Rather than the text of the sermon, this week I'm posting the entire order of worship. Sources are cited wherever we could. The opening song is sung to the tune of "Morning Has Broken," and the words were adapted from the Presbyterian Hymnal song, "Baptized in Water." The James Howell story came from an article he wrote in Christian Century magazine in 2007. Some of the liturgy was adapted from a baptismal article on the website of Reformed Worship magazine.
The acolyte
enters and lights the candles.
Musicians sing:
Baptized in water, called as disciples;
we are the lights of Christ our King;
flames of the Spirit light up our pathway
Following Jesus, we joyfully sing.
Person one comes up as the musicians
sing, sets the candle on the communion table and lights it, and after the
singing is finished, announces, “The light of discipleship.” They stay at the
table.
Musicians sing:
Baptized in water, nurtured in scripture,
teaching the world of Christ our King;
we have his promise, he is still with us;
thankfully now God's praises we sing.
Person two comes up as the musicians
sing, brings a Bible to the lectern and after the singing is finished, announces,
“The book of our story.” They stay at the lectern.
Musicians sing:
Baptized in water, sealed by the Spirit,
marked with the sign of Christ, our King;
born of the Spirit, we are God’s children,
joyfully now God's praises we sing.
Person three carries in a large
pitcher and places it at the font, and after the singing is finished, says: “The
waters of our identity.”
Each stands at font, table and lectern, then
Christina says “People of God, welcome home!”
All Sing:
Surely The Presence of the Lord is In This
Place
Nan: Today is Rally Day, the day
when we kick off our fall programs and lift up the teaching ministries of our
congregation. Today is the day we call to mind the truth that in our baptism,
we begin a lifelong journey of learning and teaching, as part of the baptismal
community. Jesus called us to go and make disciples, to baptize them and teach
them. This is our calling – to reach out to all the world, and to attend to the
spiritual formation and nurture of every disciple. Go. Make Disciples. Baptize.
Teach.
*Call to
Worship (Nan)
Leader: There is one body and
one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,
People: One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all,
who is above all and through all and in all.
*Opening
Songs
Holy Ground
Prayer of Confession (Christina)
In our baptism, we are called to renounce
evil and its power in the world. But all too often, we let the power of evil
overtake us. Trusting in the promises of God, we know that we can confess our
failings, and be forgiven. Let us pray together:
Gracious God, we are a people formed by your Word in
Christ; but we wander away from your truth and fail to trust your promises.
Ground us again, O Holy One, in the written wisdom of Scripture and in the
living Word which is Christ Jesus. Renew us at the fountain of his wisdom, and
make us true disciples, so we may find joy in obedience and freedom in giving
ourselves to you. Amen.
Silence is
kept
Assurance of Pardon
Leader: Hear the good news! Who is in a
position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us,
Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. (Romans 8:34)
Friends, believe the good news of the
gospel.
People:
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!
Sharing the Peace of Christ (from the communion table)
Leader: We have been reconciled to God
through Christ Jesus, so let us be reconciled to one another with signs of
peace, saying “The peace of Christ be with you.”
People:
And also with you.
Leader: Let us share Christ’s peace.
Scripture reading: Matthew 28:16-20
(read by Nan)
Go and Make
Disciples (read from the table)
Through
baptism we enter the covenant God has established. Within this covenant God
gives us new life, guards us from evil, and nurtures us in love. Jesus calls us
to go and make disciples. Bishop Will Willimon tells this story of a young
disciple named Jeremy.
Once upon a time I went out to a
small rural church to baptize a twelve-year-old boy whom a pastor had been
instructing in the faith. I was happy to oblige until the pastor said, “Jeremy
very much wants to be immersed. Can you do that?”
“Er, uh, sure. I can do that,” I
said, unwilling to admit that I had rarely baptized anyone by immersion.
I arrived at the church that
Sunday morning, and sure enough, there was the pastor standing on the front
steps of the little church with a small boy.
