Baptism Service March 2026
Baptism Service March 2026
The power of personal testimony was on full display as eleven individuals shared their life-changing stories before being baptized. These testimonies revealed the incredible ways God transforms lives, bringing people from darkness into light, from despair to hope, and from brokenness to wholeness. Each story was unique, yet they all pointed to the same fundamental truth: God has the power to completely transform any life, no matter how broken or lost it may seem.
Baptism serves as a powerful symbol of this transformation - an outward expression of an inward decision to follow Jesus. When someone goes down into the water, it represents the burial of their past life, including sin, hurt, and pain. Rising up from the water symbolizes being born again with new life, hope, and purpose in Christ. Even Jesus, who was perfect in every way, chose to be baptized, demonstrating the significance of this act and showing us that it brings God great joy when we make this public declaration of faith.
The testimonies shared revealed several common themes in God's transformative work. Many spoke of living in darkness, struggling with addiction, depression, trauma, and feeling completely lost before encountering Christ. The role of Christian community proved crucial in nearly every story, whether through friends who extended invitations to church, supportive Bible study groups, or caring coworkers who demonstrated Christ's love. Perhaps most powerfully, these stories showed that transformation isn't something we accomplish through our own strength - God changes us from the inside out, often using our most difficult moments to draw us closer to himself and reveal our true identity as his beloved children.
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The Power of Testimony: How God Transforms Lives
There's something incredibly powerful about hearing how God has changed someone's life. Today, we witnessed eleven people share their testimonies before being baptized - stories of transformation that remind us of God's incredible love and power to change hearts.
What Does It Mean to Be Born Again?
Baptism represents an outward expression of an inward decision. It's a powerful moment where we publicly declare our faith - a celebration of choosing to follow Jesus. When someone goes down into the water, it represents a life buried - the past life, sin, hurt, and pain. Coming up out of the water represents new life in Christ, being born again with hope and purpose.
Jesus himself was baptized, even though he was perfect in every way. He chose baptism because he knew its importance. As Matthew 3:16-17 tells us, after Jesus was baptized, "the heavens were opened, and they saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my dearly loved son who brings me great joy.'"
Why Did Jesus Choose Baptism?
Two important truths emerge from Jesus' baptism. First, if Jesus - who was perfect - chose to be baptized, it shows us the significance of this act. Second, it brings the Lord great joy. When we make this decision, God looks down and says, "There you go, my sons and daughters. I have a plan for you - a plan of hope, a plan to see lives changed."
Stories of Transformation
The testimonies shared today revealed common themes of God's transformative power:
From Darkness to Light
Many spoke of living in darkness - struggling with addiction, depression, trauma, and feeling lost. One person shared how they lived as an atheist for twenty years, getting into trouble and struggling with addiction. But through reading Scripture and experiencing God's presence, they found their way to the light.
The Role of Christian Community
Almost every testimony mentioned the crucial role of other believers. Whether it was friends who invited them to church, Bible study groups that supported them, or Christian coworkers who showed kindness - God used relationships to draw people to himself.
One person shared how they joined a women's Bible study group where "when I had no faith and couldn't pray, they prayed for me. I'd never experienced anything like this before." This demonstrates how God works through community to sustain and grow our faith.
Finding Identity in Christ
Several testimonies revealed struggles with identity and self-worth. People spoke of feeling invisible, unworthy, or like failures. But through encountering Jesus, they discovered their true identity as beloved children of God. As one person beautifully expressed: "When the world didn't choose me, he did. When others didn't see me, he saw me."
How Does God Change Us?
The testimonies revealed that transformation isn't something we accomplish through our own strength. One person said, "I realize that it's not me who has to change to come to God. I will be changed by God's love." This is the heart of the gospel - we don't fix ourselves first; God changes us from the inside out.
God Works Through Our Brokenness
Many shared stories of coming to God at their lowest points - after loss, trauma, or near-death experiences. This reminds us that God is "close to the brokenhearted" and often uses our most difficult moments to draw us to himself.
The Importance of Seeking God
Several people mentioned how they began reading the Bible or seeking God intentionally. One person shared how meditation in the wilderness led them to Scripture, while another described buying their first Bible and hiding it because they were embarrassed. God honors our seeking hearts, no matter how tentative our first steps might be.
What Happens After Baptism?
Baptism isn't the end of the journey - it's the beginning. As was emphasized today, "Your decision today brings the Lord great joy. He's proud of you, and this doesn't finish here. If anything, it's beginning right now."
The testimonies showed that following Jesus involves ongoing relationship, community involvement, and continued growth. It's about stepping into God's plan with the confidence that he has good things in store.
