Isn't it great to have our musicians back? It
really is. They fill my heart with their singing
and ministry to the Lord. Paul, if it gets any
better, I think the angels are going to come
to take some lessons. It's a great thrill to
come and to worship God with this kind of music.
And we have a great God who's worthy of that.
I invite you to open your Bible with me to the
book of Ephesians, where we will be spending
some time over the next few months talking about
the new community. We live in a lonely world.
Cultural disintegration, the breakdown of the
family, increase of crime and violence, and personal
isolation result in a sense of being disconnected
and without support. We human beings were not
created to be solitary individuals, but sharers
together in life's experiences. We are made to
need each other. John Donne, the famous 17th
century poet and preacher, wrote these familiar
words, No man is an island entire of itself.
Every man is a piece of the continent. a part
of the main. He captured well in that thought
that we really belong to one another. But community
as a sense of belonging is quickly fading in
the age in which we live, in which the primary
focus is on diversity, autonomy, personal rights,
special interest group agendas. No society can
long exist without some kind of cohesive order,
shared common values that hold that society together.
If that sense of oneness doesn't come through
shared values, then it will come some other less
pleasant way. The word community comes from two
Latin words meaning common and one. It means
that we are one because there are things that
we have in common. But the divinely instituted
community of man was shattered long before the
current cultural war. Its original design was
ruined by the fall of mankind into rebellion
against God. God's ideal of community for mankind
could not be realized after that. So, God set
about a greater purpose which he had kept hidden.
A purpose to create a new community. One based
upon redemption, through His Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. This new community is the church, the
society of saints as we've termed it in the past.
Those who are chosen by God, purchased by Christ
through His death, and sealed for ultimate destiny
by the Holy Spirit. Everyone who savingly believes
on Christ is a citizen of God's new community.
All distinctions prior to that point become meaningless.
In chapter 3 of Ephesians, Paul begins to write
about this as he speaks about the mystery of
Christ in verse 4. This mystery that God is going
to create a new community of redeemed humanity.
He says about this mystery of Christ in verse
5, which in other generations was not made known
to the sons of men as it has now been revealed
to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit.
To be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow
heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow
partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through
the Gospel. In chapter 2, he has explained how
that once the Gentiles were far off, separated,
strangers, having no hope, without God. And now
he says that God's purpose is that those distinctions
that cause the Gentiles to be far off and the
Jews to be near, those distinctions are no longer
existent. He says, we are fellow heirs, fellow
members, fellow partakers in Christ Jesus through
the gospel. Of which, he goes on to say, I was
made a minister according to the gift of God's
grace, which was given to me according to the
working of His power. To me, the very least of
all saints, this grace was given. To preach to
the Gentiles. the unfathomable riches of Christ
and to bring to light what is the administration
of the mystery which for ages has been hidden
in God who created all things in order that the
manifold wisdom of God might now be made known
through the church to the rulers and the authorities
in the heavenly places. The new community of
God is the church, and everyone who savingly
believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is a part of
this community. In this book of Ephesians, the
new community is called a new man, chapter 2,
verse 15. It's called one body. God has taken
the two groups, Jew and Gentile, and through
faith in Christ has made them into one body.
Chapter 2 verse 16. In verse 19 of that chapter
he says we are God's household or that is God's
family. And he says at the end of the chapter
we are God's holy temple. And in the text we
have read we see that we are fellow heirs fellow
members of the body, fellow partakers of the
promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel that
we have believed. The new community is what Jesus
promised to build. When he said to Peter, upon
this rock I will build my church. That is the
new community that we're talking about and which
is exposed to us in this New Testament epistle
called Ephesians. Now, if there is one word that
sums up God's work in His new community, it is
the word grace. The new community is a fellowship
of grace. And we are its citizens. And as its
citizens, we are both the objects of grace and
its channels. We receive grace. from God in order
that we might then share God's grace with others.
Twelve times in the book of Ephesians, Paul uses
this word grace. He speaks of the glory of this
grace. Chapter 1 verse 6. The glory of His grace.
