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b'(Is.55:1-11;\\xa0\\xa0 Is.12:1-6;\\xa0\\xa0 1Jn.5:1-9;\\xa0\\xa0 Mk.1:7-11)\\xa0 \\u201cA voice came from the heavens, \\u2018You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.\\u2019\\u201d\\xa0 Brothers and sisters, God \\u201chas testified on behalf of His Son.\\u201d\\xa0 With His own voice and by \\u201cthe Spirit, the water, and the blood,\\u201d He has borne witness that Jesus is the Christ.\\xa0 And should we not believe and so conquer the world? To the waters Jesus comes, and by His baptism makes them holy, that we in turn might be made holy by our baptism in them.\\xa0 Upon Him the Spirit descends like a dove, that new life might be breathed into our souls.\\xa0 And for our sake He will be crucified, that in His blood we may be redeemed.\\xa0 All speaks of our salvation!\\xa0 The water, the Spirit, and the blood \\u2013 and all He is and does \\u2013 give credence to the declaration from the mouth of the Father that this is His Son, and that we shall find life in Him alone.\\xa0 The Baptist has been sent to prepare the way before Him, proclaiming, \\u201cOne mightier than I is coming after me.\\u201d\\xa0 Let us \\u201clisten, that [we] may have life.\\u201d Do your souls not desire the food from heaven?\\xa0 Are you not \\u201cthirsty,\\u201d are you not hungry for the bread of Truth?\\xa0 Listen to the Lord, \\u201cHeed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare.\\u201d\\xa0 For though high are His \\u201cways above your ways\\u201d and His \\u201cthoughts above your thoughts,\\u201d though this food is well beyond your grasp, yet as \\u201cfrom the heavens rain and snow come down\\u201d and nourish the earth, so does the Spirit descend upon us, so do the waters of baptism nourish our faith \\u2013 so does the blood of His sacrifice become our spiritual drink and His body our spiritual food.\\xa0 And so we become \\u201cconfident and unafraid.\\u201d\\xa0 And so by our faith we do conquer the world. Brothers and sisters, \\u201cthe one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God\\u201d \\u201cis begotten of God,\\u201d for he becomes a son even as He is.\\xa0 And what power has the earth over Him who created it?\\xa0 And so what can stand before such faith?\\xa0 And nourished by this faith what can we do but love, as our God who is but love?\\xa0 To believe in Him is to love Him and to love Him means to love others; for faith in God who has always been brings love of those who are with us now, and so hope for heaven which is to come.\\xa0 This is the will of God for our souls this day.\\xa0 This is the life into which He would baptize our race.\\xa0 So, let us \\u201csing praise to God for His glorious achievement\\u201d as we cleanse ourselves in the water His Son makes pure. Written, read and chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney. Music is "Not as This World Gives" by Carie Fortney; used by permission.\\xa0 ******* O LORD, your beloved Son is in our midst; let us believe in Him that we might find our way to you.\\xa0 YHWH, your Word has come down from the heavens and watered the earth; your Son has come to save us.\\xa0 And so we may now draw water from this fountain of salvation \\u2013 we may be baptized in Him and in His blood.\\xa0 Speak to us this day by the power of the Spirit of the blessing that is ours by faith in your Christ. O LORD, we may conquer the world and ourselves if we but believe in Jesus.\\xa0 Though you are far above our thoughts and our ways, you are brought near to us by the presence of your beloved Son in our midst this day.\\xa0 Let us listen to Him and His apostles and prophets, that we may no longer live our lives in vain but be confident and unafraid in the joy of our Savior. O LORD, let us be begotten by you even as your Son.\\xa0 Let your Spirit descend upon us, too, as we rise from the waters of Baptism He has made pure.\\xa0 Make us fertile and fruitful in Jesus, that we might ever partake of His Body and Blood.'