Baptized Into Christ

One of my favorite television shows of all time is "News Radio." It was "The Office" before "The Office" existed. It was over the top, totally unrealistic, and often slap stick, but it still makes me laugh. There's one scene in the episode "Rap," in which Bill McNeil (played by the late great Phil Hartman) has Joe, the station's electrician, "fix" his car radio. When they turn on the audio, rap music is booming through the speakers, but it's only the beat and it doesn't sound quite right. Ultimately Joe fixes the car's audio by simply turning the treble back to it's normal position. Upon the fix Bill realizes, for the first time, that rap music has words. (check it out here starting at about the 3:50 mark) Bill's great joy at discovering that rap music has words makes me think of how many people think that all hymns do and should sound alike. They should all be a bit slow and sung sweetly. But if that...

Colossians 2:11-15 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, (12) having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. (13) And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, (14) by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (15) He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Through baptism into Christ, I have been made alive with Christ. Not in a figurative way, not in a symbolic way, but really and truly alive with Christ as Paul writes here in Colossians. My purpose for this blog is to deal with the joys, struggles, and things that I've learne...