Baby Dedication

Will the parents with the children Please come forward. (Grandparents, Godparents)

              A. The coming of children always brings joy. The child’s life and presence brighten the home, making it more family like.

                        1. The home is no longer a home for a couple, but a home for a family.

                        2. With the coming of a child there are new responsibilities, not only for the care and upkeep of the child’s physical welfare, but also for his spiritual welfare.

                                  a. These children have an eternal soul, an eternal spirit and their destiny depends greatly upon the Christian influence of the home.

                                  b. It would be a sad ending if this child would grow up never knowing God or the Lord Jesus, and be lost in the end.

                                  c. So that’s the reason we come at an early age to dedicate them to God WHILE the parents acknowledge their responsibility and pledge to bring him (her) up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

     In (GEN 18:19) The Lord said, “I know Abraham that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.”

     In (1 Samuel 1:20 24-28; 3:19) “Hannah bare a son, and called his name Samuel and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh to Eli. And she said For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth. And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.”

     (Proverbs 22:6) “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

     (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

     Now concerning the baby Jesus it says in (Luke 2:21-22 and 40) “And when eight days were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present [him] to the Lord. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.”

     In (Matthew 19:14) “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

              A. The family is a divine institution, ordained and honored of God since the beginning of time.

                        1. Children are a heritage of the Lord, committed by God to their parents for care, protection, training, to provide for them, to love them, to discipline them and to teach them in the things of God.

                        2. The Parents must recognize the sacredness of their charge and accept their responsibility for the nurture and admonition of this child (all children) in the ways of righteousness.