Sunday family worship 4th June 2023 @ 11:00 “Keep it simple just love them!"

 

Order of service 28th May 2023 “Keep it simple just love them!”


Hymn Way maker –  chosen by Alison


Welcome – Keith 
 
 
Hymn Great is Thy faithfulness – chosen by Marguerite
 
 
Call to worship Jeremiah 29: 10 - 14

“This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
 
“When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.
 
“When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.
 
“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.”

Opening prayer – Hazel


Hymn Will you come and follow me? – chose by Anne


Psalm 22: 9 – 10

“You, Lord, brought me
safely through birth,
and you protected me
when I was a baby
at my mother's breast.
From the day I was born,
I have been in your care,
and from the time of my birth,
you have been my God.”

Prayers of thanksgiving for our children – Alison  


Hymn I give you my heart – chosen by Dannii


Dedication

In just a couple of moments, I will be calling upon Blessing and John to come forward in order to dedicate Jadon, Jordan and Faith to Christ. I want to remind us that child dedication boldly declares three foundational truths about the human condition.

Firstly, this dedication declares that all children are precious to God, their lives are sacred because they are created in God's image to have the capacity of personally relating to Him.

Secondly, this dedication declares that in spite of the innocent beauty of these children will, like us all, need to know the loving forgiveness of God.

Thirdly this dedication declares that when that time comes for Jadon, Jordan and Faith  to experience God’s loving forgiveness, they will need a Saviour to rescue them from their failings to love God and their fellowman as they should. Jesus invited the little children to come because He knew, better than anyone else did, that they needed Him. As Luke writes in his second letter to Theophilus about Jesus Christ Acts 4: 12 “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Introduction of John, Blessing, Faith, Jadon and Jordon

Let us hear the Word of the Lord as it comes to us in Deuteronomy 6: 6 – 7 “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress 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.” 

This is the commandment of God, that we should diligently rear our children in our most holy faith. In obedience to this command John and Blessing bring their children today to present them to the Lord.

The precedent for the ceremony of child dedication may be found in Scripture, as in the presentation of Samuel by Hannah and of Jesus by Joseph and Mary. Paul reminded Timothy that "from a child" he had known the sacred Scriptures. Jesus considered "the little ones" infinitely precious, and he said, "Permit the children to come to Me, do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

The purpose of dedicating a child is really to be found in the purpose of the parents. Rightly understood, the ceremony is one of parental dedication as well as child dedication. The parents are publicly pledging themselves to obey the commands found in  Ephesians 6: 4 “… do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.” This ceremony is meaningless unless parents dedicate themselves, as well as their child, to God.

  • Do not provoke your children to anger – parents are commanded not to agitate or irritate their children. The Greek word used here implies exasperation or frustration. In practice, this means avoiding unfair and cruel behaviour, or blatant favouritism. Godly parents are not to push their children toward anger.
  • Bring them up has the idea of nourishing the children.  This means caring for them and paying attention to their needs. There’s a goal to parenthood: to bring our children up to maturity. We need to act towards our children in such a way that we desire them to grow and flourish and mature—for their sake, not just for ours. This involves “feeding” them—not just providing them with physical food but with all they need to grow and mature.
  • Discipline encompasses the idea of training or educating. Fathers, along with mothers, are meant to be educators! The idea of education includes “discipline”. Discipline isn’t simply about punishment. It’s about helping children to learn and grow. Training and education involves being there for our children because learning moments come at unexpected times. We need to be available, and we need to set up the conditions so that when our children want to come and talk to us about something, they feel safe and they know we’re there for them. That’s true for parents of young children, but it becomes even more important as they grow into teenagers.
  • Instruction encompasses the idea of admonishing.  “Admonition” is a word that means warning and correction. We all make mistakes. Children, as they learn and grow, make mistakes constantly. This isn’t bad; it’s an important part of learning and growing. So, children need to be told when they’re not doing something right, as well as praised for doing the right thing. Admonition is normal, and in fact necessary! But of course, it needs to be done lovingly, always with an eye to a child’s wellbeing and growth, not harshly or in a way that provokes them. When we admonish them rightly—letting them know when they’ve done something wrong, but loving them at the same time, and praising them when they get it right—it’s a powerful learning experience. That’s why we parents have a responsibility to ensure that our homes are a safe place to fail, and a happy place to make mistakes and learn.

Parents covenant
If it be your intention to present you child to the Lord, and to pledge yourselves to bring your child up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord," please answer we do to the following promises:

  • Do you John and Blessing this day recognize Jadon, Jordan and Faith as the gifts from God, and give heartfelt thanks for God's blessing?
  • Do you John and Blessing this day dedicate Jadon, Jordan and Faith to the Lord?
  • Do you John and Blessing this day pledge as parents that you will bring up Jadon, Jordan and Faith in the training and admonition of the Lord?
  • Do you John and Blessing this day promise to give Jadon, Jordan and Faith every possible benefit of home, of education, and of the church?
  • Do you John and Blessing this day ask God's blessings upon Jadon, Jordan and Faith lives, to nourish them, that is to guide, guard, and direct Jadon, Jordan and Faith through all their years as they journey in God’s creation?

 
Family and Congregation Covenant
"Will you, members of this congregation, be faithful to your calling as members of the body of Christ, so that these children and all other children in your midst may grow up in the knowledge and love of God?"

The act of dedication
Parents will each individually say a word of dedication such as, "Lord Jesus we present Jadon, Jordan and Faith to you, believing in your loving care, and with the prayer that they will respond to the work of your Spirit to bring them to trust in you as their Saviour."

Prayer for the family – Steve

Application to adults
There is an important spiritual lesson that we adults are to learn from children, and that is simply to trust our souls to Jesus as a child would:

Luke 18: 15 – 17  "Then people began to bring babies to him so that he could put his hands on them. But when the disciples noticed it, they frowned on them. But Jesus called them to him and said, You must let little children come to me, and you must never prevent their coming. The kingdom of God belongs to little children like these. I tell you, the man who will not accept the kingdom of God like a little child will never get into it at all.'"

Presentation of the letter and gift to Jadon, Jordan and Faith.


Hymn This is amazing Grace – chosen by Patricia


Very short thought – “Keep it simple just love them!” 


Hymn Be Thou my vision – chosen by Gillian


Hymn Build your Kingdom here – chosen by Lucas


Blessing

“‘“May the Lord bless you
    and keep you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
may the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”’ – Keith


Grace – Jonathan