Information on baptism
Beliefs about Baptism
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The following is an example of the order of service typically used for baptisms at Good Shepherd:
Today we are observing the command and promise of our Lord Jesus Christ as He says in the last chapter of Matthew, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” God’s Word stresses the importance of making disciples and baptism as it speaks of our need for Christ, and the forgiveness God offers when our faith and trust are placed in Him.
In order that all might come to know the truth in Christ Jesus, God has given us His Word and baptism as means by which an individual can be brought into a life lived in relationship with God through Christ. It is the beginning of a life tapped into the greatest resource available to the world. In baptism, this child is being brought into contact with the source of God’s love and power, and are being adopted into a large and wonderful family. This child is also being brought into a caring community that promises to stand by these parents as they assume the role of raising their child to know the unchanging Christ in a rapidly changing world.
Through baptism and the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word, God is able to make baptism what Paul calls it in Titus 3, “The washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism is not magic, nor is it an automatic “fix” or an eternal insurance policy to be claimed at death. It is not simply a religious ceremony or ritual to guarantee that the child will remain a lifelong Christian. Baptism is a GIFT! It is a visible sign of God’s acceptance, forgiveness, adoption, and love. In this washing, GOD is establishing His covenant relationship and gives assurance of His faith-creating power and the forgiveness of sins.
Because you have been called to faith by God through His Word, I now ask you as Christian parents to respond with and for your child, to bring her to the Lord Jesus, and also confess with the Church what God works in and through Baptism. And so I ask all of you:
Do you believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, who sent His Son as the Savior of all people? If so, answer Yes, I do believe.
Yes, I do believe.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who gave His life for you, so that through faith, you can receive forgiveness and everlasting life? If so answer, Yes, I do believe.
Yes, I do believe.
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, who has brought you to faith; that Christ is seeking to impact the world through the Christian Church, of which you are a part; in your partnership with others of the communion of faith, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting? If so answer, Yes, I do believe.
Yes, I do believe.
And will you place in your child’s hands, and on her heart, the Word of God and its teachings, bring her regularly to worship in God’s house, and provide for her instruction in the Christian faith, that she may know Christ, and follow Him. If so answer, Yes, with the help of God.
Yes, with the help of God.
In accepting the responsibility of sponsors, and as you confess faith as well in the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you are bearing witness publicly that this child has been baptized, and that through Holy Baptism, God is creating in her the saving faith in the One true God. It is your privilege and responsibility then, after she has been baptized, to remember your godchild in your prayers, remind her of her baptism, and whenever possible, support her in mind and heart, especially if she should lose her parents, so she may be brought up in the true knowledge and fear of God.
Do you intend gladly and willingly to assume this responsibility? If so answer, “Yes, with the help of God.”
Yes, with the help of God.
As members of Good Shepherd, you also have the privilege and responsibility of praying for this child and for helping to bring her to the Lord. Will you then, keep this child and her family in your prayers, and support her in whatever way possible, so that as she grows, her faith and love for the Lord may also grow and mature? If so, answer, Yes, we will, with God’s help.
Yes, we will, with God’s help.
Almighty and Eternal God, we pray that you would give this child, here at her Baptism, your everlasting love in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Honor her, O Lord, according to Your Word and promise: “Ask, and it shall be given you, seek and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you”; so that she may obtain the everlasting gift of this heavenly washing and come to the Kingdom which you have promised; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(Your Child’s Name), I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom you are born again of water and of the Spirit, and who has forgiven you all your sins, strengthen you with His grace to life everlasting. Amen.
Peace be with you.
We thank you, Gracious Father, for receiving (Your Child’s Name) through Baptism into the covenant and kingdom of your grace, in which we have forgiveness of sin and the hope of everlasting life. We pray that, being buried to sin with Christ in Baptism, she may be as St. Paul says in Romans 6: “dead unto sin and alive unto righteousness,” that in the end, together with all believers, they may obtain the promised inheritance in heaven. Strengthen us all in our own baptisms, so that we may share eternity together, and the salvation you have given us all, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
