Dennis Tuuri

# Sermon Transcript – Reformation Covenant Church

If you’re visiting with us this morning, please be advised you’ll need an order of service that is available as you come in the front door. The songs won’t be announced. We’ll proceed right through that order of service. There’ll be a number of responsive readings and a number of songs. They’re marked in your order of service, but essentially the last of each set of response songs will stand for, and you’ll just be expected to realize that and stand at the appropriate times.

Also, we’ll be taking communion as we move to the end of this morning’s service. And if you have not taken communion with us before, as the heads of households come up at that time to take bread and get the wine for their families, I’d ask you to meet with me out in the hallway here. If you’re new to our church, would like to commune with us today and have not participated in communion with us before.

Let’s stand for the reading of God’s word and the call to worship. Please stand. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, and having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to provoke them to love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.

Let’s pray. Almighty and merciful Father, we thank you for calling us into holy worship this Lord’s day. And we thank you, Father, for reminding us through this call to worship that we have a great high priest who has made the way of entrance for us into the holy of holies through the giving of his flesh and his blood on the cross for us. We thank you Lord God therefore that we are accepted in your sight through the atonement of sins offered through his blood and through the righteousness that is imputed to our accounts that belongs to him alone.

We thank you almighty God for giving us mouths to worship you. And we pray that this service may redound to your glory and honor now and forever. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory. The Lord hath made known his salvation, his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth. Make a loud noise and rejoice and sing praise.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings. That bringeth good tidings of joy. That saith unto Zion, Zion thy watchmen shall lift up the voice, for they shall see eye to eye. Break forth into joy. For the Lord hath comforted his people. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations. Depart ye, haste ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out from the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight, for the Lord will go before you. Behold my servant shall deal prudently, as many were astonished at thee his visage was so marred more than any man.

Four particular prophecies from the book of Isaiah for this morning’s text. These prophecies all deal with the coming of the Messiah and the implications of that. And I’m not going to tell you why I chose those particular four texts until we get to the discussion of the fourth text itself. I don’t feel bad about concealing that from you because in a way what we celebrate today, the birth of our savior and his work on the cross and all of his work that he has accomplished in his resurrection and ascension was in a sense hidden from the eyes of man as well when he was born.

Born very likely in a cave underneath the world, out of sight as it were. And prior to that, of course, being incarnate in the womb of the virgin again out of sight of man. And so Christmas reveals joy to us, a joy that is not always apparent. And so I will not reveal the reason I chose these four texts until we get to the fourth one.

This first text, however, begins with a verse, the text that we just read, that should remind us of that first Christmas, the birth of our savior, recorded in the Gospel of Luke as well. Maybe not at first so apparently to us, but the passage begins with the statement of how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good tidings that publishes peace that bringeth good tidings of joy—many superlatives about the tidings that are brought and of course that first night of our savior’s birth. That was the message that the angels brought to the shepherds: “We bring you great tidings good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people.” Luke 2:10.

Now we normally associate this prophecy from the book of Isaiah as referring to those that preach the gospel. And certainly that’s appropriate. Romans tells us that. But it also refers to those angels that proclaimed the gospel of the birth of our savior 2,000 years ago as well. Additionally, it points to one other proclamation of the gospel, which we’ll touch on a little bit later this morning. But it’s important to recognize then that this passage before us talks about the great news of the coming of the Savior King, his advent to earth.

The angels said they brought good tidings of great joy. They said that for unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior which is Christ the Lord. Christ’s salvific work is proclaimed by the angels and by the prophecy we just read from the book of Isaiah. And his lordship is also declared by those angels. He is the Messiah, the Lord, the anointed one, the king of kings. And so the good news proclaimed in the verse from Isaiah that we read is epitomized in the final phrase of verse 7.

“Thy God reigneth.” And that is an essential element then of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that is a summation of all the gospel as it were. Isaiah 52:7-15 concerns really a new exodus. Midway through that passage we are told that they will go out but they will not go out with haste or by flight, for the Lord will go before you and the God of Israel will be your reward. Rather, in other words, before and after you’ll have God with you. And so your flight will be unlike the original exodus from Egypt. Your flight will be a greater Exodus in which there is no haste because God accomplishes a fuller salvation.

