Jet and Matt were baptized last Sunday, 13/02/2011, among with other 3 other GFI children.
It was a humbling and a moving experience for us, we are now making our commitment to bring up our children as God’s children publicly. It was also a good reminder for me on what baptism really (in this case children baptism) means.
I’ve taken an excerpt from Baptism Service which I think does the explaining of children baptism really well (note: I’ve reformatted them slightly – emphasis are mine, I’ve also listed Jet and Matt not the other children):
Baptism: An explanation
Jesus said:
“Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.(Mark 10:14-16)
Children are baptised on the understanding that:
- They will be brought up as faithful followers of Jesus Christ, and that
- When they are old enough they will take upon themselves the promises that are made on their behalf.
Therefore, let us pray that God will grant to Jeremiah and Matthew that which by nature they do not have, that by the work of God’s Holy Spirit they may grow up to know the forgiveness of their sins, and to put their trust in the Saviour who laid down his life for them.
The meaning of the children baptism is simply summarized by the 2 points above, for us the parents to bring up as followers of Christ (our promises), with the hope that they themselves one day confess that Jesus is their Lord and Saviour.
Oh, how we long for that day to come.
The godparents were also making a promise, their promise is to pray and seek to encourage both Jet and Matt in the name of Jesus Christ. Kuku San is Jet’s godfather and I i Chen is Matt’s godmother.
And then the congregation prayed together.
We receive Jeremiah and Matthew into the congregation of Christ’s flock and pray that they will not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, but will bravely fight under his banner against sin, the world, and the devil, and continue as Christ’s faithful soldiers and servants until the end of their lives.
Amen.
Amen indeed.
Matt got wet first.
Jet went next, Kuku San was supposed to hold him but he was so scared – so I had to hold him instead.
See Jet, it wasn’t scary at all – it’s just water (from the rest room 🙂 ).