Baptisms and Transfers -- 21 Aug 22

It was our joy to welcome 14 new members both by baptism and transfer on 21 August 2022. We rejoice with them as they publicly come to profess their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to obey the first command to believers to be baptised (Matt 28:19). 

Pastor Oliver reminded us that baptism is an outward physical sign of an inward spiritual reality. The act of baptism itself does not save, but it is a symbol that points to the reality of our salvation. Romans 6:1-4 teaches that baptism serves as a visible picture of our death and burial with Christ, along with our spiritual resurrection with Him. It not only identifies the new believer with Christ, but also us, together, as members of God's people the church. 

Gizelle was nervous about standing in front of everyone publicly, but shared clearly about how she now professes faith in Jesus Christ. She believes that God sent Him to die on the cross to redeem us from our sins, and she desires to be baptised as a testimony to her faith in Christ and in accordance to God's word.

We also rejoice with Vincent, who shared how God pursued him over the years. Vincent also shared that he desires to be baptised in accordance to God's command and seeks to publicly declare his faith.

At the end of the service, Pastor Eugene introduced all the new members to the church. It was a fitting way to end not only the service, but our series, "Generations of Grace" in the book of Genesis, where we have been seeing God's faithtfulness to His people again and again.

From L-R: Gizelle, Vincent, Huang Zi, Elizabeth, Sin Lee, Izabella, Peggy, Wubin, Teng Yun, Jesher, Christy and Evelyn. (Joel and Grace were unable to be present.)

Pastor Eugene reminded us that we have heard about the hope that we have in Christ and as we share this hope, we will also seek to open our hearts and lives to the new members to get to know them, love them and build them up in Christ. May we also open our lives to them to allow them to speak truth to us, and in doing so, our hearts can be knit together in Christian love and unity, that we may display the beauty of Christ for His body. 

As always, the congregation eagerly welcomed them after the service. If you haven't already done so, you can also read their testimonies and see how God brought each of them to see the truth of the gospel. Be encouraged by how our God is at work in the world and in the lives of so many people! And as always, their email address are in the booklet, so feel free to drop them an email to welcome them and to thank them for sharing about God's work in their lives.