Set Apart

Set Apart!

Thesis: Today we will look at what it means to set apart for the kingdom of God. Today we will dedicate two children to the Lord and license their father into the service of the ministry.

Scripture Texts for Baby dedication:

Proverbs 22:6: “Train a child in the way he should go,

and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

Deut. 6:1-9:

1These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.

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

Eph. 6:4 says we are to bring our children up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

Mark 10:13-16:

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.

Baby Dedication service- Taken and adapted from the Pastor’s Handbook (NIV)

Address to the Parents:

Throughout the ages, godly parents have presented their children to the Lord in dedication.

Abraham dedicated Isaac to the Lord (Gen 22:1-13)

Hannah dedicated her child Samuel to the Lord (1 Sam. 1:27-28)

Joseph and Mary brought the infant child Jesus to the temple following his circumcision at 8 days they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord… (Luke 2:22).

Today you Brian and Angie follow a godly act of setting apart your children for the Lord. In presenting your children to the Lord, you enter into a Covenant relationship with God about your children. You believe that these children are a gift from God. This belief parallels what Psalm 127:3 states, “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.” This means that you also believe that the Lord will hold you accountable for raising both Nathan and Collin in the ways of the Lord.

Charges to Brian and Angie:

Brian and Angie do you solemnly commit to dedicate these children to the Lord and His service?

Will you pray with them and pray for them daily?

Will you faithfully instruct them in the ways of the Lord?

Will you faithfully teach them through your lives what it means to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ?

Will you teach them to read the Word of God?

Will you teach them how to pray and how to live a holy life?

Will you faithfully take them to the house of worship and show them the value of the Church of Jesus Christ?

Will you do everything within your power to bring Nathan and Collin to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord?

Parent’s response: We will!

Charges to the Church:

Will you faithfully pray for Nathan and Collin as they grow and mature in the Lord?

Will you be willing to instruct Nathan and Collin in the teaching of the Word with your lives?

Will you help teach them the Word of God?

Will you commit to be living examples of what it means to be a Christian to these two young lives?

Church Response: We will!

Prayer for Collin and Nathan: (Have Family come forward with them for prayer)

I dedicate you two to the Lord God Almighty in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. May your young life be nurtured under the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit. May God protect you physically and deliver you from temptation. May the Lord Jesus call to you and may you respond with the surrendering of your heart to him at an early age.