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| Covenant Baptism | | Date Created: Sep 23, 2005, 11:12 AM |
 This is a sermon I preached almost 10 years ago on May 19, 1996. I had this posted on my former blog Corrigenda, but haven't had the opportunity to put it here yet. Besides, some people - thousands, maybe millions of eager people - have been asking me to upload more sermons. Okay, yeah, well, here's one.
The occasion was the baptism of Calvin Horne, Mark and Jennifer's first child. This is an older sermon, so I would probably tweak the language I use to describe what happens in Baptism a bit today. Nevertheless, I do think using the language of "ritual inauguration" to describe God's work in bringing a child into the covenant remains helpful. Although the children of believers are covenant children from conception, that covenant is publicly and officialy inaugerated at their Baptism. After all, a biblical ritual like Baptism is not simply an external ceremony. It's certainly not a human work. God effects something through it. God graciously enters into a formal, binding covenant with our children. God promises to be their God. The general truth that "Jesus loves me, this I know" is made personal when the particular child's name is recited and the name of the Triune God is put upon him. Baptized children are from then on disciples of Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20) and as such they bear the name Christian (Acts 11:28).
You might note that this sermon was preached many years before the FV/AAPC controversy broke. Just in case anyone cares. And we know that some people care too much. If you click this link, you will download the mp3 file.
This earlier entry of mine is related.
And this is a thought-provoking essay on the larger issue of conversion written 20 years ago by Jim Jordan. |
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