Covenant Child

Today Iain Zechariah Douglas was baptised at Covenant Presbyterian Church by our dear encourager and teacher, Dr. Warren Gage. Iain is now an official part of the visible church, and as his parents we are claiming God's covenant blessings for him and dedicating him back to God. Here is what Pastor Jay wrote in the bulletin:

This morning, we "See the Word of God," in the sacrament of baptism and by sensible signs, Christ, and the benefits of the new covenant are represented, sealed, and applied. These are God's covenant promises:

For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house. (Acts 2:39; Gen 17:7, Acts 16:31)

As they present Iain to the church for Baptism, Brian and Jordan will be asked these questions:

1. Do you acknowledge your child's need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, and the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit?

2. Do you claim God's covenant promises in his behalf and do you look in faith to the Lord Jeus Christ for his salvation, as you do for your own?

3. Do you now unreservedly dedicate your child to God, and promise, in humble relianceupon divine grace, that you will endeavor to set before him a godly example, that you will pray with and for him, that you will teach him the doctrines of our holy religion, and that you will strive, by all the means of God's appointment to bring him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?

And this is the vow that will be asked of the congregation:

Do you as a congregation undertake the responsibility of assisting the parents in the Christian nurture of this child?

I trust that you will take this vow and your obligation to assist the parents of every covenant child in this congregation very seriously. It is our privilege to participate in the Covenant of Grace and celebrate Iain's Baptism!

Dr. Gage read from Psalm 22:9-10:

"But You are He who took me of the womb; You made me trust while on my mother's breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From my mother's womb, you have been my God. "

He spoke briefly about the circumstances of Iain's conception and the meaning of his name, then he asked us the questions, took Iain in his arms, and baptised him. It was a beautiful moment in my life. I was surrounded by friends and family and together we entreated the Lord to remember Iain, to eventually bring him to Himself, to strengthen us as parents to raise him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and to dedicate his life to God's glory. After the service many friends joined us in our home for a little party. How good it is to rejoice in the richness of God's good gifts. Praise be to Him forever and ever!