Bruce Staley

Have you taken the plunge with simply the bungee rope saving you from certain death as you dropped from the launch platform? Bungee jumping is a popular adventure activity and while I haven't taken the plunge I can imagine the experience is exhilarating. The whole experience of being baptised is also exhilarating and while initially there may be anxiety, even fear if you are afraid of water, baptism is an important step in the faith journey. In the sacrament of baptism we identify ourselves with the death and resurrection of our Saviour and God performs a miracle. The Apostle Paul in Romans 6;3-5 describes it this way, " ...don't you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in death like his, we will certainly also be u

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:18 states, " For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God ." By his death Jesus paid the price for our sin. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8). However, the Christian message doesn't end at the cross. There is the resurrection miracle! God not only demonstrated His mighty power in raising Christ from the dead He placed His stamp of approval on the saving work of Christ on the cross. The resurrection confirms the hope we have in Christ. Returning to the disciples on the first Easter morning Mary Magdalene announced, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" (John 20:2) "So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

The message of the cross is foundational to our Christian experience. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:18 states, " For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God ." Rather than the opposite of foolishness, which is wisdom, Paul chooses the term, power of God . The Gospel or Good News is more than good advice, telling us what we need to do, nor is it simply information about God's power, it is God's life-giving power! In Romans 1:16 Paul declares, “ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes .” The gospel is more than head-knowledge; it is the amazing power of God that radically transforms people's lives. A wonderful illustration of the miraculous transforming work of the gospel is the Lake Eyre Basin, which is one of the largest drainage systems on a global scale. The Basin covering an arid and semi-arid part