38. New Members

This morning I have the privilege of doing four things. First, there will be some young children who will be receiving covenant baptism based on the faith of their parents who are laying claim to God’s covenant promises. This is true of all of the [family] children, but particularly of [names of three children] who have not yet made public profession of faith. We rejoice in covenant protection and care that God places our children within the covenant.

Second, I will be baptizing some children not only because of their parents’ faith, but because of their own faith and personal trust in Christ. [Names of two older children] have made a great profession of faith and are coming for baptism not only because of the covenant, but because they understand it and believe it. The same is true of [names of two children from another family]. And it is so exciting to me to see these professions of faith. So these four will be coming to the Lord’s Table for the first time, but also being baptized for the first time.

There is a third group of people who were baptized in their youth, and have never known a time when they were not in the covenant. I will not be baptizing them, but I will be admitting them to communion because of their profession of faith. [Names of three children] have all made profession of faith, and understand what is involved in entering into the Lord’s Table. And after the service, I want you to congratulate these covenant children, and rejoice with them as they partake of their first communion. This is a big Sunday for each of these people. We always look forward to our covenant children entering into this second stage of covenant blessings by faith.

The fourth group of people are those who have already been baptized and have been members of other churches, who are now making public profession here and are joining as families.

[Name of older child] and her parents [names of parents] were communicant members elsewhere, as was [names of two other older people].

And before we have these families come forward to either be baptized or admitted to the table or both, I wanted to give a brief devotional that really encompasses all four groups. The common thread in all of these covenant members and covenant professions is that God embraces the family. Whether people realize it or not, God embraces the family. God makes family promises, and we lay claim to those family promises, and our children grow up embracing the same family promises. I love the way the Bible treats families. It doesn’t divide the families up. When it is time for worship, Scripture says, “Gather the people together, men and women and little ones…that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this law.” God takes the families as a unit. He makes promises to families. He made His covenant with Adam’s family, with Noah’s family, with Abraham’s family, with Moses, Phinehas, David and many other families. And yes, there were stages of growth in those families, but that’s all it was – growth into the covenant provisions of God. In Acts 3, Peter promises “you are sons …of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed’” (Acts 3:25). Isn’t that a cool promise? Praise God for His covenant with the family. With Joshua we can say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Josh. 24:15). And each of these children and adults are consciously or unconsciously part of that commitment.

So this morning, whether you are coming in on your own profession of faith to the Lord’s Table, or provisionally coming in as a covenant child, we can rejoice that God has a place for each one. If each of the families would come forward at this time, we will take some covenant vows.

The first set of questions is for all who have already made profession of faith. There’s twelve of you, and each of you can say, “I do.”

Vows of New Members:

1. Do you believe the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired and inerrant Word of God, and its doctrine of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ to be the perfect and only true way for a man to be saved? Do you?
2. Do you confess that because of your sinfulness, you abhor and humble yourself before God, and that you trust for salvation, not in yourself, but in the Lord Jesus Christ alone? Do you?
3. Do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your sovereign Lord, and do you promise, in reliance on the grace of God, to serve Him with all that is in you, to forsake the world, to mortify the deeds of the flesh, and to lead a godly life? Do you?
4. Will you be a faithful member of this congregation, share in its worship and ministry through your prayers and gifts as you are able, offer your study and service, and so fulfill your calling to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? Will you?
5. Will you devote yourself to the church’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers? Will you?
6. Do you agree to submit in the Lord to the government of the Covenant Presbyterian Church and, in case you should be found delinquent in doctrine or practice, to heed its discipline? Do you?

Promise of Congregation:

Do you as a congregation pledge to love and pray for these people and to encourage them in their Christian walk? If so, raise your hands.

The next set of questions is just for those who are bringing their children for baptism.

1. Do you acknowledge your children’s need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, and the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit?
2. Do you claim God’s covenant promises on their behalf, and do you look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation, as you do for your own?
3. Do you now unreservedly dedicate your children to God?
4. Do you promise, in humble reliance upon divine grace, that you will endeavor to set before them a godly example, that you will pray with and for them, that you will teach them the doctrines of our holy religion, and that you will strive, by all means of God’s appointment, to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?

Do you as a congregation undertake the responsibility of praying for this family and encouraging them to be faithful to their vows to raise their children in the fear of God? If so raise your right hand.