and his wife and his sons and their wives safely through the floodwaters. So he brings up that picture for us. And then he continues, look in verse 21. He says, corresponding to that, corresponding to Noah's story, Baptism now saves you, then we find our text, right? So the way in which baptism saves, our text teaches us, corresponds with the saving of Noah and his family from the flood. So there's a connection, there's a correspondence between these two things. The way that the ark saved Noah and his family corresponds to the way that baptism saves us. And so you may say, Noah's salvation occurred because of his obedience to God's warning. Would that open up the possibility again of saving here, meaning justifying? I would argue no. For if Noah had ignored God's warning like the rest of the world ignored God's warning, then he would have perished, right? So if Noah would have perished by ignoring God's warning to build the ark, would we perish by not entering the waters of baptism? Is that how the story corresponds? The answer is no. Consider Hebrews 11, 7, where we read this. By faith, By faith, Noah, being warned by God about the things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. And so here we see in the book of Hebrews that the act of building the ark was not what saved Noah. It was his faith in God that led him to build the ark that saved him. He was saved by faith, the text tells us. And from this faith, because he was saved by faith, he trusted God and he built the ark. It was a result of justification, not the cause of it, right? And so baptism works in the same way. It does not justify us, but rather a justified person comes to the waters of baptism because he's already been justified. That's what makes you desire to come. Being baptized is obeying a command and is therefore in the category of sanctification and not justification. So I think that we've sufficiently proved that the word saved in our context here means sanctification and not justification. And so now we can look more closely at how it is that it sanctifies us. So we see that it does sanctify us, that's how it saves, but how does that work? So we'll be looking forward in our text in verse 21, where we read, baptism saves, Peter says, look what he says following this verse, not by the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience. So we see in this phrase a contrast between the physical and the spiritual effects of baptism. Peter first tells us how baptism does not sanctify us, right? He says baptism saves, baptism sanctifies, but it's not by the removal of dirt from the body. That's not how it saves, that's not how it's effectual. When a person is submerged into water, the dirt that may have collected on them is washed away by the water, that is an effect. But he's saying this physical cleansing that takes place is not the power in baptism, it's not the point. While it may seem obvious saying that, thinking that physical cleansing is not the point of baptism or the part of baptism that saves us, Peter's making a broader point. He's saying that the physical aspects, the physical elements of baptism are not what saves us. It's not the thing in and of itself. It's not the act of physically submerging a person into water that has significance in and of itself. It doesn't. There was a debate in church history over the sacraments, and specifically the validity of sacraments that were given by a minister who would later fall away. Some believed that baptism received by a minister who would later apostatize would make their baptism invalid. This point, or this view, was known as ex opera operantis, which means by the work of the doer, by the work of the doer. So it emphasized the minister, the one that was doing the baptizing. It put an emphasis on that. The outward elements, right? What was happening outwardly? The opposing view and the correct view was ex opera operato, which is by the work worked. This focused on the spiritual promise that God had made the spiritual promise that God had made was what made baptism effectual. It wasn't the outward elements, it wasn't the thing happening, it was the spiritual promise that God had made. And so they emphasized rightly the spiritual elements of baptism and rejected the idea of putting emphasis on the physical elements, specifically who was doing the baptizing. And so lest we make the same error in our thinking Consider that Peter denies right here in our text that it's not the physical or outward elements of the sacrament that have power. He's saying it's not the removal of dirt from the body. It's not the physical elements that are effectual. It's not the water that makes it effectual. It's not the minister's uprightness that makes it effectual. It's not any of the outward elements. Those don't have power in and of themselves. It's the spiritual ones, the spiritual elements that make baptism effectual. And I'll demonstrate this in the next part of Peter's contrast. Look again at verse 21, the latter part of verse 21. Peter says, baptism now saves you, not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience. An appeal to God for a good conscience. So contrasted with the removal of dirt from the body, we see that baptism saves as an appeal to God for a good conscience. That's how it saves. But what does this mean? It can be kind of a confusing statement. How is baptism an appeal to God for a good conscience? Let's first remember what takes place in baptism. As we saw before in our first point, being baptized in God's name is to, on the one hand, make a public commitment to, or on the part of the one who's baptized, to live for the glory and the honor of God. And on the other hand, it's God himself claiming the one who's baptized as his own. That's my disciple baptized in my name. That's what's happening in baptism. And so in this baptism, we're appealing to God to confirm his pledge to truly make us his. By receiving the baptism of the triune God, we are appealing to Him to be our God and