And so the proclamation of Isaiah 52:7-15, which are linked to the coming of the savior through that first verse, through the announcement of the nativity as it were of the God who reigns to his earth to do his work, are also tidings of peace and goodwill in that they proclaim a greater Exodus. The people are comforted. The text tells us Jerusalem is redeemed. God wrought his salvation in the sight of the nations.

And so the Exodus, the greater Exodus accomplished through Christ’s work and his coming to earth is proclaimed in our first text this morning. The means of that Exodus is also talked about—the servant who deals prudently. Verse 13, “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently,” wisely, accomplishing what he intends. “He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.” Now, in Isaiah 6:1, that is the description of the throne of God.

And so, when we read of the servant who deals prudently, we’re then told that servant who comes to earth and who affects this greater Exodus is God himself. Because only God himself can be exalted to the highest of highests and live in the throne room of God, which Isaiah 6:1 tells us this phrase means. But it goes on to say in verse 14 of our text, “As many as were astonished at thee. His visage was so marred more than any man.”

And so the proclamation of this great news of the reigning savior coming to earth brings with it inside of that message the concept that he will be a servant that deals prudently, lawfully, justly. But he will suffer. He will go to the cross. And the cross then is the mechanism whereby God and his providence has decided to usher in the kingdom, the reigning God, the ascension of the savior king Jesus Christ to the throne.

Verse 14 speaks of his passion. And verse 15 talks about the result of that passion. “He shall sprinkle many nations.” His salvation wrought through him will be obvious to the nations around about the people that Christ comes to minister to. And so we have in Isaiah 52 the arrival of God’s servant pointing of course to the advent, the coming of Messiah to his people. That’s the central subject of the good news that is proclaimed to God’s covenant people.

Israel receives redemption. The servant who deals prudently is exalted on high, but only after his humiliation on the cross, the vehicle by which the sins of the nation are atoned for and covenant peace and covenant reign affected.

Christmas, the celebration of the advent or coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth as a call to remember the salvation that his coming was to effect. It is a time of rejoicing because the good news has been proclaimed. The Messiah has come to redeem his people. He has through his life lived prudently, effectively, lawfully, revealing God to man. He has through his passion affected the atonement of sins required for covenant peace between men and God. And because of that prudent servant and his actions, he has now been exalted, yea, very high to the throne room of God.

We worship God this day for the coming of the covenant mediator to affect covenant peace for salvation. And the affecting of that peace through the death on the cross of the sinless one whose first coming we celebrate this morning. Peace with God for the sinner is marvelous good news. And we must be built up with an understanding of this peace to proclaim and be heralds today of the gospel pictured in the first portion of this passage and to rejoice and praise God for the salvation affected by the coming of Jesus our savior.

His appearance announced his salvation has come. His work of atonement is pictured and his resultant victorious salvation is proclaimed in this passage. Let us rejoice in song and spirit now then as we meditate on the coming of the one who brought salvation from sin and death. Who appeared that men might be freed from Satan’s dominion and God’s wrath to be once more dominion men under God.

Let’s sing.

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“Listen, O isles, unto me. The Lord hath called me from the womb. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword, and made me a polished shaft, and said unto me, ‘Thou art my servant, O Israel.’ I said, ‘I have labored in vain.’ Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord. And now sayeth the Lord, that formed me from the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob again to him, though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord.

I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles. Thus sayeth the Lord, to him whom man despiseth, to a servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise because of the Lord that is faithful, and he shall choose thee.”

This passage opens with a call to the isles, to the nations that are afar off, as it were, to the Gentiles who lived outside of the boundaries of the promised land of the nation of Israel. This passage of scripture speaks specifically to the Gentile blessing and the gospel prosperity that would accompany the coming of the one who is named from the bowels of his mother, who has made mention of in verse one of our text from the bowels of his mother.

Indeed, in Luke 1:31, we read that of the angel’s annunciation to Mary of the coming of the Messiah in her womb. And the angel said that you shall conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. Mention was made of him even before his conception. His birth is linked in this passage to salvation again, but not just to the nation of Israel. But now the great inclusion of the Gentiles is also pictured in this text before us.

He shall be a lightbringer to the Gentiles. And it is interesting in this context how there is a connection between him being a lightbringer to the Gentiles and him also carrying the sword as we read about in verse two. Out of his mouth is a sharp sword. He has made his mouth like a sharp sword. Obvious reference again to the preaching of the gospel affected through the coming of Jesus Christ.

