God's Story Changes Ours

God's Story Changes Ours

Bryan Jones | Brookwood Church

Story Sunday is about how our stories have been impacted by the greatest story: the story of Jesus Christ.

Today, 71 people are going public with their faith through baptism, one of the largest baptisms in Brookwood history.

Only by the blood

The way we defeat sin, death, Satan, and hell is first and foremost by the blood of Jesus. Nothing makes us right with God because of our goodness. It is simply His grace.

You might have something in your story that makes you wonder, Can God really love me? The reason we stand here is not because of anything other than the blood of Jesus.

God loves you, and God is for you because of His blood.

We have a part to play

Only Jesus can make us right with God. But we also have a responsibility to testify to His goodness and grace, to go public with our faith.

Someone may hear your story and realize that if God can do that in your life, He can do something in theirs.

As we hear stories of transformation, our prayer is that God would receive all the glory and that Jesus would be at the center.

Max: From knowing about Jesus to knowing Him

I was baptized when I was very young and grew up in a Christian household. I never had a single, dramatic awakening. I felt like I always knew about Jesus, but it wasn't until I was much older that I truly began having a relationship with Him.

God had always been there waiting for me. When I opened my heart to Him, my life began to be transformed.

Max: Finding community

I first came to Brookwood in 2010 with my wife, Kelsey. My father-in-law invited me to the men's gatherings, where I began getting to know men of faith.

At first, I was intimidated. I thought they knew everything, and I sometimes felt unworthy to be included. Instead, I was greeted with warmth and love. Many of those men are now my friends.

I became part of small groups. In 2023, I joined a group centered around Fathered by God, which eventually became the Lions Club. On October 8, 2023, I recommitted my life to Jesus and was baptized at Brookwood.

Max: Faith in our family

Today, I feel Jesus has called me to show His love and grace to everyone I come in contact with. He has also called my wife and me to lead our children to know and love Jesus.

Today we celebrate something incredibly special: our older daughter, Georgia, taking that same step of faith and getting baptized.

The Scripture the Lord has given me is Psalm 46:10.

Vanessa: Grief and searching

For much of my life, I felt lost. I searched for love, acceptance, and understanding in the world and in other people, but nothing gave me the peace or foundation I needed.

When I was 13, I lost my mom. There were seven children in our family, and we were all so young. I couldn't understand how a loving God could allow so much pain. I questioned whether God was real and began to believe that maybe I deserved the pain.

I was raised Catholic, but my faith had never truly become my own. Looking back, I realize that even when I questioned God, He never left me.

Vanessa: Jesus became personal

A little over a year ago, a friend invited my son to Adventure Week at Brookwood. My husband, my son, and I began attending regularly, meeting people and joining groups.

Then I joined a prayer walk group. I met women who spoke openly about Jesus, His love, His forgiveness, and His guidance. Through them, I began to understand that I could truly know Jesus and have a relationship with Him.

On Mother's Day, I wept as I thought about my mother and the grandmother who raised me. I could feel and envision Jesus placing His hands on my shoulders. I pictured Him placing gold coins in my palms. To me, that image represented Jesus meeting me in my pain and reminding me that He had already paid the price for my sin.

I was not forgotten. I was not alone. I belonged to Him.

Vanessa: Something solid to stand on

Now I know I am God's daughter and that I am loved by Him. I pray throughout the day, read Scripture daily, and continue learning through my Women of the Word group. My family and I have also begun volunteering together.

God is teaching me patience, care with my words, and forgiveness toward people who aren't kind to me.

Life will still include suffering and difficult seasons, but I no longer have to walk through them alone. I don't need all the answers. I need to trust Him, follow His path, and let Him lead me.

Today, I chose to follow Jesus and publicly declare that He is my Lord and Savior. The Scripture the Lord has given me is Isaiah 43:1.

Celebrating God's goodness

After hearing these stories, the church continued in worship, holding onto the promise of seeing God's goodness in the land of the living.

The songs celebrated His faithfulness, His presence through the fire, and His goodness throughout our lives.

Stacy: My identity is in Jesus

I am a grateful daughter of the Most High King. God has delivered me from a lifetime of drugs, alcohol, and chaos. My identity is in Jesus Christ, not the things I have struggled with.

Both of my parents were addicts. My sister and I grew up in a scary, unstable place, and my grandmother took custody of us. She tried to show me a better way.

I never wanted to be like my parents, but I began a destructive path at 12 and was addicted by about 16. I knew a little about God, but I didn't know He was loving or think He wanted anything to do with me.

Stacy: God met me in my brokenness

At 19, I was pregnant. I thought my love for my son would be enough to change me, but I was overwhelmed by fear and returned to the only way I knew.

Eventually, I was on the verge of divorce and had lost custody of my son. Broken and at the end of myself, I cried out to a God I didn't even know.

I went to Shalom, a Christian treatment center in Belton. I arrived carrying guilt and shame. As God began working on me, I felt peace for the first time. I was overwhelmed that He could love me.

