This Sunday our Pastor will continue to examine the Book of Acts with the congregation as we progress into the second half of chapter 8.  Here we read a remarkable story of the Ethiopian Eunuch reading the scroll of Isaiah when Phillip encounters him on the road.  The pivotal incident in the narrative is the request to be baptized.  "Why shouldn't I be baptized?" asks the official after having the scripture explained.

Often in our comfortable lives we underestimate the cost of baptism in certain cultural settings.  Read in the following illustration and realize that in many places still today the choice to be baptized carries a sacrificial cost.

Teen Brought Luggage to Her Baptism:

When Texas pastor Jim Denison was in college, he served as a summer missionary in East Malaysia. While there he attended a small church. At one of the church's worship services, a teenage girl came forward to announce her decision to follow Christ and be baptized.

During the service, Denison noticed some worn-out luggage leaning against the wall of the church building. He asked the pastor about it. The pastor pointed to the girl who had just been baptized and told Denison, "Her father said that if she was baptized as a Christian she could never go home again. So she brought her luggage."