It’s always a huge pleasure and privilege to hold a baptismal service, for in it we celebrate new life in Jesus. In our church we don’t baptise babies because we feel that baptism is for those who have made a conscious decision to follow Jesus (which babies obviously can’t do; we dedicate them to the Lord instead, asking for God’s blessing on their lives.) Yesterday we had the joy of baptising five church members, celebrating their decision to follow Jesus and baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus commanded us to. (Matt 28:18-20)

 

It was wonderful to have friends and family join us for this service and to sing God’s praises.

Baptism is a sacrament and a symbolic act linked to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom 6:1-11) where going down under the water represents death to the old life, to our sinful independent state and coming up from the water represents the new life we now possess thanks to Christ’s resurrection. All of us must be born again to become part of God’s family (John 3:3, John 1:12), and this is a cause for great celebration. As with so many other celebrations, this invnolved food and gifts!