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Bridgewater,
Massachusetts,
April
3,
2005
Audio
Sermon
Exodus
30:17-21
The
basin
for
washing
Then
the
Lord
said
to
Moses,
"Make
a
bronze
basin,
with
its
bronze
stand,
for
washing.
Place
it
between
the
Tent
of
Meeting
and
the
altar,
and
put
water
in
it.
Aaron
and
his
sons
are
to
wash
their
hands
and
feet
with
water
from
it.
Whenever
they
enter
the
Tent
of
Meeting,
they
shall
wash
with
water
so
that
they
will
not
die.
Also,
when
they
approach
the
altar
to
minister
by
presenting
an
offering
made
to
the
Lord
by
fire,
they
shall
wash
their
hands
and
feet
so
that
they
will
not
die.
This
is
to
be
a
lasting
ordinance
for
Aaron
and
his
descendants
for
the
generations
to
come."
Luke
3:1-18
The
baptism
of
John
In
the
fifteenth
year
of
the
reign
of
Tiberius
Caesar--when
Pontius
Pilate
was
governor
of
Judea,
Herod
tetrarch
of
Galilee,
his
brother
Philip
tetrarch
of
Iturea
and
Traconitis,
and
Lysanias
tetrarch
of
Abilene--during
the
high
priesthood
of
Annas
and
Caiaphas,
the
word
of
God
came
to
John
son
of
Zechariah
in
the
desert.
He
went
into
all
the
country
around
the
Jordan,
preaching
a
baptism
of
repentance
for
the
forgiveness
of
sins.
As
is
written
in
the
book
of
the
words
of
Isaiah
the
prophet:
"A
voice
of
one
calling
in
the
desert,
‘Prepare
the
way
for
the
Lord,
make
straight
paths
for
him.
Every
valley
shall
be
filled
in,
every
mountain
and
hill
made
low.
The
crooked
roads
shall
become
straight,
the
rough
ways
smooth.
And
all
humanity
will
see
God’s
salvation.’"
John
said
to
the
crowds
coming
out
to
be
baptized
by
him,
"You
brood
of
vipers!
Who
warned
you
to
flee
from
the
coming
wrath?
Produce
fruit
in
keeping
with
repentance!
And
do
not
begin
to
say
to
yourselves,
‘We
have
Abraham
as
our
father.’
For
I
tell
you
that
out
of
these
stones
God
can
raise
up
children
for
Abraham.
The
axe
is
already
at
the
root
of
the
trees,
and
every
tree
that
does
not
produce
good
fruit
will
be
cut
down
and
thrown
into
the
fire."
"What
should
we
do
then?"
the
crowd
asked.
John
answered,
"Anyone
who
has
two
shirts
should
share
with
someone
who
has
none,
and
anyone
who
has
food
should
do
the
same."
Tax
collectors
also
came
to
be
baptized.
"Teacher,"
they
asked,
"what
should
we
do?"
"Don’t
collect
any
more
than
you
are
required
to,"
he
told
them.
Then
some
soldiers
asked
him,
"And
what
should
we
do?"
He
replied,
"Don’t
extort
money,
and
don’t
accuse
people
falsely;
be
content
with
your
pay."
The
people
were
waiting
expectantly
and
were
all
wondering
in
their
hearts
if
John
might
possibly
be
the
Christ.
John
answered
them
all,
"I
baptize
you
with
water.
But
one
more
powerful
than
I
will
come,
the
thongs
of
whose
sandals
I
am
not
worthy
to
untie.
He
will
baptize
you
with
the
Holy
Spirit
and
with
fire.
His
winnowing
fork
is
in
his
hand
to
clear
his
threshing
floor
and
to
gather
the
wheat
into
his
barn,
but
he
will
burn
up
the
chaff
with
unquenchable
fire."
And
with
many
other
words
John
exhorted
the
people
and
preached
the
good
news
to
them.
True
Christian
Religion
#685
The
purpose
of
baptism
The
first
purpose
of
baptism
is
so
that
we
may
be
named
Christians.
The
second
follows
from
this:
so
that
we
may
come
to
know
and
accept
the
Lord,
the
Redeemer,
Regenerator,
and
Savior.
The
third
is
so
that
we
may
be
reborn
from
the
Lord;
and
when
this
happens,
we
are
redeemed
and
saved.
These
three
purposes
follow
one
after
the
other
and
combine
in
the
last,
so
that
angels
think
of
them
together
as
one.
When
baptism
is
performed,
read
about
in
the
Bible,
or
spoken
of,
the
angels
present
do
not
think
of
baptism,
but
of
spiritual
rebirth.
John
answered
them,
"I
baptize
you
with
water.
But
one
more
powerful
than
I
will
come,
the
thongs
of
whose
sandals
I
am
not
worthy
to
untie.
He
will
baptize
you
with
the
Holy
Spirit
and
with
fire."
(Luke
3:16)
The
Sacrament
of
Baptism
is
based
on
a
ritual
that
is
(I
hope!)
as
old
as
humanity
itself:
the
act
of
washing.
Most
of
us
wash
ourselves
in
one
way
or
another
every
day,
and
think
little
of
it.
Not
only
do
we
wash
our
entire
body
regularly
by
bathing
or
showering,
but
we
wash
our
hands,
face,
feet,
and
other
parts
of
our
body
whenever
they
get
dirty,
or
before
eating,
or
when
we
go
to
bed
at
night
or
get
up
in
the
morning.
We
also
wash
our
clothing,
the
dishes
we
use
to
eat,
our
cars,
and
sometimes
even
our
houses.
And
then
there
are
all
our
other
acts
of
grooming,
such
as
combing,
brushing,
and
cutting
our
hair,
trimming
our
nails,
shaving
(some
of
us,
anyway!),
and
so
on.
In
fact,
we
put
quite
a
lot
of
effort
into
cleaning
and
caring
for
our
bodies,
and
making
ourselves
presentable.
It
is
simply
a
part
of
life.
If
we
do
stop
to
think
about
it,
we
quickly
realize
that
life
without
washing
is
something
we
would
probably
prefer
not
to
think
about.
Lately
I’ve
been
watching
the
reruns
of
the
old
M.A.S.H.
series
that
ran
from
1972
to
1983.
In
one
episode,
the
two
leading
characters,
Captain
"Hawkeye"
Pierce
and
Captain
B.
J.
Hunnicutt
go
on
a
shower
strike
in
protest
against
the
French
Horn
playing
of
their
tentmate,
the
high-born
and
sanctimonious
Major
Charles
Emerson
Winchester
III--who,
I
must
say,
is
a
really
bad
French
Horn
player!
Hawkeye
and
B.
J.
get
progressively
smellier,
until
they
are
barred
from
entering
the
mess
tent,
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