to confirm that He is our God by sanctifying us with a clean and good conscience. We're asking Him to assure us that through faith in Christ, which has led us into the waters of baptism, our sins are truly forgiven. Our conscience is good. We know that we have been forgiven and we belong to Christ. And so baptism works to demonstrate this because we're assured that he has claimed us as his own. We've taken upon ourselves the sign of the new covenant in baptism. We receive the righteousness of Christ and have had our sin debt paid in full, then out of a new heart, the desires to obey God, we enter into the waters of baptism. And so receiving the New Covenant sign of baptism, we publicly identify as a member of the New Covenant and we're appealing to God to confirm this again to us in our own conscience. And so this is how baptism sanctifies us. It's an appeal to God to confirm in ourselves, in our conscience, that we are indeed partakers of the New Covenant, members of the New Covenant, and that we belong to Christ and that Christ belongs to us. So it's an appeal to God for a clean and good conscience. Now, lastly, we come to our final point in our text, which is very important qualifier for the promises that we've covered of baptism. Look back, please, at verse 21. The last of the four points here. Baptism now saves you. You. So the promise that we have seen that baptism saves, baptism sanctifies, baptism works now, all those things we've just covered is qualified here with this word. Baptism does all these things. It's effectual now. It can sanctify us. It's an appeal to God for a good conscience. But who is it for? Who is it for? The significance of this is found when we identify the you that Peter is referring to here. Who is you? When you follow the pronouns of this letter from the beginning to our text here, you see that Peter never changes his audience. He's addressing the same people, obviously, that he began writing the letter to. And so who did he write the letter to? Who is the you here? So if you turn back with me to 1 Peter chapter one for just a moment, we see the beginning of this letter, who it is that Peter is addressing. Who is the you? that he's qualifying these promises with. In verses 1 and 2, we see who Peter writes to. He says, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood. So it's the ones who have been chosen by the foreknowledge of God, who are sanctified by the Spirit and are sprinkled with the blood of Christ." That's also another Trinitarian passage there. We see the Trinitarian work of salvation. But it's Peter identifying these people he's writing to as those who are Christians, they're true believers. They're the ones who've been chosen from before the foundation of the world by the Father. They have been bought with the blood of Christ and they have been born again by the Holy Spirit. These are the ones to whom he's referring to. It's not to unbelievers. It's to the elect of God, the true elect of God. And so now with that in mind, let's turn back to our text in chapter 3. Now that we identified the you. So what does this mean put together? Peter says the baptism now saves you. You, true believers. This is to whom the promise of the effect of baptism is made. This also argues even more fully our last point that baptism in and of itself is not what sanctifies. Right? Otherwise everybody who's ever been baptized or submerged into water would benefit from it. But that's not the case. Believers and unbelievers alike do not benefit from baptism. False converts that get baptized do not receive the spiritual benefits of baptism. It's not baptism in and of itself that sanctifies. It's the promise of God to the elect of God that when they enter the waters of baptism by faith, these promises are for them. They're for us. So again, Peter qualifies his statement by adding that it only saves you. It's only the disciples, the true disciples of Christ that receive these promises. Baptism isn't just a vehicle of grace that just anyone can get into and receive a blessing from. Rather, it's a sacrament that God uses to bless true believers by giving them a clear conscience and assurance of the forgiveness of their sins, of their pardon in Christ. So it's used by God to bless and to sanctify those who believe. And so that... in that we'll summarize what we have seen so far in our four points. The first point was we saw that baptism in the name of the triune God is a public pledge on the part of the recipient to live a life to the glory of God as well as a public claiming of that recipient of baptism to God himself. God claims that person to be baptized in his name and to live a life for his own glory. We saw in the word now that the effectiveness of baptism is not merely in the past and not merely in the future, but it's rather a present blessing to us. It remains a blessing to us. We can currently think back and remember our baptism, right, and be reminded of the forgiveness that we have. We're reminded every time someone else is baptized, we get to think about our baptism and see them being baptized into Christ and remember that we also have been joined to Christ in his death and his resurrection. So it's a current blessing. It's not something that just blessed us in the past when it happened or that will bless us sometime in the future. It's a blessing now. Baptism now saves. And our third word, saves. We saw that baptism is a means of saving us, but not a means of justifying us, right? So it saves us in a sanctifying way. It appeals to God for a sanctified and good conscience that is aware and grateful for the forgiveness that we have received in Christ. And it reminds us of the union that we have in Him, in His death, and one day in His resurrection. So it blesses us in a sanctifying way. It moves us along in our Christian journey. It gives us hope. And then lastly, the word you, we saw that Peter qualifies all of this. All these promises is that it's only for the elect of God. It's only for those who