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Pastor Mark answers common questions about baptism, such as: What is baptism? How do we baptize? Why do we baptize? Who do we baptize? Does baptism save? Baptism is all about Jesus, his life, death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus commanded baptism, so it is an act of obedience. Turn from sin, trust in Jesus, and get baptized to show the world what Jesus did for you and that you trust in him.
Jesus gave us baptism and at Mars Hill Church, one of the things we love is to see people get baptized, right? We love that. We're gonna explain that today, but first, I need to give you a good news report. In the last twelve months, we have had 1,305 baptisms at Mars Hill Church. Amen.
What this means is we got a lot of new people, a lot of new Christians, and they've got a lot of questions. And so, the "Jesus Loves His Church" sermon series is to welcome you, to get plugged in to Mars Hill Church, a Community Group, become a member, move toward being a deacon or an elder, serving according to the gifts that God has given you. Jesus loves his church, and he loves this church, and I love this church, and we love this church, and we rejoice that we get to be part of what Jesus is doing.
And when it comes to things like baptism, with this great number of baptisms, we don't assume that you all understand exactly what baptism is. So, I'm assuming that some of you've got questions about baptism. I hope to answer them today and also equip you to answer the questions other people might have about baptism. This might be your own children or grandchildren.
I had a cute conversation with a child recently. We had a baptism service and kids were up front, singing and dancing where people were getting dunked, and a cute little girl looked at me. She said, "I really like the bathtisms." B-A-T-H-T-I-S-M. I said, "Oh, it's baptism." She said, "Oh, I thought they were taking a bath!" I mean, she just didn't understand. She thought, "It's so nice, they don't have to waste all that water. We can just use it over, and over, and over for the whole church." So, you know, sometimes kids will see what's going on, but we need to explain why we're doing what we're doing.
Sometimes even people who are Christians, been in church for a while, don't really understand why we do what we do. I talked to a pastor's daughter not long ago, I explained that baptism was about the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus. She came up, she said, "My dad was a pastor and I was baptized when I was a child, maybe 6, 7, 8 years of age, and I've seen people baptized my whole life, but I had no idea it had anything to do with the resurrection." She just didn't know.
And especially for those of you who are non-Christians. We love you and we have a lot of non-Christians come to Mars Hill. I had a great conversation a while back. I was preaching at Mars Hill Ballard and we had a baptismal Sunday where we had the tanks set up. This guy had been coming to church, single guy, and some guys in a Community Group were friends of his and invited him to church. "Why don't you come hang out with us?" He was certainly a nice guy, likeable guy. He was interested in Jesus. He had a lot of questions, so he'd been coming to Mars Hill for a little while.
And he walked in that Sunday, he looked at the baptisms, he had no church history or frame of reference. He said to me, "Well, that's cool. I didn't know you guys did hot tub parties," and he was serious. And I said, "It's not a hot tub party." He said, "But that's a hot tub." I was like, "That's a great point." And he then said, "And with these screens and this sound system, you could do a pretty epic hot tub party." I thought, "This guy's a genius." I'd never—at least date night could be pretty phenomenal with that kind of—so I explained to him, I said, "Well, we're gonna do baptisms," and he looked at me like a beagle that heard a whistle. He was just like, "What?" He didn't have any category—he'd never heard of baptism, had no idea.
We've found, in the history of Mars Hill, that the city in which we have ministered historically, Seattle, as well as other cities as the church grows and expands, every time we do baptisms, even outside, they come and take photos and put it on the front page of the paper because it's just this odd thing. And we rejoice in that, we praise God for that.
I want to take this opportunity to teach you about baptism, to answer your questions, and help you to answer the questions of others.
So, first question is: what is baptism? What is it? I'll go to Romans 6:3–6. It says, "All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus." So, first thing I want to say is baptism is all about Jesus. It's all about Jesus, and what we believe at Mars Hill Church is that we say the gospel and we show the gospel, meaning we'll talk about Jesus, we'll say things about Jesus, but then, in something called sacraments, baptism and Communion, we show our faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So, in Communion, and we'll get into this in the next few weeks, it's about Jesus' broken body, shed blood, his death on the cross for our sins, and that's Communion, the sacrament where we have this outward showing of this inward blessing that Jesus gives. And then, in baptism, we show Jesus' resurrection. And so these sacraments are about Jesus, and they're all about his death, burial, resurrection for our sins. And so the gospel is said through preaching and teaching, and it's shown through baptism and Communion.
What he's saying here is all of us who have been baptized into Christ—he's talking about all of us, so baptism shows that you're connected to Jesus and it shows that you're connected to the church. So, when we see people baptized, it's all of us, meaning all of God's people. There are many denominations and traditions of Christians, but for two thousand years, Jesus' people have been getting baptized. All of us getting baptized. Doesn't matter what your race, your income, your gender, your ethnicity, your nationality, or your history, all Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus through being baptized. So, it's for all of us.
So, one of the reasons we like to baptize people in the church, as the church, is it glorifies God. We believe it also is a blessing and a benefit to the person being baptized. I could still remember the day I was baptized at the age of nineteen. It was a momentous day in my life.
It's also an encouragement to the church, and the church gets encouraged to see people are meeting Jesus. And he loves us, and he also loves them. He loves them by name, and when Jesus died for sinners, it includes that person whom he has great affection for. And so, we like to baptize as the church to celebrate as the church. Sometimes we'll do that indoors, sometimes we'll do that outdoors. There's certainly nothing wrong with getting baptized through Community Group or other situations, but we like to celebrate it so we can all be encouraged together.
And we like to do it publicly so that other people can see the work of Jesus in your life, and we've seen God do miraculous things. I'll give you one cool example. Recently, at one of the Mars Hill churches, someone was preparing to get baptized, so they thought, "Well, I'm gonna invite my neighbors," because they're friends with their neighbors. And the neighbor came to the service, just as a non-Christian, just to support their friend, heard about Jesus, and after they got baptized, they saw their neighbor come forward, repent of sin, trust in Jesus, become a Christian, and get baptized that very same service as well. You just never know what God's gonna do. So, in obedience, you just go ahead and get baptized, and people see Jesus' love for you and your love for Jesus.
Because, as he says, "All of us—" so, it's this joyous celebration, for all of us, "—have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death," so, it's about Jesus' death. Let me tell you about Jesus. Baptism makes no sense apart from Jesus, right? It's just getting wet if Jesus isn't involved.
Jesus is God, second member of the Trinity, Creator of all things. He comes down from heaven, as a man, takes upon himself human flesh, declares himself to be God. He lives without sin, the absolute, perfect life we should live and have failed to live. And then he goes to the cross and he dies in our place for our sins as our substitute. The death we deserve is the death Jesus endures. And so, baptism shows that Jesus died and that he was buried.
He goes on to explain that, "We were buried." So, it's about the death and burial of Jesus. "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."
So, here's what baptism is about: Jesus lived, Jesus died, Jesus was buried, Jesus rose from death. So, it's the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus. That's exactly what he says, which is why when we baptize someone, we're saying Jesus died for them, Jesus was buried for them, and Jesus rose for them, and they love him, and he loves them. That's why even in the act of baptism, we are showing Jesus' death, burial, resurrection. That's what someone who's getting baptized is saying. "Jesus is my God, died on the cross for me, was buried, rose from death, and my faith is in him, and my salvation is from him."
And so, one of the reasons we get excited about baptism is because baptism's about Jesus, and at Mars Hill, we're so excited about Jesus. We love Jesus, and we love to see people meet Jesus, and baptism is one of those occasions for celebration.
He goes on to say, "For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his." What he's saying is not only are there benefits and blessings to knowing Jesus in this life, forgiveness of sin, there is also eternal blessings and benefits on the other side of death. That just as Jesus died and rose, those who belong to Jesus will die and rise from death.
And so, what we're showing in baptism is, "Yes, I will die because of sin, but because of Jesus' resurrection and his forgiveness of my sin, there is a resurrection for me." And Mars Hill, I have great news for you. There will come a day—Daniel 12 talks about the day when multitudes who sleep in the dust of the Earth will arise. We're the church of Jesus Christ, and Jesus loves his church, and all of God's people—we know not the day, but we know that it is coming—the day of the second coming of Jesus who is alive in heaven right now. On that day, we who are in Christ will all resurrect together. We'll rise from death like Jesus did, and in baptism, that's what we're showing. I'm gonna die, but because of Jesus, I'm gonna rise to be with God's people together with Jesus forever.
And what this does, this utterly transforms how we approach death. It gives us hope beyond the grave. It gives us hope beyond the grave. And I have some dear friends that are struggling with health issues, relatives that are struggling with potential life-threatening ailments and illness, and let me say this: there's something worse that dying, and that's dying apart from Jesus Christ. For those who die knowing Jesus Christ, they will die to be with Christ, they will rise to be like Christ, together, forever. And it doesn't mean that we don't grieve suffering and death in this life, but we also have hope beyond it because Jesus conquered death.
He goes on to talk about: "We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin." What he's saying is this: because Jesus died for our sin, we can put our sin to death. We could put our sin to death.
And for those of you who are new to Christianity, we're talking about sin. We're not just talking about failures, and faults, and flaws. We're talking about disobedience and rebellion. That the Word of God gives us the will of God, and when we sin, we're disobeying, disregarding the very words of God, and that's sin. And what tends to happen is we assume sin becomes our lifestyle, so we celebrate it, or we tolerate it, or we accommodate it, or we blame others for it, or we try to manage it, or we try to hide it.