Now that glory means that it reflects the very
person of God. God is a God who is full of grace.
He also speaks of its riches and describes it
as being unfathomable. He says there is no way
to plumb the depths of God's grace. There is
no way to put words around it. It defies imagination
and description. God is rich in grace. Grace
is a privilege to enjoy, and it's a responsibility
to express. There are just two thoughts about
grace that I want to leave with you this morning
before we go on to other things. The first is
that grace is an expression of God's love to
sinful humanity. And secondly, God demonstrates
His grace in several actions. Let's think first
about the fact that grace is an expression of
God's love to us. We hear the word grace and
when we hear it, we interpret it. We define it
within the grid of our own background and understanding.
Therefore, it's important to understand what
this word means biblically. What is grace? It
might be defined this way in the context of the
Bible. Grace is God's kindness and generosity
to undeserving sinners. Grace is God's kindness
and generosity to those who do not deserve to
receive it from Him. God's grace springs out
of His love. Look in chapter 2 in verse 4. But
God, being rich in mercy, Because of his great
love with which he loved us even when we were
dead in our transgressions Made us alive together
with Christ by grace you have been saved Grace
is not something that we deserve Grace is not
something that we can earn in fact that very
idea negates grace, because grace means it's
undeserved. Grace is not something that we work
for. Grace is not something that we do things
that we might attain more of it. Rather, grace
is something that we simply receive. Donald Gray
Barnhouse said, love that goes upward is worship.
That's why we come together on Sunday morning
to send our love upward in worship to God He
said love that goes outward is affection Love
that stoops is grace The word grace is not just
in the New Testament as you know is found in
the Old Testament too Noah found what grace in
the eyes of the Lord, Genesis chapter 6. That
Hebrew word for grace comes from a word that
means to stoop, to bend down. Thus, it came to
be used for condescending favor. The picture
is that of royalty. I have never seen royalty
in person, but I've seen royalty on television
as many of you have. And it's interesting when
they greet people, the people kneel before them
and they often bend down with an outstretched
hand. That act of bending low, of stooping down
to the commoner, is the word here for grace in
the Old Testament. God is full of grace, which
means that He, the Eternal King, has stooped
low and bent down to us. who do not deserve that
kind of action. Love that stoops is grace. God's
grace comes alone through Christ. It is because
of what Jesus did for us that God can be gracious
to us. Because Jesus in suffering and dying on
the cross satisfied the justice of God which
was offended by our sinfulness and rebellion.
When God's justice has been satisfied, He can
then be gracious. God undertook to satisfy His
own justice on our behalf. There was nothing
we could do to satisfy His justice. His justice
required death, the punishment of death for the
sinner. But He Himself came into the world in
the person of His Son and stooped to become like
us and then went to the cross and there as our
substitute died in our place to satisfy the justice
of God. And now because God is satisfied, God
is propitiated, to use a Bible term. Therefore,
God can be gracious to sinners. God can stoop
low to us. The new community is the object of
God's grace. Not only in time, but also in eternity.
Notice verse 7 of this second chapter. It says,
In order that in the ages to come, He might show
the surpassing riches of His grace, in kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus. In other words, God
is so full of grace that He can't possibly demonstrate
all of it in the context of time. He's going
to have to go outside of time into eternity.
And throughout the unending ages that are to
come, God is going to keep on doing kind things
for us, demonstrating His grace. in Christ Jesus.
He calls the riches of His grace here surpassing.
This afternoon, the staff and elders are going
to wop the singles in a game of softball. You
didn't think I had the gift of faith, did you?
And one of the staff, and I'm not going to name
who it will be, mainly because I don't know,
may hit a home run. It's going to go over the
fence. Over the fence. That's the word for surpassing.