I realized I had been trying to fill a void that only He could fill. God restored my marriage and my relationship with my kids. He changed my heart.

Stacy: Freedom and a purpose

After Shalom, I began attending Celebrate Recovery at Brookwood. That family became my forever family. I learned healthy relationships and boundaries and grew spiritually through working the steps.

I found freedom not only from addiction but also from anger, fear, resentment, and pride. My life isn't perfect, and I am still a work in progress.

Now I can talk with my kids about Jesus and pray with them. They have seen the change in me. God has broken generational curses.

My husband and I serve together at Celebrate Recovery. I know my purpose is to help other addicts find their way. I have been sober for almost 14 years. Jesus Christ is the solid foundation on which I stand.

The passage the Lord has continually brought me back to is Psalm 40:1-3.

Thank You for a transformed life

The church continued to worship with gratitude for Jesus' blood, forgiveness, freedom, and resurrection.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your goodness, Your faithfulness, and Your steadfast love poured out on the cross so that we may live a free and transformed life in Christ. Thank You for that grace.

Why baptism matters

There is a picture in the Old Testament that helps explain baptism. God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, but they reached the Red Sea with the Egyptians coming after them. It looked like there was no hope.

But God made a way. He parted the sea, and they crossed on dry ground.

On one side were death, slavery, and oppression. On the other side were life, freedom, and hope.

Baptism does not save us. The blood of Jesus sets us free. Baptism is a picture of what God has done in us: before Jesus, we were stuck; but God showed up, and now there is hope, life, and freedom.

You may have come just to watch

Some of you may be here to support a loved one getting baptized. You may not know Jesus or understand why we sing about His blood.

The Bible is filled with stories of people who weren't interested in God, yet He got hold of their lives. The Holy Spirit has a way of doing radical things.

Today, you will see people going public with their faith who never thought they would be doing this.

Kelly: From finding community to finding Jesus

My family moved to the Greenville area almost a year ago, looking for a different lifestyle in which to raise our son. Faith wasn't really on our minds.

We discovered Brookwood while touring the YMCA and came hoping to find community. We attended a service in December and have been back almost every Sunday since.

When I first walked through Brookwood's doors, I didn't really have a relationship with the Lord. Today, I can proudly say I do, and I'm all in on King Jesus.

Kelly: A changed life

My life has completely changed. I found Jesus, and I thank God for using Brookwood to help me make that leap.

The people, community, and staff have been kind and welcoming. Brookwood has become home for our family.

My first thought was, Honestly, it's a lot of Jesus. Then I got connected to a small group and took a Navigating the Bible class.

If I had to summarize everything, I'd say He gave me an upgrade, a Kelly 2.0. God is amazing. He has completely changed my life forever.

Thank you for being part of these stories

When you love, pray, serve, welcome people, and give your time and resources, you help make room for people to find and follow Jesus.

As one of the pastors of this church, thank you for your heart.

The ministry plan guides what we pray through and build budgets around so that this time next year, we can see even more people like Kelly come to find and follow Jesus.

This is a celebration

Baptism is a picture of moving from slavery, death, and oppression to life, hope, and freedom. This is worth celebrating.

Our prayer is that anyone who came only to watch would hear God's voice above every other voice and know they are a loved, treasured child of God.

May God receive all the glory as people go public with their faith.

A baptism testimony: I know who I belong to

During a loved one's seizures and coma, I stayed at his bedside, praying, talking to him, and playing music. I told God how much I needed him. Surrender meant I had to let him go.

When I came to Brookwood, the worship spoke to the struggles I was going through. I returned and found myself crying again.

A woman named Allison prayed with me at her business. Later, I discovered she attended Brookwood. When she learned I came alone and sat where I could blend in, she invited me to sit with her and her husband and join her church group.

A baptism testimony: Jesus, I am Yours

I believed in God, but I didn't have that personal relationship with Jesus. That is what I was missing, and that is what I found.

Baptism is huge for me. I am choosing to proclaim: Jesus, I am Yours. I choose You.

He has been calling me through the struggles and seasons of my life. I know who I belong to, and I want everyone to know I am proud to be His.

71 people going public

Across the two services, 71 people passed through the baptismal waters.

The church stood, sang, shouted, and celebrated what God had done. Worship continued with songs of God's provision, freedom, forgiveness, faithful love, trust, and surrender.

Praise the Lord!

God is able

You heard stories and saw faces getting baptized. You may think of someone in your life, or of yourself, and wonder whether God would accept them.

God is able. He can transform any situation and use it for His glory.

The Lord is not done

There is one more: a neighbor, a friend, a coworker. Introduce them to Jesus.

If you are thirsty and wondering how to receive what these people have found, people are ready to pray with you.

A closing prayer

God, thank You for the lives You have changed. When the world tries to steal our joy, give us opportunities through Your Holy Spirit to see You at work.

Draw those who do not know You toward people who can share the gospel and tell them about Your love.

Bless us with strength, joy, love, and hope. Help us go into the world this week with love in our hearts, sharing the best story in the world: that You came for us.

In the name of Christ, amen.