Baptism / Easter Sermon

An All-Age Sermon preached in St. Columba's on Sunday 1st May 2011

Father, as we explore your word today, help us to think about it and to put it into practice. In Jesus Name. Amen

While I bring my props into place take a listen to this piece of music ...

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Over the course of the next few minutes I am going to test your general knowledge with a set of questions - The answer you give will either be true, false or don’t know.

Seeing we are in church I am going to trust you to keep your own score ... Like good anglicans we are going to do a good bit of sitting down and standing up

If your answer the statement I read is true ... I want you to stand up

If your answer the statement is false ... I want you to sit down

If you don’t know and want to pass then sit in the middle ... neither up nor down!

If you are right you get 2 points, If you pass you get 0 points and if you get it wrong you get 1 point taken off!


1. The American inventor of the deep-freezing process was a Mr Birdseye?

2. Sideburns were named after a prominant wearer, a General Ambrose E Burnside?

3. Scotland Yard was originally the name of a medieval house used by Scots Kings visiting London?

4. The Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race has never ended in a dead heat?

5. The first non-white British MP was elected over 100 years ago?

6. The Queen holds UK Passport No.1?

7. 3 times more people were killed in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake than on the Titanic in 1912?

8. Humphrey Bogart never said “Play it again Sam” in Casablanca?

9. A granny, a sheepshank and a bowline are all parts of chimney?

10. You can still be* executed for certain crimes in England?

* Time has run out.. but I’ve started so I’ll Finish!



1. True

2. True

3. True

4. False (it did in 1877)

5. True (in 1892)

6. False (she doesn’t have one)

7. False (It was reversed)

8. True

9. False all are types of know

10. False



This is a Baptism Service, a Service where there are lots of questions, In a few moments I am going to be asking lots of questions to the Harry’s parents, to his God Parents, Questions for all of us as a congregation ...

Serious questions as to what we believe, what we hold to be true in our Christian Faith. In church lots of questions are asked and how we answer them is crucially important, actually when we take the answers to heart they should have life changing consequences for all of us.

In our baptism service we are asked do we believe in God, in our confirmation service we are asked the same questions and we take ownership of them.

In our wedding service we are asked will we love, honor and keep our spouse until death do us part ...

They are not General Knoweldge questions, but questions about our specialist subject, questions in the baptism service are about ... faith in God ... about what we believe as Christians.


In this service we are going to be asked certain questions do answer them, do think about them.

In our reading this morning which Helen read for us we read about Thomas, who is forever known as the doubter, he was saying “I don’t know”, until he saw, until he came and Jesus showed himself to him.

Thomas that day turned his whole life around, from doubt to faith, from I don’t know to, yes it is true

We we are asked in the Baptism Service Do you believe in God? may we be able to testify I believe in God

But may it not end here in church but may we take the answers out and when people ask us in work, in the shops, at home, at school, Do you believe in God may we be able to say Yes and indeed be able to give reasons for our beliefs ... our world needs to know!

When we come to the questions in the Baptism part of this service, the bits that the congreation have to answer ... do think about them and what they mean for you

The bits which parents & sponsors are answering on behalf of Harry ... think about your own baptism and how you are fulfilling those answers.

Let us pray