A Believer’s Baptismal Liturgy

Church traditions that practice the baptism of believers tend not to prescribe specific texts for various liturgical acts and sacraments. Thus, the following service is only one possibility from among the variety of approaches to a service of believer's baptism. This text is taken from Orders and Prayers for Church Worship: A Manual for Ministers, compiled by Ernest A. Page and Stephen F. Winward (1960). Baptism should be administered in the presence of the congregation during public worship. Since we are baptized into the church, it is desirable that baptism should, if possible, be followed by the Lord's Supper, at which the reception of the new members should take place. After the singing of a baptismal hymn, the minister may read a selection from the following passages of Scripture. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John (Matt. 3:13-17, rsv). (At this point the service includes the following passages, the texts of which are given in full: Luke 3:21-22; John 3:58;…