Dedication ... that I may walk before God in the light of life!

May 30, 2011

What a privilege it was to dedicate Lila Grace to our Lord with so much family present! We are beyond blessed to have the honor of raising Lila and we pray that she too will someday (soon) come to the Lord as her own personal Lord and Savior that she may walk with Him and honor Him all the days of her life.

Whenever a new child enters a family it is very exciting. There is no greater moment when parents realize that their child is a gift from God and through their joy they can express to God their full appreciation for this gift through baby dedication. Not only to express joy, but dedication a child also acknowledges God's sovereignty not only over their child, but also us, as parents. We present our child, Lila Grace to God publicly in front of His people (and our family) asking for wisdom and grace in carrying out the responsibilities of raising a child. We also come together to pray that our child will one day trust Christ as their Savior, as we have also trusted.

It is important to understand the meaning of dedication and the best passage is Deut. 6:4-7.

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

 First, it commands us as parents to ♥ God. If we honestly hope for Lila to one day love and follow God, our lives must be an example. Second, this passage makes it clear that the responsibility of teaching children belongs to us, her parents.  Church can most certainly help with instruction and discipleship, but we must be intentional about seizing teachable moments as they come about as Lila grows into the woman God has made her to be. "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it" Proverbs 22:6.  Proverbs 10:1 reminds us that "a wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother." We believe that the most valuable lesson parents can teach their child is the "fear of the Lord," for Proverbs 1:7 tells us this is "the beginning of knowledge."

There is NO HIGHER CALLING for parents. 

"Children are a heritage from the LORD..." Psalm 127:3. We believe that as followers of Christ we are called to recognize that children belong to God first and foremost and that He, in his goodness gives children as gifts to parents. We not only have the responsibility of being a good steward of this gift, but also the awesome and wonderful privilege of enjoying our gift! Because children belong to God first and are given by grace as gifts to parents, it is meaningful and appropriate that we dedicate our children back to God. Hannah in 1 Samuel 1 presented her son, Samuel, to the Lord. Then in Luke 2:22 Mary and Joseph brought baby Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. So in the same way, we, Michael and Laura bring Lila Grace, presenting ourselves first and our daughter to our Lord in love and in prayer.

We were also blessed to have such a heritage of faith with us. Examples that we ourselves were raised by and examples we will use to raise our own children. Three generations present, and many more praying for us! Proverbs 17:6  declares "Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers." There is great pride in seeing a new generation of family dedicate their child to the Lord and the joy is abounding when the children are raised to fear God and love Him with all their hearts, souls and minds.

 We are blessed beyond measure. 

Here are some photos from our special day! 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

During the service, I passed Lila Grace,
to Michael for the prayer of dedication.
Michael holding Lila during this time
symbolizes that he is the family's spiritual head. 

Pastor Mike invites Michael to say the prayer of dedication for our family.
(This is a little unusual, but Lila's BFF, Grace was supposed to be dedicated this day as well, but ended up being sick. Michael (ie. Children's Pastor Michael) was to say the prayer of dedication for both families. We missed our friends! But we wouldn't have had it any other way!)

 

Lila says "AMEN!" :)

Please ENJOY this video of the special dedication service and prayer.
p.s. Lila really cutely, as only Lila can do, ends the prayer!

or click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JCeRMCERmI

To our family:

I just wanted to share how much it meant to us to have you come for Lila's 1st Birthday and Dedication.  It blessed our hearts and our home so much.
I had questioned doing the dedication at the church,and the Lord really showed me that it wasn't about the church, it was about Him.
 To have you and the other family members there really helped show the love and support we have as we continue on this journey... of parenthood and ministry.
I cannot truly express how blessed we feel to be a part of such an amazing family who loves each other and loves the Lord. We know that it will be YOU all that keep us in your prayers as we walk this journey.

♥, Michael, Laura and Lila 

For more information on dedication vs. baptism reference the following link: http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/packer/baptism.html