A Mother’s Dedication

Dedication (Baby Joseph)

It is always a special day in the church when we get to dedicate a child and today is that special day.

So, I would like to invite up Baby Joseph Thomas Gauci …

And Joseph would you Bring your parents and your family with you.

This is Anthony & Jasmine with Their son Joseph.

The Gauci family also has a few people here to support them and we would like to invite them up as well

Baby Dedication has a long history in the church:

Two verses that Guide us as parents

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 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. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Matthew 7:13-14

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

These verses remind us that our children follow us closely and the path that we go down will be the path that they go down

Charge / Dedication Questions:

Dear friends, you have brought these children whom God has given you to be dedicated to God and to His service. By this act you testify to your faith in the Jesus Christ, and also your desire that your children shall receive the benefits of consecration to God, and of the prayers of the church, and may early learn to know and follow the will of God; and therefore, may live a Christian life.

In order for this to happen, it will be your duty as parents & Grandparents to teach your children early the fear of the Lord; to watch over their education, that they may not be led astray by false teachings or doctrines, to direct their minds to the Holy Scriptures as expressing the will and authority of God for all people, and to direct their feet to the sanctuary, to restrain them from evil associates and habits; and, as much as you are able, to bring them up in the Lord's discipline and instruction. Will you endeavor to do so, by the help of the Lord?

(Then the parents or guardians shall answer:)

If so respond with “We Will”

Congregational Response:

We recognize that the church body can have a significant impact on the family Life.

So church I have a question for you and if you agree, I’d like you to respond with “we will”

Question:

Will you guide and strengthen these parents and children in the way of the Lord? Will you Encourage, give wisdom, offer support and pray for this family as they grow?

Response:

If so respond with “We Will”

Anthony & Jasmine As you present Joseph before the Lord today I am going to ask you some more questions.

* Do you present your Joseph for dedication as a sign of the grace of God which is extended even now to your children through the atoning work of Christ and declares them to be a part of the family of God? And,

* Do you promise with the help of God to bring your children up in the

instruction and discipline of the Lord, to pray with them and for them, and to make every effort to so order your own life that you will not cause these little ones to stumble?

* Do you intend to encourage your children as soon as they are able to

comprehend its significance to acknowledge personally their own faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to serve God faithfully in the fellowship of His Church?

If so respond, “We Do”

Pastoral Prayer: Father, we pray that through the power of your spirit, you would be present with Joseph. That you would set him apart for your kingdom service. Lord we pray for your protection over Joseph’s life and that his life would not only praise you but bring others to praise you. Lord would you form Joseph into the kind of person who makes others happy that you made this world and put him in it.

Joseph Thomas Gauci, on behalf of your parents and of this congregation, I dedicate you unto the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

SERMON

Again we are stepping out of our revelation series for a day simply to celebrate mom’s

The Bible has significant things to say about motherhood

So this week we are stepping out of the book of revelation for a minute…

Somehow I didn't think that plagues and judgment were a great mother’s day message…

I didn't really see how I could fit it in

So this week…I who have never mothered would like to dive into one of who is the great mothers of the Bible.

What we just did was a child dedication.

We watched parents say we understand that we are entrusted with this child’

But Ultimately, this kid is not mine. This child belongs to the Lord.

The Origins of dedication go all the way back to the book of 1 Samuel

If your new to church let me give you a quick understanding before we just jump to the middle of the old testament and begin reading.

The first 5 books of the Bible are the story of creation and covenant

God created humans and then made a covenant with a people: Israel

Through Israel God’s intention was that the entire earth would be blessed…

So as we get into 1st Samuel it is a transitional period in the life of Israel…Really in the way Israel was governed

They were going from a system of Judges to a monarch…And this child Samuel would be the last Judge of Israel

So the story we are going to read right now is the story of Hannah, the mother of Samuel

So what you need to know before we dive into the Bible today is this

Hannah is one of two wives of a man named Elkanah (EL-KA-NAH)

Elkanah’s other wife was able to conceive and have multiple children whereas Hannah was not able to conceive

For those of you who are clued into the larger biblical story, the Biblical author here is using linking words that contrasts Hannah with Deborah the strong powerful female judge of Israel and comparing her with with Jacob and Rachel…So just in this little biblical story, you know something impotrant is about to happen…

So Hannah is barren. And having walked with families through this, It is a devastating thing…So Hannah both knows the joys of motherhood and the devastation of not being able to get pregnant

So one day Hannah is in Shiloh giving her offering before the Lord

1 Samuel 1:10–18 ESV

She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

So Hannah is so distressed that Eli, the priest of Israel confuses her for a drunk person

And Eli at this point of the story…We don’t really know it yet…But he is kind of an old priest who has let the standards go for Israel.

His sons definitely do not honor the Lord, they take the sacrifice for themselves…

And the whole story is priming us for we need a priest who can actually see reality

Israel needs someone who is after the heart of God..

All of this would lay the groundwork for King David

Hannah is this amazing woman forerunner who is praying for a child but as we will see, will understand that her child can actually make a huge impact on her nation

Let’s continue with the story

1 Samuel 1:19–20 ESV

They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”

So this is the miraculous backstory of the birth of Samuel but more importantly the faithful mother Hannah.

It is where we get the idea of Dedication in the first place So I have 5 points that I want to make…

Because Samuel changed Israel! He had a huge and lasting effect on the country and how did he get that way?