The Power of Sharing Your Story
Hearing these testimonies reminds us why sharing our stories matters. Each person's journey was unique, yet they all pointed to the same truth - God transforms lives. When we share how God has worked in our lives, it encourages others and shows them that transformation is possible for them too.
Life Application
This week, consider how God has been working in your life and in the lives of those around you. If you're already following Jesus, think about your own story of transformation. How has God changed you? Who in your life needs to hear about his love and power to transform?
If you haven't yet made the decision to follow Jesus, remember that he's calling you just as you are. You don't need to fix yourself first - God will do the transforming work in your heart.
The most important step you can take is to get connected with other believers. Almost every testimony mentioned the crucial role of Christian community in their journey. Don't try to walk this path alone.
Ask yourself these questions:
How has God been working in my life, even in small ways?
Who in my life needs to hear about God's love and transforming power?
Am I connected with other believers who can support and encourage my faith journey?
What step is God calling me to take next in my relationship with him?
Remember, God has a plan for your life - a plan of hope, purpose, and transformation. Whether you're taking your first steps toward faith or you've been walking with Jesus for years, he's not finished with you yet. Your story of transformation can be a light that draws others to him.
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A discussion guide for the sermon can be found here.
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Hey, can I please invite our baptismal candidates up on the stage with me, please?
You know who you are. That's it, that's it. Cheer them on, guys. Come on, guys. That's it.
Come all the way. Yep, yep. Come around.
Yep, Just go around there. They can't go around. Yep, just follow, just follow. Come through, come through, come through. Awesome, guys.
Awesome, guys. Come up, come up. Oh, how good is this? What do we. Give him a hand, guys.
Come on.
Come forward a bit. Come forward a bit. Come forward a bit. Everyone can see you. Awesome.
Awesome. Well, the first thing I want to say is, well done. Well done. We're proud of you. I know God's proud of you.
I know you have family and friends and loved ones here. Your connect, family Is cheering you on, champion you to go, well done, good on you. And it's, it is nerve wracking in that. But I thank you for your courage to step up here. You will never regret this decision or this moment.
You'll look back at it and you go, you know what? I made the best decision of my life and nothing's going to take that away from me, right? And baptism is a powerful moment and a public declaration of your faith. Today is a celebration of your decision to follow Jesus. And if you're here right now and you haven't received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you would like to, and that we're going to have a moment after the service and that we're able to do that.
Baptisms, it's an outward expression of inward decision. You've already made that decision in your heart, you've already made it right? And this is the moment where we celebrate you, where we go, you know what? No more old life here. I go.
Whatever you got planned for me, Jesus, I'm all in. And we celebrate that. You're going to publicly declare that to each and every person here. If you're here, if you're new to our baptisms, there's a tub there, it's got some warm water in there, nice and warm. And as the candidates come up and what it is, we lower them into the water and that represents a life buried, a past life, a life of sin, a life of hurt and pain and all those things like that.
And as they come up out of the water, it represents a new life and Christ that I am born again. I have a life of hope and prosperity. I have great things ahead of me, right? And I want to honour you guys in that and the courage to do that. And can I encourage you to, while you're down there, seek the Lord in that moment?
What do you got for me after today? Where am I headed? And this is what it means to be born again, leaving the old life behind and stepping into a new life of God that God has given you. And I want to encourage you with something. Why do we get baptized?
Well, Jesus got baptized. I'm going to read a passage from Matthew 3, 13:17. The word says this. Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan river to be baptized by John.
But John tried to talk him out of it.
I am the one who needs to be baptized by you, he said, so why are you coming to me? Jesus said, it should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires. So John agreed to baptize him after his baptism that Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened, and they saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on. And a voice from heaven said, this is my dearly loved son who brings me great joy. Two things I want to point out to you.
Two things that hit home for me when I was just praying on this the other night is Jesus is perfect in every single way. But he chose to be baptized. He knew the importance. It mattered to him. And we celebrate you here today because I'm looking at you guys.
It matters to you, doesn't it? It's important to you. Some of you guys have mums and dads and kids, and is it important to them to celebrate you in that moment? The second thing I want to say is this.
It brings the Lord great joy.
He's looking down and he goes, there you go, my sons and daughters. I got a plan for you. Plan of hope. Plan to seek out. Plan to see lives change.
Plan to grab a hold of whatever it is that you're doing in my life. I want you to remember that in this moment, that it doesn't finish here. If anything, it's beginning right now.
Your decision today brings the Lord great joy. He's proud of you, and so are we. Church. Why don't we give him a hand? Come on.
Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to ask you three questions. Confess your faith, okay? And you can say, I do. You can say, yes.
You can say, hurry up, for you can say whatever you like. All right? All right. Here we go. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God?
