FAITH CHALLENGE

“This is My Dear Son”: Jesus Birth to Baptism

Jan 5 – Feb 2, 2003

Baptism of Jesus (Lesson B Week 2)

Scripture: Matthew 3:1-17 (CEV)

Memory Verse: 1 John 3:1 (from The Message): “What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are!”

Concepts:

Jesus Christ embodies and fulfills God’s purpose in the world.
Jesus, the Son of God, has power and authority to save us from sin.
In Christ, God calls us to a new way of life that exhibits God’s purpose for the world.

Objectives:

· The youth will compare the story elements in Matthew 3 to a service of baptism from the PC(USA) Book of Common Worship.

· The youth will look for images from the John the Baptist lesson in a sample “Thanksgiving Over the Water.”

· The youth will write a “Thanksgiving Over the Water” prayer in their own words.

Gathering Time

The Coach leads the opening routine: snack, fellowship, Prayer Wall activity, and Prayer Chain. Name tags are available.

Workshop Lesson Procedure:

Introductions (Coach):

1. The Coach reviews the timeline and the previous week’s workshop activity. Ask where the story of Jesus’ baptism is found in the Bible. The story of Jesus’ baptism comes from the New Testament. This is our first Faith Challenge unit from the New Testament. Point out to the youth that we are skipping pretty far ahead from the time of Judges (God judges and redeems a nation), which was the last unit studied, to the time of Jesus (God sends a son). If you are teaching youth who have not already had the “Birth of Jesus” part of this unit, you will also need to point out that the material they are studying now takes place after the material that they will study in one week.

2. Introduce the Guide who leads the Workshop Lesson.

Application (Guide takes over from here):

1. Invite one or more youth to read aloud Matthew 3:1-17 while others follow along. Make sure each youth has a Bible. Note: Matthew 3:1-12 was read last week. This week focus will be on the baptism of Jesus section (Matthew 3:13-17).

Ask the youth the following questions to discuss:

Why do you suppose John the Baptist was reluctant to baptize Jesus? (hint: look at 3:11) John the Baptist knew that Jesus was Immanuel: God with us (see 1:23). It seemed backwards for John to be baptizing Jesus.

Why do you think Jesus insisted on being baptized? Jesus wanted to show that he identified with the people who were being baptized; he knew that he was also a role model for showing people the kind of new life they are called to live after baptism.

2. Hand out copies of the service of baptism (attached) and ask for volunteers. Tell the youth that you will need people to play the parts of: pastor, elder, parents, child being baptized, congregation (everyone else). This will just be a reenactment, pretend. We will not use real water and will not really baptize anyone.

Point out to the youth that this service has several distinct parts. You might print these out on a piece of flipchart paper for easy reference:

Presentation – the candidates for baptism are presented to the congregation.
Profession of faith – the candidates—or their parents if the candidates are young children—state their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Thanksgiving over the water – The minister thanks God for the water of baptism and prays that Holy Spirit will bless the candidate for baptism and help him or her be a faithful follower of Christ.
Baptism – The water is poured over the candidate.
Laying on of hands – The minister prays for the newly baptized child.

3. Have the youth act out a service of baptism using the copies of the service as a script. You might want to give them a few minutes to practice.

4. Spend a few minutes reviewing each section of the baptism so youth understand what is happening and why each section is titled as it is—Presentation, Profession of Faith, etc.

Thanksgiving Over the Water

After the youth have reenacted a baptism, have them look more closely at the “Thanksgiving Over the Water.” prayer section. Tell them that in this prayer there are many references to the Matthew passage from today as well as references to the Old Testament passages they reviewed last week when they talked about why John the Baptist referred to fire, wind, and water.

Ask the class to point out all the parts of this prayer that refer back to any of the Bible passages they have discussed last week or this week. It might be helpful to provide copies of the Water, Wind and Fire in the Old Testament worksheet included in last week’s lesson or have the students refer again to the Matthew passage from today.)

The chart below outlines each section of the Thanksgiving Over the Water Prayer and it’s Bible reference to help with the discussion:

We give you thanks, Eternal God, for you nourish and sustain all living things by the gift of water. In the beginning of time, your spirit moved over the watery chaos, calling forth order and life.	Genesis 1:1-2
In the time of Noah, you destroyed evil by the waters of the flood, giving righteousness a new beginning.	Genesis 6:9-18
You led Israel out of slavery, through the waters of the sea, into the freedom of the promised land.	Exodus 14:21-29
In the waters of Jordan Jesus was baptized by John and anointed with your Spirit.	Matthew 3:1-17
By the baptism of his own death and resurrection, Christ set us free from sin and death, and opened the way to eternal life. We thank you, O God, for the water of baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death. From it we are raised to share in his resurrection, through it we are reborn by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Send your Spirit to move over this water that it may be a fountain of deliverance and rebirth.	Genesis 1:1-2
Wash away the sin of all who are cleansed by it. Raise them to new life, and graft them to the body of Christ. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon them, that they may have power to do your will, and continue forever in the risen life of Christ. To you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, be all praise, honor, and glory, now and forever. Amen.	Matthew 3:1-17

