Formally, it's a ceremony or occasion, or what church people call an ordinance, that's been commanded by God that serves as a public testimony of one's commitment to Christ. It's an outward act, a public profession of one's inward transformation and union with Jesus Christ. And for many of us in this room, we are very familiar with a baptism service or a ceremony.

And many of us have probably witnessed people being baptized at some point or other. And each and every baptism is special. Each and every testimony has power. But what is baptism? And why do we do this? Why do we get together to watch someone get immersed in a body of water?

Is it merely a religious formality? Does it in and of itself have the power to transform someone's life? What is baptism? I like to think of it as an adoption party, where the adoptive parents bring home an adopted child and throw a party to celebrate this new little addition to the family.

The paperwork has been done, legal work has all been done, but the baby's been brought home, the journey is just beginning. And this service, this party is an occasion to stop, reflect, and celebrate the fact that a life has been forever changed. And though it may take some time to acclimate and adjust to a family, legally for all its intents and purposes, the child is now a son or a daughter.

The child now has a family, the child has a home, the child now belongs. And it is a time to celebrate together as a community. It's time for us as friends and family to meet the little one. And a life has been forever changed. You see, for most of us who have never been physically or socially been orphans, we can easily take the gift of family for granted.

I had a coworker, I used to work in Korea for six years, and I had a coworker who grew up as an orphan. Her name was Jaehee. And she was awesome at her job, super compassionate, super passionate for the cause of orphans. And Jaehee, my friend, was born in 1986, so currently she is 32 years old.

And the first place she called home was an orphanage, and this was not by her choice. She did not choose to be an orphan, but she grew up in one of the orphanages in Seoul, South Korea. She never knew her biological parents, and like most of us would assume or hope for in a state-run orphanage, there were appearances of care, protection, education, and opportunities.

But day to day, all Jaehee remembers is the verbal abuse, sexual abuse, manipulation, fear and hopelessness. And she told me of the isolation, the constant reminders that they were unwanted ones, that there was no place for these children to go, they were undesirable, and that there was no future for them, and that they were good for nothing.

And this was the message that Jaehee and the 30-some-odd girls heard almost daily from a facility that was to take care of these little helpless ones. Jaehee is now currently 32 years old, and she told me that every single girl that grew up with her, 100% without exception except for her, are now all currently dead or working as prostitutes in the red-light districts of Seoul.

100%. This is an isolated story, but it details a common plight for those who are orphaned in various parts of the world. And without anybody to intervene, very, very few orphans grow up either healthy and/or whole. And that's why adoption is an absolutely beautiful thing. That strangers would decide to love, care for, and take on a child is a display, a wonderful display of mercy and grace.

And I believe that every single one of us in here, we understand this, even if we've never stepped foot into an orphanage. You and I may not have grown up physically or socially as an orphan, but when we hear that people have adopted a child, there's a blessing that we receive.

We're challenged, we're encouraged, and we are proud of the person that has just decided to take on a child. I have people around me who've recently been in the process of adopting a child, and I will always share Jaehee's story with them. And I encourage them, and I tell them that they have just radically changed the outlook of a child's life.

And I tell them how proud I am of them, and how challenged I am, and how blessed I am by their decision. So why is baptism service like an adoption party? There are many parallels here. Spiritually, every single one of us came into a very horrible and broken, damaged world.

Every single one of us in this room entered the world spiritually orphaned, dead in our sins and transgressions, separated from God. And this is not something that any one of us chose for ourselves, but this was a situation that we were born into. And to varying degrees, all of us have been horribly damaged by sin, have been permanently scarred, abused, bedraggled, desperate, isolated, and terrified.

And for one reason or another, we were unwanted and undesirable. And did you know that every single person on this planet has the following three things in common? The first one, nobody had a choice into the situation, circumstance, political environment into which he was born. Some of us in here have had slightly better situations in regard to families and opportunities, but we didn't choose those families.

The second thing we all have in common is every single person has been damaged and broken by sin. And we who have been damaged tend to damage others, hurt people, hurt people, right? Literally and figuratively, we cannot help ourselves from damaging people. And regardless of your religious background, you will likely not disagree with the fact that we live in a very, very damaged and broken world.

