A SERVICE OF REAFFIRMATION OF THE BAPTISMAL COVENANT
Springwater Presbyterian Church, January 11, 2009
Call to Discipleship
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
CALL TO WORSHIP
The call of Christ is to willing, dedicated discipleship. Our discipleship is a manifestation of the new life into which we enter through baptism.
The call of Christ is to willing, dedicated discipleship. Our discipleship is possible because in Jesus Christ we have been set free from the bondage of sin and death.
Discipleship is both a gift and a commitment, an offering and a responsibility. It is marked by change, growth, and deepened commitment.
Discipleship is both a gift and a commitment, an offering and a responsibility. It is lived out of a renewing sense of God’s calling to us, and of God’s claim upon us made in our baptism.
HYMN: “We Know that Christ is Raised” (#495 PH)
PRAYER OF ADORATION
Profession of Faith
GENESIS 1:1-5
The opposite of the created order is not a vacuum, but chaos. This story carried images of Jesus’ baptism, of God and creation bound together in a relationship which is not coercive, but a commitment and an invitation.
HYMN: “Crashing Waters at Creation” (#455 ELCA) [this hymn shows the linkage between creation and the Jordan River with the Living Water, Christ]
The grace bestowed on you in baptism is sufficient because it is God’s grace. By God’s grace we are saved, and enabled to grow in the faith and to commit our lives in ways which please God. I invite you now to claim that grace given you in baptism by reaffirming your baptismal vows: to renounce all that opposes God and God’s kingdom and to affirm the faith of the holy catholic church.
Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin
and renounce evil and its power in the world? I do.
Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Lord and Savior,
trusting in his grace and love? I do.
Will you be Christ’s faithful disciple, obeying his Word and showing his love? I will.
APOSTLES CREED
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, Dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick
and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the community of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
MARK 1:7-11
This is an event of such importance that all gospels describe or refer to it. It is an epiphany (revealing God in Christ) as well as a liminal event, the hinge or threshold between the old and the new. John the Baptist represents the old, business-as-usual, fear-motivated repentance. The new way is through Jesus: a new way of living in freedom for others. His baptism begins the awakened faith that makes this possible.
HYMN: “Lord, When You Came to the Jordan” (#71 PH)
Epiphany was last week, an awakening, a revelation, an aha! Jesus was sent for the whole world, not just for a few. He is the Messiah (the Chosen One) for all. The Church places the observance of his baptism so soon after Christmas, because his baptism reveals the purpose of his life and mission. The last line of this hymn invites our own epiphany.
MOMENT FOR MISSION
David Legg, from the PCUSA office of Presbyterians for Disaster Assistance, spoke of the work he was doing in flood relief in the Pacific Northwest. Indeed, it was appropriate on this day of water, we could see that out of the chaos of flood waters, the Church was helping to bring order in the name of Christ.
OFFERING, PRAYER OF DEDICATION
SUNG RESPONSE: Gloria Patri (#579 PH)
Thanksgiving for Baptism
We sing our theology. As Presbyterians, we have long had the reputation as “psalm-singers.” Cognitive psychologists tell us that singing is a great mnemonic device. Religious teachers tell us that when we sing, we pray twice. Creation stories all over the world speak of the watery chaos from which we emerge as a result of the order God introduces.
HYMN: “Out of Deep, Unordered Water” (#494 PH) (vv 1, 2)
Our theology says that in baptism we are crucified with Christ and rise with him, whether the action is immersion or springing. This is covenant theology. A contract presupposes that something of value is exchanged for something of similar value. In covenant, the promises rely on one party. The covenant of baptism relies on God’s promise, God’s faithfulness.
HYMN: “Wonder of Wonders, Here Revealed” (#499 PH) (vv 1, 2)
This hymn summarizes the meaning of baptism in every verse, suggesting how we can respond to this gift. When we sing that baptism symbolizes the washing away of sin and our receiving forgiveness, we remember Titus 3:5-7 and Hebrews 10:14. When we sing of the importance and meaning of baptism, we are reminded of Romans 6:3-4 and Colossians 2:12. Everyone who is baptized becomes a child of God (see Romans 8:15-16 and Ephesians 4:5-6)
HYMN: “Baptized in Water” (#492 PH)
THANKSGIVING OVER THE WATER This is a liturgy of belonging and commitment, reaffirming within our life cycle that all of life is sacramental.
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.
We give you thanks, Eternal God, for you nourish and sustain all living things by the gift of water. In the beginning of time, your Spirit moved over the watery chaos, calling forth order and life. In the time of Noah, you destroyed evil by the waters of the flood, giving righteousness a new beginning. You led Israel out of slavery, through the waters of the sea, into the freedom of the promise land. In the waters of the Jordan Jesus was baptized by John and anointed with your Spirit. By the baptism of his own death and resurrection, Christ set us free from sin and death, and opened the way to eternal life.
We thank you, O God, for the water of baptism. In it we were buried with Christ in his death. From it we were raised to share in his resurrection. Through it we were reborn by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore in joyful obedience to your Son, we celebrate our fellowship with him in faith. We pray that all who have passed through the water of baptism may continue forever in the risen life of Jesus Christ our Savior. To him, to you, and to the Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory, now and
forever. Amen.
HYMN: “Remember and Rejoice” (#454 ELCA) While singing this hymn, the congregation is invited to come forward to take a pebble and drop it into the font as a sign of remembering their baptism and commitment to its promises.