06/25/2024
Counting the Cost of Discipleship (Luke 14:25-34)
On Sunday, we rejoiced with Blake Norman, as he was baptized for the forgiveness of his sins and added to the Lord’s kingdom. The congregation at Southwest has been praying for him and his obedience for a long time; a year in fact. If we would recall, a year ago he and his wife (Marissa Norman) began studying the Scriptures, and she made the decision to put on Christ, but Blake had many questions that needed to be answered. Therefore, he and Tom Genduso kept studying, and here is the the journey they have been on, according to Tom: “We started with ‘Believe the Bible, and after the study, we studied Does It Matter. Then, Blake said that he wanted to know Jesus. So we studied the book of Luke. This then lead to a study of Acts (a study of the nature and growth of the church). We then focused on how can one be justified in the eyes of God, which we covered in a study of Romans. That is when he decided to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we let the Word speak for itself it will touch a person’s heart.” For a while, Blake made it know that it would be a matter of “when” he would be baptized, all because he wanted to know for certain what he was committing to. All of his questions have been answered; he is certain, and after he was baptized, he made it known, “I am ready to serve Christ. What can I do?” To God be the glory.