Pastor Tom Grieb begins a mini-series entitled "Sacrament" with a message about baptism: "Claimed by God."

Baptism has been called “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” God does marvelous things through the sacrament of Baptism. His grace is evident in all sorts of way. He claims us as his own. Our very identities are formed. Through baptism, we essentially say to all the world that we are Christian.

From the very beginnings of the Christianity, baptism has been considered as a sign of the fact that a person is Christian. Much like circumcision marked the Jews as Jewish, baptism marked Christians as followers of Christ.

Peter preached at Pentecost, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) God’s power is evident in the Sacrament of Baptism. In keeping with the theme of Holy Week and the triumphant day of Easter, in baptism we “die with Christ, only to be raised with him.”