This past Sunday May 25th Emma was baptized in our church here in Atlanta. We are excited and feel privileged to have this opportunity to dedicate Emma to God, to promise that we will teach her about Him and His Grace (like her name says) and pray for her that she will one day believe for herself the truth about Him and our Lord Jesus. We were asked 3 questions by one of the Elder of the church (starjesina crkve) who happens to be Tom.
1) Do you acknowledge Emma's need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ and the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit? (Da li smo svjesni Emmine potrebe za ociscenjem od grijeha (kroz Isusovu krv) i za miloscu Duha Svetoga koja obnavlja zivot?)
Chris says loud and clear, ABSOLUTELY!
Chris je glasno i jasno rekao ABSOLUTELY! Absolutno smo svjesni da Emma nije bez grijeha i da joj je potrebna milost Bozja.
2) Do you claim God's covenant promises in his behalf and do you look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for Emma's salvation, as you do for your own? ( Da li vjerujete u Isusa Krista kao jedinu mogucnost za Emmino spasenje od grijeha (i isto i za sebe) i da li se oslanjate na Bozja obecanja koja nam je dao u svom Savezu?)
ABSOLUTELY again! Chris and I believe that there is no way for a man to come to God and be forgiven of sin but through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and his grace (milost) that sets us free from sin and eternal condemnation (vjecne propasti).
3) Do you now unreservedly dedicate Emma to God and promise in humble reliance upon divine grace, that you will endeavor to set before Emma a godly example, that you will pray with her and for her, that you will teach her the doctrines of our holy faith, and that you will strive, by all the means of God's appointment to bring Emma up in nurture and admonition of the Lord? ( Da li sad bez ikakve zadrske posvecujete Emmu Bogu i ponizno obecajete da cete uz pomoc bozje milosti biti primjer Emmi kako zivjeti u vjeri. da cete se moliti za nju i sa njom, da cete je nauciti nacelima nase krscanske vjere, da cete se truditi da Emmu odgojite u strahopostovanju bozjem?)
ABSOLUTELY we will try to do all this and we pray that with God's help and through His grace we will succeed and that Emma will never know they day that she does not know God and Jesus, what they have done for her and why and how much she needs them not just for salvation from sin but in every aspect of her life.
4) CONGREGATION COVENANT (Pitanje upucenon ljudima u crkvi)- Do you as a congregation undertake the responsibility of assisting the parents in the Christian nurture of this child? (Da li vi kao crkvena obitelj obecajete da cete pomoci roditeljima dok odgajaju Emmu u krscankoj vjeri?)
As the pastor Ewan (the one holding Emma in the first picture) said it so beautifully in his introduction of Emma's baptism- this sacrament does not mean that she is now clean from sin. She did not do anything to deserve this privilege. She can not ever be cute enough to deserve this. And whoever knows Emma knows that even at 11 months she shows her will and is not without sin. So this baptism is not because she deserves anything from God. It is a symbol of what God does for us when we acknowledge our need for Him and his cleansing of our sin through washing away of what is unclean.
One the our favorite verses and reason for Emma's middle name Grace is found in the book of Ephesians 2:8,9. It is by GRACE that you have been saved. Not by works so that you can not boast but it is a gift of God.
" Da, miloscu ste spaseni-po vjeri. To ne dolazi od vas; to je dar bozji. To ne dolazi od djela da se nitko ne bi hvalisao."
We hope this grace is what helps us teach Emma, what helps her learn about Jesus and what she is to others who do not know Jesus yet.
Emma being baptised by pastor Ewan Kennedy at Church of Redeemer, PCA in Atlanta!
Emma with her Godparents David and Fabienne.
Family photo after baptism!
"Extended" family photo after baptism!
