When Jesus was baptized, he didn't do it by himself. He didn't initiate his own rite. The Bible says that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. In other words, the baptism of Jesus occurred as part of a tradition of those who had gone before Him. One of the Core Values here at St. John's Lutheran Church is that we are a LITURGICAL CHURCH. That means that our worship comes through a formalized liturgy that has been a part of this church since the very beginning of the whole Christian church in the earliest centuries. In our Lutheran tradition, we take seriously those who have gone before us, as we share in liturgical worship. That means we are not inventing worship, as if this is a "new thing." We are not creating an experience that will just appeal to the mass culture and to those who are not part of the church. We are not "dumbing down" worship so that it appeals to everyone but does not speak to anyone. We look at what Jesus did at his own baptism and discover the truth that Jesus deliberately chose to follow those who had gone before him, to enter into John's baptism and to participate in the liturgy of others. The Gospels record that many people were also going out to be baptized by John  and Jesus chose to be among them. 

Join us for worship this weekend as we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus and in doing so, let us affirm our own baptismal relationship with a God who loves us more than we can possibly know or imagine.