Do you believe that he died on the cross for your sins and rose again on the third day? Do you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Then, on the confession of your faith, and I'll baptize you in the name of the Father, the name of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen.
Come on, guys. Everyone give him a hand.
So we're going to pray for them. But before we pray for them, just so if, you know, if you've never been to our baptism here, how it's going to work. We're going to split up into three groups. And if you have a loved one, a friend, whoever it may be, and you want to take photos, you want to support them in that, you're more than happy to come around this side and take photos if we can keep the front of the tub free for a camera shot. And you'll be able to See the baptisms on the screens.
And that is that good church. All right, if you're comfortable, raise up your hands. Lift up your hands to them. So awesome people. And we're going to pray for them, Father, right now in this place, Lord, will you have your way?
Lord, you keep speaking life into your people. You keep sharing with them, Father. You keep sharing with them. Give them fresh anointing, give them fresh visions, Give them fresh freshness, Lord. Give them a heart to say, you know what?
I leave behind my old life. I leave behind my old life. I have a life to live right now to serve you, to love you, Lord. So in this place, Father, I pray that your presence will move in the lives of these people, your spirit will move in their lives, Lord, that this is just the beginning, that they have so much in store for them, Lord. May your loving grace cover them, Lord.
May your light shine at their feet.
May they shine bright out there in the word, Lord. And we thank you, Lord, for their hearts and their decisions to say, I follow Jesus and all his people say amen. Why don't we give him a hand? Awesome. So here's what we're going to do.
We're going to split in groups and our preaching this morning is actually going to be the testimony. So you're going to hear every single person's testimony. So let's flip on the groups. Who's our first group? Color is purple.
If you're in the purple group, can I get you to stay up? And everyone else, can I get you to take your seats?
So Lauren, Lincoln, Adana and Elias. Cassie, Finley. Awesome. Well done, guys. So here's what we're going to do.
I'm going to hand you the mic. You're going to introduce yourself, you share your heart, share your story, whatever, whatever it may be. We good? We ready? Yeah.
Who would like to go first?
Here's where you got us, mate.
God bless you all. My name's Finn. I lived the first 20 years of my life as an atheist. Growing up in an atheist agnostic household, I felt stuck in life. I was getting into trouble with the law and involved in things that I definitely shouldn't have been.
I was struggling with addiction.
And constantly making excuses to justify it. A friend of mine who's here today, Jack, told me he'd been exploring Christianity. I brushed it off in the moment and we didn't speak about it again for maybe six months. But I think that even though I dismissed it, the seed was sown in my heart.
One day last year, I was on A camping trip deep in the bush. And I decided to do something I never usually do. Meditate. As I sat there, I felt something prompting me to look into the Bible. As I read, I opened up to Proverbs.
And as I read about the way of the wise and the way of the folly, I realized that in almost every way, I fit into the latter. That's when I knew something needed to change. So I began intentionally applying that wisdom to my life. I kept reading the Bible, and it felt like the more I read, the more understanding I had of myself and the things I was going through. In November, I watched my first Connect Church sermon online.
And as I listened to the worship and prayed, I felt the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit come over me. And I just cried for the first time in a long time.
Since then, I've actively been building my relationship with God. I came to my first service in December and have started going to a Bible study with some amazing people. Here. I truly feel as if I found my place and a higher calling from God. I just wanted to finish with a verse.
Isaiah 9:2. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them a light has shone. Thank you, church.
Hi, everyone. My name's Laurie. And firstly, I'd like to thank you to my friends and family for being here today. It means the world that you are here today. And I'm really grateful to everyone who's supported me and been with me up until this great moment.
I'm really. Wait. I'm really grateful to everyone. I wanted to share a bit about why I'm choosing to get baptized today and talk about what's brought me to this moment. For a long time, I felt I've been stuck in the same cycle, trying to be better, trying to fix myself, trying to break habits on my own.
I kept thinking I had to sort myself out before I could come to God. And when I moved to Australia over two months ago, I met two amazing people. And that was Joey and Tyler. And from the moment I met them, I could just tell them something different about them. And they brought me here and I felt the power as soon as I came into this building.
They prayed for me and I cried. And it was. It was so beautiful. And I just love it. And now I realize that it's not me who has to change to come to God.
I will be changed by God's love. And he will mould me into the person he wants me to become.
Today I'm Choosing to trust his plan, his timing and his love as he moulds me into the person who he always intended me to, for me to become. I'm stepping into his grace, not in my own strength. Thank you once again to everyone who's here. It means more than you know and I'm excited for the life God is leading me into from this moment on.
That was really beautiful.
