By Robin G. Jordan
The following Service of Baptism of Infants and Children comes from Common Prayer: Resources for Gospel-Shaped Gatherings (2012), which the Archbishop of Sydney’s Liturgical Panel produced as a development and extension of Sunday Services (2001).
The final draft of Common Prayer: Resources for Gospel-Shaped Gatherings, in PDF format, is available online.
Hardback and e-book editions of Common Prayer: Resources for Gospel-Shaped Gatherings may be ordered online from Christian Education Publications and Korong.Com.*
What is most notable about this service of baptism is that, like the reformed 1552 Ministration of Baptism, it has no prayer of consecration of the water in the font. Rather it has a prayer for the recipient of the sacrament. Like the reformed 1552 Ministration of Baptism, the service recognizes that God, by the baptism of his Son Jesus Christ in the river Jordan set apart water to represent the washing away of sin.
The service eliminates any references to the newly-baptized being regenerate and having received the Holy Spirit. It has been a longstanding position of evangelicals and others in the Anglican Church, supported by Scripture, the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, and the writings of early Anglican divines that as Richard Hooker put it, “not all who receive the sacrament of grace, receive the grace of the sacrament." Such references in the baptismal rites of the 1662 Prayer Book, while they charitably suppose that the newly-baptized is regenerate and has received the Holy Spirit, create confusion, leading to the mistaken belief that everyone who is baptized is regenerate and has received the Holy Spirit. This belief is not attested by Scripture or by reason, by the observation of the lives of men.
The service is also fairly simple and lends itself to a variety of settings such living rooms, fire station community rooms, hotel conference rooms, movie theaters, school cafeterias, and storefronts--the kinds of settings in which Anglicans are holding their gospel-shaped gatherings on the twenty-first century North American mission field.
This service of baptism and the Service of Baptism for Those Who Are Able to Answer for Themselves in Common Prayer: Resources for Gospel-Shaped Gatherings offer a reformed Anglican alternative to the unreformed Catholic baptismal rites in the 2019 Proposed ACNA Prayer Book, which emphasize the priest’s consecration of the water in the font as well as the erroneous belief that all who are baptized are regenerate and have received the Holy Spirit.
A SERVICE OF BAPTISM FOR INFANTS AND CHILDREN
1. The minister welcomes those who have come for baptism and their sponsors and addresses the congregation. The passages of Scripture may be read in the indicated places.
God is the source of everything that is good. Children are his gift and he entrusts parents with the privilege and responsibility of nurturing them in his way. God wants our children to experience a loving home, to gain wisdom, to live generously for the good of all, to grow in faith, and to come at last to share in his eternal kingdom.
[Jesus said: ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’]
Without Christ, we humans are far gone from God and mired in sin. Through the gospel, God addresses each one of us and calls us back to himself, resulting in a profound change. The act of baptism is about that change.
[We follow the direction of Jesus, who said, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’]
Ordinary water is used to point to the extraordinary work of God in cleansing us from sin and giving us a new heart to trust and serve him, through the death and resurrection of his Son. Baptism provides a public opportunity to turn to Christ and express a personal trust in him and what he has done for us, and to ask for the renewing work of the Holy Spirit.
[Jesus taught that none can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ‘Flesh gives birth to flesh,’ he said, ‘but the Spirit gives birth to spirit’.]
So let us pray to God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ that he will grant to these children what they cannot have by nature, that they may be born again by the Holy Spirit and be made living members of Christ’s Church.
2. The congregation and sponsors join the minister in praying
Heavenly Father,
we thank you that in your great love
you have called us to know you
and to trust you.
Increase this knowledge and strengthen our faith.
Grant that these children
may be born again by the Holy Spirit
cleansed from all sin,
and inherit your eternal kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
3. If the baptism does not take place within the context of another service, suitable passages from Scripture should be read and a sermon given at this point.
4. The minister invites the sponsors to stand with those who are to be baptised and says to them
God promises forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who turn to him in Christ. This promise also embraces the children of God’s people, whom we bring to him in faith. Children must themselves express faith in Christ when they are able to do so. They must turn away from sin and put their trust in him. In due course, they should come to reaffirm these promises and receive prayer for strengthening in confirmation.
Those of you who already trust in Christ, and are willing to teach and encourage them in the same faith, are invited to make the baptismal promises on their behalf. Therefore, I ask you,
Are you yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, trusting the gracious promises of God? I am.
Are you willing to sponsor these children, answering for them now and accepting responsibility for their Christian upbringing in the life of the Church? I am willing.
5. The minister continues
I now ask to answer on behalf of these children
Do you turn to Christ? I turn to Christ.
Do you repent of your sins? I repent of my sins.
Do you reject selfish living and all that is false and unjust? I reject them all.
Do you renounce Satan and all evil? I renounce all that is evil.
Almighty God deliver you from the powers of darkness, and lead you in the light of Christ to his everlasting kingdom. Amen.
6. The minister continues
These children have been brought here for baptism. Let us all affirm the faith into which they are to be baptised.
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.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
7. The minister says to the sponsors
I ask you to answer on behalf of these children
Do you affirm this faith as yours?
I do.
Will you follow Jesus faithfully, and obey his commands throughout your life?
With God’s help, I intend to do so.
Do you ask for baptism in the faith you have affirmed?
I do.
8. Standing at the font with the candidates and their sponsors, the minister says
Let us pray.
Merciful God, for Jesus Christ’s sake, grant that these children whom we baptise in this water, may be saved through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. May they die to sin and rise again to righteousness. May your Spirit live and work in them, that they may be yours forever; through Jesus Christ our Lord who died and rose again for us. Amen.
9. The minister says to the sponsors of each child
Name this child.
10. Then the minister dips each child in the water or pours water on each one, saying
N, I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
11. After all the children have been baptised the minister and congregation address them God has called you into his church.
We therefore receive and welcome you
as a fellow member of the body of Christ,
as a child of the same heavenly Father,
and as an inheritor with us of the kingdom of God.
12. The minister makes a sign of the cross on each child’s forehead and says
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.
Fight bravely under his banner
against sin, the world and the devil,
and continue Christ’s faithful soldier and servant
to your life’s end.
13. The minister continues
God has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light
Shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father
14. The minister continues with these prayers.
Gracious God, we thank you that through the death and resurrection of your Son, you have brought us from death to life. Enable us by your Spirit to resist the power of sin and give ourselves to you as a living sacrifice. May we not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we serve and please you in every way. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we pray for the parents and godparents of these children. Give them the spirit of wisdom and love, that they may teach these children by word and example to fulfil the promises made in their name. In our homes, give us the joy that comes from being faithful followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
15. If it is not used elsewhere in the service, the Lord’s Prayer may be said together here.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are
yours
now and for ever. Amen.
16. The service may conclude with these words.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with us all evermore. Amen.
*Korong is presently having a 20% off sale on the hardbound edition.
No comments:
Post a Comment