I have a joyful opportunity to celebrate a woman's public profession of faith and baptism. In the same service she, along with her husband, will be baptizing their children. I am looking for a way to combine these without repeating or making it awkward. Have you found a way to do this? How can I incorporate the profession of faith and baptisms. Since the questions are basically the same it should work right?
Comments
Refpstr, the only question that is basically the same is the first one in the child baptism format. The "children born in sin" and "commitment to teach the children" questions are quite different. Here is what we did a while back. Forgive the formatting. The copy and paste messed xome things up.
DECLARING OUR FAITH AND THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
Public Declaration of Faith of Gary & Cassie Boone, Richard & Judi Brown, and David & April VanHaitsma
The Vows
Gary, Cassie, Richard, Judi, David and April, will you stand now, and in the presence of
God and his people respond to the following questions:
1. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God sent to redeem the world, do you love and trust him as the one who saves you from your sin, and do you with repentance and joy embrace him as Lord of your life?
Answer: I do.
2. Do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God revealing Christ and his redemption,
and that the confessions of this church faithfully reflect this revelation?
Answer: I do.
3a. Gary and Judi, do you accept the gracious promises of God sealed to you in your
baptism and do you affirm your union with Christ and his church, which your baptism
signifies?
Answer: I do.
3b. Cassie, Richard, David and April, do you now wish to be baptized in the name of the
triune God, and will you receive your baptism as a sign and seal that God accepts you
in Christ, forgives all your sins, and incorporates you into his church?
Answer: I do, with all my heart.
4. Do you promise to do all you can, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to strengthen your love
and commitment to Christ by sharing faithfully in the life of the church, honoring and
submitting to its authority; and do you join with the people of God in doing the work of the
Lord everywhere?
Answer: I do.
The Baptism of Cassie Rose Boone The Baptism of Richard Edward Brown The Baptism of David Alan VanHaitsma The Baptism of April Elaine VanHaitsma
*The Reception(congregation stands)
Minister: Cassie, Richard, David, April, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ I now
welcome you to all the privileges of full communion. I welcome you to full
participation in the life of the church. I welcome you to its responsibilities, its joys,
and its sufferings. "May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal
covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the
sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us
what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and
ever. Amen" (Heb. 13:20-21).
Congregation: Thanks be to God! We promise you our love, encouragement, and prayers.
*Declaration of Faith by the Congregation
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth
And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
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 is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
believe a holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
( * that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places)
SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
The Vows
Gary and Cassie, since you have presented Alyssa for holy baptism, you are asked to answer the following questions before God and his people:
First,do you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, accept the promises of God, and affirm the truth of the Christian faith which is proclaimed in the Bible and confessed in this church of Christ?
Second,do you believe that Alyssa, though sinful by nature, is received by God in Christ as a member of his covenant, and therefore ought to be baptized?
Third,do you promise, in reliance on the Holy Spirit and with the help of the Christian community, to do all in your power to instruct Alyssa in the Christian faith and to lead her by your example to be Christ's disciple?
Response: We do, God helping me.
Do you, the people of the Lord, promise to receive Alyssa in love, pray for him, help instruct him in the faith, and encourage and sustain her in the fellowship of believers?
Response: We do, God helping us.
The Baptism of Alyssa Rose Boone
Refpstr - Here's what I did in a service a couple of years ago with a father's profession of faith and baptism followed by his son's baptism.
Baptism of Cody Drew Kirby
Profession of Faith
Cody, do you desire to be baptized?
I do.
Baptism marks us as members of God’s covenant family.
In embracing this covenant, we choose whom we will serve,
by turning from evil and turning to Jesus Christ.
Cody, do you renounce sin and the power of evil in your life and in the world?
Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Lord and Savior, trusting in his grace and love?
Do you accept the Bible as the Word of God, revealing Christ and his redemption? Do you accept the confessions of this church as a faithful reflection of that revelation?
Do you promise to be Christ’s faithful disciple, sharing fully in the life of the church, honoring and submitting to its authority; and do you join with the people of God in doing the work of the Lord everywhere?
I do.
Prayer of Consecration
Send your Holy Spirit, we pray, to move over this water
that it may be a fountain of deliverance and rebirth.
Wash away Cody’s sin.
Raise him to new life, and graft him into the body of Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon him, we pray,
that he might be have power to do you will,
and continue faithfully in the risen life of Christ,
in whose name we pray - Amen.
