What does it mean to belong to God through baptism? This practical study guide for By Water and the Spirit explores The United Methodist Church's official teaching on baptism and attempts to bring clarity to common questions about how United Methodists understand and practice baptism. With six teaching sessions—including the full text of By Water and the Spirit, along with commentary and teaching guidance—this newly updated resource equips individuals and groups to live more fully as God's baptized people and grow in lifelong discipleship.

Dr. Stamm integrates the biblical, theological, and pastoral insight fitting of a liturgical scholar-pastor as he attempts to improve and deepen the church's congregational practice of intercessory prayer. In Devoting Ourselves to the Prayers: A Baptismal Theology for the Church's Intercessory Work, Dr. Stamm points to the strong biblical and historical connections between baptism and intercessory prayer, suggesting that intercessory prayer is a vocation—a calling—rooted in our common baptism...

"Who is missing?" Mark Stamm says this is a quesion the church should ask every time its members gather around the Lord's Table. Participation in the Lord's Supper is not a ritual action we perform as isolated individuals, Stamm points out. Instead, we partake of the sacrament with the whole church in mind, even those who cannot attend. In Extending the Table Stamm discusses historical, theological, and pastoral questions about home Communion demonstrates the central role Communion has play...