During a parent-child dedication,
there are some significant details that call for our attention.
Dedication is an opportunity for
parents to make the following commitments:
- to commit themselves to be, by the power of the Holy
Spirit, the primary faith-shaper’s in their child’s life, following the
clear example of Deuteronomy 6:1-9;
- to make a public commitment to God that you will teach
your children to obey you in the Lord, for this is right, that you will
teach your children to honor you as their parents, that you will not
provoke your children to anger, and that you will bring up your children
in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:1-4);
- to covenant with God to tell the next generation the
glorious deeds of the Lord so that they should set their hope in God, and
not forget His works but keep his commandments (Psalm 78:6-7);
- to commit, from this day forward, to raise your
children to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind, and to love
their neighbor as themselves (Matthew 22:37-40);
- to express your thanksgiving to God for blessing your
family with a new life (Psalm 127:3), which flows out of your personal
gratitude to God for extending to you the free gift of new life through
Jesus Christ (John 3:3);
- to prioritize your family’s relationship to God as most
important. This shows itself in family life through practices such as the
reading of Scripture, prayer, teaching the word of God to your family,
evangelism, and supporting the ministry of New Beginnings Church through
regular attendance, service as the Spirit of God enables you, and giving
financially to New Beginnings Church to further advance the kingdom work of
God.
On the other hand, dedication does not:
- secure salvation for your children. We believe that, by
the sovereign grace of God, each person must make a personal decision to
trust Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, and follow after him (John
11:27; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:1-9);
- provide forgiveness for sins, nor does it guarantee
that your child will go to heaven when they die (1 John 1:9);
- serve the same role as baptism and does not earn
special favor with God for your children. We believe that upon a clear
confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, a person should be
baptized (Romans 6:1-4).
A parent-child dedication is also an
important opportunity for our church family. Here, we have the blessing of
publicly declaring our commitment to pray for your family and to be a model of
transformed living as God presents us with various ways to serve you and build
into the life of your family through personal relationships and the ministry of
our church.
Furthermore, the Family Ministry of New
Beginnings Church is committed to helping you and your family follow hard after
Jesus Christ. So, at the dedication, we would like to provide you with helpful
and relevant resources that will leverage your authority and ability as parents
to be the primary faith influencer in your home so the next generation will
know the glorious deeds of the Lord and set their hope in God.
To arrange a Parent-Child
Dedication, please contact Pastor Travis at travis@nbchurch.info or 918-366-6700 at
least 2 weeks in advance of the next scheduled Parent-Child Dedication service.
Upcoming dates for Parent-Child Dedication services are:
May 12th (April 28th
Class) 11am-Noon in W303
June 16th (June 2nd
Class) 11am-Noon in W303
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