January 12, 2025
Indianola Presbyterian Church, Columbus
“Turning over and over again”
by Rev. Trip Porch
January 12, 2025 Based on Luke 3:3;15-17, 21-22
You’d think that after living in Ohio for almost 12 years, I’d have figured out how to drive in the snow, but somehow, I haven’t really gotten it yet. In the snow this week I came down to check on the church, and I came up to the stop sign right by the church on Waldeck where there is a slight incline. I stopped, but when I tried to go forward, my tires spun without getting any traction. The street wasn’t plowed, and the snow had piled up into a thick, slushy mess. I slowly pushed down the gas and nothing. I slowly floored it, and still nothing, in fact I started to slide to the side.
I remembered the advice I heard about snow driving at some point "steer into the skid." How when you are spinning out of control you should turn your wheel in that direction and hold it there till you get out of it.
So I turned the wheel toward the direction It was going, but still, no forward motion. Just slush and spinning tires. By this point there was another car behind me waiting for me and I just was imagining getting stuck and getting out to push.
So, frustrated and embarrassed, I turned the wheel the other way. And kept flooring it. Still stuck now movement. It wasn’t until I slowed down, let up on the gas, and started to turn the wheel back and forth, all the way one way, and then the other way. that I finally got back on track.
Driving in the snow, I realized, isn’t about one big course correction. It’s about constantly adjusting to your circumstances, making micro adjustments based on new information and slowly steering back toward your path over and over again.
Which strikes me as a good metaphor for the life of faith and what it means to live a baptism-shaped life.
Luke tells us that John the Baptist came "proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins". People flocked to him, eager for a fresh start, wondering if he might even be the Messiah. But John set the record straight: “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”
Then we hear about Jesus’ own baptism. As he prays, the heavens open, the Spirit descends, and a voice declares, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22).
It’s a powerful moment—the beginning of his public ministry and a profound turning point for his life. For Jesus there was before this moment of his baptism, a time we don’t know too much bout, and there was after, all his spirit filled ministry.
Baptism is still like this for us. It is supposed to be a “one and done” sacrament in our tradition. We don’t get re-baptized, because God’s promise to us in baptism is unshakable and we believe it’s a sacrament that’s not about us, but about God and God’s grace and forgiveness. We believe our baptism marks us as beloved children of God and sets our lives in a new direction—toward grace, toward love, toward the way of Jesus.
But there’s a problem. It makes it sound like baptism is the moment in life that is our one chance to get it right. Like this is the moment that is supposed to give us our bearing for the rest of our life. Like our life is like a ship where you make one big turn toward a fixed point on the horizon and then it’s easier coasting the rest of the way, all you have to do is hold the turn.
But what I’ve experienced of life is a lot more like driving in slushy snow. You set out in the right direction, but you hit patches where you slip and slide. You lose traction. You find yourself skidding off course. Or you turn toward a way that feels like the right way, but it winds up getting you more stuck. Just like driving in snow, you have to keep turning the wheel, adjusting again and again to stay on the path, day by day.
That’s where John’s call to repentance comes in. The Greek word for repentance, metanoia, literally means “to turn around.” It’s not a one-time event; it’s an ongoing practice. Each day, we’re invited to turn the wheel. Each day we are given a chance to realign our hearts and lives with the way of Jesus. Not in big sweeping once and for all moments, but in small ways. Little changes and tweaks that brings us closer to God.
A friend recently shared a story about someone they knew who made a New Year’s resolution. We were talking about New Year’s resolutions and about “Quitters day” an annual day remembered on the second Friday in January when most people quit their new year’s resolution, because they were just too big of a resolution. But the story my friend shared was a success story for New year’s resolutions. The resolution His friend made wasn’t the typical “get in shape” or “lose weight” goal. His resolution was simple: go to the gym every day.
He meant it literally. Go to the gym. That’s it. Not to lift a certain amount of weight or run a marathon—just physically get himself to the gym. By committing to that first step, over and over, he created a small, incremental change to his daily schedule, a small achievable turn in his life. The first day he didn’t have much extra time, family was in town, and he could barely get out of the house. But while on an errand, he decided to go to the gym parking lot. Check. He did it. Each day went like this until eventually he thought, well, I’m at the gym, I may as well go in, and then, well I’m in the gym, I may as well pedal on a bike. Slowly each day he made a new turn in the direction he hoped to go. Now he’s at the gym daily with an instructor, lifting weights, and swimming. He knew if he started out with a vision of being daily fitness master he would have been another person quitting, so instead he committed to something small, something he could do that would get him in the right direction.
