Marked as Christ's Own Forever

Lately I've been thinking about Camila's upcoming baptism and how much I love that service. The words of the baptism service are so powerful for me, especially when we recite them together as a whole congregation. One of my favorite parts is the questions in preparation for baptism:

Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?
Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?
Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?
Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior?
Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love?

I love that during the whole service, those who have been baptized are invited to renew their commitment to the Lord as they go through the service with those being baptized for the first time. The whole liturgy for baptism reminds us of what being a Christian is really about and always calls me to remember what my first priority in this life is.

Another favorite part of the service for me is the section when we pray for the person about to be baptized. Everytime we pray these prayers for one of our children, I never make it through without tears in my eyes:

Deliver them, O Lord, from the way of sin and death.
Open their hearts to your grace and truth.
Fill them with your holy and life-giving Spirit.
Keep them in the faith and communion of your holy Church.
Teach them to love others in the power of the Spirit.

After each line we pray Lord hear our prayer, and I'm always struck how these words really do summerize some of my deepest prayers for our children.

Probably my favorite line, at least right now, is the line spoken as the baptized person is annointed with oil,

N., you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own for ever. Amen.

Marked as Christ's own for ever! What better promise is there?

We are joyfully looking forward to the day when we will baptize Camila, as we did our other children. I'll try to share pictures when we do.

Here are some links to follow if you are interested:

The words of the entire service

Infant Baptism

Link to Three Articles on Infant Baptism - Evangelical Anglican Perspectives