Bell Ringing
The bell rings—ending with three times three strokes.
Prelude
Opening Prayer
First Hymn
Greeting
Pastor: The Lord be with you. Congregation: And with your spirit.Collect of the Day
The pastor says a prayer from the altar. The congregation responds: Amen!First Reading
The congregation stands while the pastor reads from the Old Testament.Second Hymn
Second Reading
The congregation stands while the pastor reads from the New Testament.Baptismal Hymn
The pastor announces that there will be a baptism and that we will sing the first baptismal hymn in the Order of Service:to bestow His favour;
children, come at His command,
unto Him, your Saviour.
Lord, baptize them in Your name,
give them life eternal,
keep them safe from sin and shame
in Your pastures vernal.
Praise and Prayer
Let us all pray:
Pastor: We thank You Heavenly Father, that through Your only begotten Son, You have given this Holy Baptism, in which You make us Your children and give us the Holy Spirit with the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
We beseech You graciously to receive this child
whom we bring before You:
Make him a member of Your believing
congregation; and keep him in communion with You now and
forever.
Pastor: Amen.
Readings
The congregation stands and the pastor continues: Let us all stand and listen to what our Lord Jesus Christ says:Sign of the Cross
The pastor makes with her hand a cross over the face and chest of the baptismal candidate and says: Receive the sign of the Holy Cross upon your brow and upon your breast, as a token that you shall belong to the crucified Lord Jesus Christ.Try to hold your child so that he is facing the pastor.
The baptismal candidate is marked with God’s sign so that God knows him as His own. Thus, the Sign of the Cross is a promise that God’s love can always find the baptismal candidate.
Pastor: What is the name of the child?
You: N.N.
Traditionally, the person carrying the child answers the pastor, but both parents (or parents and godparents) may answer together.
Say the full name of your child. You told our pastor your child’s name when you arranged this baptism, so our pastor will get it right even if you mumble.
Creed
N.N.,
do you renounce the devil and all his works and all his
ways?
You: I do!
Do you believe in God the Father, almighty,
maker of heaven and earth?
You: I do!
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and is sitting at the right hand of God the Father, almighty.
From there He will come again to judge the living and the dead?
You: I do!
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting?
You: I do!
Will you be baptized in this faith?
You: I will!
That is five questions, two short ones, one long, and two short. The pastor will pretend to read the questions out of her book looking you in the eyes only when you are expected to answer.
You should answer I do! to the first four questions, the renunciation and the questions about what we believe in, and I will! to the fifth question.
The ‘I do!’ answers mean “Yes, I want God’s promises to hold also for me” as opposed to “I want to be my own maker and master.”
Baptism
The pastor pours water three times over the head of the baptismal candidate and says: N.N., I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.Hold your child lying on his back over the font. Please do practice holding a child over the bathroom sink.
The pastor baptizes in God’s name. Therefore the level of piety of the pastor, parents, or the baptismal candidate is irrelevant, only God matters.
You may think of the water as a bath which washes away your sin. You can express the same idea stronger by describing Baptism as a death by drowning. The “old” man and his broken relationship with God dies; a new man is re-born out of the water which is then like the amniotic fluid in the womb. In this re-birth you receive God as father. The meeting of God and man in Baptism, in Communion, or in a prayer, is always a mystery which cannot be explained but we may believe that it happens.
The pastor will dry your child’s hair with a napkin embroidered with the letters INRI for Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudæorum, or Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, the inscription the Romans put on Christ’s cross. You get to keep the napkin; holding the napkin is a nice task for an older sibling.
The Lord’s Prayer
Pastor: Let us all pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever.
Amen
Instruction of Godparents
The congregation sits while the pastor instructs the parents and godparents of their duties.
Grafting is a technique that allows one plant to grow on the stem and root of another. The image that we are grafted onto Christ is taken from John 15:5 and illustrates our dependency on God as well as our intimacy with Him.
Third Hymn
Third Reading
The pastor goes onto the pulpit, says a short prayer, and announces that This Holy Gospel is written by the Evangelist….The congregation stands and responds: We give You praise God, for Your glad and joyful message.
Should your child’s crying make you self-conscious, you (and maybe your spouse) may take him out of the Sanctuary. However, please do not leave for our sake.
You probably want to return during the last (fifth) hymn.
Sermon
Prayer of the Church
Apostolic Blessing
The congregation stands for the blessing. Pastor:
praise Him, all creatures here below;
praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;
praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!
Collection
of the money needed for running our church.Fourth Hymn
Communion Prayer
Pastor: Lift up your hearts to the Lord! Let us praise His name!
salvation wrought and founded;
true comfort hence abounded.
Your mercy show
to us below.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen
Communion
The congregation stands for the Consecration.onward progressing
are now Your friends,
strengthened in spirit,
each by Your merit
upwards ascends
till, when at home in that city of gold,
all shall in wonder Your presence behold.
Thanksgiving Prayer
The pastor says a prayer from the altar. The congregation responds: Amen!Benediction
The congregation stands for the Benediction. Pastor:Fifth Hymn
Closing Prayer
Announcements
The pastor reads the announcements and then asks the congregation to stand and sing Tider skal komme.tider skal henrulle,
slægt skal følge slægters gang;
aldrig forstummer
tonen fra Himlen
i sjælens glade pilgrimssang.