And that you and I add our fair share of damage and brokenness to this world. That's the second thing we all have in common. Third, every single person in this room needs saving. Every one of us is spiritually orphaned and in need of an adoptive parent. Some are more aware of their desperation than others.

Some are in denial. Some are defiant, silently and not so silently saying that they have no need of saving. I can do it on my own. But the truth is, every single person in this room is spiritually orphaned with no hope, no future outside of Jesus. And every single one of us is completely at the mercy of the adoptive parent.

Every single person needs Jesus. I would like to read for us John 1, 9-13. It's up on the screen. There was the true light which coming into the world enlightens every man. He was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him.

He came to his own and those who were his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.

The world was broken. God came to this broken world in the person of Jesus Christ. Many in his day, however, did not receive his offer of salvation. Perhaps they didn't feel the need for a deliverance. Perhaps they felt morally upright and in need of no savior. Perhaps what he had to offer, a restored relationship with the creator, was not what they wanted out of a savior of the world.

Scripture tells us that because God loved the world, he sent his only son, that whoever would believe in him might be adopted as sons and daughters into the kingdom of God. In verse 12 of this passage, we read that God has given the spiritually orphaned access to sonship. He has initiated the process of spiritual adoption.

And those like you and me who are desperate and hopeless, broken and aimless, now have access to the kingdom of God. And as no orphan can initiate the process of adoption, no little child can be, "I want to be adopted into a family in America. I want the mom to have this.

I want the dad to have this." No orphan initiates the process of adoption. On their own, orphans cannot choose their parents. In the same way, not one person in this room can initiate a relationship with God. None of us can work hard enough or do enough to make ourselves more desirable or more adoptable.

It's completely God's kindness and his choice to save. It's 100% God's act of mercy for us to be saved. And for those of us in this room who have come to understand this lavish act of kindness, we respond in worship, do we not? And we enjoy the gift of sonship and we enjoy the free gift of salvation.

And today we're celebrating the adoption of five new souls into the family of God. And they will be sharing about their desperation as spiritual orphans. They will be sharing about their adjustments and their ups and downs and acclimating to their lives as newly adopted children of God. And so for you and me, what is our role as brothers and sisters in this family of God?

As you would with any new addition to a family, you help them adjust. You help them grow. You show them the ropes. You love on them. You be patient with them. You include them. You make them feel every right and privilege that belongs to a son or daughter. That is our role as witnesses.

We pray for them. There are things about their heavenly Father and their new family, the rights, the privileges, and even responsibilities that they need to learn and adjust to. So as we celebrate the baptism of our brothers and sisters in Christ, my prayer is that one, that we're reminded of the joy of our own adoption into the family.

Two, that we're reminded of the perfect love of our heavenly Father. And for those of us who may be outside looking in, if you see your need for a Savior, know that the invitation to sonship is open to you as well. There is a parent willing to adopt you, to love on you, to heal you, to protect you, to serve you, to bless you, and that invitation is there.

I would like to close with a verse that you may be all familiar with, John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life, fully enjoying every single right of a prince and princess of the Creator of the universe.

Welcome to our adoption party. Let's get this party started. And let's celebrate together just the joy of God's family bringing in precious little and not so little ones. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that You've ordained this day for us to enjoy together. I pray that every single person who leaves this place will be reminded of Your goodness and that reminder will serve as a great cause for us to worship in gratitude and in joy.

I pray that You would help us really to just be overwhelmed and humbled by the lavishness of Your mercy and Your grace. We thank You for just this afternoon for every person that has come and we pray Your will to be done and that our hearts would be so full after this afternoon.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So our first sister Irene is going to be coming up and sharing. You can follow along in the program. She's going to be sharing. She's going to be baptized and then we're just going to go in order. So when she's done, we're just going to ask our next sister to come up and share.

So can we give Irene a big round of applause as she comes up? Hello church family. My name is Irene and for those of you who don't know me, I'm married to KJ and I have a daughter named Kaylee and I've been attending Berean on and off for about 10 years.