My name is Cassandra and I'm 33 years old and a mother of two beautiful boys, Carter and Nate. I was never ready in my life for God or church. I've never known much about it at all. I've been so lost and confused. I tried to fill all these empty voids inside me for many years with alcohol and substances after losing my father.
Only 5 years old destroyed me growing up so many people would pray for me. I'll always remember these two elderly ladies at Frankston Beach. One day they gravitated towards me and said, God loves you. He can see you're troubled and that you are struggling. And I felt that deep within my heart.
I cried so much, but I wasn't ready just yet. One day when I was at my absolute worst after I lost a baby last year, I spiraled downhill for a few months. I was using alcohol and substances to numb me and put me in dangerous situations. I needed help deep within. It came near death but Satan tried to drag me down.
But I did it with God's help and my dad helping him make me strong. I can happily say it today I am seven and a half months sober and clean and I'll never look backwards.
God has found me and saved me and I'm finally ready to be born again, be rebirthed and give my life entirely to Jesus to fill my soul with the Holy Spirit. I'm ready to walk this journey guided by God.
Hi everyone, my name is Annie and this is my testimony. My life before Jesus was one of some of the hardest years of my life. But I never thought that I'd make it to the age of 18. I struggled with anxiety and depression and self harm and ptsd. I believed that in my life that it was never going to get better and that this was just the life that I chose.
Because all I knew was pain and suffering and that was just normal. So I learned to keep it to myself, keep all my pain bottled up and until it exploded. I hope that this was just the wave, It was just the life that I chose and it was a mistake that I thought I had to live with for the rest of my life. A year Ago, I was sitting at home with a close friend of mine. He was telling me about Jesus and how he physically saw his face.
One part of me wanted to laugh at him because I never thought of it. I never believed in Jesus. But one part of me, one part of me thought that he was so passionate and he wasn't embarrassed about his faith. And I think that woke up something inside of me. So a few weeks later, I went out and bought a Bible.
I hid it from my friends and my family because I was embarrassed and I thought that they would judge me. But then a few weeks ago, a friend of mine told me that she started going to church. So I asked if I could go with her. And I guess that brings us to now. I've been coming to this church for a little bit over a month now, and it has completely changed my life.
In the short time that I've been here, Jesus has changed my life for the better. And I felt so much of the Holy Spirit inside of me that I wish that everyone could feel this way. So the reason that I'm choosing to get baptism baptized is because even though I grew up with a lot of pain and a lot of struggle, over the past few weeks, I've experienced Jesus in a way that I never expected. Being a part of this church, I feel like I've found hope and a fresh start. I'm ready to stop surviving and start living for Jesus.
Hi church, my name is Adana. This baptism is really personal for me because even though I met Jesus for myself five years ago, I never really felt the urgency to do it since I was really baptized as a child and grew up in a Christian household. But the truth is, at the time, I didn't fully understand what it meant or if my testimony was even worthy for me to be baptized again, to stand and declare that I had met him for myself. But I've come to understand that faith is a personal decision. It's not something you inherit, it's something you choose.
I'm here to tell you it's a big deal to choose Jesus. And this is something I've downplayed for too long. Before I met Jesus, I grew up, required battles that shaped how I saw myself. I carried deep expectations, perfectionism, and a constant feeling of being unworthy, unseen, and never anyone's first choice. As a child, I didn't realize how much I became my own self critic and how some circumstances slowly planted seeds of anxiety, anger and frustration in my heart.
I found value only the things I could perform. And when I was A being praised. I felt invisible. But when all the expectations I placed on myself suddenly felt impossible to carry. And I started to see myself as a failure.
Then one morning in my room, everything changed. For the first time, I began to seek a love and a purpose that didn't end in rejection. I began talking to God like He was my closest friend. And the more I seeked and listened, he spoke back. When the world didn't choose me, he did.
When others didn't see me, he saw me. When I thought my failures defined me, he reminded me my identities. And my father. He told me I didn't need to pretend anymore that I am his daughter. A daughter who he's well pleased with.
A holy God not only revealed his love for me, but wanted me to be my friend. Even when people may fail me or abandon me. He showed me that time and time again. He never will. Though the pruning now has been painful, it has been one that has revealed his faithfulness.
I'm an introvert. When it gets too much, my first instinct is to run and hide. But even when my thoughts are crashing against the peace of my heart, he calms the wind and waves of my mind so that I might hear his voice. And since meeting Jesus, it's been five years of laying down the old life of striving, pleasing people, earning love and fearing failure. In the same way we publish publicly declare love in marriage.
I want to declare my love for my first husband, my father, my friend, the one who has always known me. As written in song of Solomon 6:3. I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine. Before anything else, I attach myself to Jesus. Before any person, validation or desire.
