Explaining Baptism

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Permalink Reply by Tom Reusch on January 8, 2009 at 2:12pm

I refer to it as a commercial/ad space. People pay thousands of dollars for a few seconds on tv trying to inform people about what they believe in (be it a product or service), but Christians get a chance to stand in front of a whole church and tell everyone that they believe in Jesus for free.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Geer on January 8, 2009 at 9:00pm

We teach three points (just to be theological!)

1. Public Confession, referencing Stephen and the Ethiopian
2. Obedience, referencing Jesus and John the Baptist
3. New Life, referencing Paul in Romans

I like the ad space thing, which I would use in the public confession segment. We do not teach all three in one lesson, but over time. I would teach all three in a family ministry baptism class.

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Permalink Reply by Jared Stepp on January 12, 2009 at 3:48pm

Thanks for the help guys! Baptism is a really tough one, these are good suggestions.

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Permalink Reply by Holly on January 12, 2009 at 4:45pm

We talk about how baptism is a symbol of what Christ did for us and explain how going underneath the water and coming up again is like a picture of when Christ was buried and rose again to life. We also tell kids that they can tell OTHER kids about Jesus when they are asked why they were baptized because they understand the symbolism.

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Permalink Reply by Emily Snider on January 13, 2009 at 2:56pm

We use two "object lessons" to explain baptism.

#1 We explain that it's a symbol of our commitment to Christ. I show them my wedding ring and explain how its a symbol of my marriage, but it's not my husband. Baptism is our "wedding ring" to Christ.
#2 We eat Oreo cookies! I explain how when you dunk an oreo into milk, the oreo and milk become one. When we are "dunked" in the tank, we become one with Christ.

The kids really seem to grasp these abstract theologies by seeing concrete examples. Plus its tasty!

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Geer on January 14, 2009 at 12:18am

I really like Oreo cookies! Oh, I mean the object lesson! I am going to use that.

Emily Snider said:

We use two "object lessons" to explain baptism.

#1 We explain that it's a symbol of our commitment to Christ. I show them my wedding ring and explain how its a symbol of my marriage, but it's not my husband. Baptism is our "wedding ring" to Christ.
#2 We eat Oreo cookies! I explain how when you dunk an oreo into milk, the oreo and milk become one. When we are "dunked" in the tank, we become one with Christ.

The kids really seem to grasp these abstract theologies by seeing concrete examples. Plus its tasty!

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Permalink Reply by Jason Martin on January 15, 2009 at 9:56am

One aspect we teach is identification with Christ and find a kid with a YMCA or some other sort of organization ID card.

So join HIS club by getting baptized etc.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Reusch on January 15, 2009 at 11:08am

I really like all these ideas, I just want to strongly suggest that we make sure to really emphasize that it is 'symbolic'. Nothing more, nothing less. It's symbolic, and we should express and illustrate it's symbolism in creative and exciting ways, I just feel (because this is one of the ordinances of our church) that we ought to address it in the most honest and accurate way possible.

I do realize however that some denominations and belief sets feel differently about baptism and it's 'required nature' for salvation, so to those who believe that, address it as you please. I just choose to address it in the most biblical way possible. ;)

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Permalink Reply by Jared Stepp on January 15, 2009 at 2:29pm

Great stuff! Thanks.

Emily Snider said:

We use two "object lessons" to explain baptism.

#1 We explain that it's a symbol of our commitment to Christ. I show them my wedding ring and explain how its a symbol of my marriage, but it's not my husband. Baptism is our "wedding ring" to Christ.
#2 We eat Oreo cookies! I explain how when you dunk an oreo into milk, the oreo and milk become one. When we are "dunked" in the tank, we become one with Christ.

The kids really seem to grasp these abstract theologies by seeing concrete examples. Plus its tasty!

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Permalink Reply by Jared Stepp on January 15, 2009 at 2:31pm

Like the ID card - I'm always looking for tactile ways to connect our kids to the message. That may be the hardest sense to engage. Great Idea!

Jason Martin said:

One aspect we teach is identification with Christ and find a kid with a YMCA or some other sort of organization ID card.

So join HIS club by getting baptized etc.

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Permalink Reply by Holly on January 15, 2009 at 2:38pm

Our lesson is about baptism this Sunday and we're using this skit as an object lesson to teach kids about baptism.

Attachments:

• Donuts, Freckles, and Baptism.doc, 28 KB

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Permalink Reply by Lin Pearson on February 2, 2010 at 11:25am

That's what we feel, Tom. We make sure to explain that the water is not magic, or special in itself. It does not take away our sin, it is simply a picture of what Christ has already done for us, if we have repented and trusted him to forgive us. (Of course, we teach the meaning of the word "repent"!)

Tom Reusch said:

I really like all these ideas, I just want to strongly suggest that we make sure to really emphasize that it is 'symbolic'. Nothing more, nothing less. It's symbolic, and we should express and illustrate it's symbolism in creative and exciting ways, I just feel (because this is one of the ordinances of our church) that we ought to address it in the most honest and accurate way possible.

I do realize however that some denominations and belief sets feel differently about baptism and it's 'required nature' for salvation, so to those who believe that, address it as you please. I just choose to address it in the most biblical way possible. ;)

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