https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx9L5goXKZw
In this episode, Pastor Ted Wilson talks about baptism, constituting the fifteenth fundamental belief of the Seventh-day Adventists. Baptism, a public ceremony proclaiming that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, demonstrates your commitment to Him. Its biblical practice involves immersion in water which can be traced back to Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist before He started His ministry. Similarly, His followers were baptized. And before He ascended back to heaven, He commissioned the disciples to continue baptizing people. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus says, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Water immersion, as practiced by Seventh-day Adventists, symbolizes Christ's death and resurrection. It provides forgiveness of our sins. In the process, we proclaim to accept His sacrifice and acknowledge Him as our personal Savior. Coming out of the water symbolizes rising to a new life in Christ. "Baptism" comes from the Greek word baptizo, which means to "immerse, submerge" and "make fully wet." In connection, Colossians 2:12 explains baptism as being "buried with Him…in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, Who raised Him from the dead." The physical act of baptism is not what changes you. Instead, it is the Holy Spirit's work that makes the difference. Baptism moves your heart toward a closer relationship with Christ. It marks the beginning of a journey of a changed life. The Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief #15 puts it this way: "By baptism, we confess our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and testify of our death to sin and of our purpose to walk in newness of life. Thus, we acknowledge Christ as Lord and Savior, become His people, and are received as members by His church. It continues, "Baptism is a symbol of our union with Christ, the forgiveness of our sins, and our reception of the Holy Spirit. It is by immersion in water and is contingent on an affirmation of faith in Jesus and evidence of repentance of sin. It follows instruction in the Holy Scriptures and acceptance of their teachings." Reading about baptism in the New Testament, we find three important aspects:
The people believed the good news they heard (Acts 2:41).
Believers confessed their sins (Mark 1:5).
Baptism was the result of their repentance (Matthew 3:11, Acts 2:38). Since baptism is based upon a conscious decision to confess and repent of your sins and to accept Jesus as your Savior, the Adventist church does not practice infant baptism. Infants are too young to understand the meaning of this important rite. Now, baptism is an essential step in the life of a believer and is a reason to celebrate as he publicly declares his intent to follow Jesus. Ellen White writes, "The ceremony of baptism is a most solemn one. Men and women are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This signifies that the three greatest representatives of heavenly authority behold the baptismal service and hear the vows that are made by human agents to walk henceforth in newness of life. In taking the baptismal vows, man unites with the highest powers in the heavenly courts. He covenants to live the life that Christ lived while on this earth. And Christ, on His part, fulfills every promise that He has made in His Word. He molds the character of every one who follows in His footsteps. Wonderful, wonderful is His work in behalf of sinners!" (17 LTMS, MS 57, 1902, par. 26). To learn more about baptism, visit www.adventist.org/baptism. You may also contact your local Adventist pastor about how you can commit your life to God through baptism and become a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. If you've already been baptized, you may also renew your commitment today. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx9L5goXKZw
Video Giornale Avventista – 7 maggio 2022
I Giovani studiosi avventisti si riuniscono per la prima volta a Firenze. L’Unione ucraina è annessa temporaneamente alla Conferenza Generale. Si parla in Lingua dei Segni anche nella comunità di Roma Appia. Queste notizie e altro ancora. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVP9zhQz5V4
Missioni dal mondo – 7 maggio 2022
Il predicatore sordo – La missione nella Divisione Africa australe-Oceano Indiano. Missioni dal mondo 6° episodio – 2° trimestre 2022 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPqK5SQ_x7s
Perchè adoriamo Dio – Interventi in caso di disastri e carestie
Mini devotional n. 6/2 trimestre 2022 – Interventi in caso di disastri e carestie, della serie Perché adoriamo Dio. Abbiamo vissuto momenti di crisi personale di recente? Una crisi personale o globale spesso induce a chiedersi se Dio ha ancora in mano le sorti del mondo. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtjTTeQfAM0
Inside Story: A Dream Marriage
A Dream Marriage
By Yulia Bondarenko
The day Ruth took her first step toward becoming a missionary was when she gave her life to Jesus and was baptized while in the seventh grade in the U.S.
In the eighth grade, she was asked to clean her Seventh-day Adventist church. She knew nothing about cleaning churches, so instead she sat at the piano. As she played and sang about her Savior, she imagined people from various countries sitting in the pews, and a prayerful desire formed in her mind to marry a man who would play and sing with her. But who?
Image © Pacific Press
When she was 15, Ruth watched her newly married sister, visiting home from her honeymoon, slip into her wedding gown, put her hands over her eyes, and sob. Ruth resolved that a similar situation would not happen to her and started to make a list of desirable traits in her future husband. Her mother, learning about the list, wisely said, “Ruth, you also have to become the kind of woman whom that man might want.” Ruth prayerfully began to seek to acquire these traits that she expected in her husband. But who?
Just before attending Andrews University, Ruth briefly was engaged, but she broke it off. A few months later, she ended another relationship after learning that the man was dating someone else at the same time.
That winter, Ruth was in the women’s residence hall, waiting to go Christmas caroling, when a friend exclaimed, “There’s Emil Moldrik! Let’s get into his car!” “Who?” Ruth said. “Don’t you know?” her friend said. “He sings, plays the organ, and wants to be a pastor“. Ruth thought, “That’s who!”
For the next few hours, Ruth sang soprano and Emil sang tenor. She felt a new joy in her heart, and couldn’t stop looking at his eyes. She believed that eyes are the windows to the heart, and his eyes were so kind and pure. Emil returned Ruth’s gaze as they sang, and the next evening he called for a date.
Today, Emil and Ruth Moldrik have been married nearly 60 years and have served God in more than 15 countries, singing and playing musical instruments as missionaries. Emil plays 12 instruments, including the saw and autoharp. The couple has visited Ukraine alone 10 times, conducting marriage and English-language classes and Bible meetings.
As Ruth remembers the day she sang and played in the empty church, she praises God for fulfilling her dream. “I did sing and play around the world, so God answered my prayers,” she says.
This mission story illustrates Spiritual Mission Objective No. 7 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s “I Will Go” strategic plan: “To help youth and young adults place God first and exemplify a biblical worldview.” Learn more: IWillGo2020[dot]org.
Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org
Amen!
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