He is the one I belong to. And the failures that I hide, the victories I don't, the battles I fight, each crown that I hoard, consider it yours, Lord and like Paul, I'm learning to be content in every season, Fed or hungry, high and low. Because Jesus, you are enough.
Good man. Guys. How brave was that? Well done. All right, we ready to get you baptized.
All right, let's do it. The worship team are going to lead us in worship. So get into it, guys, and let's cheer them on.
So we pour out our praise to you Only your praise in our lies so we pour out our praise Pour out our praise it's your breath in our lives so we pour out our praise to all.
Great are you lo.
Great are you, Lord it's your breath in our lives so we pour out our praise we pour out our praise it's your Breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise to you only.
Great are you lord.
Great are you losing.
All the earth will shout your breath our hearts will cry these bones will sing great are you lord.
Holy the earth will shout your praise our hearts will cry these bones will sing great are you lo.
The earth will shout your praise our hearts will cry great are you.
So we pour out our praise to only.
Lift up your.
Come on oh don't you get shy of me lift up your song you got a lion inside his.
Alone.
Come on my oh don't you get shy on me Lift up your throne cuz you got a lion inside of those get up and praise the Lord so I know I my hand praise you again and again.
All that I have is a hallelujah hallelujah and I know it's not mine I nothing else before except for.
Oh don't you get shy on me Lift up your cross cause you got a lion inside the get up and praise the lord.
Come on don't you get shy on me Lift up your throne. You got a lion inside of the get up and praise the lord.
Don't come on my throne oh don't you can't shy on me lift up your throne Cause you got a lion inside of the ground. Get up and pray in the lo.
Come off my toes oh don't you get shy on me Lift up your soul cuz you got a lion inside his own get up and praise the Lord.
Your eyes know I am to praise you again and again.
You know that I have in the hallelujah hallelujah and I know it.
Hallelujah Hallelujah.
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hall.
Great are you.
All the earth will shout your praise Our hearts will brighten your.
Breath.
All right, why don't we give him a hand? How good is that, eh? You guys can take your seats. You guys can get dressed, keep warm. Well done.
Well done. Wow. How good is that? That's powerful. Testimonies, eh?
So we have one more group and it's a group of five. So if you're part of the orange green group or the last group, can I invite you to come up on stage, please? Rebecca, Stephen, Joseph, Mark and Jason.
That's it. Come all the way.
Awesome. Well done, guys. Well done. So we're going to do the same. I'll get you guys to introduce yourselves and share your heart and share your journey and then we'll get you baptized.
All right? Would you like to go first? That's fast. All right.
Hi everyone, my name's Steph. I've been coming here to connect now for about one and a half years. When I first started connecting coming, it was actually because I lost someone really close to me.
Clearly I'm still not over it.
The pain of the loss was so great.
I hadn't been experienced anything like it before. My mental health went. I couldn't look after my kids, my kids were looking after me. I was struggling like I have never struggled before in my life.
I really needed God. All I knew is I wasn't able to keep going on my own. When I first came to connect, I was broken and lost.
I came from a place of never ending trauma. There was domestic violence, betrayal, rejection, sexual assaults, abuse, suicide attempts. Life was just something I wasn't interested in. I felt cursed all the time. Just like Job, I suffered with horrific complex ptsd.
Sometimes unable to tell my nightmares from my reality. I had completely lost my identity. But despite all this, I kept going. For my three kids as a single mum, I put myself through TAFE and uni and I finally became a nurse.
And I continued to watch people at their worst. And after years of my own trauma and other people's trauma, my heart was just hardened. I tried many times over the years to connect with God. Sometimes it would work for weeks and then I just, I wasn't able to connect, sustain it on my own. I gave up and I walked away.
I remember reading a passage in the Bible saying to connect with like minded people, join a church. I knew where I was going wrong. I was trying to do it all on my own. I really didn't like people and I had lost complete faith in them. Eventually I befriended a Christian at work and I met a lot of Christian people and I was so impressed by their kindness and generosity.
I was in awe of their faith and their relationship with God.
Eventually being around Christians made me want to reconnect. But I hadn't yet. So when I lost George, I felt myself wanting, needing God and I found connect. My first visit here was terrible.
There were people at their doors smiling and greeting me, which was just so foreign. And all I wanted to do was avoid everybody and come to the back. I didn't hear a word that was being said because of my trauma. I did all I could do, see where the lights go down and people stand by the doors and I'm like, oh my God, I'm in a cold. And I was freaking out and I didn't hear anything all that first time I was just so stressed.
