John Calvin Presbyterian Church

SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY

Baptism of the Lord

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA)

January 10, 2021 

   Ten Thirty in the morning

Bold face indicates congregational participation.

GATHERING

WORDS OF WELCOME

PRELUDE     Adagio from Toccata Undecima – George Muffat

ADORATION

CALL TO WORSHIP                                                          Psalms 29:3, 9

The voice of the Lord is over the waters, 

and in the temple God’s people say: Glory!

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Heavenly Father, with joy and awe we praise you for claiming us as your sons and daughters, and for pouring your Holy Spirit upon us. Help us to prepare this earth for your glory, and shine your light on all your faithful children, for the sake of the one whose birth and baptism brought renewal and transformation to this world, Jesus Christ. Amen.                                     

1 When Jesus came to Jordan
To be baptized by John,
hH did not come for pardon.
But as God’s Holy One.

2 He came to share repentance
With all who mourn their sins,
To speak the vital sentence
With which good news begins.

3 He came to share temptation,
Our utmost woe and loss;
For us and our salvation
To die upon the cross.

LITANY FOR BAPTISM OF THE LORD

In the beginning, darkness covered the deep, and God said: Let there be light.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters!

Through the words of the prophet, the Lord said: when you pass through the waters, I will be with you.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters!

Do not fear, says the Lord: I am with you. I have called you by name; you are mine. 

The voice of the Lord is over the waters!

When Jesus was baptized by John, suddenly the heavens were opened.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters!

And as Jesus was coming out of the water, the Spirit of God rested on him like a dove.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters!

And the voice said: You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters!

(Brief silence)

Almighty God, you anointed Jesus at his baptism with the Holy Spirit, and revealed him as your beloved Son.

Keep us, your children born of water and the Spirit, faithful in your service, that we may rejoice to be called children of God; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 

CALL TO CONFESSION        

SILENT CONFESSION                                                          

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)

Merciful God, in baptism you promise forgiveness and new life, making us part of the body of Christ. We confess that we remain preoccupied with ourselves, separated from one another. We cling to destructive habits, hold grudges, and show reluctance to welcome one another. We allow the past to hold us captive.

In your loving-kindness, have mercy on us, and free us from sin. Fulfill the promises of our baptism so that we may raise to new life, and live together in grace. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON  

As a voice from heaven said to Jesus, so, in Christ, God speaks to us: you are my child, my beloved; with you I am well pleased.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God!                  

GLORIA PATRI 579        

PROCLAMATION

FIRST LESSON                       1 Corinthians 12:12-26  For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.             

ANTHEM          “When Jesus Came to Jordan”        Arr. Carlton Young

When Jesus came to Jordan to be baptized by John,

He did not come for pardon but as the sinless one.

He came to share repentance with all who mourn their sins,

To speak the vital sentence with which good news begins.

He came to share temptation, our utmost woe and loss,

For us and our salvation to die upon the cross.

So when the dove descended on Him, the Son of Man,

The hidden years had ended, the age of grace began.          

Second Lesson                                                                      Luke 3:1-22

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”                   

 RESPONSE 

REAFFIRMATION OF BAPTISM

Here these words from holy Scripture

Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body- Jews and Greek, slaves and free– and we were all made to drink of the one Spirit. 

Beloved people of God, our baptism is the sign and seal of our cleansing from sin, and of our being grafted into Christ. through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ, the power of sin was broken and God’s kingdom entered our world. 

Through our baptism we were made citizens of God’s kingdom, and freed from the bondage of sin. Let us celebrate that freedom and redemption through the renewal of the promises that we made in baptism. 

I ask you, therefore, once again to reject sin, to profess your faith in Christ Jesus,  and confess the faith of the church, the faith in which we were baptized. 

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

I do.

Who is your Lord and Savior?

Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.

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

I will, with God’s help.

With the whole church, let us confess our faith.

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH   Belhar Confession

We believe in the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who gathers, protects and cares for the church through Word and Spirit. This, God has done since the beginning of the world and will do to the end.

We believe in one holy, universal Christian church, the communion of saints called from the entire human family.

We believe that Christ’s work of reconciliation is made manifest in the church as the community of believers who have been reconciled with God and with one another; that unity is, therefore, both a gift and an obligation for the church of Jesus Christ; that through the working of God’s Spirit it is a binding force, yet simultaneously a reality which must be earnestly pursued and sought: one which the people of God must continually be built up to attain; that this unity must become visible so that the world may believe that separation, enmity and hatred between people and groups is sin which Christ has already conquered, and accordingly that anything which threatens this unity may have no place in the church and must be resisted; that this unity of the people of God must be manifested and be active in a variety of ways;…  that this unity can be established only in freedom and not under constraint; that the variety of spiritual gifts, opportunities, backgrounds, convictions, as well as the various languages and cultures, are by virtue of the reconciliation in Christ, opportunities for mutual service and enrichment within the one visible people of God; that true faith in Jesus Christ is the only condition for membership of this church;

We believe that, in obedience to Jesus Christ, its only head, the church is called to confess and to do all these things, even though the authorities and human laws might forbid them and punishment and suffering be the consequence. Jesus is Lord. To the one and only God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be the honor and the glory for ever and ever.  Amen. 

THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISM

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise. 

Glory to you, O God- your voice is over the waters, full of power and majesty. Your word shakes the wilderness and blesses us with peace. 

We give you thanks and praise that by the grace of our baptism, you have claimed us as well and poured out the gifts of your Spirit so that we might be dead to sin and alive to you in Christ Jesus. 

Continue to pour out your Spirit upon us. Empower us to love and serve you and live as your faithful people, bearing witness to the good news of Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 

(Visibly pour out the water)

Remember your baptism and be thankful.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 

Amen. 

THE LORD’S PRAYER               

1 Baptized in water,
Sealed by the Spirit,
Cleansed by the blood of Christ, our King;
Heirs of salvation,
Trusting the promise,
Faithfully now God’s praises we sing.

2 Baptized in water,
Sealed by the Spirit,
Dead in the tomb with Christ, our King;
One with his rising,
Freed and forgiven
Thankfully now God’s praises we sing.

PARTING PRAYER                                                Maria Ware (1798)

Lord, hear; Lord, forgive; Lord do.

Hear what we speak not; forgive what we speak amiss; do what we leave undone; that not according to our words, or our deeds, but according to your mercy and truth, all may work for your glory, and the good of your kingdom, through Jesus Christ. Amen.       

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION