Child Dedication

Ephesians 6:4 ESV

4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Psalm 127 ESV

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. 1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. 3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127 reminds us of two important things.

That in raising children, we need the Lord’s help to faithfully raise them up.

That children are a blessing from the Lord; to be celebrated and cherished.

Blessing the Children

What we are going to do first is offering a prayer of blessing on each one of these children.

This is Maevis Hill, and her parents Caleb and Erica.

She is (how old?).

Her name means “songbird” in French, and is a fitting name.

May the Lord make her a song of salvation and hope to the world. May we he make the sweetness of the gospel sing forth from you and be a blessing to all who hear.

Next, we have the Jaegers (David and Lesa)

Charles: means “free man”

May the Lord redeem you and free you from bondage to sin and free you to live fully for him. And through you, may many others be freed to Christ.

Walter: means “ruler of armies”

May the Lord make you a mighty man of faith and may you be a powerful force for the furthering of the gospel.

Here we have the Lofflers (Robert and Michelle)

This is Luca: Means “bringer of light”

May the light of the gospel shine into your heart and lead you into all salvation. May the Lord in his glory shine forth from you. May your faith never be hidden under a basket, but lifted high upon every hill for all to see. May He shine into ever part of the world you enter and cast out the darkness.

Jasmine (how old?): both the name of the sweet smelling flower, but also carrying the meaning “God’s gift”

May the sweetness of the gospel bloom in your heart and bring you the gift of God’s grace. May your life be the aroma of life and grace to all around you.

This is Doug Watkins and his father, Doug Watkins.

Douglas is a long and distinguished name in Scotland, and Doug is from a long and distinguished line of Doug Watkins’s…He is the third in his family.

May the Lord bless you with a heritage in Jesus Christ; that you would belong to him and become an inheritor of the kingdom in Him.

May your life be a testimony of grace to generations and generations of believers.

Parental Covenant

Deuteronomy 6:4–7 ESV

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

This is a call to each family and to the community of believers was a whole.

The purpose of this service is to help you as parents fully embrace the sacred call to raise your children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

In keeping with that purpose, will you now respond together to this covenant before God and the gathered Church here?

Do you now present your child before solemn dedication?

Do you concentrate yourselves as parents to bring up your child in the fear and admonition of the Lord?

Do you promise to instruct them in the gospel of Jesus, Jesus Christ, and in the practice of prayer and to guide them in the development of Christlike character?

Do you promise to try, by God’s grace, to shape the of your child both by example and family devotions, and by your word and conduct, that at the proper time they will come to an open confession of Christ and membership in his church?

Inasmuch as you have promised before God and his people to raise your child in the fear and admonition of the Lord, we charge you to set yourselves to that task by the grace of God.

Congregational Covenant

Do you, the body of Christ, promise to receive these children in love, pray for them, help instruct them in the faith, and encourage and sustain them in the fellowship of believers?

Prayer