Here's the good news: because of Jesus' death, we could put our sin to death. Whatever has ensnared and enslaved you, you can walk away from it, just like Jesus walked away from his grave, if you are in Christ.
And when he uses this language of being enslaved, most of us tend to think of slavery in terms of someone or something that we hate overtaking, overpowering, and overwhelming us against our will. When the Bible uses the word "slavery," it tends to refer to addictions, to sinful proclivities, and compulsions, and activities, things that we shouldn't do, things that we're ashamed of. This can include things like alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual perversion, addiction, sin, gambling, gluttony, pride, a lust for control. Whatever it might be, someone or something rules over you like a God and you almost feel powerless to it or to them.
And Jesus comes and he dies so that those false gods, those false lords can be put to death, and just as he rose, we get to walk away from our old life and walk in what here, Paul calls "newness of life." So, in Jesus, you get a whole new life, and I can assure you of this: it's true. It's true. And a Christian is not one who is yet perfect but is new. Their old life is buried with Christ, their new life is risen with Christ, and they're on the path to perfection on the other side of resurrection in the presence of Christ.
And so, what Paul is saying is baptism is about all of that! That's a lot of great theological, biblical truth that gets just unpacked in one act. It's wonderful. So, when you see people get baptized, realize all of this: Jesus loves them, Jesus loves the church, this connects them with thousands of years of God's people, this shows us our eternal resurrection, this shows us the love of Jesus, the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus, this shows us that our old way of life can die, that we're freed from our slavery to sin, and bondage, and Satan, and death, and one day we will have a perfected state, and until that day of resurrection, we have newness of life. So much joy! This is why we call the gospel "good news." This is all such good news.
And so, at Mars Hill, when people become Christians, we love to see them get baptized and we love to cheer and celebrate, because Jesus is listening and it's our way of saying, "Yes! Thank you! Please do it again!" Amen?
Second question, then, is how do we baptize? How do you do this? Well, the New Testament was originally written in the language of Greek, and the word here literally means to plunge, dip, or immerse. Used in secular, ancient Greek literature, let's say a ship would sink, they would say it got baptized. Right? It went under the water. Okay?
And so we take the literal meaning of the word, and even good, godly Bible teachers who would disagree with me on mode of baptism, like John Calvin and Martin Luther, they agree that the word "baptism" literally does mean to dunk, right? To get under the water. So what we do, we immerse. We take people and we put them under the water, and then we bring them up, otherwise they'll see Jesus prematurely.
I'll give you some examples. So, Mark 1:5. John the Baptizer, Jesus' cousin, he's preaching and people are getting baptized. It says, "Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him," that is John, "in the Jordan River." Why do you think he went to the Jordan River? Because there's enough water to dunk somebody, to immerse somebody. I think there was one translation of the Bible, I think it was in Dutch, and they called him John the Dipper. Right? I mean, talking about people going underwater, and that's why he went to the Jordan River.
It also says this in John 3:23. "Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because," there was, quote, "plenty of water." So, it's going to take a good amount of water to immerse somebody. That's why John the Baptizer was looking for places and rivers with large amounts of water.
How about Jesus' baptism? We would just say, be baptized in the same manner and mode that Jesus was. Mark 1:9–10, "At that time, Jesus came from Nazareth and Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan." And then it says that Jesus, quote, "Came up out of the water." Went down into the water, came up out of the water, in the Jordan River.
I'll tell you, one of the most meaningful days of my whole life was in the Jordan River. I didn't know Jesus 'til I was nineteen years of age, and I was then baptized in a great church that to this day, I love so much, and started praying for my father. My father was a man that I loved, and he was religious and believed in God, but he wasn't committed to Jesus and didn't have that personal, saving relationship.
Well, lo and behold, my dad gets saved, which is awesome, and he's now at Mars Hill. And my son, Calvin, got saved, and so the three of us were in the Jordan River in Israel. I got to baptize my dad, I got to baptize my son, his grandson. One day, one place, the same river where the Lord Jesus was baptized. I got to see the love of Jesus and the grace of God on three generations of my family. And I dunked my dad and I dunked my son because Jesus was dunked.
Some of you say, "This seems simple." It is, unless you're a theologian, and then you make it complicated, right?
What happens then is after John the Baptizer's baptizing people, after Jesus is baptized, Jesus dies, he's buried, he's raised, and what we're showing is Jesus was totally buried. That's why we put people totally under the water. And when we bring them up, we're showing that he really did rise from death, that Jesus sent out the apostles to preach, and teach, and baptize, and then Jesus ascended back into heaven.
We read this in Acts 8:38. "Both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him." Where did they go? "Down into the water." Now, some traditions will say that you shouldn't necessarily baptize through immersion, you should sprinkle or pour water on someone, and usually, they mean a baby. We'll get to that in a minute. The reason they don't immerse infants is because it's abusive to the child. Amen?
Like, how many of you would want to bring your newborn little girl, nice little bonnet, white dress, hand her to me, and have me slam her under the water? Right? That's not a sacrament, that's a crime. So, they created something where it's sprinkling water or pouring water, and the Bible does use those words, but never in reference to baptism. It'll say that Jesus' blood sprinkles many nations, or God poured out his grace, but it never speaks of sprinkling or pouring in reference to baptism. And so that is our practice and why you will see people baptize.
John the Baptizer baptized the converts to Judaism with a full immersion. That was the practice of the Jews. When a Gentile converted, they would be fully immersed baptized. Jesus was fully immersed baptized, the early church fully immersed baptism. That's the way it's to be done.
Why do we baptize? Why? Because it's an act of obedience, and like every act of obedience, there is a blessing. I can still remember when I was baptized at the age of nineteen as a college freshman. It was a big day for me. It was my way of going public and committing myself publicly to be on Team Jesus. And in places where there's hostility to Christianity—many of you are younger, living in urban areas, or you're students. Baptism is a big deal. It's going public, saying, "I'm on Team Jesus."
Jesus commanded it. After his death, burial, resurrection, before his ascension into heaven, he says this in Matthew 28:19, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit." That's the Trinity: the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
So, we baptize people in the name of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and Jesus says that people are to be baptized and made disciples. And this means not just that they're baptized and they don't grow. For us, we welcome, invite those who are new Christians to be baptized and then into Community Groups for fellowship, and prayer, and Bible study, and mission, and growth. We also have Redemption Groups for those who are dealing with sin and suffering that's deep and difficult. We also have a membership class so that people can grow in the basics of Christian faith, classes that are offered. Yes. We don't want to see people just baptized, also discipled, so that they mature in Christian faith, because Jesus, frankly, commanded both: baptize and disciple.
And then, Jesus' own disciples preached the exact same command. I'll give you an example. In Acts 2:38, Peter stands up on the Day of Pentecost and he preaches, and the New Testament church is birthed, and the Holy Spirit saves people, and here's what he says: "Repent and be," what? "Baptized." Turn from sin, trust in Jesus, and get baptized to show what Jesus did for you, that you trust in him and let the world know you're on Team Jesus.
So, why do we baptize? Out of obedience. How many of you are Christians, and you know you're Christians, but you've never been baptized? And one of the most common answers I get is, "I'm shy." But obedience says to repent of shyness, because your shyness might be a sin. If Jesus is saying, "Be my witnesses," which is exactly what he says, and then people are baptized, one way you are a witness is through your baptism.
So, let me encourage you today to consider: Are you a Christian? Have you turned from sin? Have you trusted in Jesus? And have you been baptized? If not, why is there disobedience? And I would tell you, your obedience glorifies God, it brings you joy, and it allows us to celebrate with you that Jesus loves his church. Amen?
Next question. Who do we baptize? Okay, here's where it gets complicated. There are two basic positions on baptism, and I know it's summer, school is out, you're not supposed to get a lecture, so I'll apologize in advance. A lot of this is a lecture on baptism, but we have people coming from different backgrounds, traditions, non-Christians, new Christians. You know? I just showed you, thirteen hundred baptisms. So, let me just clarify this.
There are two basic views, positions on baptism. One is called paedobaptism. Paedo, in Latin, means child or infant, so that's infant baptism. Have you heard of infant baptism? Catholics, Presbyterians, Lutherans, some Methodists, Anglicans, they're going to baptize an infant. Paedobaptism.
The other position is called credobaptism. Credo, in Latin, means "I believe." So, it's believer's baptism. It's for those who not only possess faith in Christ, they are practicing and articulating Christian faith. So, paedobaptism is where we baptize the babies. Credobaptism is where we wait until they're big enough to demonstrate and articulate Christian faith.
Now, let me deal first with paedobaptism, and let me say this: there are Bible-believing, Jesus-loving Christians who disagree with us. They're wrong. Okay? And in all humility, we love them and we want to fellowship with them, and we know that we'll rise from death and be with them in the presence of Jesus forever.
And we don't want to be mean-spirited or antagonistic, but we do want to be biblical, and they can use logic, or history, or reason, or tradition to get there, but there's not a clear path to infant baptism just from the Bible. It's just not there. And so, what I would say is, hear me on this, go back and do your own studies, but there is no evidence of any infant ever being baptized in the whole Bible.