So before coming to know God, I considered myself a Christian because I went to church most Sundays and I tried my best to be a good person and I thought that was enough. But I do not come from a traditional Christian family. My dad is not a believer and my mom became a Christian as an adult.

So I didn't feel that it was absolutely necessary to commit to faith. And also my husband is a non-believer. I feared God but I did not share a personal relationship with Him. So fortunately I didn't have any negative church experiences. However, God was not a part of my daily life and at one point I stopped going to church altogether.

So doubt entered my mind the more I thought about all the evil and imbalance of the world and especially when things were rocky in my life. I now realize how utterly selfish and arrogant I was to think that I couldn't put my trust in the Lord. I wanted to eagerly embrace this new life with God but for me accepting Christ happened gradually.

I received Christ in stages and with the help of a few key individuals. I'm not a strong person and I know that I could never have done it without their support. All in all it was a lengthy, emotional and eye-opening journey but I saw evidence of God unrelentingly working through people to reach me.

My biggest cheerleader was my dear friend Clara whom I have known since the third grade. She invited me to her church in high school and later encouraged me to come out to Berean as well. Clara is above all things very patient, generous and persistent. Even when I politely refused many times and I couldn't find the courage to come out alone, she never gave up.

I continued having deeper conversations with her even before she got married, throughout all three of her pregnancies and even now and as a result I learned so much, so much more about the gospel message. Clara really provided me with the tools I needed to start transforming the way that I thought and accepted truth.

She pushed me to persevere, teaching me not to look to seasoned Christians but to turn to God alone and not to put my trust in people. Through Berean I also met Marian who has been like a spiritual mentor and friend to me. Very patiently she helped me to grow and acknowledge how deep I was in my sins and oftentimes I would ask the same questions but she would show me that the answers could be found by turning to passages in the Bible.

I realized how much I was complaining and making excuses and focusing on how unfair I felt life was instead of living joyfully and with thanksgiving. So when I began praying earnestly and seeking the Lord, I was again faced with trials that filled me with doubt all over again. I would often ask, "Why is the path that God has chosen so difficult?" In the moment it registered to me that I desperately needed Him in my life, I was able to easily let go of all my selfish desires.

I genuinely repented and asked God for forgiveness many, many times before coming to this point today. Around this time when I was wrestling with the truth, several more people stepped in briefly to urge me to pursue a new purposeful life through Christ. At Berean, Kaylee and I have always been so warmly welcomed and I thank all of you for that.

It was not an easy decision for me to continue coming out regularly on Sundays as KJ did not initially support this change. I also have a very hard time trusting and I don't easily believe in coincidences or taking leaps of faith based on my feelings. But when people around me at work, outside the church, at outside activities, everyone started approaching me all around the same period, it was definitely a bit weird.

Why had all these people suddenly taken an interest in my relationship with God? Why does it matter to them? If I believe or not. I had been praying for God during this time to help me in my unbelief and this was his way. It definitely seems as though he sent help.

Eventually I was unable to ignore everyone's efforts any longer. And also I began to read more directly from the Bible instead of reading books or listening to sermons. And on more than one occasion, the passage that was assigned to me that day was so perfectly aligned to what I needed to hear and not what I wanted to hear.

It was as though God was speaking directly to me through his word. I could no longer deny the fact that Jesus is real. After receiving Christ, I committed to making a more conscious effort towards living a renewed Christian life. I don't wish to go into the details here, but there have been some low times when I've experienced personal defeat and helplessness.

But now instead of questioning why and feeling bitter and angry, I'm able to confidently surrender all before God. I accept that I am completely powerless and will continue to fail him, but that it is by God's grace and mercy that I'm allowed to humbly follow the Lord. I've learned that living a truly Christian life is not an easy task, and I'm aware of how hard it is going to be for me to change.

So it is my constant prayer to continue to run this race with a sincere heart and a genuine attitude. Thank you. Irene, I'm very encouraged by our testimony. And now we'll be having our baptism, and I want to ask, do you understand that by entering and coming out of the water, you proclaim your union with Christ in his death and resurrection?

