September 17, 2025
Wednesday Blessings,
Baptism is a time to welcome a new being into Christ's church. Affirmation (a.k.a. Confirmation) is a service when a person affirms the baptismal promises made by their parents and sponsors or when someone becomes a member at a new church.
The words the presiding minister speaks do not just invite the parents and sponsors to respond. The invitation is for all of us to affirm our baptismal promises.
I believe that after a Sunday when we celebrated the lost being carried home by Christ and in light of the vitriol being spewed in an attempt to divide, we should pause and affirm the words of our baptismal covenant:
I ask you to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, reject sin, and confess the faith of the church.
Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God?
who was conceived by 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;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
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.
Almighty God bless us and keep us,
by the Holy Spirit guiding our days, our thoughts,
and our actions,
in the grace of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
We live in a time when there have never been more forms of communication. And yet, people will say that the struggle we have in our relationship is communication. Christ seeks the lost and carries them. Christ looks the forgotten and marginalized in the eye and welcomes them back.
"The Gospel liberates us from the need to prove ourselves through works, status, or national identity. It invites us into a community of radical welcome, where every person is seen as beloved and worthy of dignity." Dwaine Sutherland. This is the community you were baptized into.
Pastor JJ
Baptism is a time to welcome a new being into Christ's church. Affirmation (a.k.a. Confirmation) is a service when a person affirms the baptismal promises made by their parents and sponsors or when someone becomes a member at a new church.
The words the presiding minister speaks do not just invite the parents and sponsors to respond. The invitation is for all of us to affirm our baptismal promises.
I believe that after a Sunday when we celebrated the lost being carried home by Christ and in light of the vitriol being spewed in an attempt to divide, we should pause and affirm the words of our baptismal covenant:
I ask you to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, reject sin, and confess the faith of the church.
Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God?
Response: I renounce them.
Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?
Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?
Response: I renounce them.
Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God?
Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God?
Response: I renounce them.
Do you believe in God the Father?
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,Do you believe in God the Father?
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
who was conceived by 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;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
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.
Almighty God bless us and keep us,
by the Holy Spirit guiding our days, our thoughts,
and our actions,
in the grace of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
We live in a time when there have never been more forms of communication. And yet, people will say that the struggle we have in our relationship is communication. Christ seeks the lost and carries them. Christ looks the forgotten and marginalized in the eye and welcomes them back.
"The Gospel liberates us from the need to prove ourselves through works, status, or national identity. It invites us into a community of radical welcome, where every person is seen as beloved and worthy of dignity." Dwaine Sutherland. This is the community you were baptized into.
Pastor JJ