So, let me deal with paedobaptism first. The general paedobaptist argument is that the Old Testament or Old Covenant and the New Testament or the New Covenant, they have something called continuity. And I know I'm giving you a headache. Hear me out. And what they're looking for is continuity between the Covenants, and they would then argue circumcision in the Old Testament is now, essentially baptism in the New Testament or New Covenant, so there's continuity.
I would say, first of all, I don't necessarily see that degree of continuity. I mean, circumcision was only for a Jewish male on the eighth day of their life. That's not exactly like baptism. It's for everyone who believes in Jesus at any point, male and female. And any guy would tell you, he would rather get baptized if he had to choose between the two, right? So— Because they're different. I'll just leave it at that. Moving right along. So—
But let's assume their argument, because part of their argument is that each family has a head of household, the husband, father, and his children are born into a covenantal family. If he and his wife love and serve the Lord, then the children are born into a covenant family. Now, you could be born into a covenant family. My children were born into a covenant family. Grace and I love Jesus, Jesus loves us, but there's a difference between your birth and your new birth, and the New Testament makes a big distinction on this.
Your birth is all about who your dad is. Your new birth is about whether or not you've met God as your Father. So, in the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, there was a real focus on your birth. In the New Covenant, the New Testament, there's a real focus on your new birth. Have you met Jesus and received the Holy Spirit? Have you been born again, not just physically born but spiritually born again?
But let's just assume their position, which I don't agree with. Let's go all the way back. Who was the first guy who was ever circumcised? Abraham. Question: Did Abraham have faith or circumcision first? Let's read it from Romans. Romans 4:11, "He," that is Abraham, "received the sign of circumcision." That word "sign" is very important. I'll explain in a moment. "The sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised." I'll explain this. "The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe."
So, Paul in Romans is saying that Abraham is the pattern for belief. He is the father of all who believe. People who know the God of the Bible, they gotta enter into a relationship with him like Abraham did. Here's the story of Abraham: godless, pagan family, godless, pagan guy. He meets the God of the Bible, and one of the most important lines of the Bible, it says that Abraham believed the Lord, that he trusted in the Lord, that his faith was in the Lord.
And then, he was what? Circumcised. As what? Paul says here, "A sign." What does a sign do? A sign points to something else. So, circumcision was a sign pointing back to his faith in God. So, let's assume their argument is true, which I don't agree with. It still doesn't work for infant baptism, paedobaptism. Why? Because they would say, "See, circumcision and baptism are the same. They're signs." Okay, after faith, like Abraham, not before. Not before, after. Abraham wasn't circumcised and then got saved. Abraham was saved and then got circumcised as a sign pointing back to his salvation by faith. A sign works to point to something else.
I'll give you an example. This is a ring I wear as a wedding ring. This is a sign that points to— What does it point to? My relationship with Grace. This sign makes no sense if I don't have a wife. But, I wear this as a sign pointing to a relationship. So, baptism is a sign pointing to a relationship. It's showing Jesus loves me, I love him, we have a saving relationship. And so, the sign doesn't make any sense without the relationship.
So, here's the pattern for Abraham: faith in God, and then the sign that points back to the reality of the relationship with God. If we applied that to baptism, that would mean faith in God, then baptism as a sign pointing back to the relationship with God.
So, what do we do with babies? Well, we dedicate them. The Bible never commands us to dedicate children, but it does give us an example in Luke 2, where Jesus, he's a baby, his mom and dad take him to the temple and it says they, quote, "Dedicate him to the Lord." They're offering prayers, they're doing it in the presence of God's people, they're covenanting to raise him to know the Scriptures and to serve the purposes of God.
So, we do that at Mars Hill. We'll bring up moms and dads who love Jesus, and they're a covenant family, and they'll bring up their child, and introduce us to their kid, and we'll pray for them, and they'll covenant to raise their kid to know and love Jesus.
And as soon as their child is old enough to know and love Jesus and to be ready for baptism, then we will go ahead and what? Baptize them as a sign pointing back to the reality of the relationship that they have with Jesus by faith.
That position is called credobaptism, and the pattern in the Bible is always this: repentance, faith, baptism. Over, and over, and over, repentance (turn from sin), faith (trust in Jesus), then what? Be baptized. That's it.
I'll give you some examples. Act 2:38, "Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized.'" Baptism is for those who repent of sin. Repentance of sin is acknowledging, "I'm a sinner. Jesus is my Savior. I need him. I trust him, his death, burial, resurrection." And so, repentance is turning from your sin to Jesus, and then baptism is showing that your faith is in his death, burial, and resurrection for your sin. Repent, then be baptized.
Acts and 1 Corinthians also speak about two occasions where whole households became Christians, and those who hold the paedobaptist perspective, they will say, "Well, whole families got saved, and they all got baptized, and so there had to be babies in those families." And I would say, "It doesn't say that." You can have a household without a baby in it, right? You can have older children, like we have five kids ages six to fourteen. They all know who Jesus is. We have a household, but we don't have any infants.
And the two occasions in the Bible where whole households were saved—number one, the first occasion, I'll show you in Acts. It says that they all believed in the Lord. And in 1 Corinthians it says they all served the Lord. So, apparently, the children were old enough that they know and serve the Lord.
Acts 18:18, "Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue." So, it talks about this guy who's a leader, and he's religious, and moral, and spiritual, but he doesn't know Jesus. "He believed in the Lord," he gets saved, "together with his entire household." So, the whole family got saved. "And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized." So, a guy gets saved, his whole family gets saved, they all get baptized.
We want this for you. We want your whole family to love Jesus. If you get married, we want you and your spouse to love Jesus. If you have kids, we want your kids to love Jesus. If you have grandkids, we want your grandkids to love Jesus. And we'll baptize them when they can articulate and demonstrate their own faith in Jesus, relationship with him, as happened here. There's no indication there was an infant.
Some will ask, then, "Well, at what age should someone be baptized?" The Bible never says. But, I would say this. At Mars Hill, we let the parents and the church leaders work that out on a case-by-case basis, but it is possible for a little kid to know and love Jesus, right? Paul says of Timothy, "You've known the Scriptures since you were an infant, since you were a little kid."
I could tell you, my own kids, some of them I baptized young and some of them I've not baptized yet, because some of them I felt like they definitely knew the Lord and they were ready, and there were other children of mine that are in process, and I believe they do know the Lord and now we're working on them understanding baptism, and we're in the process of actually explaining and talking about all of this and them coming to their own deep convictions about it.
But, I'll give you an example with Buddy Zac. Buddy Zac is now twelve. He is my oldest son, my second child. And I came downstairs one morning and he was eating his cereal, looking through his kid's Bible. He was like, maybe five or something. I can't remember the age. He was young and he couldn't quite read yet, and so he was looking through the kid's Bible at the illustrations.
And he looked at me really serious. He said, "Dad, I need to get baptized." He's eating his cereal. I said, "Well, why do you need to get baptized?" He says, "Well, Jesus was baptized. Jesus says that if you're a Christian, you should get baptized. I'm a Christian and I think Jesus wants me to get baptized." That's a good argument. It's actually a perfectly fine syllogism. It's really good.
I said, "Well, okay, buddy. Let's think and talk about that. You know Daddy's not pressuring you?" Because sometimes parents can pressure their kids, or sometimes the Baptist grandma can really put the heat on. You know? "You're gonna go to hell. You know you're gonna go to hell, but if you get baptized, I'll buy you ice cream." Kid's like, "Hell's bad, ice cream's good. I'm in." You know? They may not love Jesus, they may just love ice cream. So, I want to make sure I wasn't pressuring my kids.
So I said, "Well, you know, Buddy Zac, we'll think, and talk, and pray about this." And he kept pushing it for a couple days. "Dad, when am I gonna get baptized?" I said, "Well, here's the deal, buddy. We're gonna go in and have you meet with the church leader, and they're gonna ask you questions and confirm your relationship with Jesus, and if they say you're ready, you're ready, and if they say you're not, you're not." "Okay."
So I drove him to the church, we scheduled a meeting, and he brought his little kid's Bible, went in. I sat out in the foyer, just waiting. He's in there in his meeting, and they asked him all the theological questions and his testimony, his relationship with Jesus. And they walked out, they said, "He knows Jesus and he is theologically pretty good for not reading. And if he was an adult we'd totally baptize him, so we don't see any reason why we shouldn't." So, I got to baptize Buddy Zac, and he knows Jesus, he loves Jesus, he's still in the Scriptures, he's growing in his faith. He's a Christian.
So, what I'm not saying is that until your kid is of a certain age, there's no possibility. What I am saying is let's take it on a case-by-case basis, and whoever is a Christian that presents themself for baptism, we'll investigate whether or not they have a relationship with Jesus, and if they do, we'll baptize them in Mars Hill Church and then disciple them to grow in their faith. That's our position. That's our position.
Now, another question comes up. Does baptism save? You hear this one a lot. There are certain aberrant Christian groups, cult groups, that will say, "Unless you're baptized, you can't go to heaven." We don't believe that at all.
The classic illustration is Jesus is on the cross, being crucified. There's one guy on each side. One guy rejects Jesus, the other guy receives Jesus. That guy never did get baptized because he was being crucified. There wasn't time for that. And Jesus looks at him and says, "Today, this day, you'll be with me in Paradise."