Verse one of the text calls to those who are far off. Verse two talks about the hidden one, the blessings that are going to come to them that is yet hidden from them. Verse three speaks of his coming. And now the winnowing process that we’ve mentioned before in the book of Micah, the remnant process through which God winnows down his people as it were to one person is verified in verse three.

For indeed the Messiah is identified as Israel himself. He is Israel. And so the winnowing process of the Old Testament, the exclusion of the gentile nations is now through because that has yielded forth the Messiah, the true Israel. And now the rest of the passage speaks of the blessings that will occur to the gentile nations because of that.

The isles, the remotest parts of the earth are affected by the coming of the Messiah. This is no longer a localized phenomena described here or religion. The Lord of the entire created order had now come to men to be manifested in them. The great plan of the ages, displaying God’s dealings with the elect people in a geographic locality, had now issued forth the great glory that had been anticipated by covenant history. The Messiah had now come and his coming is light to the entire world.

The winnowing process, as I said, is now finished. The Messiah has come. The true servant has now come. And his coming will usher in a new age of man in which all men are called and will eventually come to that great light.

We praise God then during the Christmas season for salvation. And that salvation is universal in its scope. Jesus Christ comes and through the preaching of his gospel, he brings not just a select group of people any longer. He brings eventually the entire created order to worship him. And the gospel prosperity is spoken of in this passage. Let’s rejoice before God for the universal aspect of the salvation in Jesus Christ.

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“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of counsel and might and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord. And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, but with righteousness shall he judge the poor. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins.

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together. And the cow and the bear shall feed. Their young one shall lie down together. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

Again, this passage begins with a reference to the coming of the Messiah out of the stem of Jesse, Jesse being David’s father. Christ being identified in the first verse of Matthew and the genealogy that follows as descended from David. That’s why he was in Bethlehem, the city of bread, was because that was also the city of David and reflected the genealogy of his father.

And so this announces the coming forward of David’s line again that had been cut off as it were in covenant history as it anticipated the coming of the greater David, the Lord of David, Jesus Christ himself. And so this passage is again a passage having to do with the advent of the Savior to man.

Verse one is the announcement of the coming of the Messiah. Verse two speaks of the endowment of Messiah with the spirit of the Lord. Verses three and four speak of the justice that he brings with his coming and then the effect of that justice is declared in verses 5 and verse 9. The end result of that is that the earth should be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Now many commentators tend to look at this passage as moving in verses one speaking of the first advent readily acknowledged to then speaking of a change either verses 2, three or four to his final coming referred to as the second coming of our savior. There is no reason to see this in the text, however, and there are various reasons not to see it.

The coming of the Messiah in this text is linked to the proclamation of justice. The fact that he renders decisions among men. The fact that justice is now the basis, God’s holy standard is the basis for judgments between men and men and men and nations. This is not portrayed as some sort of great cataclysmic final event at the end of time.

What we have described in verses 2 through 4 and 5 is a process and that process is to be seen then as related to the first coming of Messiah. The coming of Jesus Christ, his nativity is linked to a progressive fulfillment of his word as a direct effect of his coming. These verses speak to the long-term working out of his justice as king of kings and lord of lords.

His coming and work on the cross is followed by the waging of war against the wicked. And the vehicle that is the primary weapon of that warfare is not force in the sense of physical force. It is the rod of his mouth, the breath of his lips. The preaching of his gospel is what slays men and nations and brings them under subjection to him or removes them from off the face of the world.

I said that there was a second proclamation. We talked about the first passage, “How beautiful the bring good news,” the good news that our God reigns and how that really is understood, of course, in terms of preaching the gospel today. It’s also understood in relationship to the angel’s proclamation to the shepherds of the birth of Jesus Christ the Lord. But it also, I think, has to be understood as having its primary reference to Jesus Christ himself.

Jesus Christ preached the first recorded sermon we have in the synagogue declaring that the acceptable year of the Lord had been fulfilled in their sight. He quoted from Isaiah’s proclamation of the coming of the year of Jubilee where the lame or the blind receive back their sight or the captives are set free. And he then went on to say that this day is the scripture fulfilled in your hearing. He preached the gospel. He was the first preacher of the gospel among men and he is the preeminent word that must fill our mouths now as we preach the gospel as well.