I baptize you in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Most of you probably don't know me, so hi. My name is Janet Yeo, and I am from Los Angeles, California, and will be a fourth year at UCI this upcoming fall.

Just a little bit more about me. I am number three of four siblings. I like to find new places to eat. I love all sports, and I'm on the UCI women's golf team. I grew up in the church, so it was very easy for me to follow the motions of a Christian.

I knew the basic concepts of Christianity, like God loves you or God is sovereign, and many more. Despite knowing these basic truths, I did not truly believe in them. I thought that praying before my meals, being well-behaved, and going to Sunday service were the only marks of a solid Christian.

This thought process did not upset me or cause any harm until my junior year of high school. I was going through membership classes at my home church, and during the final step, an interview with the pastor, my pastor asked me a simple question, "What is the gospel?" A question that is so fundamental to Christianity, and yet it left me speechless.

This interview was traumatic that instead of dealing with it head on, I just put it off to the side and carried on with my life. This same year was also a very crucial part in my golf career, because it was when everyone started getting recruited and committing to colleges to play.

I started golf at 13, which is a relatively young age to begin the sport, so because of my lack of experience, it was very difficult for me to get any offer to any name value, let alone any university. Then a school that I have never, ever heard of contacted me and offered me a full ride, the University of Northern Colorado, UNC for short.

So needless to say, I decided to go there. UNC was located in Greeley. In the midst of cornfields and plains, Greeley is no spectacular town. It was pretty much the complete opposite of home in Los Angeles. Adjusting to college life alone was challenging, but having to do it in another state was completely out of my comfort zone.

There were not many churches nearby, and the one I attended was really big, so community was difficult to come by. In Colorado, I was too far from home, in need of community, and not playing good golf. I was feeling unconfident about my game and almost ready to quit on trying to pursue a career.

My faith was conditional and based off my golf performance. I would tell myself that I'm playing to glorify God, but in my heart, I knew I was just looking for approval and praise from those around me. My pride consumed my thoughts, making me think that I alone was doing everything and God was someone who was not in control and orchestrating my life.

I wanted to transfer to a different school, so I would often come to God in anger and frustration saying, "Why am I here? Why can't I go to another school like her?" and other questions while holding so much bitterness in my heart. I questioned whether or not God loved me and if He was really listening to my prayers.

But while in Colorado, God was gradually softening my heart and heart by allowing me to understand the importance of Scripture, how much He actually does love me, and what it means to glorify Him. One verse that stuck out to me during the time was Philippians 3.8, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For His sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ." This verse is one of the many that helped me realize that the only testament of God's love that I need in my life is that God sent His only Son to die for me.

This truth was so overwhelming to me because God still chose to love me even though I failed and neglected Him all these years. Understanding this truth made me realize how selfish my desires were and allowed me to come before God in repentance. He had to strip me of all my comforts in order to allow me to truly fix my eyes on Him.

This was a very liberating truth that allowed me to see my situation in a different light. God's sovereignty was just head knowledge, but I finally understood what this truth actually means. By trusting in His providence, He allowed me to have the courage to leave Colorado and my team without any set plans.

As a worrywart, uncertainty was something that I absolutely despised, so this was a really big step for me. But God opened up doors for me to come to Irvine to play golf at UCI in the middle of my sophomore year. I was able to find a place to live, get along with my teammates, and also find a great church that teaches me how to cultivate my faith through scripture.

This past year and a half at UCI has been such a blessing, and I am so undeserving to receive this kind of love. As my final year of college approaches, there are so many unknowns and events that I wish I could control. I have no idea where I will be or how I am going to pursue a professional golf career, but by trusting in His faithfulness and sovereignty, I am confident that He will provide in every stage of my life for His glory.

God has showered me with mercy and graced me on measures throughout my life, but most importantly He has given me the assurance of my salvation and citizenship in Heaven. Thank you. Janet, do you understand that by entering and coming out of the water, you proclaim your union with Christ in His death and resurrection?

I baptize you now in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I will now ask you to rise. What's up? I'm Janet, and I'm a senior at UCI. I'm from South Pasadena and grew up going to a huge Korean American church all my life.