People get really superstitious and think, "Well, if I get wet by a holy man, that'll do it." No, no. Jesus saves. Pastors don't save, churches don't save, baptism doesn't save. Jesus saves. That's our deep conviction. And what can happen is people want some assurance beyond Jesus. There is no assurance beyond Jesus, friends. There's nothing more secure to place your faith in than Jesus.
Well, what happens is some people can wrongly think they're saved because they're baptized. You can be wet and not saved. I'll give you an example. First funeral I ever spoke at, brand-new pastor, I was not ready for this. I grew up in a Catholic family. Many Catholics know and love Jesus. I have a lot of evangelical Catholic relatives that I'm gonna resurrect from death with and be in heaven with forever. We're Irish Catholic all the way back to County Cork, a long time ago. So, I'm not negatively bashing Catholics. Though I want all Catholics to know Jesus, some do, some don't.
My first funeral was a Catholic funeral and someone died, and I got asked to speak at the funeral with the priest. Now, I didn't know what I was signing up for. You know, I would have done it different had I known. So, I show up at the funeral and I'm outside, and because I'm a pastor, I'm just dressed normal. I don't have, like, a robe and a big hat and stuff. And I do a Jedi robe, but—
So, I'm outside and I'm talking to people before the funeral, and because I don't look like the priest, they just think I'm one of the attendants. So, there's a bunch of guys smoking cigarettes, and the guy who died ran a crew, and he was kind of a gruff blue-collar guy. So, I thought, "Well, I'll go over and talk to those guys." I said, "So, how do you guys know the deceased?" And they said, "Well, we work for him." They're all smoking. I said, "Well, I'm sorry for your loss." And I kid you not, here's what one guy said. He said, "No, we're just here to make sure he's dead." Not the nicest guy who died, like, the people showed up at his funeral to confirm that he was done with his life. I said, "Okay."
I knew this guy hadn't been to church in decades. I knew that he had no evidence of a relationship with Jesus, didn't have a copy of the Bible, the only time he said the Lord's name was in vain. I mean, the evidence was not, in any way, hopeful that this guy knew Jesus.
So, they bring the body in, open casket. The widow's sitting right in front of it, and I'm up there with the priest, and the priest says, "Mark's gonna say a few words, but first, I know it's a sad day, but the good news is even though he didn't walk with the Lord, he was baptized as an infant so we know that he's gone to heaven. Now, a few words from Mark." Oh man, really? Open casket, dead widow, crazy priest. Really? This is my first funeral. And I won't tell you the words that I was thinking. I don't remember what I said. I'm sure it was perfect, but— But I just thought, "He just put salvation in a human act of getting wet as a baby. No Jesus in this thing at all." We don't believe that baptism saves.
Here's what Paul says in Ephesians 2:8–10, and it's all about salvation, forgiveness of sins, relationship with God, eternal life with God. "For by grace you have been saved—" How are we saved? By grace from Jesus, the Jesus who's God, the Jesus who lived without sin, the Jesus who died for our sin, the Jesus who was buried, the Jesus who rose from the grave, the Jesus that we're remembering in baptism. That Jesus. Grace from him. Undeserved gift, unmerited favor, unexplainable love. That's our Jesus.
It says, "You're saved by grace through faith." The access to this grace is faith. It's trusting Jesus. It's trusting only Jesus, not anything in addition to Jesus, even baptism. There was a church in Galatia—Paul writes a letter called Galatians to them, and they were saying, "Well, to really be a Christian and have your sins forgiven, you need to believe in Jesus and get circumcised." And Paul very strongly rebukes them and says, "It's only Jesus. It's always Jesus. It's solely Jesus, because Jesus plus anything ruins everything." You don't need Jesus and baptism, you don't need Jesus and Communion, you don't need Jesus and speaking in tongues. You just need Jesus. That's it. Grace from him accessed by faith in him.
He goes on to say, "And this is not your own doing; it's a gift." We don't save ourselves. I can't save you, the church can't save you, baptism can't save you, Communion can't save you. Jesus saves you. If Jesus saves you, we'd love to baptize you to show how Jesus saved you. We'd love for you to take Communion, showing how Jesus saved you. We'd love you to be a member of the church to celebrate with the rest of God's family how Jesus saves us. But those things in and of themselves, they do not save. Jesus alone saves.
He goes on. "It's not a result of works." It's nothing that human beings do, including baptism, "so that no one can boast." See, I didn't save myself. I didn't save my kids. Jesus saved me, Jesus saved them. Any boasting is boasting in him. This is who Jesus is, this is what he's done. We love him, we appreciate him. That's it.
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Here's the pattern: saved by Jesus, grace from him, access through faith in him, that leads to a life of good works. Baptism is a good work. Communion? Good work. Church membership? Good work. Doing ministry? Good work. Giving generously? Good work. Caring for widows, orphans, the poor, those in need? Good works. We're not saved by our good works, we're saved by Jesus to our good works. You get that? We're not saved by our good works, we're saved by Jesus' good works: his life, his death, his burial, his resurrection. It's Jesus' works that save us. We're saved by Jesus' works to our good works. We live a new life because we're new creations because of Jesus.
Now, where this gets particularly emotional is with children. In the ancient world, they sometimes would not name the child for the first week because infant mortality was so high. Children died. I was reading in preparation for the Ephesians study that's forthcoming, and in the ancient Persian Empire, the children, often times, would not even meet their father until their fourth or fifth birthday, because such a high percentage of children died in infancy that they didn't even introduce them to the father until they had passed through a certain birthday. So, children died. Medicine was not at the place that it is today.
What can happen is parents, sometimes with good intentions, they're worried about the soul and the eternal destiny of their child, and so then they get a little superstitious. They're like, "Well, if we put him in a nice outfit, and we take him to a holy building, and we hand him to a holy man, and he puts him in the holy water, maybe that'll make sure that their sins are forgiven and they're with Jesus forever." There's only one holy man to put your children into the hands of, and his name is Jesus.
Here's the truth: Jesus decides who goes to heaven, who goes to hell. Whether it's unborn children that die in utero, like Grace and I, we suffered a miscarriage, whether it's an abortion or a baby who's born and has a short life before they can come to understand the grace and the goodness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, here's the answer: Jesus decides. Are you okay with that?
I'll tell you what, I am. I trust Jesus to do what's best, and good, and right. The Jesus that I see who loves kids, and welcomes kids, and says that the kingdom of God was made for kids, and tells us that God is a Father who loves his kids, trust him with your children. Trust him with your children's children. We do. When we miscarried—we'd have six kids were it not for the miscarriage. Our kids all asked us, "What happened to the baby, the baby that died in mommy's tummy?" I told the kids, "Jesus makes the decision." Here's what my kids said, "Phew! That's good. Well, then we'll see the baby in heaven." I think my kids are right. In fact, the Jesus who's been so good to me, I trust him with my children.
Do you understand that? I can't save your kids by holding them and getting them wet, but Jesus can save them, and he loves your kids more than you do, and we trust him to make the right decisions, even with the babies.
But what we don't want to do is give the impression that getting wet saves you, because if those kids do grow up, they could look back on their baptism rather than back on their Jesus as the source of their hope for their salvation. And one day, at their funeral, somebody could say, "Well, they hated Jesus and they lived a reprobate life, but they got wet, so we're not worried." And that's false assurance, because the object of faith is not Jesus.
Last question, should I be rebaptized? How many of you were baptized, maybe as a baby like I was? My parents were Catholic, they followed the teaching of their church, so I don't fault or criticize my parents. I was baptized as a newborn, little baby, and then when I became a Christian in college at age nineteen, because I can tell you, I wasn't a Christian. I just wasn't. And then at nineteen, I got saved. I met Jesus. The Holy Spirit dropped in my soul and I became a new person. I said, "Okay, I think I should get baptized, but should I get baptized if I was baptized as a baby?"
How many of you were baptized in a cult: Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, some weird group? You're going, "Do I get rebaptized now that I've met the Jesus of the Bible and I truly am a Christian?" What about if you got baptized in a church as a non-Christian, maybe because you felt pressure, or because your parents scared the heck out of you, or your Baptist grandma offered you ice cream, but—and then it wasn't until years later that you really met Jesus and became a Christian? Should you get rebaptized?
Paul says it this way in Ephesians 4:5. He talks about "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." So, our view is Christians shouldn't get baptized over, and over, and over, and over. Like, my wife and I, we don't have weddings all the time. You know? Sort of, we got married, and now it's the relationship. You know? I mean, it's not like every Tuesday, "Hey, where's that dress?" You know? "I'm glad it fits. The tux doesn't. I gotta get a new one again." You know what I mean?
So, a sign points back, and once you have the relationship and the reality, you don't need to keep coming back to do the sign over, and over, and over. So, we don't believe that Christians should get rebaptized all the time, but if you didn't get baptized as a Christian of your own volition, it wasn't even baptism, biblically. It was getting wet.
So, there is an occasion in Scripture where some guys were baptized, but they didn't know Jesus, and so they went ahead and got baptized as believers in Jesus. Acts 19:1–5 explains it this way: "He [Paul] found some disciples. And he said to them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?'"