It means beyond the boundaries. It goes all the
way out of bounds. God's grace covers everything,
He says. It's surpassing in its riches. There's
no way to contain it. It's a home run hit. And
so great is the grace of God that throughout
eternity in some ways that He hasn't even told
us yet, He's going to keep on showing and demonstrating
His kindness toward us in Christ. Well, God demonstrates
His grace in varying kinds of actions. There
is in the first place saving grace. Verse 5 here
says, By grace you have been saved. Verse 8 says,
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves it is the gift of
God, not as a result of works that no one should
boast. You see, here's where the Gospel runs
counter to religion. Religion says if you work
hard enough at it, someday you'll make Enough
points with God to get by. You just got to keep
working at it. You got to keep doing good things
and good deeds. You got to go through enough
rituals, etc., etc. And you see it misses the
whole point of what we're talking about. That
grace is the gift of God. It is not the result
of works. By grace we're saved, not by our works.
God's saving grace. is extraordinary. God shows
His grace toward us not only in saving grace,
but in sanctifying grace. Paul begins this whole
epistle by saying, grace to you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And
what kind of grace is that? These people don't
need saving grace. They are believers. But Paul
says to them and greet them, grace to you. He's
talking about sanctifying grace. That is the
kindness of God working on our behalf to transform
us, to make us like the Lord Jesus Christ. He
is at work in us doing that today. We're not
perfect. We aren't people who've arrived, none
of us. We are people in whom God is graciously
working to make us like His Son. We don't become
like Jesus through lists of rules, but by learning
to rest in the grace of God. Now that's hard
for us to grasp. It's hard for Christians to
grasp because we grow up in a world where you're
rewarded if you perform. But God's grace is such
that His grace works whether we perform or not.
God's grace causes our wills to be changed so
that we do what pleases Him. It's not a result
of have to. He changes us so we want to do what's
pleasing to Him. The sanctifying grace of God
making us like Jesus, setting us apart from all
that we've been in the past, making us new people.
And then God demonstrates His grace through serving
grace. Paul speaks about that in chapter 3 verse
2 when he says, You have heard of the stewardship
of God's grace which was given to me. Now he's
not talking about saving grace. He's not referring
to sanctifying grace. He's talking here about
serving grace. He says God has given me A job.
God has given me a duty. He goes on to tell about
that in the text we read earlier. He describes
this grace given to him as the ability to preach
to the Gentiles. Jesus Christ. That was his job.
The fact is that every one of us who knows Jesus
Christ has received saving grace from God. God's
sanctifying grace is at work in our lives now,
changing us to be like Jesus. And it will not
fail. And God gives to us serving grace. He has
given to each of us gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Special abilities that just happen to coincide
with who He created us to be and our personalities.
so that we can enter into service for Him in
this world with great satisfaction and fruitfulness.
Serving grace. In chapter 4, again Paul speaks
about this serving grace in verse 7, when he
says, to each one of us grace was given according
to the measure of Christ's gift. God wants us
to use the gifts that He's placed within us.
There's a matter of discovering those gifts.
Sometimes I think that we worry too much about
discovering them and we wonder what they are
and we go through seminars and courses and books
trying to decide what our gifts are. When perhaps
the best way, after we've been informed about
the gifts, the best way to discover them is simply
to begin serving the Lord. And it won't take
long before the Lord directs us to a place where
we feel content and fulfilled in what we're doing
and we see God's blessing. And other people confirm
to us that we're plugged in where we belong.
Are you plugged in where you belong? God has
a place for you in this new community. And He's
gifted you to fill that place. And if you don't
fill it, there's going to be a bit of a void
in the new community. Grace marks the lives of
those that it touches. When grace touches you,
you can never be the same again. You are a changed
person. No society in the world should be characterized
by grace like God's new community. The relationships
that we have in the church, in our local church,
in this family of God, in this new community,
should be characterized by acceptance of one
another. He talks about that in this book. He
says there's no place for bigotry, discrimination.
