Overview

This book is for every worn-out saint who's been hustling to earn what can only be given.By Water and the Word isn't a pep talk in religious performance or a manual for proving yourself to God. It's a cannonball into the deep end of divine mercy. Here, baptism isn't a symbol of your sincerity-it's the drowning of your old Adam and the resurrection of someone God's not ashamed to call his child. This is theology with dirt under its nails and grace in its bones. It drips with the kind of gospel that smells like river water and resurrection. You won't find spiritual cliches here-just a relentless God who crashes into your life with a splash and refuses to leave you alone. This is for the kid who can't remember getting wet, and the adult who wonders if it counted. For the prodigal with pig-stink on his clothes and the Pharisee with a Bible under his arm. It's for anyone who needs to hear that God doesn't wait for you to climb up-he comes down, into the water, into your mess, and makes you his. Baptism isn't just your past. It's your anchor. Your identity. Your daily dying and rising. In these pages, you'll hear the voice of the God who does his best work in ordinary water, tied to his extraordinary word.

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9781967920013

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Brian Thomas has done the Church a service with By Water and the Word. In a conversational tone, Thomas takes a honest and sensible approach to various ways baptism has been taught since the sixteenth century, simply by comparing these sundry positions to the plain words of Scripture and the unbroken testimony of the Church. The meaning and purpose of Baptism are certain and we are called to conform to the clear testimony of Scripture and rejoice! Thomas begins by respecting that water already means something in Holy Scripture from the Old Testament and, so, Holy Baptism in the New Covenant already possesses meaning before we come to it with our various interpretations. Our Lord's use of water is imbued with biblical meaning and those words matter. Now, add to that, Thomas says, the performative nature of God's purposeful speaking during the rite of baptizing and the miraculous happens! Sinners graciously receive the forgiveness of sins, union with Christ and the Church, and there renewal of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for us and for our children. So says the Word. By the Water and the Word will strengthen the faith of those who've been baptized and draw to the font those who've yet to be baptized."" - Rev. Dr. John J. Bombaro, Senior Pastor, St. James Lutheran Church, Lafayette, IN., Fellow, 1517.org

Author Information

Brian W. Thomas is the pastor of Grace Lutheran in San Diego, CA. He is the author of ""Wittenberg vs. Geneva"" and ""Draw Me Unto Thee: A Lenten Prayerbook."" As a former naval officer, he loves serving our sailors and marines in the local San Diego region.

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