The Baptism
Cody Drew,
I baptize you in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Laying on of Hands
O Lord, uphold Cody, by your Holy Spirit.
Establish him in your love, and guide him by your Spirit,
that together with all your people,
he might grow in faith, hope, and love,
and every remain a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ,
in whose name we pray - Amen.
Reception
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the only King and Head of the Church,
I now welcome you to all the privileges
of full communion in the life of the church. Amen.
With joy and thanksgiving,
we now welcome you into Christ's church;
for we are all one in Christ.
We promise to love, encourage, and support you.
Response: Grace Like Rain
The Meaning of Baptism
God graciously includes our children in his covenant,
and all his promises are for them as well as us.
Just as children in the old covenant received the sign
of circumcision, so our children receive the sign of baptism.
We are therefore always to teach our little ones that
they have been set apart by baptism as God’s own children.
Prayer of Consecration
Pour out your Spirit upon us and upon this water, we pray,
that it might truly be a means of your grace this morning.
Work in Cooper all that his baptism signifies;
wash away his sin,
raise him to new life,
and graft himinto the body of Christ.
Empower him by your Spirit to respond to your promises sealed to him this day in a life of faith-filled obedience.
Mark them, we pray, with a faith that can stand the light of day and endure the dark of night. In Jesus’ name we pray - Amen.
Baptism of Cooper Ryder Kirby
Parental Profession of Faith
Cody & Crystal:
As you present Cooper for holy baptism,
you are asked to reaffirm your commitment to Jesus Christ.
Do you profess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior
and affirm the promises of God made to you and Cooper in his Word?
We do.
The Baptism
Cooper, for you Jesus Christ came into the world;
for you he died and for you he conquered death;
All this he did for you, little one,
though you know nothing of it as yet.
We love because he first loved us.
Cooper Ryder,
I baptize you in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Child of the covenant,
in baptism you are sealed with the Holy Spirit
and marked as Christ's own. Amen.
Reception
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the only King and Head of the Church,
this child of God is now received
into the visible membership of the holy catholic Church,
called to confess the faith of Christ,
and to be God’s faithful servant until life’s end.
I pray, Cooper, that your eyes of your heart might be opened, in order that you would know the hope to which he has called you,
the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for all who believe.
Brothers and sisters,
as we receive Cooper into Christ's church,
I charge you to nurture and love him
and to assist him to be Christ's faithful disciple.
With joy and thanksgiving,
we now welcome you into Christ's church;
for we are all one in Christ.
We promise to love, encourage, and support you
and to help you know and follow Christ.
Parental Promises
Cody & Crystal: Do you promise, in reliance on the Holy Spirit
and with the help of the Christian community, to instruct Cooper by word and example,
in the truth of God's Word, and in the way of salvation through Jesus Christ?
Do you promise to pray for him and teach him to pray?
Do you promise to nurture him within the body of believers,
as a citizen of Christ's kingdom?
We do, God helping us.
Prayer
Gracious God,
We thank you for confirming your promises to Cooper this morning. Work in his heart, we pray, by your Holy Spirit,
that he might respond to his baptism in a life of faith and obedience.
Grant to Cody & Crystal the presence and strength of your Holy Spirit as they raise Cooper to know you and to love you and his neighbors. In Jesus’ name we pray – Amen.
Thanks to both of you. It seems that I didn't explain the situation well enough but you have helped me with your outlines. I was struggling because the mom wants to be baptized, which I think would be first. She wants to publicly profess her faith and also (along with her husband who has made profession of faith) baptize their children. I was trying not to duplicate if possible with the baptisms and even though the questions are not all the same in the profession of faith and baptism forms I have heard of ways to combine the two but I wasn't sure how to do that. It's a great problem to have and our Easter service is going to be blessed so much because of it. If you have any other suggestions I'd love to hear them. Otherwise thanks for your help.
Hi Craig,
Sounds like a great dilemma to have! We have this situation a lot in Mexico where I work with the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico as a fraternal pastor/missionaries. The woman would have to make her profession of faith before she is baptized, so this is what I would do:
1. Woman´s profession of faith.
2. Questions to both parents re baptism of their children.
3. Baptism of woman, baptism of children.
That way you are only at the font one time, not two times.
Blessings, enjoy!
Ben Meyer
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