So There’s this Pile of Rusty Railroad Spikes in My Backyard...

There's a pile of rusty railroad spikes in my backyard from one of my favorite Good Fridays. Back not so long ago, when we did Friday evening gatherings in the ol' storefront, I preached a sermon about Jesus' death. That morning, I walked down Gilbert street to Oneonta’s old rail yard and collected a pile of metal spikes, enough for everyone. 

When it came time to preach, I passed out the spikes for people to hold. I then described the agonizing details of just how the Romans crucified their prisoners. Similar to how people handle and consume bread and wine as a physical illustration that memorializes Jesus’ sacrifice, I asked those in attendance to hold the spikes and allow for the texture of the metal to weigh on their hearts and minds. And then to remember that our Lord willingly had his hands and feet violently pierced by a similar object. It was a very sobering thought.

But that’s not all. While at the rail yards on that crisp spring morning, I also found a large, discarded chunk of a railroad tie. I deduced that this railroad tie has a similar look to the paintings of the crucifixion that I’ve seen. So I brought it home with me too.

Before that same Good Friday service, I chopped the railroad tie into several small pieces, enough for everyone. During the sermon, I passed out chunks of the old railroad tie along with the spikes. Then, in similar fashion to how I explained the spike, I asked each person to hold a piece of the tie and described the crucifixion.

The wood was coarse and it splintered easily, so I asked everyone to focus on the physical sensation of wood-on-skin. I then explained how Jesus’ entire body hung for hours on a similarly-textured wooden cross, and how Jesus felt the roughness of this wood on every part of his backside, due to his nakedness. Additionally, I mentioned how Jesus’ skin was extra sensitive against the splintery wood, due to the open wounds on his backside from a torturous whipping he received just hours prior. Truly a terrible thought. Yet, that is the terrible price he paid for my sins.

Today, there’s still those same railroad spikes in my backyard, and when I see them, I think of Jesus.

The Expression of Newness

A new church finds itself celebrating new milestones every week. With every step forward we take, whether it be our first Easter service or completing the framing work on the building, there is a wonderful sense of newness that weaves itself into everything we do. There is one new milestone we reached in August that communicates everything we are about, on a level that is more important than first meetings and completed building projects. I am talking about the celebration of new life within our family, as seen in our biggest milestone yet, our first water baptism!


What makes water baptism so special is that it symbolizes a work that has taken place within the life of a believer. That work being: The Holy Spirit grants newness of life, after one's guilt and sins are put to death through the death of Jesus on the cross. Water baptism communicates this work more effectively and poetically then any blog post, sermon, or theology book can. Every part of water baptism is symbolic: as one goes under the water they identify themselves with the death of Christ and His atoning work, and as one rises up from the water, they do so identifying themselves with the resurrection of Christ Jesus as He arose from the tomb. Water baptism then becomes a celebration of new life, purification, new hope, and joy that accompanies the work God has done within them upon belief.
This is what the term "born again" means, and with smiles and cheers from family and friends it is clear that one is born into a new family--a new community, as they are embraced by their brothers and sisters in Christ.
As a new church, we have several important steps and new projects yet to undertake, and water baptism serves as a clear and powerful reminder, in the midst of the hard work of church planting, why we do what we do: to celebrate God's redeeming work in the lives of His people, and to take that new life to the broken world in the form of a movement--The Redemption Movement.