“IN THE FAMILY”

A lesson about Baptism

For The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
By Sally Ulrey

Key verses: Romans 8:11, 15-16

“ …the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you… 15 the Spirit you received brought about your
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adoption to sonship And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s
children.”

Objective: To illustrate that Baptism is the way we become part of God’s family of faith
The Set up: Minimal

The Plan:
 Hook: Family Traditions (20 mins)
o Put youth into “families” and have them come up with their own family culture/traditions
 Book: “You’re In!” (10 mins)
o Looking at the ways believers became part of the Covenant Community of faith in the Old vs
New Testaments
 Look: Baptism Stories (15-25 mins)
o Share many stories about Baptism and belonging from leaders (and youth!)
 Took: A Promise to Belong (10 mins)
o Ways your community Body of Christ can show others they belong
The Supplies:
 Copy of lesson
 Copies of “Family Values” Handout
 Bibles
 Prayer Books
 Baptism pictures/slideshows, and baptism stuff: candle, outfit, etc
 AV Equipment
 Youth Group Covenant (if you have one, or start to create one)

The Preparation:
 Find some pictures of baptisms that are personal: either your baptism, when the youth were baptized, or
pictures of other recent baptisms in your church community. Scan and project.
 OPTION: In advance, recruit/invite youth to bring some of their baptism pictures and stories to share
 Set up AV Equipment

“In the Family” (Baptism) by Sally Ulrey

for the Diocese of Atlanta
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Family Traditions (Hook, 20 mins)
In this section, youth will create their own made-up family traditions, culture, and values. This will be a segue
to talk about how baptism is the thing that marks believers as being part of God’s family, and as such they
inherit some cool traditions, culture and values, as well as a place to belong.

Instructions:
 Put youth into “family” groups of 4-5 (ideally with at least 2 different “families” of youth)
 Pass out a copy of the “Family Values” Handout to each group (below for your reference)
 Have the “families” consider the following questions about what kind of family they’re going to be
o VALUES. What kinds of things do you value as a family?
Prioritize these values, with 1 being the highest. For the top three, tell the ways you will display
that value as a family. As time permits, work through the remaining ones in order of priority.
 Activisim. How will you stand up for others?
 Helping the Needy. How will you volunteer to help those in need?
 Generosity. How will you share what you have?
 Teamwork. What will you do to building your teamwork skills?
 Gratitude. How will you show others that you’re thankful?
 Education. How important is this and what do you do to prioritize it accordingly?
 Work. What do you do to instill the value of hard work?
 Honesty. How will you encourage this in your family?
 Responsibility. What do you expect members of your family to do to take personal
responsibility for themselves?
 Discipline. How will children in the family be expected to behave and what are the
consequences if they do not?
 Recreation. How will you spend time together as a family?
 Welcome. How will you welcome new members into the family (by birth or marriage)?
o FAMILY TIME. What kinds of things will you do together as a family?
Prioritize the following ways you’ll spend time as a family, with 1 being the highest. For the top
3, write some ideas of how you’ll do those things.
 Taking vacations together
 Holidays spent together
 Writing thank yous for gifts
 Family Dinners
 Birthdays celebrated together
 Watching TV shows
o FAMILY TRADITIONS. Create some special traditions for your family. Be sure to include major
holidays, as well as other traditions that might be connected to a holiday
 Give youth about 10-15 mins to create their family identities
 Reserve 5-10 minutes for groups to present something about their families they just created

Transition: Each family has different things that make it unique, traditions that mark it and set it apart from
other families. God has a family, too, and God has created values and traditions that mark God’s family and
set it apart. Baptism is one of those markers…

“In the Family” (Baptism) by Sally Ulrey

for the Diocese of Atlanta
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“You’re In!” (Book, 10 mins)
In this section, we take a look at how believers became part of God’s family, the Covenant Community of faith,
in the Old Testament (circumcision) vs the New Testament (baptism). Understanding the role of circumcision
in the OT helps us understand the role of baptism in the NT.

 Assign the following Scriptures for volunteers to look up and read (below for your reference):
o Genesis 17:10-14
o Colossians 2:11-12
o Romans 8:15-17
 After the Scriptures are read, work through these comprehension questions as a group:
1. In the Genesis passage, what is the sign that they were part of the Covenant Community?
Vs 11—circumcision was the “sign of the covenant”
Vs 14—if they weren’t circumcised, they were cut off from that Covenant Community

2. The Colossians passage starts talking about spiritual circumcision…cutting off the self that was
ruled by sin. What is the sign that this spiritual circumcision (dying to sin) has happened?
Vs 12—baptism…buried in baptism and then raised to new life

3. In Romans, it talks about how when we die to sin and are raised to new life in baptism, we live
by the Spirit. What does the Spirit bring us/testify about us?
Vs 15—Adoption
Vs 17—we are children of God and HEIRS (inherit the kingdom)

Genesis 17:10-14 (NIV)

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This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male
among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the
covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must
be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are
not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My
covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been
circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Colossians 2:11-12 (NIV)

In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled
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by the flesh[b] was put off when you were circumcised by[c] Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in
which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Romans 8:15-17 (NIV)

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And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you… 15 The Spirit you received brought
about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our
spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with
Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide

“In the Family” (Baptism) by Sally Ulrey

for the Diocese of Atlanta
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Transition: Through baptism, we’re in! We become part of God’s covenant community, part of God’s family.
In the Old Testament, the sign of being a part of God’s family was through circumcision, but in the New
Testament, the sign of being part of God’s family is through baptism. All of those promises God made to the
covenant community…to take care of them and love them and redeem them…we now have access to those
promises through being adopted into God’s family through baptism! And with that, we get to be a part of all
those family values, and traditions that the Christian family of faith practices…. We belong. We’re in.

