How Committed Are You?
I love baptisms. I love to watch families dedicate their lives to raising their children in a Christ filled environment. It is the same feeling I get when someone joins the church. They are dedicating themselves to the church with their time, talents and financial support. My question this week is how committed to the church are you? Are you showing your children that commitment?
Let’s start by looking at the baptismal covenant.
The minister addresses the congregation:
Dearly beloved, baptism is an outward and visible sign of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, through which grace we become partakers of his righteousness and heirs of life eternal. Those receiving the Sacrament are thereby marked as Christian disciples and initiated into the fellowship of Christ’s holy Church. Our Lord has expressly given to little children a place among the people of God, which holy privilege must not be denied them. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, how he said, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”
Dear friends, I present child’s name for Holy Baptism. May this be a time of joy for him/her and his/her parents.
The minister addresses the parents:
Beloved, do you, in presenting this child for Holy Baptism, confess your faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?
Parents: We do!
Do you therefore accept as your bounden duty and privilege to live before this child a life which becomes the Gospel; to exercise all godly care that she be brought up in the Christian faith, that she be taught the Holy Scriptures, and that she learn to give reverent attendance upon the private and public worship of God?
Parents: We do!
Will you endeavor to keep this child under the ministry and guidance of the Church until she, by the power of God, shall accept for herself the gift of salvation, and be confirmed as a full and responsible member of Christ’s holy Church?
Parents: We will!
The minister receives the child and addresses the parents:
What name is given to the child?
Then, repeating the child’s name, though not including the surname says:
Child’s name, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
The minister addresses the congregation:
Do you, as a congregation, accept the responsibility of assisting these parents in fulfillment of the baptismal vows, and do you undertake to provide facilities and opportunities for Christian nurture and fellowship?
The Congregational Covenant:
With God’s help we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ. We will surround child’s name with a community of love and forgiveness that she may grow in her service to others. We will pray for child’s name, that she may be a true disciple who walks in the way that leads to life.
Okay let’s break this down and see what it is that each of us has committed to.
Beloved, do you, in presenting this child for Holy Baptism, confess your faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?
This one is pretty obvious. Do you have Jesus?
Romans 10:13 says that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
God came to save us all, not just a few people or the righteous people. He came to save us all. John 3:16 says that “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
We all have sinned and separated ourselves from God. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
The sad reality is that sin does separate us from God. We can choose to live a life of sin or to turn away from that and to accept this free gift of salvation offered by Christ.
So this question is asking simply do you accept you’re a sinner? Do you believe that Jesus died for those sins on the cross? Do you confess him as your Lord and Savior?
Do you therefore accept as your bounden duty and privilege to live before this child a life which becomes the Gospel; to exercise all godly care that she be brought up in the Christian faith, that she be taught the Holy Scriptures, and that she learn to give reverent attendance upon the private and public worship of God?
This one will take a bit more work to break it down. First is our bounden duty and privilege to live before this child a life which becomes the Gospel. Are we walking the talk?
Deuteronomy 6: 1 – 9 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fearthe Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Ephesians 6:4 says warns fathers “do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
There is a warning to those who lead children astray and do not teach them. Mark 9:42 says that “if anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.”
A millstone is a huge stone used for grinding wheat and other grains. Something that many who lived during that time would understand as something heavy.
It specifically talks though in this part of the liturgy about how we live. Are you serving in the church each week? Are you reading your Bible? Are you avoiding temptations? Are you loving your enemies? Are you showing love to your family, even on days you don’t want to? Are you attending church services and a Bible study each week?
It is so easy for us to put ourselves first. To get angry at the driver in front of us. To think, I am too busy to carve out an hour this week to work with a ministry within the church. We slip into that thought pattern that you are loving to those around you, that is good enough. We all do it, I even do it. But the Bible makes it clear that we will be judged for what we have been given to take care of. The example we set for our children is one of those things. I know that I don’t always set the best example for the youth and children that are in my realm of influence. Sometimes I get frustrated when driving the van and say out loud “the peddle on the right!” Sometimes I don’t show kids/ youth all the love I should. I make excuses of why I missed a game of theirs. And I think God understands that we aren’t perfect but as long as we are trying to do our best. He will help us do the rest.
to exercise all godly care that she be brought up in the Christian faith, that she be taught the Holy Scriptures, and that she learn to give reverent attendance upon the private and public worship of God?
