Baptism

My brothers and one of my sisters were baptized today at a pool party! The girl, Jessie, was scared of drowning [in 3-foot-deep water] but finally she decided she would do it.
My dad spoke about our youngest, Abigail: "I knew that Abigail wasn’t ready to be baptized when I asked her if she had ever sinned or done anything wrong – and she told me twice that she had never."
I wanted to make some points about baptism. You probably know these, but sometimes we need to be reminded.
Baptism is a symbol of your old self dying like Jesus died (when you go underwater) and living a new life in Christ, free of sin, just like Jesus rose from the dead.
Baptism is a command. Even Jesus, who was perfect, was baptized – and God was pleased with Him!
If you don’t get baptized, you’re still a Christian.
If you do get baptized, it doesn’t mean you’re a Christian.

If you chose to get baptized, you’ll probably get a Bible as a gift. Use it! Don’t let it sit on a shelf. Read about Jesus’ baptism in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and then about Jesus’ death and resurrection. If any passages jump out at you, let me know!