But something made Me come back and I'm glad it did. So I had to remind myself that I've got this trauma and to stop being stupid. So when church ended, I was out of here as quick as possible. And I'm not sure why, but I decided to give it another go and I came back and I joined the Women's Bible Study group. Through this smaller group of amazing women, they were able to inspire me and help me grow as a Christian.
Whenever I felt lost or down, their faith made mine grow. When I had no faith and I couldn't pray, they prayed for me. I'd never experienced anything like this before. Slowly, I grew closer to these amazing women. And the women kept me going when I wanted to stop and get off this ride.
In October last year, I suffered a relapse of a spinal injury which has kept me out of work for the last six months. The pain, the depression, the anxiety was debilitating. But these amazing women from the Bible study group prayed for me. I was so moved that I started reading my Bible and my faith grew more. My heart started to soften.
I prayed for people I couldn't before because my hate and anger was poisoning me.
My kids started entertaining me. When I spoke to them about God, they were respectful and kind. My 13 year old even came to a church session and she's been to the youth group twice now.
My three kids are here today, which has made me so proud.
When my son agreed to come today, I actually cried.
The joy was indescribable. Since I joined Connect, God's presence has been felt in my heart and in my home. Adrian once said, only give if you want to give, not because you think you have to. And I thought, who wants to give money away?
And now I get the urge to give and that's only something God can do. The only thing he can do is change you from the inside. Something I couldn't do myself and I had tried for years to do.
I couldn't escape my past, but God gave me a new future. So today I make the journey of shedding the skin of the past and my sins and walk towards God and Jesus with open arms.
How beautiful is that? Amazing.
A lot of you might not know me since I haven't been coming here too long, but to introduce myself. I'm Jo. I'm 16 and for a lot of my life I never knew Jesus. Growing up, I was blessed to be raised in a household with two wonderful, loving parents who supported me despite all of my countless flaws. One blessing, they couldn't provide me with, however, was the love of God.
That was a blessing I had been gifted by the father they had chosen to reject. I was never religious, and I remember being the kid in religion class in grade three that would put my hand up and talk about how God can't be real because of the Big Bang. Secularism made me feel comfortable in my sin. As I grew, I practiced and thought more and more. Evil ideologies and actions planted by the enemy that I at the time thought was right.
I believed in eye for eye and that everyone is perfect just the way they are. In 2023, I decided to look into religion. I briefly studied the basics of Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism and Hinduism. But one religion stuck out to me in particular, and that was Christianity. I heard out as many arguments as I could, and I came to the conclusion that God exists.
Great, right? You'd think so, but you'd be wrong. Knowing God's existence isn't the same as knowing his heart. Knowing his existence meant nothing if I didn't act on that knowledge. I called myself a Christian, but I still practiced sins willingly without caring much for what I was doing.
In March 2025, I decided to do my first ever fast. And that's when I feel I first truly built a relationship with God. He changed me. For once, I let him into my heart. And the wonder I was faced with was something words can't describe.
It felt like I knew Jesus, but I don't think I tried. Truly did. I built a relationship, but not on solid ground. And when life got difficult, I kept my burdens to myself and I closed my heart. I didn't let him carry my weight and I didn't trust Him.
And because of that, the relationship I built with him crumbled. When it feels like God is absent, you do things you regret. On August 28, 2025, I almost did something irreversible that I would regret for eternity. But when I felt like I lost all hope, I prayed and I cried. And though I didn't understand it, something kept me from doing that regrettable action.
Instead of letting my life slip away that night, I gave my life to someone who wanted it. And that someone was Jesus. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. He took up the cross for me and. And for you.
And because of that, I found hope in the darkness. For as it says in Hebrews 12:2, we look to Jesus as the author and perfecter of our faith. He wrote My Faith for me like an author. And ever since that night seven months ago, he's been perfecting it. He rebuilt our relationship, but this time on solid ground.
And I learned that I can't close my heart to God. The Holy Spirit delivered me from that spot at rock bottom and helped me realize that, as Paul says in Romans 8:18, the struggles we go through now are nothing compared to the glory that awaits us now. I'm ready to love him as he loved me and to chase his heart with everything I have. I'm ready to be born again. And that's because of him.
Hello, I'm Mark.
I had planned what I was going to say today when I'm standing awe of everybody that said what they've said. It's just been such beautiful words from such young people. I feel very, very privileged to stand here, but I do want to give an explanation of why I'm standing here. I have been at the church about three or four years. I'm usually sat right at the back in an absolute mess.
But I'll just go back a little bit. When I was 14, I was an amateur boxer. And this is in South Manchester. And I have boxed competitively all over the northwest of England. And I won, won, won, won, won, won in small towns where nobody knew me.
