Covenant Child
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” — Acts 2:38-39
God graciously includes our children in His covenant, and all His promised are for them as well as us (Genesis 17:7, Acts 2:39). Jesus Himself embraced little children, and blessed them (Mark 10:16); and the apostle Paul said that children of believers are holy (1 Corinthians 7:14). So, just as the children of the old covenant received the sign of circumcision, our children are given the sign of baptism. We are therefore always to teach our children that they are set apart by baptism as God’s own children. — Psalter Hymnal form for infant baptism
Do you acknowledge that our children, though conceived and born in sin and therefore subject to all manner of misery, yea, to condemnation itself, are sanctified in Christ, and therefore as members of His Church ought to be baptized?
Do you promise, in reliance on the Holy Spirit and with the help of the Christian community, to do all in your power to instruct this child in the Christian faith and to lead her by your example into the life of Christian discipleship? Parents, what is your answer?
Do you, the people of God, promise to receive this child in love, pray for her, help care for her instruction in the faith, and encourage and sustain her in the fellowship of believers? Congregation, what is your answer?
We do, God helping us.
We pray, O Lord, that You will always govern these children by Your Holy Spirit. May they, through Your guidance, be so nurtured in the Christian faith and godliness as to grow and develop in Jesus Christ. Help them see Your fatherly goodness and mercy which surrounds us all. Make them champions of righteousness under the direction of Jesus Christ, our only Teacher, King, and High Priest. Give them the courage to fight against and overcome sin, the devil, and his whole dominion. May their lives become an eternal song of praise to You, the One, only true God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