The good news of faith is that God’s grace meets us every time we turn. Our baptism reminds us that we belong to God no matter what. But living a baptism-shaped life means we don’t just rest in that promise; we let it shape our daily choices. We ask ourselves: How can I embody God’s love today? how can I steer my life in the direction God wants? How can I live more justly, more kindly, more humbly?
Friends, our journey of faith isn’t about perfection; it’s about persistence. Baptism sets us on the path, but the life of faith is about turning and re-turning, again and again, to the One who calls us beloved. So, whether you’re driving through slushy snow or navigating the messiness of life, remember: You can always turn back to God’s grace. Each day is a new chance to live a baptism-shaped life. Amen.
WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE
PRELUDE “Shall We Gather at the River” Robert Lowry, arr. Ken Litton
INTROIT “With Joy, With Praise, With Love, With Peace” Emma Lou Diemer
WELCOME Rev. Trip Porch
One: This is the day that the Lord has made
All: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
*CALL TO WORSHIP
One: Holy Triune God, author of community,
All: Wash over us. Remind us what it means to belong to one another.
One: God who tears the heavens, wash over us.
All: Reveal to us your power that ushers in new realms.
One: God who calls us beloved, wash over us.
All: Declare to us your great delight and hold us in your pleasure.
One: God of vulnerability, wash over us.
All: Welcome us into the paradox of strength that comes from weakness.
One: Together, let us remember this day.
All: In the Creator’s love we are held, into Christ’s body we are baptized,
and by the Spirit’s power, we are claimed. All glory to God. Amen.
*HMN 480 “Take Me to the Water” TAKE ME TO THE WATER
*PRAYER OF CONFESSION Jessica VonZastrow
In the waters of baptism, O God, you cleanse us, claim us, and invite us to turn and walk your way. Forgive us for refusing your grace and rejecting your name. We have followed our own paths, and they have led us far from you. Help us to live into our baptisms, to trust that all we need is in you, for you have marked us as your own, loving us without limit. Wash us with your love again, that with clean hearts, we may go in the way of Jesus. In the silence, hear our confessions…
*ASSURANCE OF PARDON
*RESPONSE OF PRAISE 583 “Gloria, Gloria” GLORIA (Taize)
*PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,
All: And also with you.
WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD
ANTHEM “Come to the Water” John Foley, SJ
CHILDREN’S RECESSIONAL 175 “Seek Ye First” vs. 1
Children: May God be with you here
Congregation: May God be with you there
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE Luke 3:3;15-17, 21-22 The Voice
John was in the wilderness, bringing this divine message to all those who came to the Jordan River. He preached that people should be ritually cleansed through baptism as an expression of changed lives as a response to the forgiveness of sins.
John’s bold message seized public attention, and many began wondering if John might himself be the Anointed One promised by God. But he would respond: “ I baptize you with water, but One is coming—One far more powerful than I, One whose sandals I am not worth to untie—who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is coming like a farmer at harvest time, tools in hand to separate the wheat from the chaff. He will burn away the chaff as waste with unquenchable fire, and He will gather the genuine wheat into His barn.
He preached with many other provocative figures of speech and so conveyed God’s message to the people—the time had come to rethink everything. But John’s public preaching ended when he confronted Herod, the ruler of Galilee, for his many corrupt deeds. Herod responded by throwing John into prison.
But before John’s imprisonment, when he was still preaching and ritually cleansing through
baptism the people in the Jordan River, Jesus also came to him to be baptized. As Jesus prayed, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit came upon Him in a physical manifestation that
resembled a dove. A voice echoed out from heaven: “You are My Son, the Son I love, and in You I take great pleasure.”
Holy Wisdom, Holy Word
Thanks be to God
SERMON Rev. Trip Porch
WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD
*HYMN 163 “Wild and Lone the Prophet’s Voice” ABERYSTWYTH
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
TIME OF OFFERING online giving is available at www. indianolapres.org/give
On Sundays where uncredited African American Spirituals are sung, any loose offering will go to support the Columbus Cultural Orchestra, whose mission is to advance a collective of multi-generational musicians of color by performing high-quality jazz, classical, and hip-hop music.
OFFERTORY “When I am Baptized” Nita Dale Milner
arr. Summer Decker Nelson
OFFERTORY RESPONSE 710 “We Lift Our Voices” OFFERING
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
We praise and thank you, Lord God, for the majesty of your work, the wisdom of your word, and the generosity of your grace. Let the gifts of our lives bear witness to your goodness and mercy, your faithfulness and justice and your steadfast love for all. Amen.
*HYMN 408 “There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit” SWEET, SWEET SPIRIT
TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING
CHARGE & BENEDICTION
CHORAL RESPONSE “We Take the Love of God” Emma Lou Diemer
POSTLUDE “I’ve Got Peace Like a River” arr. Philip Keveren
Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452