When I was in the sixth grade, I went to a church retreat, and that was where I first got an understanding of who Jesus is. But years passed, and I still acknowledge God, but I lived like I didn't believe in Him. I loved that I was good at lying, and I liked the power I felt from disobeying my parents.

That confession in sixth grade didn't change me. Instead, I got better at using my passionate personality for selfish and prideful reasons, for things that gave me a false sense of power and control. I only thought about God before meals and before bed, because I treated faith like a superstition.

I would ask God for things like health for my family, a successful future, and other blessings. And not that those things are bad, but by asking for those things, I don't think it was the same as asking for Him. So that's why I'm stepping into university. I still struggle with my sin.

I hated how easy it was to let wrongdoings towards me hinder the way I loved others. But I felt like that was just my nature. I thought there was no solution to how imperfect I was, but it never crossed my mind that the solution required something bigger than me.

I questioned numerous times why I was the way I was, and I struggled deeply with my inability to be a good person all the time, because I didn't have an example. I knew no one who I could trust to always show me the way and always be right. And for the first time, I read the Bible without it feeling like a chore.

I read fervently because I was hungry to know the truth. And from reading, I finally understood the beauty of mercy. Mercy from a God who forgives as easily as He loves us. God showed me who He was, characteristic by characteristic, through His Word, and that there's only perfection in Him, and a peace of mind that comes only from Him.

And I admitted to myself that I need Him. I'm not choosing to be a Christian because there are times when it might be convenient to have a religion. I think that's actually unfair to God. I made that choice because I need Him all the time, because He's everything good, and there are sins and problems that plague us that we don't know how to fix, but God can.

That year, I said to myself that I sincerely want to try to be like Christ. I know that Christians are not exempt from temptations, but I also know enough about God to have faith that He would help me with them. And that was when I started to be transformed little by little.

Early this year, one of my loved ones passed away, and shortly after, I started having serious health problems. Frankly, I felt trapped in my body for months, like a bird in a cage, a restless captive awaiting freedom. The physical pain and the pain it caused me psychologically, in addition to grief, was so deep and sharp, it made it hard to breathe, and it hurt to just think about the next day.

Just like Jonah, I felt like I was too far out of God's reach, hurled into the very heart of the seas, yet I tried to look again and again for Him. In the darkest moments when I felt my will to live evaporating into the atmosphere, God reminded me patiently to remember Him, to look at the cross, to just look at Jesus hanging there for me.

He was my lighthouse. As small as it was, I still struggled to just turn my face to it. But how sweet my peace was when I found the strength to lift my eyes to Him, how senseless my joy was in the midst of my pain. Though I lay down for months, I felt like my strength was renewed, like I could run and not grow weary.

Thinking about Christ and His sacrifice for me was the only way out. And like the way a mother hen draws her chicks under her wing, He gathered me in all my pieces to Him and gave me a comfort that no one else could offer. He reminded me as I lay down, resting day in and day out, that no matter the state of my body and my inability to tear away from it, nothing could change the fact that He died for me and that He gave up His own body for me.

He showed me that our condition in life doesn't determine or change His goodness, but it's because of our role as followers of Christ that we never have to doubt His goodness. So even if God wanted to take away my legs, or if He wanted me to let go of my carefully thought plans for the future, or if He wanted me to have surgery, I was truly okay with that because I know He's got the best plans for me, plans to prosper me and give me hope.

His love was and is able to seep down into the nearest cracks of any broken and hurting heart and seal it if we just let it. I realized that I was never too far out of His sight. I felt His arm reach down into the deepest of pits where I would often find myself to be and pull me out in His hand.

I learned that this God who I used to pray to out of ritualism is a God who loved me so ardently He put aside all the humiliation, pain and betrayal He experienced to die for me and this God is a God who was and will always be relentlessly faithful.

He didn't grow tired of me just as it says in Isaiah 40, and instead He gave me strength when I had none. He understood me when no one could and He is my reason to live. It physically hurt to sit, stand, study, things we do every day and don't give a second thought to.