And the last fight of the season, my club hosted it in a hole at least as big as this. And everybody I knew was there.
Yes. I didn't just lose, I got my butt kicked. Royal. That was a long way down. And you know what?
I carried on fighting for another four years. But I never won again. You know why? Because I wouldn't commit myself to it. My attendance dropped off.
Barrage of excuses. I got a wash of dishes for my mom. You know, my mum would say, mark, you don't even know where the kitchen is. So excuse, excuse, excuse. So fast forward to today.
Here I am, 45 years later, still being non committal, coming for the word, leaving by midweek. I'm still trying to run the show myself. There's a different ball game now, though, because I need God to do for me, which I can't do for myself.
I'm trying to do a job which involves deep, deep faith. I'm a qualified pastoral care worker now. I'm trying to fight a past addiction and every time I think I'm in control, something bad happens. So I need to do that wrestle that Pastor Adrian was talking about last week. And I need to keep doing it, keep doing it, keep doing it.
And today is a Hugely symbolic day for me because it signals my intention to do just that.
Hi, my name's Becca. First of all, I want to say thank you to my best friends in the world, Oriel, Alvoli, Chemra and Ebony. They've really helped in my walk with Christ. I grew up in a Christian household, but it was quite lukewarm. We went to church most Sundays and occasionally prayed or talked about the Bible.
But over time that started to fade. We stopped praying at meals and we didn't talk about God much, especially because there are a lot of issues happening in my family. When I was 13, my parents separated and eventually got divorced. And later in that year I got into things like witchcraft and crystals because I was trying to search for something to fill the emptiness inside me. But nothing ever could.
And at the time it felt very real. During that time, I felt really lost and struggled with my mental health, had issues with friendships and school, and I was suicidal for a while. But God is close to the brokenhearted. At the start of 2024, I went to a Christian youth camp for the first time called Summer under the sun with sun meeting Jesus. I remember standing there during worship and feeling his presence overwhelm me.
And that's where I truly encountered God for the first time. And in that moment, I realized I couldn't do life on my own. And I made the decision to follow Him. Since then, I've still had my ups and downs in my mental health, family and friendships. But now I have hope.
And I know I'm not alone. And I can persevere through Christ who strengthens me. And even in the hard moments, I found that the joy of the Lord is my strength. So today I'm getting baptized as a declaration of my faith and as a way to honor God, my father. Thank you.
G'. Day. I'm Jason. I stand here today ready and willing in all aspects. This decision is not lost on me.
How deep and personal it is. So thanks for your prayers and your grace.
Why don't we give him a hand? How good was that, eh? Alright, we're ready to get baptized. Let's do it.
Sa.
Cornerstone we made strong in the faith of love through the soul he is love.
Glory.
It's all for your glory.
It's all for your glory.
Jesus.
It's all for your glory.
It's all for your glory.
It's all for your glory.
Glory it's all for your glory.
It's all for your glory.
It's all for your glory.
Jesus.
Set me free Then I cross his river for me Hallelujah, hallelujah Jesus Roll in victory he's alive Alive in me Hallelujah, hallelujah Praise is the one who tell me can have lost his grip on me Hallelujah, hallelujah Jesus Roman victory He's alive Alive in me May I never fall.
May I not forget the bloody death it is mighty.
In anything except the cross of Jesus Christ May I not forget the blight.
I am alive because I al. I am alive because of life. I am alive because of Christ I am alive.
Why don't we give him a hand, guys? Hey, give him a hand.
Wonderful. I'll tell you what. The water wasn't warm, and one of them reminds me that was right. But good on you for pushing through.
Isn't it amazing to hear their testimonies? Testimonies of transformation, how God has changed their lives. And this. This morning, I want to invite everyone to close their eyes, bow their heads and just have a moment for yourself.
If you're here and you've never given your life to. To Jesus Christ. No one's looking. Can I ask you to raise your hands if you would like to receive him this morning? Gosh.
Raise your hand. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. We're gonna pray a prayer together. We're gonna pray a prayer together. And the rest of us, we can all pray together if you want to receive Jesus Christ in your life right now.
So let's pray. Dear Jesus, I believe that you are the son of God. Forgive me for my sins. I believe you died on the cross and rose again on the third day.
I choose to follow you. I accept you as my Lord and Savior in Jesus name. Amen.
Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Give him a hand. Come on.
Yeah. Now, if that's you, if your hand was raised, or maybe you made a decision in your heart, we would like to give you a Bible. Not just any Bible, a really good Bible. And we want to get you connected in. And just out there in the foyer, just right of the bookshop, you'll see a table, you'll see a sign that says Bible.
