Baby/Child  Dedication Service

We are going to dedicate _Child’s name_ to the Lord this morning. This is a great day for _Child’s name_ and the Family name family.

• I love children…I am still trying to talk my wife into having one more…she has pretty much told me no!
• I can remember before we had any children…we had a few theories about raising kids…now we have a few kids, but no theories!
• I think you all know what I am talking about.

This is such a precious time, not only for the family, but also for the Lord. God loves these little children more than anything in the world.

Recently, I have been reading about the story of Abraham, the call of God on his life, and the covenant that God made with him.

Abraham is called the father of the faithful because he was the one through which the nation of Israel would be born.

• There was a problem early on though… Abraham’s wife Sara could not conceive.

• Would the promise come through Ishmael, Abraham’s only son with Hagar?

• God said no… the covenant would be fulfilled through Sara.

Let’s read the account…

Genesis 17:15-17
15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

God fulfilled His promise and gave them a son…

Gen 21:6-7
6 And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”

When I was reading this part recently…it dawned on me that God literally gave Isaac to Abraham and Sarah…there was no way they could ever have children…she was barren…on top of that they were simply too old…it wasn’t medically possible.

• • So when Sarah birthed Isaac she literally began to laugh with joy and caused everyone around her to laugh with her.
  • She makes a statement that kind sums it all up, “Who would have ever said that Sarah would one day nurse a child.”
  • There was no way it was going to happen…but it did! God gave them a child!

Let me say this…I believe that is how they viewed Isaac, this was God’s child, given to them for a time and a purpose!

• Given to them to keep.
• Given to them to train up.
• Given to them to teach.
• Given to them to love.
• Given to them to prepare.

Fast forward now about ten or fifteen years. God speaks some of the hardest words you will read in the entire bible…

Genesis 22:2
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Most of us remember the story….

• Abraham takes Isaac with him on a sixty mile hike to Mt. Moriah.
• They climb the Mt. together and build an alter of sacrifice.
• When they get there he asks Isaac to gather the wood for the fire.
• Isaac asks the question….where is the sacrifice.
• Abraham simply replies…God will provide it.
• Then he places his boy on the altar, binds him, and prepares to slay him.
• The angel of the Lord stops him.
• They find a ram caught up in the bushes to offer instead.

…you know what was happening here…God wasn’t ever going to allow Isaac to be sacrificed…this wasn’t about a crazy fanatical father who didn’t love his son. I believe that Abraham had faith that God would provide a sacrifice.

This is what was happening…God simply wanted to know if Abraham would give back the boy that God had given him years earlier.

• • Our children are a precious gift from God…it is a miracle of God that any of us have children this morning.
  • You know what this story was really about…dedication to God.
  • This was the first dedication service in the History of the bible!

The word dedicate in the original Hebrew means to keep and to prepare…God was saying to Abraham…I want you to keep this boy, and I want you to prepare him to be a partaker of this covenant of promise.

God went on to tell Abraham that He was going to provide a way for the covenant to be fulfilled through his only son Isaac.

• God would provide the plan.
• God would provide the means.
• God would provide the way.

Abraham simply had to dedicate his son and his life to God!

Abraham went on to offer the ram as a sacrifice to God. Listen to what Abraham called this place…this is really awesome…

Gen 22:14
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day

…which means, Lord our provider.

When I think of this story now, it is so powerful…our children our precious gifts from God.

The bible says that the earth is the Lords, the fullness therof, and all that dwelleth therin.

Our children really do belong to the Lord, God can take them at any time…

• • Yet when we bring our children back to God for dedication, God sees that good intention of our heart and says, no, I want you to keep her, and I want you to prepare her, and one day soon I will provide her with My Spirit, and everything else that she will ever need to accomplish My will in her life!
• Had Abraham refused to give Isaac back to God, he would have forfeited all God’s promises and plans for Isaac.
• Isaac would have lived and died in obscurity—a nomad, and a nobody.
• Had Abraham refused to give Isaac back to God…Israel would never have become a nation…there wouldn’t be a Christianity today.

Parent’s names, what you are doing today with _Child’s name_ is you are simply giving her back to God.

You are making a powerful statement to the Lord…and this is what you are saying…

Lord we dedicate _Child’s name_  to you today, will you allow us to keep her and prepare her for Your purpose in your Kingdom!

Parent’s names,

I charge you this day, to keep her, prepare her, teach her, and lead her by your example as loving and Godly parents from this day forward.

Do you both accept that charge this morning?

I also charge this church family, our teachers, our leaders, and every saint of God, to treat _Child’s name_  as one of God’s own, and to do your part in leading her closer to God!

By one loud Amen, will you accept that charge?

Let’s pray for _Child’s name_  and this family!