And I felt my youth is being threatened to be taken away. But deeper than that feeling in the core of my heart I knew that God was there and that's all I needed to know. Peace settled beautifully in my heart from knowing that if Christ can overcome death and is alive today and if the suffering He endured couldn't stop Him from getting on that cross for me then surely He can handle my suffering.

So even though I'm still in the process of recovering and I don't know what the future holds for my health that is why for Christ's sake I delight in weaknesses, in hardships and in difficulties. For when I am weak then I am strong. This is the power of Christ I felt as I lay immobile, the love that brought a new kind of tears to my eyes and the hope I have within my soul forever.

To the God who is the ultimate physician yet offers an eternal hope and perfect healing for ourselves and for this broken world. To the one who loves us beyond comprehension and gave His only son for us I can only say hallelujah. Thank you. Before we enter the water I'd like to ask you that you understand that by entering the water and coming out reclaim your union with Christ in His death and resurrection.

I baptize you in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Hey everybody, my name is Garrett Kleiser, been at Berean since May and I'm getting baptized with my beautiful wife Rachel. I'd first like to start off by stating that I've never given my testimony, I've never wanted to give it.

The idea of being vulnerable and open about my past is something that I've dreaded for a long time. The equal parts shame, guilt, disgust would be the common theme and the fear of being judged for my actions would prevent me from opening up about who I was and who I am now.

Well that's how I used to feel and then I realized I was looking at it all wrong. In my head I was putting more of the spotlight on my past transgressions rather than keeping the spotlight on the one who delivered me from them. When I think about giving my testimony now, it's no longer fear or shame or disgust that I have, but instead joy.

Joy because I no longer have the guilt of my past sins hanging over my head. Joy because before the foundations of the earth were made, God chose me to be His adopted son through Jesus Christ. Joy because my God humbled himself to come down from His throne and become a man, born to die and rise again so that a sinner like myself can be reconciled with Him.

That's what makes me excited to share about what God has delivered me from, even though I still absolutely hate being up here and speaking to you guys. Ever since I can remember, church was a part of my life. Both of my parents were regular church goers since before I was born, so naturally I was brought up in the church.

That meant being at church a minimum of three times a week, being locked in our room so our parents could have study group in the living room uninterrupted, VBS, church camp, meetings about VBS and church camp. It's not a stretch to say that I grew tired of church at an early age, but one thing I remember happened at church camp.

It was really the first time that I ever experienced an altar call. We're on the last night around the campfire. They called it like an afterglow or something like that. The youth group leaders asked the kids if they wanted to go to heaven. Apparently in my head, all one had to do to get to heaven was to pray and ask Jesus into your heart and you're going to be saved.

So I did. I raised my hand and stood up along with every other kid at the camp and seemed and prayed the sinner's prayer. I truly thought that that's what I needed to do in order to get to heaven, was to be saved. Well into my adult years, if you asked me at 24 if I was a Christian, I would have told you yes, all because of that one time at sixth grade I raised my hand.

Most of my adult years were mired in a vat of sexual immorality, drug use, alcohol abuse, carousing, pretty much any other vice one could think of. I was a man that was controlled by my lust and my selfish desires. I was on a constant mission to gratify whatever passion I was feeling at that moment.

I won't go into much detail about this because I don't think you need a clearer picture when you think about the previously mentioned sins and also because my mom and mother-in-law are right there. But just know that I was very involved in that lifestyle and I began to depend on them just to cope with life.

I had nothing to do with God, not because I resented him, but because I didn't care about him. I relied on my sinner's prayer back in sixth grade whenever I felt guilty about what I was doing and I would offer up a quick half-hearted prayer saying I was sorry, thinking that brought me back into God's good graces, only to continue with my sinful lifestyle the moment the opportunity presented itself.

When I got out of the Army, I was diagnosed as 60% disabled because of my post-traumatic stress disorder from my time in combat. And I'd used that diagnosis as an excuse for my behavior. It was a crutch in my mind to justify my sinful lifestyle. This way of living carried on with me until just a few years back, and that's when I started to become unsettled inside.

A few years ago, questions started popping up into my head, like the same questions over and over again, like am I really a Christian, do I really believe in Jesus Christ, am I really saved? And my heart would answer no. You know that feeling, that just, that deep feeling where you're just like, no, you're not.