Is church a priority in your life? Do you figure out ways in which you can have a devotional with your child each day? And to attend a public worship service? Do you pray with your child?
Priorities… I was proud of one of our youth last Sunday as he walked into the youth room sweaty from being at a game and a little late but still made it his priority to be at youth group. I was thrilled as one of our children came into children’s worship with a friend because they were having a sleepover and she knew she still needed to go to church. It made my heart proud to hear that a youth gave up going to practice to attend our Wednesday night activities. Behind each of those kids and youth is a parent who has taught them that their priority should be God. God first and everything else after that. That includes sports. That includes video games. That includes shopping. We all at times put something else before God. And I know that I stepped on toes with that statement. However, if we allow our children to put their sports and friends before church we are telling them that when they get older they don’t have to go to church. Really. We are. People ask me all the time why aren’t the youth of today in the church. Well, let’s look back at our history. It is now okay to have games and practice on Sunday and Wednesday. We no longer allow our children to pray or have their Bibles in school. We spend so much time filling our time so we are just sitting around that we have pushed God and the church to the category of “if I have time this week.”
I had a young mother of six come to me in my office all stressed out and was frustrated that I was asking her to volunteer in the children’s worship time. “That is my time to be away from my children and it is your responsibility to teach our kids about Christ.” Wow… we have one hour a week if we are lucky as a church to train your children in the way they should go. You have hundreds and thousands of hours to make an impact on your child’s spiritual life.
I’m not saying sports are bad or that putting kids in all these after school activities are harmful. I’m saying we need a balance. We need to help our children and youth to see that God needs to be number one in our life.
I just got a text from a youth asking if she could come hang out at church after school. I asked about practice and the other afterschool things she has. Her response…. “I would rather be at church than those activities. They are fun but will only last for a while, God lasts forever.” I didn’t teach her that by my words but by my actions.
If you sit through a lesson or service on your phone, you’re setting a priority in the lives of the children/ youth around you that it is okay to not pay attention during a service and that church is boring. If you are critical of everything in the church or any then you are slowly teaching your children / youth to be critical of everything.
Our actions, this includes mine, are being watched by little eyes who are learning from them.
Will you endeavor to keep this child under the ministry and guidance of the Church until she, by the power of God, shall accept for herself the gift of salvation, and be confirmed as a full and responsible member of Christ’s holy Church?
This is saying that after you baptize your baby you can’t just stop coming to church. Baptism is the first step in a long journey of salvation. By the time the child is a teenager they should be given the opportunity to say yes to being a full member of the church. Through a class called confirmation, confirming the teaching they have been taught over the years.
We can’t just check it off as though it is a to do list.
Baptize kid – Check
Put them through confirmation – Check
There is a whole bunch of stuff that must happen in between those. Sunday school, missions, church services, allowing them to ask the deep questions, surrounding them with believers and many other things.
Last is the congregations commitment. It isn’t just about your responsibility but it is about the Church as a wholes responsibility.
With God’s help we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ. We will surround child’s name with a community of love and forgiveness that she may grow in her service to others. We will pray for child’s name, that she may be a true disciple who walks in the way that leads to life.
We can’t do this alone. We can’t change our priorities or anything without God’s help. He is the one we need to turn to. As parents and as a congregation we need to constantly be on our knees asking God to help us with the raising of these children. The churches future depends on it. Our children’s eternity depends on it.
This week before you do anything honestly pray about if it is God’s will. I will be doing the same thing and as we realign our priorities together lets hold each other accountable. Ask each other, how is your priorities this week? Are you fulfilling the commitment you made the day that had your child baptized? And any other question to help each other to grow.
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