True Power doesn't come from position but from posture before God

1. Hannah was concerned with her posture before God. (1 Samuel 1:27)

After this story Hannah would praise the Lord…

And she would recall that the pivotal moment in her story was not the great things that she had done, but the moment of her brokenness

She would recall that when she was at her worst place, She prayed and that the Lord heard her prayer

1 Samuel 1:27 ESV

For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him.

Mom’s the mothering Journey is not for the faint of heart, it is hard.

What do you do to remember God’s faithfulness?

Mom’s, Praying for your kids matters!

Two men changed the course of church history in the early 1700’s And it happened because of their praying mother.

John Wesley is the one who took the Bible to the common person, known as a folk theologian, he took the gospel to the coal mines and to the prisons helping people understand that they can have a personal relationship with Jesus! Before this you had a relationship with the Church, but John looked at the Bible and said! No! God wants us to have a relationship with him through the Holy Spirit.

All very common today but in John’s world this was a revolution.

And then he has a brother named Charles who becomes one of the most prolific Hymn writers of all time

So how did the world get these two men? Well it wasn’t because of their father.

John & Charles Wesley’s dad was basically an academic who was an aspiring pastor.

His Parish actually really disliked him, so much so that his house was burnt down twice

He was absent most of the time because he saw his great work to be a commentary on the book of Job…

So literally while John’s dad is out contemplating suffering his mom is at home with 9 kids actually suffering

and John would later write that one of the great influences on his life is that his mom would take two hours of silence a day reading the Bible and praying for her kids.

The way she would do this is by sitting in her kitchen and she would take her apron and pull it up over her head and she would have her bible and she would pray for her kids and her household

This would have a forever impact on his life! and the world…He saw his mother having a personal relationship with God and then he became the mouthpiece for this

Mom’s, Your posture before the Lord matters, your kids are watching!

2. She recognized God’s ownership of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:28)

Hannah realized that she was Samuel belonged to the Lord.

In fact what really makes this story the most remarkable is that after this miraculous birth, Hannah who has prayed and prayed for a child then takes him back to the temple and gives him back to the lord..

Like to live there with the priest

1 Samuel 1:28 ESV

Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

The most remarkable thing about all of this is that she giver her child back to the Lord

Now as you read the text you see the word “lent” and in our mind that means that at one point she will take him back but this is actually not the case with this world. In the Hebrew the word means given without the possibility of being recalled.

So in response to the extreme grace of God that he has giver her a child

She recognized that her job is to steward God’s child…That even though she gave birth to this boy, he really belongs to the Lord.

So she steward’s him…and how does she do this?

3. She dressed him for the church (1 Samuel 2:18–19)

1 Samuel 2:18–19 ESV

Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod. And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

Now literally she maker her son like a little version of a priests outfit.

and there are a few points here.

1. She still has stewardship responsibilities of this little guy…He doesn't live at home but she still know that she has to care for him

2. She dressed him for his future…Samuel was a levite and if you are a levite then you are a priest! So she made him little priest clothes

She knew that any male child that she had would be a levite and she didn't hold on to him, but she prepared hin for his high calling.

parents you can do this with your kids

You dont necessarily need to prepare them to be a pastor but it is your Job to help them to understand that they are God’s kids and that God wants to powerfully use them in their life

This is the point of the clothes…

She was giving Samuel a priestly identity before he could even comprehend it

When you wear a uniform you put on an identity and she was giving him the uniform of his calling!

Mom’s and Dad’s…you can give your kids an identity of a family on mission…

Simple things, pray before you eat, teach them to respond to life situations biblically

Read them bible stories

Help them to learn to pray on their own

You can help them to understand that they are a disciple of Jesus!

How do you “dress them” for church

In other words….How do you prepare your kids for a lifetime of following Jesus?

Do they see acts of courageous faith at home?

Do they see mom and dad praying?

Do they see the tension of making decisions…Ok what would God have us do?

4. Samuel was young when Hannah dedicated him to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:24)

1 Samuel 1:24 ESV

And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young.

I really became a christian at age 14 and I went to so many church and christian clubs and I heard testimony after testimony of people being saved like out of a gutter ‘

and I always thought man do I even have a good story

These people were all drug addicts and womanizers and here like some nerd I was just reading my bible in my bed…why can’t I have a cool story

and it was really in my early 20’s that I began to appreciate this testimony

I was raised in a christian home and I dont ever remember a time that I wasn’t following Jesus!

That story is so compelling

Do you know how hard it is to be faithful with anything in life and your parents were faithfully pouring into you from your birth until adulthood!

Don’t we all know how quickly things break in our society, but you have parents or a parent or a grandparent who is resolutely determined for years that this kid will have every opportunity to know and follow Jesus!

Don’t get me wrong, Praise the LORD for people who have been saved out of addiction…But every one of those people I know wishes that wasn’t their story

Parents: When you dedicate your kids early, When you give them the boring story…”I’ve just been a christian for as long as I can remember” Think of how much you are saving them from?

The choices they wont make because you have trained them to Honor the Lord

5. Hannah rejoiced over this arrangement with God (1 Samuel 2:1)

1 Samuel 2:1 ESV

And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.

This goes on for 10 verses

She found joy in the fact that her son was not hers but God’s

She found Joy in the faithfulness of God

The Example of Hannah is so key in our lives today

Faithfulness is so uncommon

Mom’s I want to encourage you

What you do is hard and thankless work, day in and day out

But what you are doing not only makes an impact on your kids, but imagine the impact that they will make on this world because of your influence.

So Mom’s, I want to pray for you this morning.