*Title:* Remember Your Rescue — Pastor Kyle Baldwin, January 24, 2026

On a snowy Sabbath morning in Gentry, Pastor Kyle Baldwin opened with a question that cuts against everything our culture teaches: do we understand that we need to be rescued? We live, he said, in an age of self-sufficiency, independence, and individualism — an age in which many whisper, if not shout, that God simply isn’t needed. The sermon’s answer unfolds on the Sea of Galilee, on a dark and stormy night, where the disciples’ boat is battered by waves and a figure appears walking on the water. Impulsive Peter alone asks to join Him, and for a few impossible moments he walks — until he sees the wind, fears, and begins to sink, crying out the shortest prayer in the Bible: “Lord, save me.”

That cry is the hinge of the message. The moment Peter recognized his need, “immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him” — no delay, no lecture, no waiting period. Pastor Baldwin pairs the story with two of his own: a Jeep nearly rolling on an ATV trail the previous Sabbath, saved by a foot slipping from brake to accelerator at exactly the wrong — and right — moment; and a boyhood afternoon caught in the undertow off Florida’s coast, dragged out and down until his strength ran out. The point of both is the same: we face forces far beyond our control, and the boat we cling to — our routines, our reputation, even our church attendance — gives only a false sense of security. Without Jesus, the waves will overcome us, because we cannot rescue ourselves.

But the rescue is already underway, and God is the one who started it. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8); He rescued us from the domain of darkness (Colossians 1:13); and even the faith and repentance by which we respond are His gifts (Ephesians 2:8; 2 Corinthians 7:10). The sermon closes with J. I. Packer’s image of Scripture as the lifeline God throws to keep us connected while the rescue is in process — hold on to it, Pastor Baldwin urges, and let the Savior who grabbed Peter’s hand grab yours. When Jesus rescues you, it is Him through and through, and when He grabs your hand, nothing can break His hold.

*Key texts:* Matthew 14:25–31; Isaiah 59:1; Jeremiah 32:17; Isaiah 64:6; Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:8; Psalm 46:1–3; Colossians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 2:8 · *Also referenced:* J. I. Packer on Scripture as a lifeline; Ellen G. White, *Spiritual Gifts*, vol. 4, p. 100

*Watch:* https://youtu.be/5HxEGIi1Fvo · *Listen:* https://cloud-1de12d.becdn.net/media/original/ef8be886e43d1e8f1f46260f1b01f3d2.mp3