SCRIPTURES
- Isaiah 42:1-9. "Here is my servant . . . my
chosen . . . I have given you as . . . a light to the
nations."
-Isaiah 42:1-4 is the first of four
"Servant Songs" found in the book of Isaiah. The others are Isaiah 49:1-6,
50:4-9 and 52:13—53:12.
-Imagine a king making a royal
"presentation": here is my servant (Isaiah); this is my Son
(Matthew). What is my son like?
He is one who will
be justice to the nations, but not through Preaching loudly in the streets
(verse 2) Violent acts or the unnecessary use of force (verse 3)
-What was the coming Servant expected
to do (verse 6)?
To be a light to the nations (verse
6)
To open blind eyes (verse 7)
To bring prisoners out of the
darkness (verse 7)
Safiyah Fosua
-"Here is my servant . . . my chosen
. . . I have given you as . . . a light to the nations." For Christians, this
description of the servant of the Lord is an inspiring portrait
of Jesus. He is the One
who brings us peace, life, and freedom.
-"See, the
former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they
spring forth, I tell you of them." (Vs. 9)
- Psalm 29 The response
is a to a familiar tune. Sing the Psalm with the sung
response, using Tone 1 in C major.
- Acts 10:34-43. Peter, preaching to Cornelius and
his household, summarizes the life and ministry of Jesus,
"beginning in Galilee after the baptism . . ."
- Matthew 3:13-17. Matthew's account of the baptism
of Jesus at the Jordan.
MATTHEW SCRIPTURE
-
-The
Gospel is one more “Annunciation” scene. As with Gabriel’s announcing to Mary
that she would give birth to a son who will be born of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is
announced as the “beloved son” by the same Spirit
-In a very real way, John was
right. However, Jesus only says, "Give in for now." Jesus had a bigger plan in
mind, and he was asking John to cooperate by laying aside his own way of
thinking "for now." Does God ever ask you to "give in" on smaller issues?
- A river-washed God
- "Fight water with water"
- Jesus was an ordinary man called to be extraordinary. (So are we!)
Lindy
-Baptism
is the initiating sacrament of the church that many of us receive as
infants. It is unrepeatable. But the Eucharist is the sustaining sacrament.
George Thompson
-Through
baptism we are saying that God owns us. We are not our own. Our theme song is
not the Sinatra, “I did it my way” but “Have thine own way,
Lord, have thine own way; thou
art the potter, I am the clay.” George Thompson
-It's important to note that Jesus' call into action took
place at his baptism. Through this event God expanded the meaning and role of
baptism. For the Jews a baptism was a ritual washing. The Greek word for baptism
"baptizo" literally means "to wash." The Jews were constantly baptizing people
and things. If something or someone was unclean they would baptize it. If
someone died on a bed it would be unclean by contact with a dead body. So they
would ritually wash it or baptize it. When the Pharisees criticize Jesus for not
washing his hands they literally asked why Jesus doesn't "baptize" his hands.
That is what John was doing at the river Jordan. He was ritually washing people.
They came confessing their sins and repenting and he was washing them to
ritually demonstrate the change taking place within them.
Alex Stevenson
- The
early church theologian Tertullian was fond of saying, “Christians are made, not
born.” William H. Willimon,
Worship As Pastoral Care (Nashville: Abingdon, 1979), p. 160.
- Notice
similarities between Matthew reading and Isaiah and Psalms: "This is
my beloved Son," also in Psalm 2:7 and "With whom I am well pleased"
also in Isaiah 42.
-In some churches the baptism font is placed at the front door. Because the
front door is where one enters the church physically. And the Baptismal font is
where one enters the church spiritually. Stevenson
-The occasion may one day
slip from your memory. You may forget the date, lose the certificate, the gown
may fall away into dust. If so, you will have lost little. There will still be
His baptism to give you strength, the voice to remind you of who you are, the
task to which you have been called, and the Holy Spirit to empower you. In that
we can live. Rev. Kwanza Yu
University Lutheran Church of Hope
-The lights won't come on if the power is off. Jesus was
able to live as he did because he was full of the spiritual power of God. He was
able to shine a light in the darkness because the power was on. And the only
real source of spiritual power in this universe is the Spirit of God
Stevenson
-Baptism is not a bath,
but a funeral bier. If it was a bath, you would need it again and again. But
since it is a death and new life, it is a once for all picture of the
transformation that has taken place in our lives. Baptism is not about your
goodness; it's about God's Grace.
Dr. Mickey Anders
-In the early rites of baptism, the church
made this clear. The newly baptized Christian was given a new white robe,
symbolic of the new life that was now being lived. Hands were laid on the head,
sign of the gift of the Holy Spirit, the empowerment to be in ministry with
Christ in the world. Later, a Bible was given, sign that this new Christian is
to be in the world preaching and teaching. willimon
BAPTISM
-The baptism of our Lord was public. Baptisms should always take place in the setting of corporate worship
Baptism is joining the ‘Jesus club” and we now have to follow the “Jesus rules” as suggested by this particular congregation.