What happens is, people try to find evidence of whether or not you're a Christian. They'll say, "Well, were you baptized? Did you take Communion? Did you go through this class? Did you raise your hand when they gave the salvation invitation? Did you come forward for the altar call?" You could do all of those things and be a non-Christian. The only true evidence that someone is genuinely a Christian is the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity, he resides in them, he's given them a new nature, he's made them a new person, he's taken away their sin, and he's connected them to the living Jesus.
So, Paul sees these guys. They're religious, maybe like some of you, they're moral, they're decent people, they believe in God, they even got, quote unquote, "baptized." And he says, "Yeah, but do you have the Holy Spirit? Have you been born again?" Here's what they say: "We have not even heard there is a Holy Spirit." So, the answer's no. They're like, "Who?" "The Holy Spirit." "We don't know who you're talking about."
"And he said, 'Into what then were you baptized?'" What kind of baptism was this? "They said, 'Into John's baptism.' And Paul said, 'John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.' On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."
So, maybe like some of you, they went to religious meetings, they're moral people, they believe in God, they're trying to do the right thing. They heard they're sinners, they realize they're sinners, they got baptized in John's baptism, but John's baptism was to prepare people for Jesus. See, Jesus hadn't showed up with his preaching, and teaching, and healing yet. So, they knew they were sinners and they didn't know about Jesus.
So, Paul comes along. He said, "Well, let me tell you about Jesus." They're like, "Oh! Well, then baptism makes a whole lot more sense." It's about Jesus' death, burial, resurrection for our sins, and, hear me in this, like water cleanses us from filth, so Jesus cleanses us from sin.
I want you, every time you wash your hands, every time you take a shower, take a bath, every time you do your dishes, every time you wash your clothes, every time you wash your car, remember, "Jesus makes me clean. I'm forgiven. I'm clean in God's sight. Jesus' righteousness is my righteousness. I'm not just a guilty sinner. I'm a guilty sinner who is forgiven. I'm a guilty sinner who's clean. I'm a guilty sinner who's loved. I'm a guilty sinner who's righteous. I'm a guilty sinner who's new because of the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus." And just like water takes away filth, so Jesus takes away sin.
So, he tells them about Jesus and then they become Christians. They place their faith in, receive grace from the living, resurrected Jesus, and then they're baptized in the name of Jesus.
How about you? How about you? I want you to respond. For those of you who are not Christians, the problem is sin, the answer is Jesus. He is God. He died and rose to conquer sin and death. He loves you. There's nothing you can do—here's the good news. There's nothing you have to do to become a Christian. Trust in Jesus. Amen? And give your life to Jesus today and become a Christian, and you know what we'll do? Guess what we'll do? We'll baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, showing that your faith is in that work of Jesus. We've got a wonderful opportunity to baptize you.
Some of you are here and you've been baptized, but you're not growing in discipleship. You're not maturing in the grace of God. Jesus doesn't want you just to be baptized, but also be discipled. The root of a disciple is one who's disciplined. We want you to grow in a disciplined, Spirit-empowered life for the glory of God. What do you need to repent of? Where do you need to grow? It's not that you need to become a Christian or get baptized again, it's that you need to continue forward as a disciple of Jesus, maturing and growing.
Third category, are you someone who, in hearing this, has been disobedient? You are a Christian, you do know Jesus, he does love you. You understand what I'm talking about, but you've never been baptized. Why are you disobedient? Obey him. It's for God's glory, your good, and our joy, and this will be a great day for you. Be obedient.
And some of you say, "Well, I don't feel like it." We don't feel like being obedient, otherwise it wouldn't be obedience. Obedience is, by definition, sometimes doing what you don't feel like, trusting that if you obey, God will change your feelings. Don't make your decisions on anything other than the commands of God. Jesus says, "Baptized." That's what he wants for you. Be obedient to that today. Let us know so that we can baptize you.
And, if you are someone who was baptized in a cult, or long before you knew Jesus, or as a baby and you didn't have anything to do with it and didn't come to know him until much later in life, today would be a good day for you to present yourself for baptism, to be baptized, making your own public testimony about your relationship with Jesus.
And some of you will ask, "Well, what about those who disagree with us, like Martin Luther and John Calvin? Would you deny them membership at Mars Hill?" Here's what I'd say: "They're dead, but if they were alive, I would welcome them." First, however, I would sit down, open the Bible, and argue with them. Probably lose, but I would give it a shot. And I would say, "You know? I see just as many unicorns in this book as I do infant baptisms." A grand whopping total of nothing, okay? So, I would contend for the position of the Bible.
If you're here and you disagree with us, and you're not going to be difficult or divisive, we love you, welcome to Mars Hill. We don't want to have a fight, or a debate, or a divorce over this issue, but we all want to obey the Scriptures, and the clear, plain teaching of Scripture is repent of sin, trust in Jesus, and be baptized. And some of you need to do that because Jesus loves you and he wants you to share that with us. Amen?
Okay, and when people are baptized at Mars Hill, you know what we do? We cheer.
Father God, I thank you for the Scriptures. I thank you that I get to teach the word of God freely and unhindered at Mars Hill. God, I thank you that even with a bit of a lecture on something a bit more theological, it's still all about Jesus and it's imminently practical. Jesus, I pray for those who don't know you and I ask, Holy Spirit, that you would bring the life of Jesus into those who are not yet born again and give them saving faith, right now, in Jesus' name. For those, Lord God, who got wet as a baby but didn't get saved until later, I pray that they would own their own faith and be witnesses to it through baptism. For those, Lord God, who do know you but they've been disobedient and they've been withholding baptism, I pray they would see today that it is an important issue and it's an obedience issue, and I pray you would compel them to obedience, not so that you will love them but because you already do. And Jesus, for those who were in cults or abusive teaching or places, I pray, Lord God, that they would understand that it's by grace, it's about Jesus, and that we're a church that loves and welcomes them, and that they would feel safe here, to love Jesus, and grow as disciples, and be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. And God, for our kids and our grandkids, of course we want them to know Jesus. We also don't want to give them false hope that a decision that Dad made or Mom made is okay when it's perhaps not a decision they've made. God, I pray for my kids. I pray for all the kids at Mars Hill. I pray for the two thousand kids under the age of ten at our church right now, that they would know Jesus, that they would love Jesus, and that they would be baptized because of a personal relationship with Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Note: This sermon transcript has been edited for readability.


text:
Downton Abbey
|Downton Abbey
|Period drama
|Created by
|Julian Fellowes
|Written by
|Directed by
|Opening theme
|"Did I Make the Most of Loving You?"
|John Lunn
|Country of origin
|United Kingdom
|Original language(s)
|No. of series
|No. of episodes
|34 (List of episodes)
|Executive producer(s)
|David Katznelson (series 1)
Gavin Struthers (series 2)
|Camera setup
|Running time
|Regular episodes: 47–53 minutes
Extended episodes: 64–69 minutes
Christmas specials: 92 minutes
(excluding commercial breaks)
|Production company(s)
|Original channel
|Picture format
|1080i (HDTV)
|Audio format
|Original run
|26 September 2010– present
|External links
Downton Abbey is a British costume drama television series created by Julian Fellowes and co-produced by Carnival Films and Masterpiece.[1] It first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 26 September 2010 and on PBS in the United States on 9 January 2011 as part of the Masterpiece Classic anthology. Four series have been aired so far; a fifth is planned to air in the United States starting 4 January 2015, with the British season starting 21 September 2014.[2][3]
The series, set in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey, depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—with the great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy. Such events depicted throughout the series include news of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in the first series; the outbreak of the First World War, the Spanish influenza pandemic, and the Marconi scandal in the second series; the interwar period and the formation of the Irish Free State in the third series; and the Teapot Dome scandal in the fourth series.
Downton Abbey has received critical acclaim from television critics and won numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie. It was recognised by Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed English-language television series of 2011. It earned the most nominations of any international television series in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards, with twenty-seven in total (after two series).[4] It was the most watched television series on both ITV and PBS, and subsequently became the most successful British costume drama series since the 1981 television serial of Brideshead Revisited.[5] By the third series, it had become one of the most widely watched television drama shows in the world.[6]
- 1 Overview
- 2 Production
- 3 Locations
- 4 Opening theme
- 5 Cast
- 6 Episodes
- 7 Themes
- 8 Reception
- 9 Broadcast
- 10 Releases
- 11 See also
- 12 References
- 13 Further reading
- 14 External links
The series is set in the fictional Downton Abbey, a Yorkshire country house, the seat of the Earl and Countess of Grantham, and follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants during the reign of King George V. Influenced by Edith Wharton's The Custom of the Country,[7] the first series opens at the end of the Edwardian era in 1912 with news of the family heir's death aboard the Titanic, spanning the two years before the Great War. The second series covered the years 1916 to 1919, and the 2011 Christmas Special covered the 1919 Christmas period, ending in early 1920. The third series picks up soon afterwards, covering 1920 through the autumn of 1921. The fourth series covers a six-month period between February and August 1922, while the 2013 Christmas special was set in summer 1923.
