Take 5-10 minutes to share your ‘Jesus story’. How did you decide to follow Christ? Have you experienced a new child coming into your family? What was it like? How did family members create a sense of belonging for the child? MAIN IDEA - Baptism You are a child of God and belong to His family. Water baptism is our entry into God’s family and new creation life; it’s what enables us to live out our true identity as a child of God. EXPLORE THE WORD: Read the following verses. What do they teach you about being a child of God? John 1:12-13 Romans 8:15-16 Romans 8:38-39 What do the following verses teach you about baptism? Matthew 3:13-17 Galatians 3:26-27 Colossians 2:12 INTERESTING QUOTES: “That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the Cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin’s every beck and call!...From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.” - Romans 6:3,6,11,14 MSG “Through baptism we are saying in faith: I was there on the cross with Jesus; when He died, I died too, which means the power of sin that held me captive and controlled me was destroyed, and when Jesus rose again so did I. I am now alive in His life, and I have His power, authority and mission to carry out.” – Monica Prescott“ PRACTICE: How does knowing you are a child of God give you confidence and hope? If you haven’t been water baptized, make a decision to do so. Sign up for the next Water Baptism Sunday. Ask God to help you live out your identity as His child. You can use these words to get you started: ‘Heavenly Father, I thank You that I’m Your child, with full access to You. Thank you for making me a member of Your family; thank you for my spiritual brothers and sisters, and thank you for being my true and loving Father Who cares for me, is with me always, and has only the best for me. I love you.’ REFLECTION QUESTIONS to keep you growing How am I growing in greater awareness of God’s love for me? How am I growing in my identity as a child of God? How am I living out my identity as a child of God with other members of God's family? How am I living out my identity as a child of God by helping others become part of God's family? ‘Sin can’t tell you how to live’ (Rom. 6:14) but it sure tries. Are there any triggers that have been tripping me up and how will I deal with them?