NEW PRAYER LIST
If you know of someone who needs prayer, please contact the church office so they can be added to the prayer list.
QUARTERLY GIVING RECORD
If you haven’t already received your quarterly giving record, please stop by the office. Elders, your statements are in your mailboxes. Everyone else, your statements are on the desk. This is the final statement from 2021.
BAPTISM OF THE LORD SUNDAY, January 9, 2022
At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus presents himself to John to be baptized in the Jordan. The heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends as a dove and we hear the voice of God: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (see Psalm 2:7).
At this festival of the Christian year, we not only remember Jesus’ baptism, but we celebrate our own: the baptism we share with Christ. Accordingly, this Sunday is an appropriate time to celebrate the sacrament of baptism or the reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant. It also foreshadows the season of Lent, as Jesus was immediately driven into the wilderness for 40 days after his own Baptism.
“The Baptism of the Lord is closely related to Epiphany and should be considered in relation to that feast. Jesus’ ministry to bring in God’s rule was inaugurated in his baptism. As he came out of the water, the Spirit rested on Jesus and a sign of God’s approval was heard. On this day, we celebrate not only Jesus’ baptism but our own as well, for our baptism is rooted in Christ. Baptism joins us to Christ and his church, and with all of the baptized we are called to share in Jesus’ ministry. In the waters of baptism we are buried with Christ, cleansed of our sins, and raised to share in his resurrection. The Spirit is given to us and we are declared the children of God.”
An excerpt from the Companion to the Book of Common Worship (Geneva Press, 2003, 148)
Green Hill Presbyterian Church 