How many times were you born?

Song Service

Scripture Reading: John 3: 1-5

Prayer

AY Aim, Motto, Pledge and Song:

Opening Remarks:

Brothers and Sisters, how many times were you born?

Was there anything significant that happened to you at your first birth? What about your second birth? When is your first birthday? When is your second or spiritual birthday? Do you remember the time and date or any of the events surrounding these birthdays?

Birthdays are significant days in the lives of most persons. However, do we celebrate and place equal emphasis on the date we accepted Christ as our Heavenly Father and went into the watery grave of baptism?

With each passing birthday, we see the signs of our maturity. We gain aches and pains, grey hairs, knowledge and wisdom. Some persons lose their hearing and even lose their sight.  

What about you, what signs do you see as you age?

An even more important question is: Do you gain spiritual maturity with each passing of your spiritual birthday?

 We should gain aches and pains when thinking about our brothers and sisters in sin; we should grow grey and weary of sinful traits in ourselves and die daily to sin. We should grow in wisdom and understanding in spiritual things. And most importantly, we should grow deaf and blind to the things of this world.

Today, I ask that you participate in this program as we delve into our first and second birthdays, our physical and spiritual birthdays.

At this time we will stand and sing # 258: Baptise us anew

Hot Topic: 

This could be done in two ways. You could invite two persons from the congregation to discuss a hot topic and its spiritual implications for the church and our spiritual life. Or you could throw out the topic to the congregation. This topic could be on a current affair issue taking place in your country or the world at the time.

This discussion must be guided by time and no longer than 5 minutes.

Special Music: 

Youth Involvement: Ice Breaker

Ask all youth to walk with a hard copy Bible. This segment is called Draw Swords. 

Line up all participants at the front of the church. Call out various bible text and have the youth find the exact text. Whoever finds the text first and reads it will be allowed to take one step forward. Repeat this until someone reaches to the front of the church first. They will be the winner.

This segment is to teach youth whose Bible is now on their phones the chronology of the Bible and the importance of being able to find scripture.

Morning Watch

Main Feature:

1st Birth: Physical Birth

Ask members of the congregation to share about:

•  Any unique stories about their birth or the birth of anyone they know.
• How many hours of labour they experienced, babies born outside of the hospital, persons giving birth without knowing they were pregnant etcetera. Persons who gave birth hoping for one gender and received another gender.

2nd birth: Spiritual Birth

Ask members of the congregation to share about:

• The day they got baptised
• What led them to the decision
• The person who baptised them
• Family support
• Was it an easy decision or a hard decision, 
• what did you sacrifice to get baptised

Vespers

Ask someone to do a short presentation on spiritual birth and baptism. And the importance of a renewed connection with God and growing in Christ.

Closing Prayer