And so with his proclamation and then the proclamation of those who are found in him, the process described in the verses we have just read takes place. Righteousness, justice, truthfulness flourishes in the earth progressively from the coming of the first, the first coming of our Messiah till his final coming. The world shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. Make no mistake about it.

The peace that ensues is not the peace of the graveyard in verses 6-9, but rather it is the well-ordered universe living in ethical submission to the one whose loins are girt with righteousness or justice and whose reigns are girdled with faithfulness.

We received a Christmas letter just yesterday actually from Reverend Norman Jones and I wanted to on the back of the bulletin that he sent along from his church he had a quote from Spurgeon and I wanted to read this quote now in relationship to this passage from Isaiah.

Spurgeon said: “We anticipate the happy day when the whole world shall be converted to Christ. When the gods of the heathen shall be cast to the moles and the bats. When Romanism shall be exploded, and the crescent of Muhammad shall never again cast its baleful rays upon the nations. When kings shall bow down before the prince of peace, and all nations shall call their redeemer blessed.

Some despair of this. They look upon the world as a vessel breaking up and going to pieces, never to float again. We know that the world and all that is therein in one day is to be burnt up and afterward we look for new heavens and for a new earth. But we cannot read our Bible without the conviction that Jesus shall reign where’er the sun does his successive journeys run.

We are not discouraged by the length of his delays. We are not disheartened by the long period which he allots to the church in which to struggle with little success at times and much defeat. We believe that God will never suffer this world which has once seen Christ blood shed upon it to be always the devil’s stronghold. Christ came hither to deliver this world from the detested sway of the powers of darkness.

What a shout shall that be when men and angels shall unite to cry, ‘Hallelujah! Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!’ What a satisfaction will it be in that day to have had a share in the fight, to have helped to break the arrows of the bow, and to have aided in winning the victory for our Lord. Happy are they who trust themselves with this conquering Lord and who fight side by side with him doing their little in his name and by his strength. How unhappy are those in the side of evil.

It is a losing side and it is a matter wherein to lose is to lose and to be lost forever. On whose side are you?”

It’s important at Christmas time, particularly in the midst of a nation that is in the throws of judgment for Almighty God, to recognize that all we see around us is the working out of Isaiah 11:1-9 when God brings his judgment upon the nations and those who refuse to bow and to come to conversion to Jesus Christ are through covenant history removed from off the face of the earth and supplanted by those who are righteous.

I said it last week, I’ll say it again this week. Hunger is a good thing. It reminds us of what we need for nourishment and strength. And so hunger in the nation around us today is a good thing. And God is using it to prepare us for the righteousness which we all should hunger for.

Christmas then is a celebration that Christ having come, having begun the process of Isaiah 11 will continue it till the end until all the earth is covered with the knowledge of the Lord as the seas are covered with water. Let’s sing and rejoice in that process of justice and victory wrought by the King of Kings.

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“And the Lord saw it and it displeased him that there was no judgment and he saw that there was no man. Therefore, his arm brought salvation unto him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate. And he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing. According to their deeds, fury to his adversaries and recompense to the islands. He will repay recompense.

So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, and the redeemer shall come to Zion. As for me, this is my covenant with them, sayeth the Lord, my spirit that is upon them shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, sayeth the Lord.

Arise, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord sayeth the Lord. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light.”

This final passage that we consider this Christmas morning is really a summation of the other passages. The passage begins with clear references to the first advent coming of Christ. No one is able to come and accomplish redemption. So in the words of verse 20, the redeemer shall come to Zion.

God himself puts on salvation and brings it to man. The word for redeemer in verse 20 is the word used for kinsman redeemer specifically indicating the necessity of the incarnation for God to accomplish the work of a kinsman redeemer. God’s own arm brings salvation through the coming and work of Messiah. And this first coming of Christ is then said to have continuing effects upon the nations.

Verses 17 and 18 show the redeemer putting on garments which prepare him to go and do battle with his adversaries and enemies. Verse 19 shows the effects of this long-term work. Those effects being the adoration and praise of the nations. Verse 19 says, “From the west they fear his name, and from the rising of the sun,” which is to say, everywhere, his glory is feared, reverenced, worshiped, adored by the nations.

To the extent that the darkness has come upon the earth, which is explicitly said to be total, to that same extent, the light comes and shines on the nations, and the nations come to that light. The coming of Jesus Christ was the sunrise. And the sun continues to shine forth in bright intensity as God’s people obey the command to take the word put in their mouth and to preach it forth in the power of the Holy Spirit given to them to preach the gospel and to make disciples of the nations.

