Parent- Child Dedication Service
Anyone here want to know a measure of God’s blessing here. I’ve got 4 of them! They are a blessing. They are a joy! They have taught me more about God and His love and His joy. In fact they are spoken of as a “heritage” i.e. a legacy or something that lives on even after you are gone and a “reward” a prize , a gift!
Psalm 127:3-5 is clear:
Behold, children are a HERITAGE from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a REWARD.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them…
God sees children as important, no doubt about that. Yet this past week we heard of so many real life stories that is heart-wrenching such as on this past Thursday’s News:
TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. - Three young brothers, all under the age of five, died in a house fire Thursday. Police said one of the victims died immediately while two others died a short time later in hospital. The fire broke out in the old, three-storey home shortly after 6:30 a.m. ET, said police investigator Nelson Langlais.
``When the firefighters come on the scene there was fire coming out of the windows of the second floor,’’ said Langlais. Firefighters found all three children, aged one, three and four, in their bedrooms, he added. RDI, Radio-Canada’s all-news network, reported that a neighbour called the fire department after she noticed the children’s mother, covered in soot, standing outside the house screaming that her children were still inside.
We feel as well the mother’s pain… then we hear story of Andrea Yates in Texas who murdered her kids while under a psychotic delusion that Satan is sending them to hell.
IN LA, A Canadian couple who relied on prayer instead of medication have been ordered to stand trial in Los Angeles on a charge of manslaughter in the death of their 11-month-old daughter. Police officers testified this week that the infant’s parents, Richard and Agnes Wiebe, admitted their religious beliefs prevented them from obtaining a prescription and medical help that expert witnesses testified could have saved the life of their daughter, Julia.
The child is one of at least four members of the Wiebe family whose deaths have been linked to their church’s teaching on divine healing. The Wiebes are part of the Church of God Restoration, which hit the news last summer when the Children’s Aid Society removed seven children from a home in Aylmer, Ont., after complaints their parents had abused them because of church teachings on corporal punishment.
While the Aylmer children were being taken into foster care, 11-month-old Julia Wiebe was dying of treatable meningitis in a Los Angeles suburb. She suffered through three days of fever, vomiting and seizures before she died on July 6.
Then, in the town of Quatsino, BC, investigators found the remains of six children in the burned-out rubble of a home on remote area of northern Vancouver Island, confirming the worst fears Wednesday of the tightly knit community.
"It’s horrifying. It’s just devastating," said Tina Poole, a 25-year resident of Quatsino, a northern Vancouver Island village with about 75 residents. The six brothers and sisters, ranging in age from two to 11 years old were at a neighbourhood birthday party Sunday afternoon, she said. "They were very friendly kids," Poole said. "They always used to come down and wave to everybody who used to come down on the road."
CLAREMONT, Ont. -- Police have discovered a body believed to be missing toddler Alexis Currie. Staff Insp. Bruce Smollet said police did not yet know how or when the girl died. A post-mortem exam is scheduled for Friday.
Acting on a tip from what they described as a reliable source, police moved their search Thursday from Bluffer’s Park in Scarborough to the sparsely populated rural area north of Pickering.
Alexis Currie’s father, Peter Currie, was taken to a rural area north of Claremont Thursday morning to aid police in their search. He has since been returned to custody. He is currently charged with abduction, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public. Police did not say if or when those charges would be upgraded.
Then, we have pedophiles who claim the right to further abuse children under the Constitution of this country by owning child porno. How warped how twisted! Children are treated as toys, pawns, throwaway things… abused, neglected, or not given care that they need from someone bigger than them. But listen now to how Jesus sees the worth of a child as recorded in Mark 10:13-16 (NIV):
13People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesus saw this, he was INDIGNANT. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." 16And he took the children in his ARMS, put his hands on them and BLESSED them.
Yeah God! There are many that react with hostility, and abuse to children, but not our Lord Jesus. He was put off by the insensitive way his won disciples dealt with kids. I believe God reacts the same way today! Oh see what Jesus desires…He would take them into His arms and bless them! The kingdom belongs to those who have a child-like trust, a neediness that claims the care of someone bigger, someone loving, caring. That’s what we need to model to our children, as we dedicate them to God. Child-like trust in Someone more loving than we can ever imagine as shown through the sacrificial love of Christ through the Cross and who is more powerful than anything we can ever imagine, by the power of His rising up from the dead!
So we rejoice with you today Edwin and Lally, in the gift of this child entrusted to your loving care. Like Mary and Hannah of old, you have brought your child for dedication. God has a purpose for Noella Autumn. As she finds this purpose, her life will become a blessing and channel for God’s love for the world. It is your privilege to guide your child in such a way that she will fulfill her life’s purpose and continually seek to love and follow God who loves children with His arms of love.
Specifically, it is your part and duty to see that Noella be instructed in the teachings of the Bible and the principles of the Christian faith. You shall train her to participate in private and public worship. In every way, by word and example, you are lead her into the love of God and service of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you now present your child in solemn dedication? Answer: We do.
Do you acknowledge your duty to see that Noella be taught the meaning and purpose of the Christian life; and do you promise, God being your helper, so to guide her that she may later of her own choice accept Christ as Savior and Lord, dedicating herself to His service?
Answer: We do!
The responsibility for the Christian training of this child does not lie with these parents alone. It is our responsibility as a congregation. We must provide a Christian environment in which Noella can grow. As members of GIBC, we too, take part in bringing her up in the love and fear of the Lord. As evidence of our willingness, representatives from our congregation (God-parents) will rise and join in the prayer of dedication.
Let us pray that God will grant in the years to come, a revelation of grace to her to receive Jesus as her Savior and Lord. That God will uphold the parents so that they would be sources of wisdom and guidance, leading Noella to a life of loving the God who loves her and wants to bless her.
We dedicate Noella to the care of God, to the Christian life, for the worship and glory of God, to the service of those created in God’s image, your fellow men and women. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Parent’s response.