“In the Family” (Baptism) by Sally Ulrey

for the Diocese of Atlanta
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Baptism Stories (Look, 15-25 mins)
In this section, you’ll get to share stories of baptisms, including family connections and any significant details
that make the sacrament more meaningful. The best thing would be if the youth could bring in pictures and
stories to be presented during this time, but that takes some advanced preparation. At the very least, the
leader should bring some of their own baptism pictures/candle/outfit, or bring pictures and stories from a
recent community baptism at the church.

Instructions:

1. Leader: Share your story and tell a little about Baptism (7 mins)
 Show PowerPoint of a baptismal story (it could be yours or the baptism of someone special to you, like
a child or godchild), including pictures/videos, as available.
o Tell a little bit about what happens in baptism (the water is blessed, poured over the child, the
child is anointed with oil/chrism… “sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own”)
o Tell a little bit about the rituals, traditions, customs (e.g. in some churches, children come up to
watch, the godparent is the one who hands the baby to the priest, a special shell is used to pour
water on the baby, the baptism doubles as a christening, where the child is named, there might
be a special towel used to dry the baby, the baby is given a candle lit from the Paschal candle,
etc.)
o Include some of the special or meaningful things about the baptism you are sharing about (who
the godparents are, why they were chosen, etc.)
 Have them turn to BCP 308.
 Say something like: The end result of this Baptism is found on BCP 308, when the people welcome those
who just got baptized saying, “We receive you into the household of God. Confess the faith of Christ
crucified, proclaim his resurrection, and share with us in his eternal priesthood”. Through Baptism, we
are received into God’s family.

2. Youth Share Stories (15-20 mins)

 If any youth have prepared pictures or stories or slideshows, give them an allotted amount of time,
make sure they know what it is, and stick to that.
 If the youth don’t automatically share this, ask some of the following questions:
o Who are your godparents/sponsors, and what relationship do they have to you?
o Did you receive any special gifts or cards or notes or anything that you still have?
o Do you still have your baptism candle?
o Where did it happen? What was that church community like?

Transition: Through Baptism, we are received into the household of God, into God’s family, and we inherit all
the good blessings God gives us in God’s covenant of love to us. We receive a place to belong, a family that
loves us, new life. Everyone desires a place to belong, so let’s look at how this community, our youth
community, can make everyone who comes feel like they have a place to belong….

“In the Family” (Baptism) by Sally Ulrey

for the Diocese of Atlanta
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A Promise to Belong (Took, 10 mins)
This section brings home the idea that everyone desires a place to belong, so you’ll explore ways to help youth
do that in your youth community. If you already have a youth community covenant, now would be the time to
pull it out! If you don’t have one, now is a good time to start brainstorming the kind of community the youth
want to come to.

Instructions:
 Ask the question “What can we do to make sure everyone feels like they belong in THIS family of
God?”
 On the whiteboard, record student answers. If they are stuck, go back to the “Family Values” handout,
and have them answer some of those questions as a youth group.
 Say something like, “We’ve just begun to make a covenant/agreement/promise for how our family will
run…including what we share as values and how we will treat each other to be sure we all feel like we
belong. The Christian family of God has a covenant, too, for our family. It’s the Baptismal covenant (in
the Prayer Book, pg 304 and 305). In it, we agree about what we believe, and because of those beliefs,
how we will act. It includes things like continuing to study who God is, so we can be like God in the
world. It includes what we do when we mess up and cause others pain. It includes how we will treat
those inside AND outside of the Christian covenantal family (the church)…respecting everyone’s dignity,
striving for justice, bringing the Good News of God’s love to all people. That’s what our Christian family
is about. And now we also have some more concrete ideas of how we’ll live that out in this youth
group, too.”

Close in prayer, thanking God that through Baptism, we have a place to belong in God’s family and in this
youth community, and asking for God’s help to make sure everyone feels that they belong. AMEN!

OPTIONAL: Close by Renewing the Baptismal Covenant on BCP pg 304-305

“In the Family” (Baptism) by Sally Ulrey

for the Diocese of Atlanta
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 FAMILY VALUES
Instructions: As a “family”, have your group consider the following questions about what kind of family you’re
going to be:

VALUES. What kinds of things do you value as a family?

Prioritize these values, with 1 being the highest. For the top three, tell the ways you will display that value
as a family. As time permits, work through the remaining ones in order of priority.

 Activisim. How will you stand up for others?

 Helping the Needy. How will you volunteer to help those in need?
 Generosity. How will you share what you have?
 Teamwork. What will you do to building your teamwork skills?
 Gratitude. How will you show others that you’re thankful?
 Education. How important is this and what do you do to prioritize it accordingly?
 Work. What do you do to instill the value of hard work?
 Honesty. How will you encourage this in your family?
 Responsibility. What do you expect members of your family to do to take personal
responsibility for themselves?
 Discipline. How will children in the family be expected to behave and what are the
consequences if they do not?
 Recreation. How will you spend time together as a family?
 Welcome. How will you welcome new members into the family (by birth or marriage)?

FAMILY TIME. What kinds of things will you do together as a family?

Prioritize the following ways you’ll spend time as a family, with 1 being the highest. For the top 3, write
some ideas of how you’ll do those things.

 Taking vacations together

 Holidays spent together
 Writing thank yous for gifts
 Family Dinners
 Birthdays celebrated together
 Watching TV shows

FAMILY TRADITIONS.
Create some special traditions for your family. Be sure to include major holidays, as well as other traditions
that might be connected to a holiday.

“In the Family” (Baptism) by Sally

“In the Family” Ulrey
by Sally Ulrey
for the Diocese of Atlanta
for the Diocese of Atlanta