Celebration Sunday - May 5

At North Pointe we find so much to celebrate with each other that we decided to hold quarterly Celebration Sundays! We love to introduce new members to the Church, hold baptisms and Child Dedications and then follow with a Church-wide meal. You can read below why we do each of these things and what you can do if you’d like to take the next step in your Journey with Lord.

Baptisms :

-Who should be baptized?

Anyone who has prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their lord and Savior is a candidate for baptism.

The Bible shows in many places that the order of events is 1) a person believes in the Lord Jesus and 2) he is baptized. This sequence is seen in Acts 2:41, “Those who accepted [Peter’s] message were baptized” (see also Acts 16:14–15).

A new believer in Jesus Christ should desire to be baptized as soon as possible. In Acts 8 Philip speaks “the good news about Jesus” to the Ethiopian eunuch, and, “as they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?’” (verses 35–36). Right away, they stopped the chariot, and Philip baptized the man.

Baptism illustrates a believer’s identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Everywhere the gospel is preached and people are drawn to faith in Christ, they are to be baptized.

-Why baptism by immersion?

There are three main reasons that we believe baptism should be done by immersion:

1. The greek word for baptize(baptizo,) means "to immerse," "plunge into" or "put into." Two entirely different words are used in the Greek text to refer to pouring (cheo) or sprinkling (rantizo).

2. The example Jesus gave of baptism showed him going into a body of water, being submerged, and coming “up out of the water” as in by immersion. (Ex: Matthew 3:13-17, Acts 8:35-39)

3. Baptism by immersion is the best expression of the Gospel as baptism serves as a witness and testimony to everyone of what Christ did. Before we’re baptized (we were dead), going under the water (buried with Christ), and raised out of the water (raised as from the dead). (Text: Romans 6:3-4)

child dedication :

-What is child dedication?

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

— Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Child dedication is a time for parents and families to commit their children to God for His blessing on their lives. It is recognition that children are a temporary gift of God, given to adults who bear the responsibility for their spiritual development. It is the parent committing to raise their children in the way of the Lord, as well as the church committing to help families in this important task.  Child dedication is not a child’s salvation and does not make a child a Christian.  Following Christ is a personal decision that each of us must make when we are old enough to understand the Gospel.

-What age should children be to participate?

Any age! If this is something you have never done before, now is a good time to say, in front of everyone, that you want to commit your family to the Lord and seek His will for your lives.

-Who should participate?

Since the primary purpose of child dedication is the commitment of parents to bring their children up in a Christian home, they themselves should be believers in Christ to carry out this responsibility. And since our church will also be committing to help you raise your children to follow Christ, it is also important that you are a member of North Pointe.  If you are unsure of your own relationship with God or are not currently members, a church leader would love to talk to you about those things!