CHILD DEDICATION

August 27, 2023

CHILD DEDICATION SERVICE Kanda –

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It is my pleasure to be before you today for Child Dedication Sunday. We come at the invitations of this family that are coming today to dedicate their children. So, at this time I would like to ask the following families to join us up front.

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These parents echo

1 Samuel 1:27-28

“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.”

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God sees children as important. There are numerous examples in Scripture where children are set-apart for the Lord.

Ps. 127:3

says: “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward.”

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Joe –

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Some churches baptize babies. Our faith we believe in the age of discernment and the choice is a personal choice of the individual to follow in believers baptism after they have made the choice of accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior.

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Today, is different, it is not baptism but is still a very precious and joyous, yet serious occasion. Parents have the obligation and responsibility to provide for their physical, emotional and mental needs and growth but just as important the spiritual needs and growth as your child grows.

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When we look in

Luke 2:21-40

we read that on the 8th day, they presented Jesus in the temple to be dedicated to God. We see Simeon and Anna pray over Jesus and read specifically in

Luke 2:40

– Jesus as a “child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace and favor of God was on him.” I pray for that for all of our children.

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You are charged with the responsibility of seeing that your children are in God’s house, learning about God. You must teach them to honor, love, and worship God. You are charged with teaching God’s holy Word. You must teach godly, Christian morals and values and how to know God’s will for their life by teaching them to love the Bible.

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So parents I have some questions for you, if you agree, Yes I Do

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Do each of you as a parent of the special child you bring to the Lord this morning dedicate yourself to providing an atmosphere of reverence for God in your family, a spirit of dependence on God in all things great and small, and a consistent exposure of your family to the Word of God?

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Parents:

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Do you dedicate yourselves to providing your children with daily assurance of both your love and the heavenly Father’s love for them?

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Parents:

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And will you pray for and with your children, striving to bring them up in the way of the Lord so that in the fullness of time they will confess of their own free will that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior?

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Parents:

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Do you now unreservedly dedicate each of your children to God and promise, in humble obedience, to set a godly example for them?

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Parents:

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As a church body we are called to walk along side these families and help to bring these children up to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Proverbs 22:6

says Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Not only are the parents agreeing to raise their children in Lord, it is our obligation as a church to come around them and support them in this most important endeavor. Raising them to love and serve the Lord is worth more than anything here on Earth. So I ask you and if you agree answer with Yes We DO.

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Church, as a symbol of our united commitment to these families, please stand and respond to this important question:

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First Baptist of Vona Church, do you commit yourselves to doing everything you can, in formal roles of service and in informal interactions with these families, to assist these parents in the fulfillment of the vows of dedication that they have just made?

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Congregation:

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In

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

Moses writes, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

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The church has some items for you -

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3 roses not only representing the trinity but also

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Faith - yellow rose

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Hope - white rose

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Love - red rose

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A cross with

Joshua 24:15

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.””

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And a certificate

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I now invite our Deacons and their wives to join us as well as we lay hands on these families and pray over them. This is our prayer that one day each of these children will live out

1 Corinthians 13:11

it be fulfilled in their lives - When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. And then take ownership of their faith and follow through with personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and choosing to follow the faith in believers’ baptism.

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Prayer:

Church family extend your hand over these families how many father we lift up Kyle, and Danielle, Terry and Dana as they make a public commitment here in front of God in this church to raise his children in the word to pray over their child to pray with her child and the teacher child, Lord give them their encouragement that they need when they see their child falling short to still reinforce that God loves them no matter what, and help us as a Church remember to come alongside them and walk with them to help them bring their children up in your Name. Lord bless each and every one of these children here today as we dedicate them to you. We ask all of this in your name. Amen.