The Gentiles shall come to the light, and the kings of the nations to the brightness of his coming. As the three kings came and worshiped the infant and rejoiced in the savior, so all kings of the earth will eventually move and that increasingly to worship and adore him.

Now, as to the reason why I chose these particular four passages of scripture. In verse 21 of the passage we’ve just read, we see that God puts his word in us and fills us with his spirit that we might continue in the preaching that was made known through Jesus Christ and his proclamation of the gospel.

In Ephesians 6, we read this passage several weeks ago talking about spiritual warfare. We read first in verse 10 of Ephesians 6 to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. And then Ephesians 6 in the following verses goes on to tell us of the necessity to prepare for the spiritual warfare that Ephesians 6 says is a reality in our lives. That chapter of scripture can be seen as a commentary on the passages we have just read.

You see, the full armor spoken of in Ephesians 6 are references back to these specific passages from the book of Isaiah. We’re to be prepared for spiritual warfare with God’s armament. And that means as we understand Ephesians 6, we don’t bring our understanding of what a breastplate means or what armor is or what the sword of the Lord is. We look to God’s word to instruct us in that. And if we do that, we see that these things are being talked about being clothed in the same garb that Jesus Christ wore for the work that he accomplished with his coming.

Paul says in Ephesians 6:14, “Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of righteousness, loins girt with truth.” Isaiah 11:5 that we read a few minutes ago spoke of that. And the context was that Messiah had his loins girt with truth or righteousness that he might smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and so affect righteousness and justice in the world. The girding was for offensive action by our savior. It was not to defend him.

We’re to have the breastplate of righteousness. And again in verse 17, the helmet of salvation according to Ephesians 6. These are quotes from Isaiah 59:17 again which we have read this morning. These are garments of vengeance or clothing that our Lord is girt with to bring fury to his adversaries and recompense to his enemies in the words of that text from Isaiah to the end that they may fear and adore the Lord.

So this clothing is not defensive clothing essentially. It is clothing that our savior prepared for himself and is indicated as him having worn to the effect that he brings justice in the nations and brings them to worship him.

Ephesians 6:15 says that our feet are to be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And again, we’ve made reference already to the proclamation of Christ as the first preacher of the gospel. The feet shod are reference, as we said, to Isaiah 52:7. The gospel then must be consistent to Isaiah 52:7, our God reigns. A call to be prepared to preach the gospel of peace, the gospel of the order that is the effect of the Lord’s first coming and his overcoming sin and through judgment and grace through history.

The feet shod that we might be serpent treaders. In other words, that we might participate in the work of Christ by preaching his gospel and bringing men and nations to submission through the preaching of the gospel that our God reigns.

Ephesians 6:16 says that above all take the shield of faith. We must have faith that these things are given to us that we might conquer in them. Now, surely there’s a defensive aspect to these things as well, and certainly the shield of faith has a defensive element to it, but ultimately our faith is to be a faith that works, which makes us faithful men and women. And indeed, the passage that said that Christ loins are girt with righteousness or justice says that faithfulness also is how he is girt and strengthened in the Lord.

And so, faithfulness prepares us for the task that is ultimately his and ours as we are in him, the task of preaching the gospel and overcoming the ungodly and reprobate nations around us, slaying men and nations, bringing them to Jesus Christ.

The sword of the spirit is then called upon as our final piece of armor in Ephesians 6. Isaiah 49:2 talks about the sharp sword that is Christ’s mouth and what he does with that sword is to bring men and nations to him. Ephesians 6 and our call to be armored in that armor for spiritual warfare concludes in prayer indicating a reliance upon him that these are his adornments, the present that Christ brings with his coming to give to his church and they are adornments and presents then of victory.

Victory we must not fail to understand. On Christmas day then we will understand it incorrectly if we don’t recognize the gifts of adornment for victory that Christ gives to us through his first coming 2,000 years ago. And so we are to go forth now having that armor that he wore as indicated the prophecies of him occurring, preaching the gospel that he preached in obedience to him and reliance upon the Holy Spirit.

And what we’ve seen pictured, the justice that progresses through history then resulting in eventual peace and order in the world will be accomplished as the church is faithful to its task. Christ adorns his people for victory not for escape. This is cause to adore and praise him for what his arm hath accomplished. We must rejoice in biblical salvation.