- The word baptizo literally means "to dip," and secondly, "to wash. Water cleanses only the outside. Being immersed in the Holy Breath also cleanses the inside. Fire refers to judgment
- For others, baptism is
like “hell insurance" Protects you from going to hell
- For some baptism is
like being adopted. An adopted child doesn't chose his parents... etc.
- For some baptism is
like branding. the mark of Christ is put on us.
- for some baptism is
like washing. Washing away our sins.
-Being "unworthy" is
what grace is all about. If we were "worthy," Christ wouldn't have needed to
come at all. Christ begins His ministry by affirming the ministry of the
"unworthy
-To me this passage is about intimacy. Jesus' intimate
relationship with God is possible to us through baptism, however we practice it
- Baptism
has marked entry into the Christian Church, which is why all our medieval
churches have the font at the back of the Church near the door, symbolizing
entry.
-The risk is, that after accepting and acknowledging the
God within, the Holy Spirit, God might ask us, just as he asked Jesus, to step
out into some new form of ministry. And then what would we do?
-We Christen (we name ships)
We baptize babies.
-
Baptism Is a Divine ordinance not a human creation
-
Baptism is an inauguration, a new
beginning. Religion on line
-
Baptism is death to my time.
- Baptism is an event followed by a
process
- Baptism is a journey that includes all
other journeys
- Baptism is a post operative sacrament .
- The twelve apostles were never baptized
- God is aware of us before we are aware
of Him, Lindy
- May the force be
with you. (from movie Star Wars)
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
-None of the apostles were baptized
-God
has no grandchildren
QUOTES
-Martin Luther -- baptism is something done in church one day -- takes the rest of life to complete
-Transcending: not going beyond but seeing beyond. Chopra
- Baptism was the beginning of the journey and not the end." Sermons from Princeton
ILLUSTRATIONS
- A watermark is an interesting thing. It's usually a mark on some piece of property that indicates possession and ownership by someone. In essence,
that's what baptism is. It's a public declaration to anyone watching that you belong to Jesus Christ and you are his follower Diane Borg
- The movie, Lion King has the Father encouraging his son to, "Remember who you are". I think baptism is a time
we can do that. As Jesus was reminded that he was a child of God, so are we reminded of that at our baptism. Lindy
-Peter Gomes, Dean of Harvard Chapel, tells about a couple that was converted through the ministry of Harvard. As neophyte Christians, they insisted upon being immersed. The chapel at Harvard is not equipped with a baptismal pool.
The couple insisted, therefore, upon receiving the sacrament at nearby Walden Pond. It was deep into October. Massachusetts. Cold beyond reason. Dr. Gomes waded into the icy water and
performed the sacrament in a tradition of nearly 2,000 years. He assumed that only the few representatives from the University had witnessed the event. But just as the three cold creatures
came up from the waters and walked to the bank of Walden, thunderous applause erupted. Out of nowhere people emerged: Thoreau enthusiasts, Sierra Club members, Harvard agnostics
and atheists. Someone remarked that this was the strangest thing he had ever seen at Walden Pond. Peter Gomes took the opportunity to preach an impromptu sermon to the many who had never
witnessed a baptism. From sermon, The Sacramental Life, by George Thompson.
-Martin Luther was a man of fluctuating moods. He was, in all likelihood, chemically depressed. On those days in which he was
tempted to fling inkwells at the devil, he rushed to the baptismal font of the church, placed his hand into the waters, anointed
his head with water and repeated the phrase, “Baptismatus sum”-- “I am baptized.”
One evening the New Testament professor from Princeton Seminary visited a high school youth group. After the professor finished speaking about the significance of Christ's baptism as
a revelation of God's presence in Jesus, the high schooler said without looking up, "That ain't what it means." Glad that the student had been listening enough to disagree, the professor asked,
"What do you think it means?" "The story says that the heavens were opened, right?" "Right." "The heavens were opened and the Spirit of God came down, right?" "That's right."
The boy finally looked up and leaned forward, saying, "It means that God is on the loose in the world. And it is dangerous." After his baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness, and it was dangerous.
Jesus taught in the temples, and it was dangerous. Jesus healed on the Sabbath, and it was dangerous. Jesus confronted the authorities and turned over the tables, and it was dangerous. Daniel D.Chambers
HUMOR
- What's
the similarities between John the Baptist and Winny the Pooh? Both have same
middle name.
-Some plunge right into the water....others
take their time.
-"I believe in getting into hot water. I think it keeps you clean.” G.K. Chesterton
- Jesus may be a Jew but God is a Baptist.
CHILDREN
-Explain to the children that, at Jesus' Baptism, all three Persons of the Trinity are present.
Ask the children to name the three Persons if they can. (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
Ask how the Father was present (through his voice from the heavens). Ask how the Son was present (Jesus,
who was baptized). Ask how the Holy Spirit was present (seen as descending like a dove).
- Talk about three-legged races. Ask children how this is like being baptized?! Well, in a 3-legged race we are
dependent on each other, if we try to go our own way, we have problems, if we work together we win! etc. etc.
-God has no grandchildren. Talk about the fact that we are all individually created by God.
PRAYER PHRASES
-Give us the courage and comfort that comes from being claimed by you in the waters of baptism.
This we ask in the name of our Redeemer.
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