We're not to use our tongues to be critical of
others, but we're to use our tongues to edify
them and thus give them grace. He says in chapter
4, The new community is to be characterized by
forgiveness when others fail us because as I
said before, we aren't perfect and we will fail
each other. And we must be quick and ready to
forgive even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven
us. The new community is to be characterized
by kindness, doing kind things, unexpected things
for one another. The new community is to be characterized
by a truthfulness with each other that is saturated
with love. Grace doesn't allow us to lie or to
deceive one another, but to speak the truth in
a loving way. The new community is to be characterized
by patience, he says, and perhaps above everything
else, gratitude. Our lives should be different
due to grace. There's the story that is told
about a Sunday school teacher who was quite self
-righteous and proud of his Christian life. And
he was trying to explain to his class of boys
about living a holy life in obedience to Christ.
He had his head kind of held high in his chest.
thrust outward and strutted back and forth in
front of them. And he said to the boys, now boys,
why do people call me a Christian? There was
a moment of silence and then one of the boys
raised his hands and the teacher said, yes. And
the boy responded, probably because they don't
know you sir. Why do people call us Christians?
Hopefully, it's because we're part of the new
community and grace has so indelibly imprinted
itself in our lives that we can never be the
same again. Now frankly, this doesn't happen
in a vacuum. It happens in the context of relationships.
That's why we're talking about the new community.
We have something in common. We are the children
of God through faith in Jesus Christ. And that
something in common causes us to be one, to be
part of one another, to belong to each other.
It is not God's plan. It has never been God's
plan for human beings to be isolated off by themselves.
Sin has created. that monstrosity of isolation
in the world. God's grace brings us back together.
Today you're going to be hearing about opportunities
that more than you can personally take advantage
of to begin connecting with other people. I hope
that every one of you will go through the ministry
tent and see there are places where you can plug
in in service, in teaching, in being taught,
in fellowship. These are important. These are
not just there for those who are especially committed.
These things are being laid out for all of us
because we are all a part of the new community.
And God wants us to connect together. I hope
that you'll find at least one way this fall.
At least one, or maybe several, but at least
one way. to begin plugging into the lives of
other people. God's made us to be a community
together. His grace has brought us into this
relationship. And it's in that relationship that
He's going to work in our lives. The new community
is the society of the saints. The new community
has values that correspond to God's revealed
truth. The New Community is a company of related
and interdependent people who name Jesus Christ
as Lord. The New Community is an assortment of
people with diverse backgrounds who are nonetheless
committed to oneness of mind regarding the Kingdom
of God. The New Community is a place to belong
and a place to become and a place to grow. It
is not a place for perfect people who are without
problems. It is not a place to ostracize those
who have not yet arrived, who are struggling
with wounds. It is a place to reach out and to
help. The New Community is an army with a mission
to accomplish. The New Community is a group of
pilgrims on their way to a New Jerusalem, our
home. Grace Church Roseville identifies itself
with this kind of community that I'm describing.
And I will be the first to tell you that we haven't
arrived where we want to be but we're on our
way. And if this is the kind of community that
you long for, that you're hungry for, we invite
you along for the journey. We invite you to identify
yourself with us. In a certain sense, we have
dared to name ourselves Grace Church. Because
that word connotes so much. It implies so much
about us that it's risky. But that's alright.
That's our goal. That's our ideal. That's our
sufficiency. That's our strength from God. So
let's be Grace Church. the new community of God.
Let's develop such depth of relationships with
one another that people coming in will know that
there is grace here in this church. And if this
morning you're standing on the outside or on
the fringe of this family of God, we invite you
to take a step or two or ten inward. Come with
us. Find out how today in this ministry fair
one of the greatest ways to begin plugging in
is the welcomeers class that starts next Sunday
once more. There you'll begin making new friends
and learning more about the ministry of our church.
Details about that are in the bulletin or you
can call the church office and we'll tell you
more. The thing that I want you to know today
is that there's a place for you here at Grace
Church. If you share this vision, of a biblical
community of God's people, there's a place here
for you. And we want to help you find that place
and to belong. We minister God's grace to some
people that we know about, but there are times
when we as a congregation minister grace and
we're not even aware that we're doing it. There
are people who come and who watch us, who are
visitors, sometimes, and they say I'm just going
to stand back and let these people prove themselves
to me. Now they do that for a variety of reasons,
sometimes and often it's because out of woundedness.
