From the very moment that Adam and Eve ate they immediately lost their Grace and peace. They now were living outside of the fellowship of God. Never before had they hidden from God but now they had made the mistake that would cost all humanity that very same separation from God. Because of that disobedience God cast them out of the Garden and they were to live the rest of there their lives outside of the peace and grace that God had provided. But God did something to help them. In Gen.3: 21, the Bible says, " The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them." God caused the death of an animal so that He could make a covering for them. This covering was to protect them from the harsh environment that they were about to be cast out into. It was also a representation of another way that God was going to provide a way for them to come back into the fellowship with Him. That covering was for them as it is for us today Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Adam and Eve lived out there lives, had children and as God said would happened they died. God had a plan from the very beginning. That plan was always that His Son Jesus Christ would be the bridge back to God for anyone that would choose to accept Him as their Lord and Savior. There is no lasting peace in this world today. Because of that Sin in the Garden of Eden we too have been born with that curse of sin and death upon us. But God has made us a covering too. That covering is Jesus Christ. He died upon the cross at Calvary for you and for me so that our Grace and peace would be restored. We have our life to live here on this earth for a short time and God is offering us the free gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. This is the only way that we can have that perfect peace. The work has been done for us, all we need do is simply repent from our sins and accept the gift of eternal life and all will be restored.

Romans 10:9-13, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

1. All humans start in a state of spiritual death, whether we have many transgressions or only a few.

The way we pray is also very important. The Lord tells us in. Matthew 6:7, "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words." We are not to pray a mindless prayer to God, nor a prayer that is recited over and over again. I relationship to God as a said before is one as a child to His Father. How did you speak to your father when you needed something? Did you recite a certain made up prayer or did you just go to dad and ask him with your own words? If you were to ask your dad for something do you think you would receive what you wanted by asking your dad for it in a mindless repetitious way of speech? Of course not!

So, number one, pray to God just the way you speak normally. Put feeling in it just the way you would as if you were taking to your dad. If you are sad then let him know it. If your happy be sure to tell Him that too. Your God loves you, talk to Him through prayer and let you know you love Him too.

Is there a set method or order that we should pray to God? The best example of the proper way to pray was given by Jesus in Matt. 6: 9-13, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

What does , "After this manner therefore pray ye:" mean? Let me explain.

Our Father who Art in heaven, what Jesus is saying here is that we should recognize who this is that we are praying to. This is the God of the universe, who rules from Heaven. This is the one and only God the Father

Hallowed be thy name. He is to be worshipped, he is an awsome God, He is a Holy God there is none other. We are to be in awe of Him in prayer.

Thy Kingdow Come, We should always pray that the Kingdow of God would come. It shows where are heart is, that is not set in this world. Our desires should always be to have God be litterally with us and He will be some day.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. When we pray we should always remember that first and for most is that Gods will is done not ours, we must always pray in the will of God never ever asking Him for something that He can not give you [for example something that would be a sin] or will not give because it would not be best for you. When we pray "Thy will be done" we are saying that what ever Gods answer is it is what we will accept. "As it is in heaven" He would never give you something that He does not allow in heaven to be done.

Give us this day our daily bread When we ask God for our daily bread we are saying to God that our trust is in Him for your very being. Without our daily bread we of course would starve.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. The debts Jesus is talking about here is the sins that we have done that are paid for by Jesus whcih we could have never paid.. We are to recognize that we did nothing to deserve that forgiveness. It is in that same way we are to for give others who can not pay us back.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: Jesus is not saying here that God would lead us into temptation but is saying do not allow us to be tempted, God does not tempt men but He may allow trials to come upon them through Satan's attack, Read book of Job. rather deliver us from evil. When we pray this we are telling God we want to live a sinless life, to be obedient to Him. We are asking God to intervene in our lives quickly before there is a need for a trial.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." Our prayer should always contain the fact that we recognize who is in charge, it is almighty God. He rules now and for ever. We should always let God know that it is only through His power and glory that any thing exists to begin with, and that our very life is totally dependent upon Him.

Jesus Christ said, "After this manner therefore pray ye." Notice He did not say, Pray exactly like this. Jesus gave this prayer as a guide line an outline for us to pray to God. Even though its ok to recite this prayer in church as some do, it was never meant to be the only way to pray to God.

Is there a special place that we should be praying? VS 6-7, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." The point Jesus made here was to pray your private prayers away from the public. Our prayers are our prayers. We should not be using our prayers as a way to show others how religious we are. If we are asked to pray in public we should not be using our prayer as a way to get a message across to someone who wronged us or to the group as a way to correct them. If we lead in prayer we are speaking for the group and the Lords Prayer outline should still be the way we pray.

We are soldiers in the Army of God. Most armies take ground by crawling and charging towards the enemies. But the army of God advances on there knees so to speak. But this is not the only postion that can be used in prayer. The posture of praying on knees is a way of showing reverence to God when we pray and thats good. King David prayed while he was lying in bed. I have bad knees and it is very hard for me to get down to my knees and getting back up so I pray sitting. I have prayed when I went for a walk or a bike ride. I have prayed in the dentist chair while dentist was pulling a tooth. I have been asked to pray for those in sick beds and at funerals I did this while standing. The point is that we should always come to God with a humbleness and reverence. The Bible also says we may come before God in boldness knowing that God will always answer your prayers in His way and in His time.

