Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. (Matthew 3:13)
SCRIPTURE READINGS
HYMNS FOR THE DAY
- Opening Hymn “Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain” (LSB 487) Text here.
- Hymn of the Day “To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord” (LSB 406) Text here.
- Distribution Hymns
- “Jesus, Once with Sinners Numbered” (LSB 404)
- “The Gifts Christ Freely Gives” (LSB 602) Text unavailable.
- “Baptized Into Your Name Most Holy” (LSB 590)
- “We Know that Christ is Raised” (LSB 603)
- Closing Hymn “God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It” (LSB 594)
the baptism of our lord
Sermon
A note from Pastor regarding his sermon:
Many Christians hear the story of Jesus’ baptism by John with the same question John himself asked on that day: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” If the baptism John performed in the Jordan River was meant for repentance from sins, what sins could Jesus have been confessing by being baptized? What is the relationship between the baptism Jesus received on that day, and the baptism we receive so many centuries later?
Perhaps part of our confusion by these questions is due to the image we have of Baptism, now performed in the church at the font. But if we remember the significance of where John’s baptism was performed, we can remember the way Holy Baptism alludes to God’s full plan of salvation, and we can rejoice that Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, leads us into the waters Himself!