Deus Misereatur

  I was a Church of Christ minister for several years. I would do my duties and accomplish my responsibilities with the Air Force full time, and then when off-duty I would lead my little congregation. It's called "bi-vocational ministry". But while I was a Church of Christ minister, I began to realize aspects about baptism that went against what we taught and held to, everything from it's purpose, to the amount of water, to who is actually to receive the Christian rite. So I was delighted when Sean McGowan, Pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, Florida, put out his new, little 62-page softback, "Infant Baptism: An Introductory Sprinkling for Parishioners". Easy to read, simple to grasp, and empty of pretense or pugnaciousness. McGowan stays on task. In other words, he doesn't wade out into the flowing waters to cover every topic related to baptism, but swims around in one of the major streams that feeds the subject: Family in God'...

Baptism: Answers to Common Questions by Guy M. Richard My rating: 4 of 5 stars When people migrate from one church to another, they normally have interesting questions: "What makes this church different? Why do you all do this? Is there a reason you don't do that?" And so forth. One of the questions I get plenty of is why do we baptize babies and children of professing believers? Guy M. Richard, executive director and assistant professor of systematic theology and Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta, has been asked that question many times as well, and has pulled together some of his answers in the 129 page softback, "Baptism: Answers to Common Questions". It is an easy read, one that speaks in a straightforward fashion. Since there are already several reviews of this work I will address some pros and cons. To begin, Richard engages with "Children of Abraham" written by Baptist scholar David Kingdon. He fairly recounts Kingdon's perspective...

The Good Shepherd's Pasture: A Story of Your Baptism by Elizabeth Harwell My rating: 5 of 5 stars How do we tell our children about Jesus? In what ways can we explain the Gospel so that it gets into little ears and nabs little hearts? Then, we have to think about the value of our little ones' baptism and how to communicate it to them. Elizabeth Harwell has crafted a wonderful 39 page, reading-out-loud hardback, "The Good Shepherd's Pasture," to convey to our children all of those things. The story nicely draws in the Old Testament rite of circumcision and connects it's forward-looking to the coming of the Good Shepherd and baptism. Harwell also artfully teases out our sin, the Good Shepherd's remedy, that the child needs to trust in Jesus for herself or himself, how they belong to the Good Shepherd and his pasture, that their baptism marks them as belonging to Jesus, and that they also should sing the love songs of the Good Shepherd to others. As you...

[ Here is the audio file. I highly recommend you listen as you follow along ] Following the Little Ones to Jesus Genesis 17.1-14; Luke 18.15-17 Lord Jesus, shape and sculpt our hearts and mindsets that in real humility we may receive the kingdom of God like little children do. And help us to better grasp the value of our own baptism, as well as Christian baptism for infants and children. For those who find this subject difficult, help them to see clearly why we biblically do this, and why it is important. And if they are still unconvinced, may they at least be grateful that we are trying to follow you and your Scriptures, and may all of us be grateful for the Gospel of Grace displayed in baptism. Amen. Do you ever get frustrated because you have ideas in your head that are clear as day to you, but you can’t get them into someone else’s head? That happens at our house quite regularly. For example, Anna gets this picture of what she wants in her mind’s eye. It makes good ...

[If it would help to hear this sermon, you can go here: " Baptism in the Name of Jesus "] Baptism in the Name of Jesus Matthew 28.16-20 (Exodus 5.15-23; Deuteronomy 18.6-8, 18-22) Lord Jesus, crucified for our transgressions and raised for our justification, who now has all authority in heaven and on earth: guide our hearts and minds and ears that we may hear you clearly, love you dearly, and follow more nearly. Amen. This time last year – the last Sunday of January 2017 – we concluded our series on Matthew, and we talked about this passage.  We heard about the Mountain , the Mandate ; the Mission ; and the Movement . Today, for a very important reason that will become clear later, we are returning to the mission our Lord gave to his disciples and looking at the biggest part of it: Baptism, and specifically baptism as Jesus commanded it. To do this we will look at Jesus direction in Matthew 28.19; then we will review how we show his dominance by submitting to hi...

(I presented a version of this 9 July 2017 at Heritage Presbyterian Church; and again on 19 July 2017 at the Capitol Bible Forum, Oklahoma State Capitol) God is For Us: Psalm 56 ( Romans 8.31-39 )   I have often used this passage and these thoughts when talking about Baptism. Now that may startle you a bit since the only water mentioned are the tears of David. But if you’ll hold on tight I think you may see how I get there. The Pressure is Constant (1, 2, and 5): “ all day long ”. The Pressure is Fierce (1-2, 5-7): “ tramples on me….an attacker oppresses me ” (1); “ My enemies trample on me….many attack me proudly ” (2); “ injure my cause….thoughts are against me for evil ” (5); “ stir up strife…lurk…watch my steps….waited for my life ” (6). Fierce Response (7). Faith-Filled Prayer in the Pressure (1a; 3-4, 8-11): “Faith is seen here as a deliberate act, in defiance of one’s emotional state” Derek Kidner; v. 8-11. *** v.9 “This I know that God is for me…” – ...

I was doing some “bid-ness” yesterday, rummaging about to find a quotation about baptism, and tripped over this. Read it slow and steady, and before you argue with it, disregard it, or dump it, think it over. "...faithfulness is different from and more important than effectiveness. But numbers are also important, not so much in the sense of the unsaved who need to be reached but in the sense of the baptized we let get away. ( . . . ) As much as the church needs to see how the techniques of contemporary church growth alter the content of the gospel, believers need to recognize that God has ordained certain techniques or forms for the church's growth. The one reliable God-given method is the natural and organic one of baptizing infants born to believing parents" (D.G. Hart, " Recovering Mother Kirk ," 46). Mike

The 1979 Book of Common Prayer has some oddities and peculiar relishes here and there.  One of them is found in the Collect for the First Sunday after the Epiphany. It goes like this: First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of our Lord Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.   Hopefully the “glitch” is obvious for the thoughtful, Bible-shaped reader, whether Calvinist or Arminian; “Grant that all who are baptized into his name may keep the covenant they have made.” The problem is (at the least) two-fold: If it’s a covenant we have made, then it is from our own manufacture, concoction and incentive. That would mean it...