That's why we need to be so sensitive and caring
about every person that comes in our doors. This
morning I'm going to introduce to you an abuse
survivor who has a very special story that illustrates
what I'm talking about, who illustrates the grace
of God. Joyce, would you join me here on the
platform, please? Hi, Joyce. How you doing? Good.
Some of you have met Joyce, but she is new to
others of you. You have someone with you this
morning. That's Lamb of God. One characteristic
of abuse survivors and children who've been abused
is they have no concept of trust, no concept
of safety, no concept of continuity, that good
things will happen. And in my recovery, we realized
I had never had any comfort toys as a child,
no blankies, no anything like that. And my abuse
had started in infancy and continued for many
years. And so one of my new parts of my new life
are some of my comfort toys. And I was told it
would be all right to bring Lamb of God today.
It certainly is. The Lamb of God is always welcome
in this church. Joyce, why don't you talk to
us and share with us what you'd like to say.
Let me get my things out of the way for you.
Okay. I kept adding pieces of paper to this,
so I need to move some of these things. All right,
there. When Galen and I talked about me sharing,
we thought perhaps we might do it as an interview.
And I breathed a huge sigh of relief, and I said,
oh, good, because then you'll be up there with
me. And he said, well. I'm not going to let you
be up there alone no matter how we do it. So
that's why Galen is standing right with me today.
I'm going to put Lamb of God down. First of all,
I'm so glad all of you are here today. And you
guys too. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for this
opportunity to share a piece of my story. Protect
us all from the evil one. Let this sharing time
glorify you. Amen. I told folks last week that
if I could walk up here today, stand and smile,
everything else would be extra credit. So, so
far so good. I was remembering back about 18
months ago when I was sitting on the floor of
the hospital, wrapped in a blue blanket. And
I was there because my suicide plan had been
interrupted. And I was remembering that it was
suggested that I attended church when I got out
of the hospital. And I thought, yeah, right.
A church is really going to want me. I'm just
fresh out of the hospital. But because of Roxanne
Henderson's friendship, I interviewed Rick Fullman
and Galen Call here at Grace Anyway, and it went
something like this. I just got out of the hospital.
I was on suicide watch. Do you think God can
forgive me? Do you think your congregation can
accept me? And they said, well, that's our philosophy,
yes, and God can forgive you. And we're just
so glad you're alive and we're just, you know,
we're welcoming you here to come to grace here
with us. They said it much smoother than that.
It's okay. Then I said, well, I have this problem
with my back and I have to sit on the floor sometimes
and I have to pace around in the back of the
church and sometimes I won't even make it through
a whole sermon. And they said, well, you know,
We're just so glad you can come and the floor
is usually clean. You know, just come when you
can, that's good. I said, I'm not going to sing.
Not hymns, not anything. They said, well, okay,
you don't have to sing. I said, and then I thought
for sure this one would get me rejected. I said,
I never, ever close my eyes when I pray. Ever.
And they said, Okay, well, you know, we're just
so glad that, you know, you're welcome here.
I am not coming every Sunday. And they said,
well, we're just so glad that you can come and
join us and you just come whenever you can and
we welcome you here. So I came to church. And
at first I sat with the Henderson family. Then
I visited their small church, Church 35. I got
involved with singles. I got involved with PSPS.
And you have to understand, I was absolutely
terrified and absolutely shy beyond belief. And
they still welcomed me. I went to welcomeers
class. I got involved with International Small
Church. And I began to learn to accept your love
and prayers. I even accepted the ones, the generic
ones we do on Sunday morning for the sick and
the hurting. I'd always go, that one's for me,
that one's mine. So I would take all the prayers
that were available. So I want to read a statement.