“Jeremy, this is the bishop,” the
pastor said proudly. “It’s an honor for you to be baptized by the bishop.”
Young Jeremy looked me over and
said only, “They tell me you don’t do many of these. I’d feel better if we had
a run-through beforehand.”
“That was just what I was going
to suggest,” I said.
We went into the church’s
fellowship hall where the pastor showed me their newly purchased font, dressed
up by a carpenter in the congregation, surrounded by pots of flowers. Jeremy
said, “After you say the words, then you take my hand and lead me up these
steps, and do you want me to take off my socks?”
“Er, uh, you can leave them on if
you want,” I said.
Well, we had a wonderful service
that Sunday. I preached on baptism, the choir sang a baptismal anthem then the
whole congregation recessed into the fellowship hall and gathered around the
font. I went through the baptismal ritual. Then I asked Jeremy if he had
anything to say to the congregation before his baptism.
“Yes, I do. I just want to say to
all of you that I’m here today because of you. When my parents got divorced, I
thought my world was over. But you stood by me. You told me the stories about
Jesus. And I just want to say to you today thanks for what you did for me. I
intend to make you proud as I’m going to try to live my life the way Jesus
wants.”
Though I’m now weeping profusely
(Jeremy asked, as I led him up the steps into the pool, “Are you going to be
OK?”), I baptized Jeremy and the church sang a great “Hallelujah!”[1]
Response: Servant Song
Teaching Them
All I Have Commanded You (Read from the lectern; James Howell article)
Nan gives an introduction about the reading and
how it ties in to our commission.
What have I
learned from 25 years of this labor? You can’t download theology directly into
people’s brains. They think, they love, they question, they are reckoners. If I
help them at all, it is by the tone I set, my own observable zeal for the
material, and my trust that God is the agent of formation. I create nothing but
the space where discipleship might happen if the Spirit blows.
I have learned
to worry about technology. Not that technology is somehow inherently evil. But
when my staff and I scramble to learn PowerPoint, snazz up the Web site, craft
hands-on activities that involve everybody, the unspoken assumption is that
theological education will happen if we just get our technique right. I wonder
if Christian education isn’t comparable somehow to kissing or even to having
sex: it’s not the mastery of technique that is essential; it’s the love. The
fumbling, awkward misstep elicits mercy and tenderness, and a profound sense
that love is happening precisely in the thick of faltering technique. Do
parishioners look at me, at our staff, at the teachers, and think, “There is
someone who loves—who loves me, who loves God”?
I remember my
sixth-grade Sunday school teacher, Floyd Busby. Mr. Busby would score a flat
zero on teaching technique or age-appropriate planning. He was old and had a
whiny voice, and his “technique” was to open his Bible and read—for an hour.
But I remember Mr. Busby’s name, and the profound moment when he simply stopped
reading. We suspected that he had died. But when we looked up, we realized that
he was crying—back in the ’60s, when men didn’t cry. We were tempted for a
nanosecond or two to poke fun at him—but even as 11-year-olds we knew the
moment was to be reverenced. Mr. Busby gathered himself and read further, about
how they arrested Jesus, mocked him, beat him, pressed a crown of thorns into
his forehead. He stopped again, looked up at us boys with tears streaming down
his face and dripping onto his open Bible, and pleaded with us: “Don’t you boys
see what they did to my Lord?” I will never forget it. This was my first
encounter with someone who was so deeply in love with Christ. Can I teach like
that? Can I deploy teachers like Mr. Busby?
Response: Thy Word
The
Promises We Make in Baptism (read from the font)
Christina
describes the nature of our baptismal promises, and the promise that we have in
from God in our baptism – that though we may be drowned in the waters of baptism,
we are brought to new life in Jesus Christ.
