Larry Rohlfing
My Baptism and the Commission
I resisted the wooing of the Holy Spirit most of my life. At the age of 36, with my life in shambles despite the worldly trapping of success, I confessed Jesus as my Lord and Savior, King of my life, and in obedience entered the waters of baptism. After my baptism, my grandmother called me ecstatic and overcome with emotion at my decision and commitment to Jesus. As a new believer in Jesus, I was mystified by the emotion charging through my grandmother's words.
My own baptism became secondary to my understanding of God's personal charge to me. Jesus charges me not with responsibility for my own salvation, but to disciple and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:18; Mark 16:15. My personal Judea is my family.
Sherman preached a sermon around the year 2000. Using Richard Atanay as the resident fisherman at La Habra Christian Church, Sherman handed out fishing lures consisting of miniature minnows sans hooks. Sherman charged us with using the "fish" as an object to use in praying for a specific person for baptism and salvation in Jesus. As I drove my son Eric to his mother's home that evening, I asked him for whom he intended to pray. Eric responded after a pause that he intended to pray for his own baptism and salvation. Eric asked me to baptize him. I had the honor and privilege of participating in Eric's baptism two weeks later. As I introduced Eric and his decision to the congregation, I was overcome with the emotions that my grandmother had shared with me. It was the joy of a life saved by Jesus; a life brought home to the Father's knee.
Within the next 3 years, I would baptize my daughter Jessica, my daughter Maureen, and my youngest son Russell. By the time of Russell's baptism, I considered myself an old pro, fully in charge of my emotions, and capable of baptizing my son in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit without decompensating into emotional jello. Praise to God the He has other designs and plans for my maturation in Him that I found myself not quite in control. The same emotions, tears, and joy that my grandmother had for me, that I had for Eric, Jessica, and Maureen, all of those emotions came flooding back to me as I introduced Russell and his decision to the congregation.
The sacraments of baptism and communion are central to my faith. The opportunity to participate in the decision to give their lives to Jesus Christ have forced me to examine more closely my own relationship with God. My faith assures me that God is and was as pleased with me and my decision to give my life to Him as I was on those four days when I cried in joy for the decisions of those children that God has entrusted me to raise to turn their lives over to Him.
Praise God and His grace that He would give me a glimpse at His love for us.
"Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
Matthew 28:18-20
At La Habra Christian Church, we baptize those who have made a decision to believe in Christ's death as a payment for their sin. Are you ready to make a commitment to Christ and begin a new life in our Risen Lord? If so, please contact Pastor Sherman. Why wait?
Questions about Baptism
Videos showing Baptisms at LHCC
Testimonies