Father,

We come to you, rejoicing in your goodness in salvation, and exulting in the testimony of your saving grace as we have heard and seen it in Noah Rider’s baptism. 

We worship you for your kind and loving purpose to redeem us in Christ, so that we would stand holy and blameless before you as sons.  

We praise you for the absolute sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. He lived the perfect life of absolute conformity to your will and your righteous standard, and in his holy life and by his submission to the injustice of the cross, you grant full forgiveness and reconciliation to all who turn from their sin and look to Christ in faith. We further rejoice that the righteousness of Christ is not partial, but complete; there is no lack in what Christ has done for us that requires us to labor to supplement our salvation with our own intentions or works. 

We are astonished that your saving purpose extends to us who are rebels—dead in our transgressions, unflinching in our antagonism to truth, and having no affection for you. In your mercy, you set your heart upon us who have nothing to offer you, you open our eyes to the Gospel, you change our desires in the new birth, and by your work in us, we can now testify that we are alive together with Christ through the work of your sovereign grace. 

We exult that you not only redeem sinners, but across all time you preserve your redeemed and grant them a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for us,  who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5). 

As we rejoice in the ordinance of baptism and the testimony of your salvation this morning, sharpen our understanding of your grace and your great love, make diligent our obedience of the Gospel, increase our faith, refresh us as we meditate on the great treasure we possess in Christ, and bring us to rest in your delight in us.

This we pray in Christ’s name, Amen