Baptism

Jonathan was baptised on 21st September, 2008.

Here is how he looked before the baptism.


And here he is after.

Before he was baptised, the congregation prayed...

O God, our Father, we thank You for Your great love for us and the promise You have made to us through Your Son Jesus Christ that You will be our God and the God of our children also. We ask that Jonathan will grow up trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and knowing You as his Heavenly Father. Strengthen him with your power, and give him victory over the world, the flesh and the devil, so that he may live a life that will please You. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Which we think is a great prayer to be prayed for him, and may well adopt it to pray it for him more frequently.

The congregation welcomed Jonathan after he was baptised with these memorable words...

We welcome you, Jonathan, into this congregation of Christ's Church. Do not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, fight bravely under His banner against sin, the world and the devil, continuing as Christ's faithful soldier and servant to the end of your life.

Which we also think is a great welcome and highlights for us just how valuable things like liturgy can be. It is a very 'manly' welcome, that stresses conflict, a refusing to be ashamed, and bravery - notes that many Christians today wouldn't choose to stress if they were to craft a congregational welcome (or come up with one spontaneously, for non-liturgical traditions).

All in all, it was a great morning, and we're very grateful for what Christ has done through his death and resurrection that has caught Jonathan up because he is part of this household which is founded on these realities. Our prayer is that as he grows up we'll show him what it means to live in this grace, and he'll own it for himself.

Jonathan Dean Baddeley. Brave soldier and faithful servant of Christ. We can't think of a higher accolade we could ask for him.

MDB & JMB