Welcome to Zeke’s baptism!
Zeke is a young man of independent mind and strong convictions. If he tells you that….(insert subject)….he means it. If he says ‘I want to get baptised’ and says ‘baptism is where people say they are serious about Jesus and want to follow him’, then he means that too. So we mean to enjoy Zeke’s conviction and celebrate his life and character, within an even greater celebration of God’s love for him through the saving work of Jesus.
What’s Baptism?
Zeke has learned that this symbol of going in and out of water is is a graphic image of saying goodbye to a form of life without God, and entering another form of life with God. Of being washed clean. Even of dying and rising again. That’s why we love to do it at a beach that requires courage. It’s a courageous decision to do the most sensible of all things - follow Jesus and enjoy the love of our Father. but as much as Zeke does something here today - baptism points to what God has done for Zeke first.
What does baptism point too?
Baptism tells is that life with God becomes possible because even though people normally want to push God away, Jesus stepped into our world to invite us to welcome God into our lives.
Even better that this, Jesus reminds us that God has already welcomed all people into his life, and that he has dealt with the sin of our rejection by dying on a cross, and that when he rose from the dead he held out the offer of an unstoppable love to us. Romans 5:8 says ‘God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were sinners, Christ died for us’. So if God’s love overwhelms even our sin against him, we have full confidence in enjoying his love no matter how brilliant or broken we might act or be.
Zeke should have always had, and should have from this day of his baptism a firm assurance that he has great love from God and therefore great peace with God. This is his Father God’s love for him. This was Jesus’ work for him. This comes to him through the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. Amen.
Encouragement for Zeke
A couple of us are going to pray for Zeke first, and then a few of us will get in the water and I’ll baptise Zeke.
The Baptism
Those who are baptised declare their faithfulness to Christ.
Zeke, do you declare your faith in Jesus?
Those who are baptise reject Satan and all that is evil.
Zeke, do you reject Satan and all that’s evil?
Those who come to be baptised repent of their sin.
Zeke, do you repent of your sin?
Those who come to be baptised reject selfish living, falsehood and injustice.
Zeke, do you reject these things?
Zeke, would you join those of us who believe and declare what Christians believe to be true in all known universes!
I believe in God, the Father almighty
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again from the dead,
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father,
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
The universal church,
The communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Zeke, do you believe in the Holy Spirit and God gives us good things by giving us His church, forgiveness and eternal life?
Do you ask for baptism in this faith you have declared?
Zeke, I baptise you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Those Christians gathered say,
We receive you as a fellow member of the body of Christ,
a child of the same heavenly Father,
and an inheritor with us of the kingdom of God.
Zeke, I sign you with the sign of the cross to show that you are to be true to Christ crucified and that you are not to be ashamed to confess your faith in him.
Heavenly Father, would the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with Zeke and all of us, now and forevermore. Amen.
