Morris Lentz, Assistant Chief of the Rogersville (AL) Volunteer Fire Department, said: “We’ve received calls for cats in the trees; that’s a common one.  We’ve received a call for possums in a culvert.  We even got a call one day for some fish in the road, believe it or not.  So we get calls for everything.”

But in his 30 years with the Rogersville VFD, there has never been a call for help like the one he recently received.

Doris Chandler is a seventy-four-year-old woman battling stage four pancreatic cancer.  With that diagnosis, she was confronted with a strong reminder of her mortality.  She determined to do what she needed to in order to make her life right with God.

She called David O’Connell, minister of the Oliver Church of Christ.  They studied the Scriptures together.  They studied about God and His will for our lives.  They examined the Scriptures which reveal that our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) and lead to death (Romans 6:23).  Then they observed from Scripture how God loves us so much that he gave His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16), that through Him we can be saved from our sins and receive gift of eternal life (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 6:23).

O’Connell then explained from the Scriptures how we are to respond to what God has provided through Christ so that we may receive His salvation and eternal life: to place your faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed in water) for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  Then, as we walk in the light of His Word, the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

Chandler confessed her faith in Jesus and expressed a desire to be baptized into Christ.... 

But there was a difficult matter to be resolved.  Chandler was weak and bound to a wheelchair.  Getting her into the baptistery at the church building would be extremely difficult.

A church member offered his backyard pool for the baptism.  O’Connell, wanting to help Chandler in her obedience to Christ in the safest way possible, called the Rogersville VFD to ask for their assistance.

“We thought about it for about two seconds and then thought, absolutely, we would be happy to help with that,” said Assistant Chief Lentz.

So with the assistance and presence of ten firefighters and 15 members of the Oliver Church of Christ on hand, O’Connell baptized Chandler into Christ for the forgiveness of her sins.  With the help of the Rogersville VFD, Doris Chandler was washed from her sins by the blood of her Savior, Jesus Christ.

Why go to so much trouble?  Why get the fire department involved?

Because it’s worth it!

It’s worth YOUR consideration, too!  Do you understand how sin separates you from God?  Do you realize how much God loves us in sending His Son to die so that you can have forgiveness and receive the gift of eternal life?  Won’t YOU accept God’s offer by obeying the Gospel as Doris Chandler did?

“And now why are YOU waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” – Acts 22:16