2025 Journal-Yearbook

Illinois Great Rivers Conference 2025 Journal-Yearbook

often symbolizing life, hope, and God’s blessings. They flow with fresh water provid- ing nourishment and renewal for all who depend on them. Rivers represent the abun- dance and vitality that God brings into our lives. They serve as a powerful reminder. Just as a river flows with life-giving water, God pours his grace into our hearts. Some other examples of the world of water in the Bible are birth, rebirth, life that springs up into eternal life, God is the living source of water, the Holy Spirit, faith cleansing and guidance, and the presence of God. Water in the Bible is used symbolically as a powerful element in God’s interactions with humanity because it represents cleansing, salvation, renewal, and the divine presence throughout the Bible. In the Bible, Jesus commands baptism as part of our identity with him in making disciples, and that’s the part I would like to focus on. As Christians, we’re energized by water beginning with our baptism (whether or not we got sprinkled or immersed). Although our human existence experience is strongly tied to water, we need more than just physical water. We need the water that the Bible describes and I’ll give you some scripture. In Psalms 46, the psalmist rejoices in “a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” In Isaiah 58:11, “The Lord will guide us always. He will satisfy our needs in a sun-scorched land. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” In Matthew 3:11, “As for me, I will baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I and I’m not fit to remove his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” And then also in Genesis, “In the begin- ning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, but the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” And finally, in Isaiah 43, God promised to be with us through waters, rivers, and fires and we will not be harmed. So, we find renewal and refreshing hope through faith, through water. I hope that you got some kind of sense of empowerment of love, inclusivity, and the Holy Spirit. We talked about a lot of songs this week, Wade in the Water, “God’s going to trouble the water.” But to make disciples, our church interprets baptism in relation to God’s grace. And so what we should see because of our baptism in the church is services that result from responding to the call of the faith. It’s not a one-time event that you just put on the shelf and put away. When you get baptized and you agreed to become a member of the priesthood, it means you also will continue to refer to that throughout your life. And that’s what I would like you to do. That’s why I’ll ask you to remember the time that you were baptized. As members of this priesthood, it’s now our duties to recruit other people to that initiation process. As the hand and feet of Jesus Christ and the heart and soul of the transformation grace process, it’s now our turn to light the pathway and to take the hands of some- one you encounter and guide them along that same pathway so they too can join that group. I know that my baptism has become the foundation of my faith. It sustained me and it’s happened as well for others. I remember reading recently about retired pastor Flo Scott, who was on the list to get kidneys, and she was called in to get a kidney and she was on her way and then she

222 Leadership Reports