The biggest problem the Christian has with praying is not praying for the right things. James 4:3, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." We do not get what we need because we ask for some things that we should not ask for. We pray for material things rather then for things that would help us in our walk with the Lord. If we pray for the right things we will get all the other stuff anyway. Solomon prayed for wisdom so that he could better lead Gods people and Solomon got that wisdom and guess what, Solomon Got every thing else too, because he prayed for wisdom. Our motive in prayer should always be asking for something that will advance the kingdom of God. As example, we need good health, enough money, wisdom, protection from Satans attacks and so forth to advance the kingdom of God. We do not need a two week ocean cruise to some exotic Island or a brand new car with all added features to advance the kingdom. This is asking amiss. God is there for us to help us through this life. Call upon God for yourself and for others. God should not be the last person we communicate to. He should be the first. Pray, pray, pray and pray some more. Not all prayers need to be long, I pray short prayers throughout the day. The Bible says pray without ceasing that is to be always ready to pray and be quick to pray. Always remember that you have the ear of the God of the universe. There is nothing at all He can not do, but we must go to Him in prayer and ask.

7. It is ok to pray to God with repetitious prayers.

The first time the word baptize was used in the context of religion occurred as a result of its incorporation into the Jewish culture. The Jewish faith was somewhat complicated with ceremonies, rituals, festivals, and laws. The term baptize was used to describe the ritual known as ceremonial washing. Now, we would not say, "Go baptize your hands before you eat." We would say, "Go wash your hands before you eat." Yet the term baptize was used to describe this function of washing.

There is a second way in which the term baptize was used in the Jewish faith. The Jews developed a way in which Gentiles could become Jewish. It involved a number of things, including circumcision, a covenant meal, the agreement to obey Jewish law, and a ritual bath. The term used to describe the bath was baptiso, meaning "immerse." Persons desiring to become Jewish would baptize themselves. The "bath" was an outward sign that they were dying to the old life as a Gentile and were being resurrected to the new life as a Jew. As a pledge of allegiance to the new identity, those who desired to adopt the Jewish faith as their own participated by baptizing themselves as a sign of their commitment.

Is baptism by immersion the only proper way to be baptized? Yes,I believe it is because it was the method in which our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized. We as Christian follow the Lords examples and the way He was baptized was by submersion. If we want to maintain the Biblical method of Baptism then immersion is the way baptism should be done. It is the way the New Testament Church performed the ceriemony.

"I was baptized by immersion when I was a child, but I didn't really become a Christian until I was thirty-four. Does my baptism count?"

Our baptism as Christians is supposed to show outward proof of an inward change of heart. The Bible tells us in Acts 2:38, "Peter replied, "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." We first are to repent and then we are to become baptized. This is an important order because baptism as said earlier is to show physical proof of an inward change of heart. If a child is of such an age that he or she recognizes fully the state of their lost-ness because of sin [Eph.1-3] then they should be encouraged to be baptized. But if they are not mature enough to understand their state of lost-ness because of sin then they should not be baptized. In any case the order should be repent and be baptized. This the order of the New Testament Church taught and this is what I believe we should also do.

"I believe Jesus died for my sins, and I have accepted Him as Savior. But I have not been baptized. Does that mean that I'm not a Christian?"

If one has repented of their sins and accepted the Lord as their savior they are saved. Baptism does not save, only Jesus Christ can do that. If a person has repented of their sins, and has put their self under the authority of Jesus Christ, that person is saved and hence a Christian. Baptism does not save, but we are commanded to be baptized after we have repented of our sins. Go, get baptized as soon after conversion as possible.

"I was christened as a baby. Doesn't that mean I've been baptized?"
The proper order and method first is, repent of your sins, [one cannot do this unless if they are of the age of understanding their spiritual lost-ness] and then be baptized by immersion. The real problem with baby baptism is not as much the method of baptism but the idea that some perpetuate that baby baptism removed original sin. If all a person ever did was be christened or baptized as a baby and never repented of their sins and accepted Christ as their Savior then they are not saved and in danger of an eternity in Hell. Satan has permeated every aspect of this earths thinking and that includes the Church. He hides the truth any way he can.

The big deal is this, Jesus Christ set the example by doing it, the New Testament Church followed that example and believed it was a command from our Lord. It was so important to our Lord that even though He did not need to be baptized He allowed it so others would see His example and do the same. [Matt.3:13-15]. Baptism is our opportunity as Christians to demonstrate our willingness to be obedient to the Lord and it also allows us to show physically that we have made an inward change of heart. It is a ceremony that demonstrates our belief in the fact that just as Jesus Christ died and rose again from the grave. Our immersion under water symbolizes our old man being buried in the grave and the raising from the water symbolizes our resurrection from the grave as a New man in Christ.

The ceremony of baptism is a wonderful time. We can invite others to come and see how sincere we are as new followers of Jesus Christ. It is our witness to other in our family and friends. Some may even come to know Jesus Christ through seeing us be baptized. So, we see the deep meaning of baptism. If you have repented of your sins and accepted Jesus as your personal Savior them please go to your Minster at Church and tell him you are ready for baptism. It will be an experience you will never forget!

3. The term baptize was used to describe the ritual known as ceremonial washing.

4. Baptism shows outward proof of an inward change of heart

There is much convincing evidence in the Bible that Jesus did in fact die on the cross and that He was buried within a tomb and was resurrected. There were the first two eye witness's Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre, [Matthew 28:1-2] and who saw the huge stone had been rolled away from the tomb entrance, and were the first ones to see the empty tomb. Then there were the Guards who were at the tomb who were very much frightened. [Vs.4] Then while Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were leaving to tell the disciples, Jesus appeared to them alive.[Vs.9] Its no wonder that there were skeptics because even some of the disciples doubted even when He appeared to them. [Vs.17]. There were at least 500 others who Jesus appeared to, 1 Corinthians 15: 3-6, " For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep." What case could not be won in court that had all these eye witness's?

There is much and varied evidence that can be brought to bear on demonstrating the disciples' truthfulness. Because none of us were their we must examine the character of the disciples. The best way to tell whether they actually saw Jesus alive would be revealed sometime during their lives.