Biblical salvation includes arming us, giving us the adornments of Christ, the presence of Christmas as it were for victory as we walk into the new year that is indeed the acceptable year of the Lord. That year did not end after Christ proclaimed its coming. It continues now. And he arms us for that year to go into spiritual warfare and be victorious, preaching his gospel and experiencing gospel prosperity as we are faithful to proclaim his justice and his standard in that gospel.

Let us now then rejoice before God and adore him for what he has accomplished.

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We come this morning not just to take partake of holy communion but to also witness holy baptism. It is fitting this morning to have baptisms and God and his providence has provided them for us. We read in Galatians 3:27, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

And that’s what we’ve been talking about with these four references from the book of Isaiah. If we are Christians, we have put on Jesus Christ. He has armed us for his armaments to the spiritual warfare that we’re to engage in offensively and victoriously for him. Baptism with the application of water coming from above reminds us of Christ being baptized in the spirit descending upon him. And the armaments that we have spoken of this morning, though portrayed in armaments that are normally seen as physical armaments, yet portray the enabling of the Holy Spirit for the preaching of the gospel and the application of the righteous standard of God to all of our lives and all things that our lives come in contact to.

And so baptism is a picture of the people being baptized, being clothed at the righteousness of Jesus Christ, being given the gifts of the spirit, the adornments of victory. May the families come forward that wish to have their children baptized at this time.

The Lord is from everlasting upon them that fear him and his righteousness to his children’s children to such as keep his covenant and to those that remember his commandments to do them. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom. For the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Dearly beloved, the sacrament of baptism is of divine ordinance. God our father who has redeemed us by the sacrifice of Christ is also the God and father of our children. They belong with us who believe to the membership of the church through the covenant made in Christ and confirmed to us by God in this sacrament which is a sign and seal of our cleansing, our engrafting into Christ and of our welcome into the household of God.

Our Lord Jesus said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” And he took them up in his arms and put his hands upon them and blessed them.

St. Paul also declared that the children of believers are to be numbered with the holy people of God.

In presenting your children for baptism, do you confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Do you promise and dependence on the grace of God? Bring up your children in nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Let’s pray. Most merciful and loving father, we thank thee for the church of thy dear son, the ministry of thy word and the sacraments of grace. We praise thee that thou hast given us so gracious promises concerning our children and that in mercy thou callest them to thee, marking them with this sacrament as a singular token and pledge of thy love. Set apart this water from a common to a sacred use, and grant what we now do on earth may be confirmed in heaven. As in humble faith we present these children to thee, we beseech thee to receive them, to endow them with thy holy spirit, and keep them ever as thine own. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

What is the Christian name of this child? Christopher David. Christopher David McConnell. I baptize you in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. May the blessing of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit come upon you and stay upon you now and forever more.

What is the Christian name of this child? Dylan Ross. Dylan Ross Gillan. I baptize you in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. May the blessing of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit fall upon you and stay upon you now and forever more.

What is the Christian name of this child? Joseph Anthony. Joseph Anthony Tosski. I baptize you in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. May the blessing of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit come upon you and stay upon you now and forever.

These children are now received into Christ’s kingdom. And you, the people of this congregation, in receiving these children, promise with God’s help to be their sponsors to the end that they may confess Christ as Lord and Savior and come at last into his eternal kingdom. Jesus said, “Whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me?”

Let’s pray. Almighty and everlasting God, who of thine infinite mercy and goodness has promised thou wilt not only be our God, but also the God and Father of our children. We humbly beseech thee, for these children, that thy spirit may be upon them and dwell in them forever. Take them, we entreat thee, under thy fatherly care and protection. Guide them and sanctify them both in body and in soul. Grant them to grow in wisdom as in stature, in favor with God and men. Abundantly enrich them with thy heavenly grace. Bring them safely through the perils of childhood. Deliver them from the temptations of youth and lead them to witness a good confession and to persevere therein to the end.

Oh God our Father, give unto thy servants in whom thou hast committed this blessed trust, the assurance of thine unfailing providence and care. Guide them with thy counsel as they teach and train their children. Help them to lead their household into an ever-increasing knowledge of Christ and in a more steadfast obedience to his will. We commend to thy fatherly care the children and families of this congregation. Help us in our homes to honor thee and by love to serve one another and to thy name be all blessing and glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.