“Fayette was an African American
woman struggling with mental illness and lupus, living on the streets of
Detroit. She came to sit on the steps of the church one day, refusing to come
in, just listening from outside. It was hot; we had the door open, and I guess
she heard the singing. She kept coming...arriving late, and leaving early, and
for weeks never coming in the door. But eventually she did come...came in the
door, sat at a table, and even joined in our new members class. In the class we
talked about baptism, about what it means to be named by God. I told them it
was a holy moment, a moment when you could hear God saying, “you are a beloved
and precious child of God, and beautiful to behold.” Fayette liked that part. No matter what else we were talking about, she would
bring us back to baptism. She'd begin, “When I am baptized I am ...”and soon we
would learn to respond:
“You are a beloved and precious
child of God and beautiful to behold.”
“Oh yes”, she'd reply, and we'd go
on until she brought it up again. The day came.
The choir gathered around the pool singing, “Wade in the water.”
The choir gathered around the pool singing, “Wade in the water.”
Fayette went under, came up
spluttering out of the icy cold water, drew in a new breath, looked around ,
and said, “and now I am....”
And we replied, “you are a beloved
and precious child of God and beautiful to behold.”
“Yes!” she cried and she danced
around the fellowship hall.
Two months later I got a call at 2:00 am.
Fayette had been beaten and taken to the hospital. So I went. I could hear her voice
long before I could hear what she was saying. But I knew it was Fayette. As I
got closer to the room, I saw her pacing back and forth, her hair sticking up
everywhere, tears marking her face, bruises starting to form. When I got to the
door, she saw me, looked me straight in the eye and declared,
“I am a beloved and precious child
of God...”
At that moment, she caught sight of
herself in the mirror, turned back to me, and said, “I am a beloved and precious child
of God and (again she looked in the mirror)...and God is still working on me.
If you come back tomorrow I'll be so beautiful it will take your breath away!”[2]
Pastoral
Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Response In All Things
Prayer of
Dedication
Holy God, in
Jesus Christ you have called us to you, redeemed us in the waters of baptism,
and taught us how to live in your light. Accept our gifts as a pledge of our
lives, and help us to live in gratitude. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Litany on
the Waters of Baptism
Leader: Many are the gifts of God given to
us.
People:
Living water to quench our thirst, pure air to fill our lungs
Fertile
earth to cultivate our food, passionate fire to warm body and soul
Leader: Many are the gifts of God given to
us, and we remember God’s claim on us
By the water of birth we are brought into the
world; by the water of baptism we are brought into the church. By water and the
Spirit we are brought into God’s mighty acts of salvation and given new life.
People: Many
are the gifts of God given to us.
Leader: In thanksgiving, we pray. Eternal
God, when nothing existed but chaos you swept across the deep water and brought
forth light. Through the sea you led your people from slavery in Egypt to
freedom in a promised land. You sent Jesus, nurtured in the water of the womb,
baptized by John, anointed by your Spirit, washed by a woman’s tears, who call
us to follow him and to go proclaim the good news to every living creature,
making disciples, baptizing, teaching, and remembering that he is with us, has
called us by name.
Pour out your Holy Spirit and by this gift of
water call us to remember:
People: The
gift of grace given to us in our baptism
Leader: Call us to remember
People: The
claim upon us to go and make disciples
Leader: Call us to remember
People: To
teach your name and your love to everyone in all the world
The people are invited to come to the front,
dip their fingers into the bowls provided, and gratefully remember their
baptism.
Song (as
people come forward) You Are Mine
The Blessing
Leader: Child
of the covenant, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism, and marked
as Christ’s own forever.
People: Alleluia! Amen.
Response
Sent Out In Jesus’ Name
[1]
Excerpted from MinistryMatters.com. Read more: http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/blog/entry/2870/word-and-water#ixzz2d7QKnW4v
Excerpted from MinistryMatters.com. Read more: http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/blog/entry/2870/word-and-water#ixzz2d7QKnW4v
[2] Posted by Bedford 12:00 ; http://bedfordunited.ca/
Comments
Post a Comment