have already been justified. It's not a promise in and of itself. We couldn't just drag someone into our church and baptize them and have them experience any kind of spiritual blessing from that. It's only those who have been justified and who seek to live a life to the glory of God that enter into the waters of baptism by faith, and it's those that are blessed through it. So, it's a sacrament that God has chosen to bless us through. And so the exclusivity of that promise that baptism will save, or saves currently, leads me into our first point of application this morning. Since baptism is only valid for the elect, I want to address perhaps someone that has not believed in Christ, has not experienced Christ's justification. Hear his voice today. He calls out to those who are lost and who are far off, as all of us once were. He's a merciful Savior who died for sinners like you and me in order to cleanse us from all of our sin and to make us new creations in Christ. So come and drink from the fountain of life. Rest your soul under the care of the faithful shepherd who gives his sheep life and life abundant. So if you've not believed, please come to Christ and receive the forgiveness that he freely offers. And for those that have believed, do you believe this about baptism? Do you see it merely as an outward sign? Or do you see it as a powerful way in which God sanctifies us and blesses us, saves us? If not, then allow your thinking to line up with what God's Word says. Baptism is not merely a washing of dirt from the body, as Peter says. It's an appeal to God for a good conscience. It's not just a memory, just symbolic. There's real spiritual blessings and benefits from it. It's not just symbolism, it's more than that. It's an appeal to God for a good conscience. It has effects even today that continue, right? When you're struggling with the Christian life, remember your baptism. Remember that Peter says baptism now saves you. and difficult seasons, consider the one with whom you've covenanted with, the one who you have been baptized into his name, the God who you pledged to serve publicly and who also has publicly claimed you as his own. This took place in your baptism. Take heart and remember in those difficult times that through the waters of baptism you've been given a good conscience knowing that the ever faithful God has claimed you as his own and has promised to be your savior. He won't leave you or forsake you. He is with you and he's promised to be with you and to be your God. So the first point is to think rightly about baptism and to remember your baptism today. Lastly, and perhaps the most obvious application of her sermon would be to those who have come to Christ in faith and received his pardon and his forgiveness, but have not yet taken upon themselves the covenant sign of baptism. For you, let me encourage you to come speak to the elders and to seek to be baptized. to enter the waters of baptism. Baptism is a commanded element of worship. Jesus commanded baptism to take place. But not only is it a commandment, it's also a blessing, as we've just seen. It's a blessing, it will bless you, it will sanctify you. There's power in it, there's spiritual promises in it. And so, if you've not been baptized, consider this a call to come forward in faith and to enter the waters of baptism. So, brothers and sisters, let us be thankful to God for giving us this covenant sign. It is truly a gift that we have the sacraments. They're gifts to us. They're blessings to us. Let us remember. Let us remember our baptism. Let us not only remember our baptism, but also as we continue to see other people come to faith in Christ and see other people be baptized, let us rejoice with them, knowing that it's not simply outwardly, it's not simply symbolic, but it's a powerful covenant sign given to the church to mark out those that belong to Christ and to sanctify their conscience and to assure them of the forgiveness and salvation they have found in Christ. So let us remember our baptism and let us rejoice with those who come into the water in the future. knowing that this outward sign, this outward symbol of the reality is pointing to the greatest reality that anyone could ever experience, namely that they've been united with with God, they've been saved, they've been justified, their sins have been forgiven. And so when they take up on that sign, the reality of what they've already experienced is the greatest possible good that could ever take place. And so we see baptism symbolizing the thing that should make us rejoice most in the world, namely the salvation of sinners. So let us celebrate baptism as a good gift to the church. Let us think rightly about it. Let us remember our baptism and continue to rejoice with those who enter the waters and to also let it continually sanctify us, remembering that God has united himself with us and given us a good conscience and assured us that indeed we belong to him. And so, praise the Lord for giving us this sign and my prayer is that we would come to a deeper understanding of what it is and a deeper gratefulness for God giving that to the church. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for baptism. We thank you that you give us the sacraments that, in and of themselves, don't have power. In and of themselves, they can't accomplish anything. But that you give them to us to represent the spiritual realities that you have given to us. that you alone could give to us, that in baptism we see that we have died to sin and been raised to new life. We could never do that on our own, and yet you do that on our behalf. Thank you that in the Lord's Supper we see Christ's broken body and shed blood, which is for us. Thank you for giving us these means of grace that sanctify us, and conform us more to the image of your son. We pray now as we continue in our worship that you would be glorified and that you would, again, use these means to conform us into the image of Christ. In his name we pray, amen.