Gareth Neame of Carnival Films conceived the idea of an Edwardian-era TV drama set in a country house and approached Fellowes, who had won an Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) for Gosford Park. Although Fellowes was reluctant to work on another project resembling Gosford, within a few weeks he returned to Neame with an outline of the first series. Fellowes writes the scripts, and his wife Emma is an informal story editor.[8]
Highclere Castle in Hampshire is used for exterior shots of Downton Abbey and most of the interior filming.[9][10][11][12] The kitchen, servants' quarters and working areas, and some of the "upstairs" bedrooms were constructed and filmed at Ealing Studios.[13]
The village of Bampton in Oxfordshire is used to film outdoor scenes. Notable locations include St Mary's Church and the library, which served as the entrance to the cottage hospital.[14] The old rectory in Bampton is used for the exterior shots of Isobel Crawley's house, with the interior scenes being filmed at Hall Place near Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire.[15]
The Downton Abbey of the title and setting, though fictional, is described as lying in the historical County of Yorkshire. The towns of Easingwold, Kirkby Malzeard, Kirkbymoorside, Malton, Middlesbrough, Ripon, Richmond, and Thirsk, each mentioned by characters in the series, lie in present-day North Yorkshire, as does the city of York, while Leeds—similarly mentioned—lies in West Yorkshire; local Yorkshire media speculated the general location of the fictional Downton Abbey to be somewhere in the triangulated area between the towns of Easingwold, Ripon and Thirsk.[16]
First World War trench warfare scenes in France were filmed in a replica battlefield, specially constructed for period war scenes in a field near the village of Akenham in rural Suffolk.[17][18]
Many historical locations and aristocratic mansions have been used to film various scenes:
The fictional Haxby Park, the estate Sir Richard Carlisle intends to buy in Series 2, is part of Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire.[19] Byfleet Manor in Surrey is the location for the Dower House, home to Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham,[20] while West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire is used for the interior scenes of Lady Rosamund (Samantha Bond)'s London residence in Eaton Square.[21] A house in Belgrave Square, London, is used for the exterior shots.[22]
Inveraray Castle in Argyll, Scotland, doubled as "Duneagle Castle" in the 2012 Christmas special.[23]
Greys Court in Oxfordshire was used as the family's secondary property, into which they proposed moving and calling 'Downton Place' due to financial difficulties in the third series. Also in the third series, Bates' prison scenes were filmed at Lincoln Castle in Lincolnshire.
Horsted Keynes railway station in West Sussex is used as Downton station.[24] The station is part of the heritage Bluebell Railway. St Pancras station in London doubled for King's Cross station in episode one of series 4, in the scene where Lady Edith Crawley meets her lover Michael Gregson.[25]
Parts of series 4 were filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham – The Tarred Yarn Store was used in episode one as a workhouse where Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan) visits Mr Grigg (Nicky Henson) and in episode two, streets at The Historic Dockyard Chatham were used for the scenes where Lady Rose MacClare (Lily James) is at the market with James Kent (Ed Speleers) watching her.[26]
Other filming locations for series 4 include the Criterion Restaurant, and the ballroom of The Savile Club in Mayfair, London.[27]
Scenes for the 2013 Christmas special were filmed at Royal Holloway, University of London, West Wittering beach in West Sussex and Berkshire's Basildon Park. Lancaster House in London stood in for Buckingham Palace.[28][29]
Opening theme[edit]
The opening theme to Downton Abbey, titled "Did I Make the Most of Loving You?",[30] was composed by John Lunn,[31] and is performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. The piece runs for four minutes and twenty-one seconds (4:21).[32] The theme was released commercially in both the UK on 28 September 2012[33] and in US on 9 October 2012[34] by Silva Screen Records.[32] An extended suite version was released on the soundtrack for the show in 19 September 2011 in the UK[35] and later in the US on 13 December 2011.[36] The soundtrack also included the song performed by singer Mary-Jess Leaverland,[37] with lyrics written by Don Black.[38] According to Lunn, the inspiration for the theme to Downton Abbey came from James Brown.[31]
Main cast[edit]
Crawley family[edit]
- Downton Abbey
- 2010 British television programme debuts
- 2010s British television series
- Best Miniseries or Television Movie Golden Globe winners
- British drama television series
- Costume drama television series
- Fictional servants
- ITV television dramas
- Masterpiece Theatre
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries winners
- Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- Serial drama television series
- Television series set in the 1910s
- Television series set in the 1920s
- Television shows set in Yorkshire
- World War I television drama series
- Fictional houses
- British LGBT-related television programmes

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Phoenixville resident advances on 'The Voice'
A performer from our region will advance on a popular talent show after a winning audition.
Singer-songwriter Matt Cermanski, of Phoenixville, took to "The Voice" stage and performed for the judges Monday night.
He turned heads and the chairs of Cee-Lo, country artist Blake Shelton and Maroon 5's Adam Levine.
It wasn't Cermanski's first time on the show, however.
Last year, he failed to turn any chairs when he performed Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream."
A failure he says inspired his song choice this time around.
"It fit so well with me coming back on the show this year, have a little faith in me," he said.
Cermanski says he was more confident this time around and wiser.
And he says he's especially grateful for all the support from his local fans.
Copyright 2013 WFMZ. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
According to the affidavit, police were called to a Clayton Avenue address on Sept. 7 at 7:07 a.m. by the father of the alleged victim, who found Topper and the female together in the basement. The father told police that another member of the household woke him to let him know that the two individuals could not be located.
When police interviewed the alleged victim, she stated that Topper had asked if she wanted to drink alcohol with him. She declined, but said she would sit and talk with him while he drank. At one point, Topper left the residence to buy more alcohol, and the alleged victim consumed enough alcohol to get 'tipsy or drunk."
When Topper returned, the two began flirting and having intimate contact. Topper removed her clothing, and kissing, indecent touching and "verbal flirting" occurred. Although Topper was shirtless and the alleged victim was completely naked, she claimed no sexual acts occurred between them. The flirting continued until they fell asleep together on the floor, and woke to her father yelling at them.
Topper is facing charges in two other incidents. The first charges were filed in May, for criminal trespassing-entering a structure and public drunkenness and similar misconduct for an incident occurring in March of this year. He was sentenced to pay $993.71 in fines and fees and attend drug and alcohol counseling. At the end of May, he was put on probation for 18 months. On July 30, a motion was made for a hearing on a violation of his parole, and on Aug. 21 he failed to appear for that hearing. On Aug. 29, a bench warrant was issued for his failure to appear, but has since been closed.
The day before Topper was arrested at the residence, possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia charges were also filed, for the incident that resulted in his parole violation in mid-July.
Topper is facing two counts of corruption of minors, one count of indecent assault, and one count of unlawful contact with a minor. He is currently incarcerated at the Franklin County Jail.


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Hôtel Hor has 3 stars. If you come by public transport, the station you can best reach is Gare de l'est. Not only Barbes, but also Porte Saint Denis and Porte Saint Martin, are a pleasant walk's distance from here. Nearby Le Parc de Bercy proves to be an amusing diversion. This accommodation is close to Saint Vincent de Paul church.
The presence of a non-smoking area (generic), a smoking area and a rooftop terrace are all good reasons to choose to be a guest of Hôtel Hor. A dry cleaning/laundry service is one of the services, free for guests. A late check-out option and an express check-in/out service are also available. Business visitors to Paris will be delighted that there is a conference space in this hotel. Total room count is 47.
The air always has a nice feel thanks to the air conditioning in Hôtel Hor. A housekeeping service is a convenient inclusion in each of the rooms here. There is wireless high-speed Internet access (complimentary) offered so you can still be online during your stay here. A complimentary toiletries set and a rainfall showerhead are welcome additions to the rooms' bathroom facilities. Rooms here have a refrigerator and a coffee/tea maker.
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"Eighty-five percent . . . of Rhode Island tax returns that were filed for the year 2010 . . . were from individuals who earned $30,000 or less."
We want to hear your suggestions and comments. For tips or comments on our campaign promise database, please e-mail the Obameter. If you are commenting on a specific promise, please include the promise number. For comments about our Truth-O-Meter or Flip-O-Meter items, please e-mail the Truth-O-Meter. We're especially interested in seeing any chain e-mails you receive that you would like us to check out. If you send us a comment, we'll assume you don't mind us publishing it unless you tell us otherwise.
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Stories We Like: A Guide to the Comma
"In the 17c., 'protestant' was primarily opposed to 'papist,' and thus accepted by English Churchmen generally; in more recent times, being generally opposed to 'Roman Catholic,' or ... to 'Catholic,' ... it is viewed with disfavour by those who lay stress on the claim of the Anglican Church to be equally Catholic with the Roman." [OED]Often contemptuous shortened form Prot is from 1725, in Irish English. Protestant (work) ethic (1926) is taken from Max Weber's work "Die protestantische Ethik und der 'Geist' des Kapitalismus" (1904).
A Christian belonging to one of the three great divisions of Christianity (the other two are the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church). Protestantism began during the Renaissance as a protest against the established (Roman Catholic) church. That protest, led by Martin Luther, was called the Reformation, because it sprang from a desire to reform the church and cleanse it of corruption, such as the selling of indulgences.
Note: Protestants hold a great variety of beliefs, but they are united in rejecting the authority of the pope. Protestant groups include the Amish, the Anglican Communion, the Assemblies of God, the Baptists, Christian Science, the Congregationalists, the Lutheran Church, the Mennonites, the Methodists, the Presbyterian Church, and the Quakers.