And my head would rage against that, saying, well, what about sixth grade camp? You know, you're just backsliding. It's okay, you're just going through a rough patch. But my heart, I knew it was a lie. I decided I was going to do things right from there on out, that I was going to choose God, that somehow I was going to live my life away that merited forgiveness from Him.

I grew up in a church that always taught that we choose to believe in God. And that is the faith that brings us salvation. I hated the way Reformed churches would preach about election. I thought it was unfair, unjust, and arrogant. And the more I studied to disprove that doctrine, the more it made sense, and the more it terrified me.

It scared me because I began to ask the question, like, oh, am I chosen, did God choose me? To be honest, I battled with that question for a few years, arguing with myself about choosing God, or did He choose me? It wasn't until venturing down a YouTube rabbit hole that I came across a sermon by Paul Washer.

And one quote from that teaching stuck with me. It said, "You can't claim to have a supernatural experience with the Almighty God of the universe and not be fundamentally transformed by it." And that hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized that I was lying to myself about my belief in Jesus this entire time.

To drive the point home even further, one of the first things I read when I finished the teaching was 1 John 1.4. It says, "The one who says I have come to know Him and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him." That was the moment I realized how sinful I was.

It was like all my transgressions were planted right in front of my face. I realized that I'd been living a lie my entire life, claiming to know Christ but bearing rotten fruit. I read through each gospel day after day, and a word just kept popping off the page on me.

It was "repent." And I didn't even know what repentance meant. I thought I was just asking for forgiveness. I had no idea that it was a gift from God, and I didn't know, and I had no idea what the cost of it was. It was then that I asked the Lord to forgive me.

I began rattling off sins from that very day and sins from years past. I wanted to be cleansed, I wanted to get rid of all this stuff that I saw as filth in my life, that I needed to be restored, I needed peace, I needed Jesus Christ. Since that day, the vices that once had a stranglehold on me are no more.

I'm no longer in bondage to immorality, drugs, or alcohol. I'm set free by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. I have learned what it is to live a life of repentance. I have a desire to read God's Word. I have a desire to become a better husband to my beautiful wife.

I have a desire to be more like Christ with each passing day. I have assurance in my faith, knowing that God put eternity in my heart and He intercedes for me with groanings too deep for words, and that He chose me to worship Him, knowing that He will be faithful to complete the work that He started in me.

Thank you. All right, Gary, thank you. I want to ask that you understand by entering into this water, coming out, you proclaim your union with Christ in His death and resurrection. Baptize you now in the name of the Father, the name of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Okay, bend your nose. Hi, guys. I'm Rachel. I'm Garrett's wife. We've been coming since May, so I'm just going to get into this. So I was raised as a Catholic. From the time I was a little girl, my sister and I would attend catechism and took communion every week, every Sunday.

We were taught the worship of saints and Mary, the confessions of our sins to a priest, and how to pray the rosary. My whole idea of faith revolved around performing these religious acts for a distant God that did not have any part in my life. I slowly drifted in and out of church, and with it, my morality.

It was not until I was 18 years old when I was invited to a Christian church close to where I attended high school. For the most part, I was only interested in meeting new friends, during high school ministry events, serving in the cafe, and not to mention the worship music was like being at a rock concert.

But regardless, this was the first time I heard the message of the gospel. The church was a relatively young church and seemed to do altar calls every other weekend. And I saw a wave and wave of young people getting saved, and I wanted in. So I went forward during an altar call one weekend and accepted Jesus Christ into my heart, and several months later was baptized in front of the entire congregation.

In that moment, I believed I was saved and wholeheartedly subscribed to the notion, "once saved, always saved." But what did that so-called redeemed life look for me? 2021 ushered in a new era of unrestricted pursuit of pleasure. My young adult years were wrought with sexual immorality, drug and alcohol use, and its consequences, and indulging in every other self-serving thing I could get my hands on.

I would give myself over to my lust each day, to my boyfriend, to alcohol, to my job, or the shows that I took gratification in. And those things became the object of my affection, my own little gods that I worshipped. I was content in my sin and reveling in it.