I wrote some, I did some writing for Galen as
we discussed my baptism and he wanted some of
that shared with the congregation and since he's
willing to stand up with me today. I want to
share some of that with you. He will redeem my
soul in peace from the battle which is against
me, for there are many who strive with me. Psalm
5518. I came to this church a stranger. I stood
pressed against the back wall, unable to sing
or concentrate on the sermons. especially if
they contain the word father, need, love, trust,
or believe. It was hard for me to breathe. My
hands shook. I couldn't stay still. I never shut
my eyes. I was terrified. I have spent most of
my life in this kind of terror. I am an abuse
survivor. I was born to parents who had been
neglected and abused as children. who hated each
other and didn't know how to love me. God was
not allowed in our home. My father's will was
law. He believed fear was the great motivator.
And if he hurt and humiliated his children often
enough in the home, they would grow up too tough
to be hurt by anything in the world. Crying brought
increased punishment, so I learned not to cry.
My mother swung unpredictably from sitting hours
in a chair in suicidal despair to being totally
enraged and physically abusive. Her screaming,
which lasted two to three days until her voice
would give out, could be heard throughout the
neighborhood. The neighbors were afraid of us
and no one came to help. I lived in my father's
house for 32 years. I believed I was responsible
for my parents' care. and to help raise and protect
my younger brothers. When my youngest brother
moved away, I left, and I have never gone back.
Two years later, I was visiting God's house.
I was terrified. I didn't know what was expected
of me. Surviving abuse had taught me the necessity
of anticipation. If I could figure out what the
people who had authority over me wanted, needed
and expected without being told, I believed that
I had some influence on the amount, kind and
duration of the abuse I received. Now I was in
God's house, the greatest authority of all. What
did He want of me? I didn't know and I didn't
dare ask. I started researching the Bible to
see if there was any room for a damaged person
like me. God said, come to me all who are weary,
and I will give you rest. I was weary. God said,
I will make a home for the lonely, heal the brokenhearted,
preserve the simple, protect you from all evil,
be a father to the fatherless, forgive all your
sins, and when you cry to me for help, I will
hear you and not make you feel ashamed. I will
not forsake you, but teach you. not harm you,
but heal you. And to her who was not beloved,
I shall call my beloved, and you shall be my
people, and I shall be your God. Standing behind
the congregation against the wall, I wondered
who all you people were anyway, with your wholesome
-looking children, hanging on your arms in the
hallways and draped over your knees in the service,
getting their backs rubbed or relaxed and oblivious
and trust -filled sleep, I realized that these
children were wanted. These children were not
afraid. There are others here today, like me,
who grew up afraid and who still cannot believe
that God can truly, honestly, warmly or even
want to love them, not these pieces of damaged,
walked -on flesh. I am standing in front of you
today to tell you that that is a great lie. God
can and does love us, no matter what we were
told, no matter what was done to us, or what
we had to do to survive. God does not abandon
imprisoned souls like mine even if we become
lost to ourselves, not even while I carefully
planned my April 92 suicide. I am love illiterate.
During the past year, I have been allowed to
see God's people love one another, and many of
you have allowed God through you to love me.
You accept that I do not understand this new
love language, that you continue to spell into
my hand as Helen Keller's teacher did in the
hope that someday I will comprehend the reality
of love. I had lost all hope of ever being part
of a loving family and yet many of you have offered
to share your families with me, to be family
for me. And as I struggle and continue to be
afraid, you are quick to reassure me that I am
truly wanted in God's family. I have hated myself,
hated God, hated life. What I have come to understand
is that my attitude about God does not manipulate
him into loving me more or less. God is love.
and today I'm being baptized to show the people
gathered here that I choose to accept the truth
that God is love and his love includes me. God
has chosen that we are not to remain in prison
forever, nor are we to continue to be orphaned,
abandoned, or betrayed, but that his righteousness,
his power, would be made known to us through
the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I believe that Jesus came at God's request to
set the prisoners free. I believe that Jesus
came so that we could experience, see, hear and
touch God's character. I believe Jesus suffered
all the sins of the world on the cross, including
mine, and defeated all the spirits of the air
when he rose from the dead. I believe that I
too share in his selfless act of love. My therapist
said not long ago that the months after my planned
suicide were very dangerous. Because although
I had decided not to die, I had not yet decided
to live. Today, I have decided to die to my old
life and become a new creature in Christ. Will
I be different after this baptism or at peace?