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Well you can't say that wasn't coming. Ryan Giggs has made it 1-0 to Manchester United after a lovely through ball from Wayne Rooney left him one on one with Manuel Neuer, and the Welshman's first-time shot went straight through the goalkeeper's legs to open the scoring at long last. So, they've finally scored after wasting at least a dozen legitimate chances - are United going to press for more or sit back and relax a little bit?
The sad thing for Schalke is that the goal came after their first spell of sustained pressure so far in the match, although it was all corners and long-range shots. A corner won by drawing Patrice Evra out of position ends up ricocheting back to Raul Gonzalez out wide on the left, and his teasing cross would have left Edu with a free header at the far post if not for a timely interceptionby Rio Ferdinand, and Edwin van der Sar was more than happy to save from a long-range snapshot with Raul following up.


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Monkeys riding dogs herding sheep
*SATURDAY UPDATE: At last, the day has come.
*FRIDAY UPDATE: This is how we feel about Cowboy Monkey Rodeo Night today, on Cowboy Monkey Eve:
*UPDATE: Keyote's ready for Cowboy Monkey Night. Are you?
Keyote's ready for #cowboymonkeyrodeo @FrederickKeys Saturday night. Are you? vine.co/v/hMYXXwnzeuQ—
Mike Mueller (@flapjackmemphis) August 16, 2013
Let the countdown commence.
Cowboy Monkey Rodeo returns to Harry Grove Stadium, Saturday, August 17 during after the Keys' 6 p.m. game against Winston-Salem.
*If you don't know about Tim Lepard and Team Ghost Riders, this will get you up to speed:
"That monkey rides that dog better than cowboy rides a horse."
In addition to the Cowboy Monkey Extravaganza, we'll be handing out rubber duckies to the first 1,000 fans in the gate courtesy of Precision Heating & Cooling.
Want free tickets? You can win tickets to Saturday's game by listening to 106.9 The Eagle in the morning:
Don't miss the monkeys riding dogs herding sheep! Get your tickets now!
Highlights from last year's Cowboy Monkey Rodeo at The Grove:
And more cowboy monkey photos, because they're great:


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This Friday, August 9th, Flo Rida will be returning to the Today Show Outdoor Concert Series to perform his new single "Can't Believe It" along with two other hits! If you're in the New York area, head down to the Studio 1A at 49th Street and Rockefeller Center at 6am to watch the free live performance or watch on NBC at 8:30am. Find more info here.
Latest News
August 08, 2013Filed under:
July 30, 2013
Flo Rida will be dropping through MTV's RapFix Live tomorrow, Wednesday July 31st to talk about his newest single, "Can't Believe It"! Tune in at 4pm EST on MTV Jams and RapFix.MTV.com. Head to mtv.com for more info and download your copy of "Can't Believe It" here!Filed under:
July 29, 2013
Check out the WORLD PREMIERE of Flo Rida's new video for "Can't Believe It" ft. Pitbull below! Pick up the track available on iTunes NOW! Click HERE to download.Filed under:
July 28, 2013
Get a sneak peek at Flo Rida's new video for "Can't Believe It" ft. Pitbull in the Instagram clips below. Keep it locked on to @official_flo's Instagram for more on #CantBelieveItFiled under:
July 10, 2013
Watch the premiere of Flo Rida's newest video for "Tell Me When You Ready" featuring Future! The video premiered today on XXLMag.com and was directed by Gil Green. Head to XXLMag.com now to watch the new Vegas visual!Filed under:
July 08, 2013Filed under:


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Spring sensibilities soothed at Garden Club Tea
As befitted the gardeners and designers in attendance, the tea was a treat for the senses.
Related posts:
- San Diego's 'Best Dressed' nominees enjoy benefit gala
- Darlington House gets all decked out for Christmas
- With a Ho Ho Ho! Santa steals the show!
- Tables set for historical society's stylish progressive dinner
- Friends gather for benefit at Scripps Hospital
Short URL: http://www.lajollalight.com/?p=39879
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LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Three Kentucky residents became millionaires Monday after they picked up their prize checks from Kentucky Lottery Headquarters in downtown Louisville.
Two of the winners wished to remain anonymous. One won a $1 million Powerball prize from the May 15 drawing. That ticket was sold at Smitty's in Radcliff. Another won in the May 18 drawing with a ticket sold at the Thornton's in Buckner.
The third winner was Ralph Staples of Paynesville. The 71-year-old retired plumber bought his ticket for the May 18 drawing at the Basham's Corner Mart in Vine Grove. Friends say Staples has been playing for the last 20+ years and plays his numbers daily at Basham's.
"I'm not going to build no $300 or $400,000 house and buy no $50,000 vehicles," said Staples.
Staples told Kentucky Lottery officials he plans on getting some nice funeral plots and headstones for himself and his wife, Tonkie.
Copyright 2013 WAVE News. All rights reserved.
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Morton Plant North Bay features six sophisticated operating rooms including the first voice-activated operating room suite in Pasco County to integrate surgical device technology via voice activation and a central control system. It's called the Stryker Endoscopy suite and it utilizes the Stryker Integrated Device Network, or SIDNE™, which is a voice-activation system capable of networking medical equipment in the operating room.
With simple verbal commands, surgeons can activate equipment, perform telesurgery, dictate notes and document findings with still pictures and/or motion video. Using an endoscope to view a patient's anatomy through a small incision, surgeons can conduct surgery that is less invasive and significantly less traumatic for patients than conventional open surgeries. The result is:
For surgery patients, the sophisticated technology means surgeons can work more efficiently and effectively. In effect, doctors and operating room staff can concentrate more on providing patient care rather than manually running and moving medical equipment.


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Full Report: Hawick featured in Grand Theft Auto
Politicians are urging the makers of Grand Theft Auto Five to visit Hawick.
The latest blockbuster video game is causing controversy after developers named one part of the violent city it's set in after the Borders town.
Pundits predict the game will sell 25 million copies in 12 months but, as Katie Hunter reports, not everyone is happy with the Hawick connection.
Watch the full report below.


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Expired Property Listing
This property is disabled.
Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club in Poipu Beach
- bedrooms 2
- baths 2
- sleeps 8
- pool yes
- hot tub yes
- pets allowed no
- type Villa
- community Marriott Beach Club
rates (USD)
/ night
$ 999 - $ 3,999 / week
vacation rental description
Dates: January 1, 2011 to January 8, 2011 (Weekly Rental)
Perfectly situated on Kauai, the most distinctively Hawaiian of the Pacific isles, Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club is a tropical paradise that beckons visitors year after year.
Elegantly appointed and spacious, 2-bedroom/2-bath villas, accommodate up to 8 guests
Spectacular beachfront resort with lush grounds and 3 large outdoor pools
Located near many of the world's most acclaimed and scenic golf courses
Restaurant, The MarketPlace, convenience store, fitness center and children's/family activities
villa rental amenities
* Two-bedroom/two-bath villas
* All villas and lanais are non-smoking
* Villas have queen sofa bed in living area
* Villas have separate living and dining area
with lanai, bath
* Villas have full kitchen with cookware and tableware
* Villas have televisions and DVD/CD player (living room), washer/dryer
* Master suite has king bed, separate bath, oversize tub and shower
* Guest suite has king bed, double sofa bed
* High-speed wireless internet access
Villa Details
General Room Amenities
* Air conditioning
* Alarm clock
* Coffee maker
* Port-a-crib (on request)
* Iron
* Pull-out sofa bed
* Safe
* Washer/dryer
Villa Entertainment
* Cable/satellite television
* Color television
* DVD/CD Player (living room)
* DVD movie rentals
Kitchen Amenities
* Refrigerator
* Conventional oven
* Dishwasher
* Cookware, serving dishes, utensils
* Microwave oven
* Toaster
* Banquet table and chairs
Bathroom Amenities
* Private bathroom
* Hair dryer
activities and attractions in Poipu Beach Kauai
The area has many activities in the area including the following:
- Bars & Nightlife
- Dining
- Shopping
- Golf
The website contains all the etails of the area.
vacation rental rates
We are providing this last minute opportunity for any travelers to live in a two bedroom villa in Kauai. If you have any questions about the details please call me and I will explain all details to you.


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ATTENTION: Starting on January 1, 2013 all CUPA regulated businesses are required by law (Assembly Bill 2286) to submit business information electronically through the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS). This includes information related to your:
Hazardous Materials Business Plans (HMBPs) contain basic information on the location, type, quantity, and health risks of hazardous materials stored, used, or disposed of in the state. Chapter 6.95 of the Health and Safety Code establishes minimum statewide standards for Hazardous Materials Business Plans. Each business shall prepare a HMBP if that business uses, handles, or stores a hazardous material (including hazardous waste) or an extremely hazardous material in discloseable quantities greater than or equal to the following:
The Hazardous Materials Division (HMD) of the Department of Environmental Health conducts routine inspections at businesses required to submit Business Plans. The purpose of these inspections is:
The Plan will also serve to better prepare emergency response personnel for handling emergencies which could occur at your facility. The section below contains the necessary information for the creation of a useful Plan for your facility which will be uploaded into CERS. When completed, your Plan will become a valuable tool, aiding you and your employees to manage emergencies at your facility.
The forms associated with your Hazardous Materials Business Plan have been integrated into the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS) and will need to be completed or uploaded online. Please visit our CERS information page for more details regarding electronic submissions.
