Water is the symbol of life and the waters of baptism represent our new life in Christ. The dove symbolizes the presence of God’s Holy Spirit and both Mark’s gospel and the story in Acts portray the spirit’s movement as distinguishing Jesus’ baptism from John’s. The dove is also associated with peace and Psalm 29 ends with God’s blessing of peace on his people.
The ship is an ancient Christian symbol and many Lutheran churches display a model ship near the pews and Baptismal font illustrating that the church is a ship that sails toward God. It represents the new ark into which we are placed by God as he rescues his people from sin and death through Baptism. The pews are located in the nave of the church and the word nave comes from navis, which means ship. Often the ceiling of the nave resembles an overturned boat-a reminder that we are sheltered by God and kept safe in this baptismal ark.
Phoenix – A widely used symbol of Our Lord’s Resurrection is the phoenix. According to one legend of this fabled bird, which somewhat resembles an eagle, it lives to an age of four or five hundred years. It is set on fire by the heat of the sun by the fanning of its wings and is consumed in the fire. The bird then rises out of the ashes, recreated and young, and is destined to live another four or five hundred years. The phoenix appears on early coins of emperors, such as Constantine, and is also a common symbol on