Reflection:

If time permits, give youth paper and pencil and ask them to write their own “Thanksgiving Over the Water” prayer. A Thanksgiving Over the Water prayer should have the following parts. Post these parts on a piece of flipchart paper, or print them out on the paper on which the youth will write their prayers:

Praise God for God’s faithfulness.
Thankfully remember God’s mighty acts using water in the past, such as creation, recreating the world after the flood, the exodus through the Red Sea, and Jesus’ baptism.
Ask the Holy Spirit to be present at the baptism.
Praise God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

When they have finished, invite the youth to share their prayers, if they wish.

Closing (Coach):

1. The Coach conducts the closing prayer time.

Prayer suggestion: Thank you God for the gift of baptism, for the church, and for our friends and family who help us follow you as faithful children of God. That’s who we really are! Amen.

Close/lock the door and turn off the lights.

Guide preparation in advance:

1. Check out the room before your first Sunday workshop so that you know where everything is located.

2. Make enough copies of the service of baptism for the whole class.

3. Print the names of the parts of the service of baptism on a piece of flipchart paper.

4. Print the components of a Thanksgiving Over the Water on a piece of flipchart paper or print it out on the paper the youth will write their prayers on.

Supply List

· Bibles

· Paper

· Pencils

· Flipchart stand and paper

Service of Baptism

Presentation

Pastor: Hear the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Hear also these words from Holy Scripture: “The promise is for you, for your children and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls.”

Obeying the word of our Lord Jesus, and confident of his promises, we baptize those whom God has called.

In baptism God claims us, and seals us to show that we belong to God. God frees us from sin and death, uniting us with Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection.

By water and the Holy Spirit, we are made members of the church, the body of Christ, and joined to Christ’s ministry of love, peace, and justice.

Let us remember with joy our own baptism, as we celebrate this sacrament.

Elder: (to the congregation) On behalf of the session, I present ________________, child of _____________ and _____________, to receive the sacrament of baptism.

(to the parents) Do you desire that _____________ be baptized.

Parents: We do.

Pastor: (to the parents) Relying on God’s grace, do you promise to live the Christian faith, and to teach that faith to your child?

Parents: We do.

Pastor: (to the congregation) Do you, as members of the church of Jesus Christ, promise to guide and nurture ___________ by word and deed, with love and prayer, encouraging ___________ to know and follow Christ and to be a faithful member of his church?

Congregation: We do.

Profession of Faith

Pastor: Through Baptism we enter the covenant God has established. Within this covenant God gives us new life, guards us from evil, and nurtures us in love.

In embracing that covenant, we choose whom we will serve, by turning from evil and turning to Jesus Christ.

(to the parents) As God embraces you within the covenant, I ask you to reject sin, to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, and to confess the faith of the church, the faith in which we baptize.

Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world?

Parents: We do.

Pastor: Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Lord and Savior, trusting in his grace and love?

Parents: We do.

Pastor: Will you be Christ’s faithful disciple, obeying his word and showing his love?

Parents: We will, with God’s help.

Pastor: (to the congregation) With the whole church, let us confess our faith.

Everyone: I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Thanksgiving Over the Water

Pastor: Let us pray.

We give you thanks, Eternal God, for you nourish and sustain all living things by the gift of water. In the beginning of time, your spirit moved over the watery chaos, calling forth order and life.

In the time of Noah, you destroyed evil by the waters of the flood, giving righteousness a new beginning.

You led Israel out of slavery, through the waters of the sea, into the freedom of the promised land.

In the waters of Jordan Jesus was baptized by John and anointed with your Spirit. By the baptism of his own death and resurrection, Christ set us free from sin and death, and opened the way to eternal life.

We thank you, O God, for the water of baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death. From it we are raised to share in his resurrection, through it we are reborn by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Send your Spirit to move over this water that it may be a fountain of deliverance and rebirth. Wash away the sin of all who are cleansed by it. Raise them to new life, and graft them to the body of Christ. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon them, that they may have power to do your will, and continue forever in the risen life of Christ. To you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, be all praise, honor, and glory, now and forever. Amen.

(pretending to pour water over the child’s head) _____________, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Laying on of Hands

Pastor: (placing a hand on the head of the child) O Lord, uphold _____________ by your Holy Spirit. Give _____________ the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever. Amen.

(making a cross on the child’s forehead) _____________, child of the covenant, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism, and marked as Christ’s own forever. Amen.

(to the congregation) What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are!

Everyone: With joy and thanksgiving we welcome you into Christ’s church to share with us in his ministry, for we are all one in Christ.