I do not know. Will I be perfect and healed?
and never be confused or hate again? No way.
Will my continued recovery be any less painful
or long? I do not know. I do know the change
has already come that will be represented in
this clear, ordinary water which I stand in today.
The healing change is the death of the belief
that God does not care about me. and the birth
of the belief that I am not alone in my loneliness,
that I am not comfortless in my sorrow, that
I am not abandoned to my rage, and the belief
that someday I will experience love, both the
giving and the receiving, so that I too can follow
the greatest commandments, to love God with all
my heart and soul and mind, and to love my neighbor
as well as myself. And Jesus said, my sheep hear
my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
And I give eternal life to them, and they shall
never perish. And no one, no one shall snatch
them out of my hand. My Father who has given
them to me is greater than all. And no one is
able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
I and the Father are one. Amen. Since I have
a new life, I have chosen a new name, and I'm
also going to ask for specific prayer while I'm
in the tank with Galen. Also Galen's safety so
I don't pull him into the tank. We have another
friend, Matt, who's going to help us. One of
the ways my abusers hurt me was interfering with
my breathing. They did that with a variety of
ways, but one of the ways they did it was holding
my head underwater. So I'm very frightened of
the tank, but I'm also very angry that I have
a special challenge to do the things that other
people can do. And so I really, really want to
be baptized in the tank. We're going to do it
just like everyone else does. ask all the right
questions. We'll just have Matt there, too. Yes,
I have a new name. My first name will be Reskaya,
and it means I've lost my paperwork. No, that's
not true. I mean, it is true I lost my paperwork,
but I have... I think I should know what my new
name means. All right, let me try again. My new
name will be Reskaya. What it means is rainbow
light, or the light after the storm, and it also
means God's promise. My second name is in honor
of an experience I had as a child. Even though
God was not allowed in our home, God's presence,
I was aware of God's presence in nature. I didn't
understand about the Bible God, but I did understand
about the wind and rain and trees and sky. and
I was very lonely as a child and I often played
by myself and one day in the winter I was walking
home and I was very lonely and talking to God
and this big whoosh sound came and there was
a stump close enough to touch and a great arctic
owl, their great big white owls came and sat
right there and we were eye to eye and I just
got this feeling like I was supposed to know
that I'm not alone. And then there was this whoosh,
and it went back up into the sky. I'm the only
one who saw it, and it was a very, very powerful
experience. So I need a strong name, so I'm choosing
for my middle name, White Bird. While I was working
and thinking about what my last name would be,
my family name would be, many people in the congregation
and children in the congregation offered me their
last names. And I thought perhaps, well, maybe
I should, you know, take a more generic last
name and, you know, looked in the telephone book
and, you know, just couldn't, we just weren't
finding one. And then a friend of mine in the
singles who's now married, she suggested, why
don't I take the name Grace for Grace Church
as my family name, since the church has been
the closest thing to family I've ever experienced.
So my new name will be Reskaya, and you'll be
able to call me Skaya if Reskaya is too long
for you. White Bird Grace. So now I will be baptized.
especially today, to let you know how much your
prayers, how important they are. There were people
praying for me while I was in the hospital. There
were people praying for me two years before I
attended this church to get me to church. There
have been people who have prayed and prayed and
prayed. There were people this morning praying
at six o 'clock this morning so that this would
go smoothly today for us. The power of prayer
is unbelievable and never ever doubt it. And
if you can help a stranger, imagine what you
can do for your own family and loved ones. This
is a testimony that probably in some respects
could be echoed by others in the congregation.
All of us have a story of God's grace working,
and it's a good reminder that there are many,
many others who, like Joyce, are wounded, to
whom we can minister the grace of God. We have
received God's grace that we might minister God's
grace to others. We're going to sing about that
now as we prepare for baptism, and Paul, I'll
let you lead us.