This is a card.

We use these every day. Driver's License. Library Card. Work credentials. Credit cards. Cards are useful things. Whether they confirm our identity, provide access to limited areas, or show that we belong to a club, we cards help us identify and associate with one another. Long before the technology existed to document identity and association, there was a way to know followers of Jesus. Most people think of them as religious rituals - maybe even part of what is necessary so we can go to heaven when we die. The early church recognized them as confessions of their faith in God, that Jesus is the Messiah, and of their commitment to life in His Kingdom. This is the significance of Baptism and Communion: Identity and Association.