And our team will be on there as well. If we haven't got your details, please, if you're comfortable enough, pass on your details to them. And we want to connect you in and we want to see you flourish in your journey. Amen. So, guys, how good was that, huh?
Isn't God good? Yeah. There's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna pray for you. I'm gonna pray for you.
And then we're gonna finish off a bit of praise. All right. CHURCH so, Father, in this moment right now, we thank you, Lord, that you are building your church, that you are, you are speaking into the lives of your people, that there are many more, Father, that have chosen to follow you and that will continue to choose to, to follow you. We thank you for everyone that's made that decision, Father. And Heavenly Father, I just thank you, Lord, that your presence continues to move in the lives of your people.
Bless this house, bless your people, Heavenly Father, guide them on their way, Lord, in Jesus name we pray. Church Amen.
Good job. For he thinks Fuha did a good job this morning.
Not bad for a man who's been fasting. And they've gone through some pretty full on stuff in the last couple of weeks as well. And so you did great. If you don't know me, I'm Adrian. I'm one of the pastors.
But you know, if you've been fasting with us over this last three weeks, you know, as I'm sitting there and I don't have energy and you're sort of going, it's been tough. You know, we talk about wrestling with God, but hearing the testimonies of, of people, I just go, God, I'd fast all over again and again and again and again. If that's the fruit of seeking you, that we're seeing people's lives changed and transformed and can I encourage you to do this? You would have heard so many testimonies. Almost every person who shared talked about the people in their lives, in their connect group that came alongside them, that have been their friend.
Young adults, youth, you know, older friends, younger friends.
This is where God changes your life. It's not just in a service, it's not in a meeting. It's in relationship where God is impacting and we're sharing our hearts. So can I just, can I encourage you to. If you're going, you know what?
I want God to move in my life. I'm a Christian, I want to pursue this, but I need relationships in my life. We want to help you do that. And we've got a whole heap of groups, we've got people. So there's a couple of ways you can do it.
You can just go up to someone and meet them and do that that way. That's the sort of the organic way. But that can be a bit hard. You can do it two ways. You can go and get one of our cards and welcome cards and just fill in your details and tick on the old.
I'M interested in a connect group. One of our pastors will give you a call, talk to you and give you some options about how you can get involved in a group. Or you can go onto our website connectchristian Church and there's a get connected form. Just go to contact and fill out that form and say I want to join a connect group and we'll get in touch with you in this week and talk to you about ways you can build relationship with others. Because that's where your life is going to be transformed and changed.
And you watch what God will do in your life. Amen. One more thing and then we're going to sing together. We have got the second best weekend coming up. I think this is the best weekend when we hear people's testimonies and water baptisms.
But the second best one is Easter weekend. And I'm believing God that we can pack this place out. God is on the move. You know that God is speaking to people. God is drawing people and maybe all they need is you to say, hey, do you want to come along with me to church at Easter?
Do you want to come along? We got Good Friday. Pastor Michael's going to speak at our communion service. Good Friday, 9 o'. Clock.
I'm going to be preaching on the Saturday, the Sunday, all of our services. I'm believing we're going to pack this place out with young people, older people, new people and let's see people's lives transformed and changed. Amen. So invite someone along. It's going to be awesome.
Come. Why don't we just stand to our feet? We're going to sing this song one last time. God bless you church. We love you.
Praise the name oh praise the name of the Lord our God oh praise his name forever Lord forever will sing your praise oh Lord, oh Lord Come on, let's declare it and pray. O praise the name of the Lord of God for praise.
Name we will sing your pray oh Lord, oh Lord, Oh lord, oh lord, Oh lord, We praise you.
You know what, we're just going to praise a little bit more. So if you want to hang around and praise with us. Otherwise we would love for you to stick around. Good morning. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate.
Tea. Bless you guys. Have a great weekend.
Related Bible Verses
Matthew 3:13-17 (NLT)
"Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. 'I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,' he said, 'so why are you coming to me?' But Jesus said, 'It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.' So John agreed to baptize him. After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.'" [cite: 29-34]
Click here to read Matthew 3:13-17 on Bible.comIsaiah 9:2 (ESV)
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone." [cite: 93-95]
Click here to read Isaiah 9:2 on Bible.comSong of Solomon 6:3 (NIV)
"I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine; he browses among the lilies." [cite: 169]
Click here to read Song of Solomon 6:3 on Bible.comJohn 3:16 (ESV)
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." [cite: 277]
Click here to read John 3:16 on Bible.comHebrews 12:2 (ESV)
"looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." [cite: 280]
Click here to read Hebrews 12:2 on Bible.comRomans 8:18 (ESV)
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." [cite: 284]
Click here to read Romans 8:18 on Bible.com