2024 Child Dedication

Northside Church

Baby Dedication

Jamey Mills

1/21/24

My name is Jamey, I’m the lead pastor here at Northside…

It’s great to be able to be with you all online this morning…

I want to start off today by asking this question…

What's the best gift you’ve ever been given?

Think about it… not what should it be, but what gift is it that you’ve been given that you deeply treasure the most…

As a believer I would say Jesus… and new life in Him.

As a happily married man I could say my wife.

It would be easy for me to say some of the miracles and blessings I have seen God pour out on NS.

But one of them that's high up on the list is the day I found out I would be a father.

My wife and I knew that adoption would be our way with kids…

It was a really tough process of being selected as one of the top 3 couples for a placement, only not to be chosen several times… but I could take you to the very place I was standing… and nearly passed out… when the phone call came and I found out this little guy would be my son.

I met him when he was 3.5. I could take you to the very door that I knocked on… wondering if my son… who I’d never met… would even like me. I could tell you how he slammed the door in my face and ran away… to look at this picture book that Brandi made of our family… just to be sure… and I could tell you about how I walked in as he looked at the picture, looked up at me, looked at the picture and then back again… His first words ever to me were… are you my new dad.

I remember him climbing up on my lap… they already called him the miracle boy… because of some things he’d gone through and overcome… but they also said the way we bonded… how quickly… was rare and we did. We were incredibly close.

I remember holding him and thinking a couple things…

What did I ever do to deserve this… (I’d say it again in a different way during his teenage years lol). I remember thinking… if this is all that God ever did for me, it's enough. It’s enough to praise him for the rest of my life and that is my goal.

I remember it opened my eyes to the way God sees me… and cares for me and even leads me. That word… adoption… is one of the words that describes my relationship with Him… I am adopted… into God’s family… which is you all… under his leadership. How could God love me like that?

For us Child dedication is about 3 things…

1. Dedicating these children to the Lord

2. Parents committing to raising them up in the Lord

3. We as a church family committing to pray, support, encourage these families

Later… you're going to have the opportunity to verbally commit to that. And no one leaves until we do.

We’ve spent the last 15 weeks or so studying Genesis… taking a short break today….

But Genesis… all the way at the beginning… points to this.

It’s God that brings light and life - both literally and figuratively

Satan brings sin, death and darkness

We see right out of the gate God creating a family structure

We see what sin creates within a family

We see Abraham begin to trust God with what he cherishes most… his son

And next week we’ll see how a father who is active in his kids' life… all of his life. It never stops.

In Genesis we see the role and responsibility that parents are to play in the lives of their kids.

Psalm 127:1–5 (NLT)

Psalm 127:1–5 NLT

Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones. Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.

1 Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.

Unless the LORD protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.

2 It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night,

anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

3 Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.

4 Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.

5 How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.

The Lord builds the house

Is The Lord building yours? If not, it says we labor in vain… we can work hard, but its not going anywhere…

What do you really want for your kids?

What is your dream for them? What do you want them to value? What do you want them to be about, who do you want them to serve? (themselves? Money?)

In Matt 7 Jesus says that the difference between a house that stands and falls… even in the face of a storm… is the foundation it’s built on… and He tells you what that foundation is… hearing and obeying what He teaches.

Evaluate what Jesus teaches and tell me that’s not what you want for your kids?

Psalms says we can try to protect our kids… we can even hire an army… but if we are bringing them up in the Lord… if the Lord isn’t in it… it doesn’t amount to much.

You can work so hard… trying to protect and provide… and completely miss out on what matters most.

Far too often we think about, work so hard for, and invest in what we will leave our kids when we are gone, without really considering where it is we are leading them while we’re here.

That’s not a call to laziness… working hard and providing is valuable and important… even for them to see… but it's not their top need from you. They need to know that you know that too.

Make the most of every opportunity… Each day is a unique opportunity you won’t get back.

If the Lord is building your house… He and His Word and His Church will be foundational.

Psalms teaches that children are a gift/reward from God.

What is my reward… cost me money, time, energy, sleep… I had hair when this whole thing started…

Every time you hold or look at your child, know that you are being trusted with something that is very near and dear to God’s heart.

God gives rest to those He loves… parenting is hard… really hard. Did Solomon even have kids…

There is a peace that only comes in knowing God, trusting Him, and trusting Him in the lives of your kids.

Phil 4 calls it peace that passes ALL understanding… peace when peace doesn't make sense. Peace that comes in knowing and leaning into the truth that NO ONE, not even you… knows better for your kids that God does… and there is nor stronger, more capable, and more loving hands for them to be in that His. Him… you can't outrun Him. You cannot out plan Him… out strategize Him…

WILL NOT ALWAYS LOOK THE WAY YOU WANT.

Their happiness is not His chief concern…

Children are like arrows in a warrior's hands.

This one stumped me for a while… and I think I finally figured it out. Arrows in the hands of a warrior… accurate… straight path… effective…

It has this idea of training.

I think it’s saying not only is raising your children a God given responsibility… not only is it a gift/reward… it’s also your greatest ministry and it's important you see it that way.

Raising your children up in the Lord is the closest, most real, most intimate, and powerful form of discipleship there is.

And no one is in a position to set a clearer example than you.

Your role in leading, sharing, and showing the way… has huge kingdom potential…

To be trusted with one of the things God holds closest… to bring them up in Him…

Is a gift, a responsibility… and a ministry.

This is the way it sounded way back in

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (NLT)

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 NLT

“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

4 “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.

That's where it starts… Loving God with all you are, putting Him first, and committing yourself… completely… to obeying what He says… (Lord of your life) because you know what He has is good…

It starts with you loving God, putting Him first and committing yourself completely to obeying Him.

7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

This picture of… teaching… over and over… as you do life… wherever you do life… Put reminders everywhere… reminding you of its importance… looking for ways to direct them in His love, His grace and His truth.

One reminder I will ask you to consider…

Certificate you get today… consider hanging it above your kids bed… as a constant reminder as to who’s kid this really is… and whose kid you really are. To pray.

Is the lord building your house…

Are you seeing your children as a gift

Do you understand the ministry of it… raising them up in the way they should go…

That starts in you. The tone you set… the priorities you have…

A prayer for the congregation

As parents are praying over their kid(s) please be praying for them in these ways.

God, would thank you for blessing this family. Would you make them more and more aware of your love and provision over them?

Would you give these parents the courage, wisdom, and discernment to live out what a thriving yet imperfect relationship with you looks like?

Would you bless these kids as we, as a church family, dedicate them back to you? Would you use them in powerful ways to build your Kingdom?

Would you protect them and their innocents in this crazy world we live in?

Would you give us as a church family the wisdom, courage, and means to invest in, stand beside, walk with, and encourage these parents and children along the way.

May you Lord, be praised, made known, and glorified in their life!