Child Dedication

March 26, 2017

Partial outline: FULL PDF HERE

Luke 2:22-27, 39-40, 52

Bible Baptist Church loves children. Our ministries reflect our ongoing commitment to reach children for the Lord: A trained nursery staff; Sunday School classes dedicated to teaching God’s Word from the Cradle Roll through our adults; Patch Clubs and EPIC (Wednesday nights); Vacation Bible School in July, etc.

We believe the future of success of Bible Baptist Church is in our children. Therefore, it is vitally important that we parents recognize our responsibility to dedicate our children unto the Lord.

Child Dedication family group — Families that dedicated their children to the Lord at BBC on March 26, 2017

I. The ORIGIN of child dedication.

Child dedication must never be confused with “baptism.” Some religions practice baptizing babies. The Bible does NOT teach infant baptism. Before a person can be baptized the Bible requires they must FIRST believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:41; 8:36-38). The order is “believe and be baptized,” not the other way around (Mk. 16:16; Acts 8:12-13; 10:47; 18:8). Don’t get the “cart before the horse.”

A. The precedent of “child dedication” grew out of God’s command in Exodus 13:2, 12, 15—After the birth of a firstborn son, he was to be dedicated wholly to the purposes and service of the Lord.

B. Accordingly, Samuel’s parents brought him to the house of the Lord, to dedicate him unto God (1 Sam. 1:20-28).

Rightly understood, child dedication begins with the dedication of the parents. Before Elkanah and Hannah could dedicate Samuel to the Lord, they had to be dedicated themselves.

C. Joseph and Mary also observed this practice when they brought the child Jesus to the temple “to present him to the Lord” (Luke 2:22). They recognized their child was to be “holy to the
Lord” (Luke 2:23). The word “holy” means to be set apart for God. In effect, Joseph and Mary were publicly presenting Jesus to be “set apart” for God’s purposes.

II. The OBSERVANCE of child dedication.

Since Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses, we are no longer bound to observe this O.T. ceremony today. However, parents must still recognize children belong to the Lord and we have a responsibility bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Psalm 127:3—Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD…— Children are entrusted to us from God to be raised on His behalf! As parents we are “stewards” of children God has given us! Someday we will stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ and give account of how we raised our children for God.

Proverbs 22:6 — Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Ephesians 6:4—And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

There is no greater, no nobler, nor more difficult task than to raise a child to live for God the rest of his life. Parenting is not for wimps!