Then I would make it to Sunday service where I would feel renewed. And at that time, I believed if I prayed for forgiveness for the sins of that day, I would be forgiven, only to sin again and pray for forgiveness. And it was like a constant revolving door. And I did not know true repentance, and I would not know it until ten years after I was baptized.

That is the person I was, defiling the place of God in my drunkenness from the night before, relegating him to Sunday's amusement. I cleaned up my act a bit over time. My partying days faded, and I held a steady job as an RN, all while still attending church. Then I met a wonderful man who came from a strong Christian household, who seventeen short months later became my husband.

It became even more apparent in my short married life that I didn't understand my purpose. I could not understand why I was not being fulfilled. And I believed that God would bless our marriage, yet I was still living in sin daily and found no struggle in it. I cried on several nights, praying for answers, mostly out of desperation.

And I began to ask myself if I even knew God or do I just know about him. And if I don't know him, am I a stranger to him? And in February, I accepted an invitation by my mother-in-law to go to a women's retreat at our church. At this time, we had not been attending church regularly since we were still searching for one.

I prayed that night that the Holy Spirit would lead us to a church and that God would provide us a place where we would find purpose for our marriage and fellowship. In May, we started coming here and it was not out of coincidence we were meant to be here at this moment.

Pastor Peter was preaching out of Romans 13, 11 through 14, his sermon entitled "Time to be Awake." I remember that day vividly. He said something that struck the very core of my heart. He said, "Christianity was never meant to be a half-hearted commitment. The very idea of worshipping God requires a pouring out of our hearts." He read from Deuteronomy 4, 29, "But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul." He ended with this exhortation, and I think he was banging on the pulpit.

There is no healing outside of Christ. There is no fruit outside of Christ. There is no life outside of Christ. This was my answer. Everything I believed about my faith was wrong. Everything I believed to be righteous was wrong. And I began reading desperate, searching Christ, combing the Word for answers.

The more I read the Word, the more my sin was revealed to me, and I spent the next couple of nights sleepless, tossing and turning in despair over my sin. And every time I closed my eyes, the sins of my past and the sins I thought I had buried deep down just came crashing down on me, and I just felt unable to breathe, and I was completely undone.

I felt that God was talking to me and I was finally listening. He knew all my sin and shame, and all I could do was cry out to the Father for forgiveness, and I repented. I knew then that my time of living as a slave to sin was over.

It was time to live my salvation the way it was purposed, to live life the complete opposite of how I was living. And I deserved eternal damnation, but in His great mercy, God chose me, a sinner, and the object of His wrath to be made righteous through the blood of His Son.

Not only was I forgiven, but adopted into the family of Christ. That night I was filled with both sorrow of the weight of my sin, but also immense joy. I had finally begun to realize my treasure and the richness in Christ. Before that day and before coming to Breen, I was greatly deceived by the quality of my faith.

I knew about God but lacked fruit and obedience, and I was eternally lost, a useless corpse. And since that day, I have experienced freedom from sin, and now I am living a life of repentance and regeneration. My new life calls me to surrender everything in obedience. I'm not going to lie, it has been a painful process, because I have lost things of the world I had called home for so long—friends, partying, TV shows.

And I am daily reminded that Christianity was never meant to be a half-hearted commitment. My mind is being renewed by the word of God daily as I continue to search after Him with all my heart and all my soul. I desire to be a better wife to my husband, to embrace fellowship, and to be bold and courageous to speak about my new life in the hope that God would be glorified through it all.

My testimony is not yet complete as God is still at work and continues to do great things in my life for His glory. And I can now say with humble assurance that the Almighty God grabbed hold of me and showed me the ugliness and filth of my sin. The same God that powers the sun and spoke the world into existence took mercy on me and desires for me to be reconciled to Him and worship Him for eternity.

I am that product of that transforming power, so I thank you, Jesus, for His grace on me. Thank you. >> Okay, Rachel, do you understand that by entering the water and coming out, you proclaim your union with Christ in His death and resurrection? I baptize you now in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Go ahead and pinch your nose.