We encourage you to utilize the instructions and templates to create the documents you may be asked to upload into the CERS web application. All required forms and instructions are available here.


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Is this the end for Genoa coach Alberto Malesani? He was already walking on thin ice, proclaiming people were attempting to push him out, but a 2-0 home defeat to AC Milan could be what pushes him over the edge into unemployment. The rossoblu started off well enough, unable to convert their chances but managing to hold Milan to a 0-0 scoreline at halftime.
It all went to pieces shortly after play resumed, however. Kakha Kaladze clattered into Zlatan Ibrahimovic inside the area. With Kaladze already on a yellow, the German was sent off, and Ibra himself stepped up to take the penalty. After an agonizing wait, the air pierced with whistles from the Genoa fans, the Milan forward put his shot straight down the middle. It bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and into the back of the net.
Genoa were just starting to make it fun again, even attempting a backheeled shot that went just wide of goal, when the rossoneri struck their second goal. Kevin-Prince Boateng turned, and turned again, creating space on the left to slip the ball across the face of goal. Antonio Nocerino was there, meeting the volley with the toe of his right boot to earn his fifth Serie A goal of the season.
It may not have been pretty, and the visitors certainly didn't show complete and utter dominance over Genoa, but Milan reached their goal: Top of Serie A. For about 48 hours, anyway -- is anyone truly expecting Cesena to beat Juventus?


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Founded in 1994, Better Health Lab, Inc's mission was to fulfill the need to improve world health and everyday way of life. BHL has been a leading U.S. manufacturer of pH balancing and antioxidant products. From 1994 we began our research and development for our products of alkaline mineral dietary supplement. The result was a technology to produce high quality water source along with other supplements that would help maintain internal balance. In 1996, we introduced our first antioxidant alkaline water fountain. Water ionizing systems were first introduced about 40 years ago in Japan. Through continuous research and development, water ionizing systems have become a major part of everyday living.
Full Two (2) Year Warranty
Better Health Lab, Inc. fully warrants that the product shall be free of defects in materials and workmanship under normal use within the operating specifications for a period of Two (2) years from the date of purchase; provided that the above warranty shall not apply to any damage as a result of neglect, abuse, misuse, alteration, accident, mishandling, act of God, modification in installation other than the intended use outlined in this booklet shall void the warranty.
Better Health Lab, Inc.'s exclusive remedies under the above warranty shall be limited to the repair of part(s) and labor thereof, as determined by Better Health Lab Inc., with the warranted Product being shipped F.O.B. New Jersey, USA with freight prepaid. The warranty described above is IN LIEU OF any other warranty, express or implied and is valid only within the USA. Better Health Lab, Inc. shall not be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages.
Return Policy
Better Health Lab, Inc. stands behind the quality of their products and guarantees your satisfaction. If for some reason you try their product and are not completely satisfied, you may return it as instructed below;
You must call for "Return Merchandise Authorization."No returns accepted without RMA number
Send email to email@example.com or call 800-810-1888.
Availability: Usually Ships Within 24-48 Hours
Alkazone Alkaline Booster with AntioxidantAlkaline Booster with Antioxidant now ! Drink your minerals! The easiest way to alkalize your diet! Feel the benefits for yourself. Alkaline water provides the minerals the body needs to buffer excess acidity from the metabolism of food.You will feel the difference. Tea and coffee tastes better too!pH balance, a key to healthy livingIt is up to you to help your body win the fight to maintain proper balance. Stress and diet all present their challenges to our system. Drinking water is one of the easiest, and most important things to do for your body. Drinking better water is even better. Here is where AlkaZone products can help you - first the AlkaZone Water Ionizer and second, when you are on the run, the AlkaZone Alkaline Booster. Many foods create excess acidity in the body in the course of the metabolic cycle. High stress can further add to the load. Eating foods that alkalize the body helps to support the need for buffering the acidity. Drinking water withplentiful mineral content is another easy measure. AlkaZone Alkaline Booster can be added to your preferred water to raise the pH, and also to offset the acidity in coffee or tea. What is AlkaZone Alkaline Booster?AlkaZone Alkaline Booster supplies valuable minerals in the form of a colorless, odorless, and tasteless drop that can be added to water. By adding just 3-4 drops to a glass of water, you can increase the pH to about 8-10. The minerals can buffer acidity from metabolism in the body. AlkaZone Alkaline Booster is made from organic potassium substances such as potassium bicarbonate, potassium lactate, potassium citrate and 79 trace minerals from marine deposits that have been amino acid (L-Carnitine) chelated for better absorption. It has no sodium! The small 1.2 Oz bottle makes it ideal for travel, when you do not have your AlkaZone Alkaline Ionizer within reach.An ounce of preventionThe old saw still says it best: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Our line of alkalizing supplements products and our flagship product, the AlkaZone Alkaline Ionizer, which produces an alkaline water for drinking (having very powerful anti-oxidant properties as well as high pH), will aid you in that prevention process. More and more nutritional literature is counseling us about the benefits of alkaline balance. Some nutritionists have even come to the conclusion that one of the causes of bone loss may be lack of sufficient mineral buffering from food, whichwould cause the body to borrow calcium from the bones. Getting plentiful minerals from the water you drink is one of the easiest ways to get those minerals into your system, and maintain healthy bones!
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Contact: Robert Wheeler, (207) 581-2890; Aimee Dolloff, (207) 581-3777
ORONO, Maine — Bloodstream infections frequently occur and commonly cause death among critically ill patients. Scientists at the University of Maine may have unlocked the answer to treating one of these infections that kills more than 30 percent of the patients it infects.
"It's an important clinical problem," UMaine assistant professor of microbiology Robert Wheeler said.
For years, humans have lived with a fungus on our skin and in our gastrointestinal tracts that typically stays dormant.
It has developed a sort of camouflage that prevents the immune system from eliminating it, while at the same time the immune system is able to prevent the fungus from creating an infection.
It's what Wheeler calls an "evolutionary give-take relationship."
The fungus, Candida albicans, normally masks a special sugar in its protective coating that gives the cell rigidity but allows it to be attacked by the immune system.
The sugar is called


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A Saints LB corps already facing a season without the suspended Jonathan Vilma has suffered a further blow with the loss of backup LB Chris Chamberlain. Chamberlain suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee in the second quarter of Friday night's exhibition game against the Jaguars.
Chamberlain's injury occurred in the second quarter on the first play following a Saints turnover. He signed with the Saints this offseason after four years in St. Louis, including three with Steve Spagnuolo, now the Saints' defensive coordinator. Chamberlain was a full-time starter for the Rams in 2011, in addition to being a quality special-teamer in his time in St. Louis.
In the opening few weeks of training camp, Chamberlain had been working as a backup weakside and middle linebacker and was involved in several of the Saints' special-teams units.


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Posted by: KLKN Newsroom
UPDATE DECEMBER 29: President Obama spoke today in his weekly address, stating that he believes the House and Senate leaders can reach a deal in time.
In the address released this morning, the president said allowing the country to go over the "fiscal cliff" set to take effect in 2013 "would be the wrong thing to do for our economy."
WASHINGTON (AP) _ A person familiar with the details says President Barack Obama is not making a new `fiscal cliff' offer at his high-stakes meeting with congressional leaders at the White House.
Obama instead is spelling out again a plan he says can pass the House and Senate, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorized to speak publicly about the private meeting.
Obama wants a bill to halt looming tax increases on all families making $250,000 a year or less and would extend unemployment insurance to many people about to lose it. His proposal would also cover other issues as the Jan. 1 deadline nears.
If he does not get a counter proposal that can pass both chambers, Obama will press for a straight up-or-down vote on his idea, the source said.
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Discover Adionomy, Your Online Radio Advertising Campaign, Fast, Easy and Custom-Made!
A Colombian singer with the same style as Carlos Vives or "Mauricio y palo de Agua" was born in Medellin, Colombia and is 26-years-old .He discovered his career at the age of 20 in California when he was studying for film production. He has two albums, the first that has his name was released in the year 2003 and the 12 songs were composed by him. The second album was released in 2005 and is named "Un poco más".
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Tex-Mex Meat Loaf Recipe
This specially seasoned meat loaf tastes just like a taco. The recipe was given to me by a friend who was a terrific cook. I usually pair it with my best homemade corn bread. - Kathleen Lerum, Arlington, Texas
- 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce, divided
- 1/3 cup crushed tortilla chips
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
- 1 envelope taco seasoning
- 1 pound ground turkey or beef
- In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of tomato sauce, chips, onion, green pepper and taco seasoning. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Pat into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour or until the meat is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160°; drain. Heat the remaining tomato sauce. Slice meat loaf; top with tomato sauce. Yield: 4 servings.
Put leftover slices of Tex-Mex Meat Loaf on flour tortillas; top with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce or any other taco toppings. Roll up and dip in salsa or sour cream.
Originally published as Tex-Mex Meat Loaf in Taste of Home Ground Beef Cookbook 1999, p52
Light-Bodied Red Wine
Enjoy this recipe with a light-bodied red wine such as Pinot Noir.
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Kate And The Queen Check Out Royal Wedding Display; Queen Calls Dress ...
By Adam S. Levy – Radar Staff Writer
All hail the Queen — and the Duchess, for that matter!
Yes, that was Queen Elizabeth and the Duchess of Cambr… READ MORE