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Creekside Church, Sunday, September 6, 2026
Baptism Sunday
Locations & Times
Creekside Church
660 Conservation Dr, Waterloo, ON N2J 3Z4, Canada
Sunday 8:25 AM
Sunday 9:45 AM
Sunday 11:15 AM
BAPTISM: CELEBRATING A SHIFT IN LIFE
Today we celebrate people declaring they are followers of Jesus. Baptism shows that a major shift has taken place.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
SHIFT FROM EARNING TO RECEIVING GRACE
We are moving from trying to earn our own righteousness to receiving God's forgiveness through the cross.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast."
Earning is like running on a treadmill where you expend massive energy but stay in the exact same spot because human effort cannot bridge the distance to perfection.
Grace is like boarding an airplane where you sit down and let an engine outside yourself carry you to a destination you could never reach on your own.
In Exodus, God rescued His people first, and then gave them the law in a covenant relationship.
In baptism, you do not baptize yourself; you yield and surrender, declaring that you are done trying to earn your way.
When you trust Jesus, you stop trying to do good works for God's approval and start doing good works from God's approval.
SHIFT FROM SINNER TO A CHILD OF GOD
We are moving from being defined by our brokenness to receiving our identity as a child of God.
1 John 3:1 (NIV)
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."
Colossians 3:3-4 (NIV)
"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."
In the past, you were trapped in sin, but through Jesus your sin is paid for and you are clothed in His righteousness.
Even when life feels like a mess, you are like a house under renovation where a new owner has taken over and is transforming you from the inside out.
Failure no longer defines you because your true identity is now hidden with Christ.
One day the renovation will be complete and all brokenness will fade away.
You are no longer defined as a sinner, but as a son or daughter of God.
SHIFT IN YOUR POWER SOURCE
We are moving from relying on our own willpower to living by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:16 (NIV)
"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."
You no longer have to face temptation in your own strength because the Holy Spirit lives inside you.
Breaking free from sin is like getting a new boss; the old boss no longer has authority over you because you do not work there anymore.
You now have a new power at work within you, giving you freedom and victory as you walk with God.
Today we celebrate people declaring they are followers of Jesus. Baptism shows that a major shift has taken place.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
SHIFT FROM EARNING TO RECEIVING GRACE
We are moving from trying to earn our own righteousness to receiving God's forgiveness through the cross.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast."
Earning is like running on a treadmill where you expend massive energy but stay in the exact same spot because human effort cannot bridge the distance to perfection.
Grace is like boarding an airplane where you sit down and let an engine outside yourself carry you to a destination you could never reach on your own.
In Exodus, God rescued His people first, and then gave them the law in a covenant relationship.
In baptism, you do not baptize yourself; you yield and surrender, declaring that you are done trying to earn your way.
When you trust Jesus, you stop trying to do good works for God's approval and start doing good works from God's approval.
SHIFT FROM SINNER TO A CHILD OF GOD
We are moving from being defined by our brokenness to receiving our identity as a child of God.
1 John 3:1 (NIV)
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."
Colossians 3:3-4 (NIV)
"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."
In the past, you were trapped in sin, but through Jesus your sin is paid for and you are clothed in His righteousness.
Even when life feels like a mess, you are like a house under renovation where a new owner has taken over and is transforming you from the inside out.
Failure no longer defines you because your true identity is now hidden with Christ.
One day the renovation will be complete and all brokenness will fade away.
You are no longer defined as a sinner, but as a son or daughter of God.
SHIFT IN YOUR POWER SOURCE
We are moving from relying on our own willpower to living by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:16 (NIV)
"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."
You no longer have to face temptation in your own strength because the Holy Spirit lives inside you.
Breaking free from sin is like getting a new boss; the old boss no longer has authority over you because you do not work there anymore.
You now have a new power at work within you, giving you freedom and victory as you walk with God.