Ministries:
Adult | Teens | Children

Pastor's Pen's:
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

Sermon Series:
Following Jesus
Earthly Cross
His Name Is
Apostles Creed
Dealing with Feelings
Jonah
Get Real
Promised Land Living

Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Email:
Pastor Scott Carson

Secretary Patti Hall

PASTOR'S PENS 2005

Grace Church of Burlington June 26, 2005 Do you know who you are?      A story, first told on President Bush, speaks to our sense of identity. According to the story George Bush was visiting the residents of a nursing home. He struck up a conversation with an elderly woman.               "Hi! How are you?" the President asked.               "Hello," she replied. "How are you?"               "Do you know who I am?" asked the president.               "No," she said, pointing to the nurse's station. "But if you go over to that desk and ask that woman she can tell you who you are.”       Who you are probably depends on whom you ask. You are a child to your parents and a brother or sister to a sibling. Or perhaps you are a parent or a grandparent. But you are more than these relationships.        If you ask those you spend the most time with, they may tell you that you are a teacher or a student or a homemaker or an engineer or a laborer or a boss. But you are also more than what you do each day. Who you are is not just about what you buy, what you do or who you are related to. You and I are more than that. Though a secular world ignores it, we know that in the real world there is a spiritual side to us which is far greater than all these things.                 Some people believe they are human beings having a spiritual experience. Others believe they are spiritual beings having a human experience. Personally, the latter is more Biblically accurate and it also puts everything in perspective. It reminds me that my troubles as well as my triumphs, all my roles and all my relationships, my past and my future are all temporary. I am much more than this human life. Though they will not last, I will. That, to me, is a great comfort. And as a believer, as an eternal, spiritual being, it’s vital that you know who you are.       This morning is our second study in our Summer Series, Do you know who you are? Last Sunday week we considered that wonderfully comforting truth, Do you know that you are a child of God? This week we’re considering, Do you know that you are a saint? Throughout the summer we’ll be studying our Biblical identity that we are sheep, soldiers, stones, stewards and VIPs.       Since it’s summer most of us will be on vacation at different times (I know that I’m already counting the days until our’s in July ☺). So many believers do not though have a firm handle on their identity in Christ. Some come from broken homes, are adult children of alcoholics or some other addiction. Then, our world tries to identify us by what we do, whereas our Heavenly Father identifies by who we are. This will be both an encouraging and edifying series, so let me recommend that you pick up a free tape from our tape ministry, Instant Replay.       Later this morning we will be celebrating together a public, physical illustration of our identity in Christ. We have several new believers who are publically sharing their testimony by being baptized. We know that at salvation we are baptized into the Church, the Universal body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). Water baptism is a public, physical identification of what has taken place already spiritually and in the heart, and now identifies each one of them as a member of a local, physical church. The New Testament knows nothing of our contemporary American Christianity epidemic of Christians who are not members of a local church. They were committed to both Christ and their fellow-believers. And they often willingly paid for that commitment with their very lives. Even today believers in non-Christian countries pay with their lives for obeying the Lord and being baptized.       What’s also exciting today about our baptismal is that we are also celebrating that one of our members is a spiritual grandparent and another is a spiritual parent. Cyndi Kamp was instrumental in Sandy Lincoln coming to Christ a few years ago. And now Sandy has been instrumental in Gloria Dahlberg coming to Christ. On top of that, Sandy also did an evangelistic Bible study with Andrea Baas. But it doesn’t end there, Janell Alvarez is fruit from one of our church’s children’s programs when she was a child. It makes me wonder with anticipated joy on how many children from lost homes that are today in our Children’s Music Club, Teen programs or just our Vacation Bible School will one day return here or to another Bible believing church because we were faithful in obeying the Great Commission!!       Today is an exciting day!! Let’s celebrate together and let’s be continually praying together for these young believers as they continue to follow Christ!!