My Lord, What a Morning!

What a morning, indeed! Our first child, James Christopher, was baptized this morning into God's family. But to begin from the top of the morning...

We began a new unit in our Bible study on the Augsburg Confession: Sin and Free Will. About twenty persons were in attendance, from children to the dear, steadfast saints of the church. (Not too bad for a church that regularly worships +/- 30!) The opening sentences of our lesson were from Psalm 51, which was very appropriate for James' Baptism:

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

We also opened with a hymn, "Chief of Sinners Though I Be," which happened to fit the occasion of Baptism:

Chief of sinners though I be,
Jesus shed his blood for me,
Died that I might live on high,
Lives that I might never die.
As the branch is to the vine,
I am his, and he is mine.

The current lesson covers Articles II, XVIII, and XIX of the Augsburg Confession. We'll really miss this study when we move to Michigan.

Our entrance hymn this morning, chosen especially for the occasion of Baptism, was "Dearest Jesus, We Are Here":

Dearest Jesus, we are here,
Gladly your command obeying.
With this child we now draw near
In response to your own saying
That to you it shall be given
As a child and heir of heaven.

Little James was alert and well-behaved during the Baptism. He barely even whimpered, although Dad had to sacrifice his right thumb to keep the new saint quiet toward the end. Rev. Mark Jurgensen was the baptizing minister, and Alan and Jan Thiese were the sponsors.

Pastor Jurgensen based his sermon, "The Bread of Life," on the Gospel text appointed for the day, John 6:24-35. We also celebrated Holy Communion this morning--one of the last chances we have to commune with our Christian family before moving. (Aside: A couple weeks ago I realized how easy it is to take Christian fellowship for granted when I prayed the Lord's Prayer for the last time with Alan during our monthly elders meeting.) Our closing hymn was "By Grace I'm Saved":

By grace I'm saved, grace free and boundless;
My soul, believe and doubt it not.
Why stagger at this word of promise?
Has Scripture ever falsehood taught?
No; then this word must true remain:
By grace you too will life obtain.

We Lutherans truly have the best hymns in Christendom.

After the service we took a few pictures with Pr. Jurgensen and the Thieses (all pictures below). Pr. Jurgensen presented James with a copy of Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation (CPH 1965 printing), so he now has meatier fare than Dr. Seuss, Mother Goose, and "The Poky Little Puppy." James also received a engraved medallion from the Thieses and (last Thursday) a banner from the wife of Pastor Poppe of Grace Ev. Lutheran in Racine, WI (where the Lutheran Blog Czar also serves). A dear saint in our church gave us a copy of the icon of the Virgin Hodegetria ("Pointer of the Way") of Smolensk, which she procured during a visit to Europe some years ago. The lovely icon will find an honored spot in our new apartment.

We will miss our church family all too much all too soon. It has been an honor and a privilege to share God's Word and Sacraments with them these last few years and to serve alongside them in God's kingdom--and today, to bring James to serve as well.