Child Dedication Service/Sermon: (Luke 18:15-17 - November 19, 2023)
What a child dedication service is not:
1) A child dedication service is not Biblically required. There are examples in Scripture where a parent dedicated their child to the LORD. When Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel dedicated him to the LORD, she said: (1 Sam. 1:27-28) "For this boy I prayed, and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of Him. So I have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD." After Hannah dedicated Samuel to the LORD, she left him at the Lord’s tent to continue to serve his whole life. Now, we are not expecting anyone to leave their child at church this morning for the rest of their lives. But the intent of Hannah was to surrender her child unto the LORD’s service and to invite God’s blessing onto her child’s life. This is the kind of dedication we are hoping for.
2) Second, a child dedication service is not salvific. That is, the things we say and do this morning do not make this child spiritually saved, or destined for heaven. Ephesians 2:8-9 reads: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. This child may be your daughter or granddaughter, or even great-granddaughter, but (like all of us) she stands before God guilty of sin. No one is righteous, no not one. This service is not what saves any child. What saves people is God’s grace. What saves people is deep trust and faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
A child dedication service does not purify the child or make them holy. This service is more like a prayer, asking God to please one day bring our children into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. A child dedication does not bring eternal salvation, it just invites the hope of it. And our promise to do all we can to help this child in her walk of faith.
3) Third, and finally, a child dedication service is not related to baptism. Baptism is the outward symbol of saving faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism is the public act of being immersed in water to symbolize that we have immersed our lives into Christ. This child dedication service is not a baptism service. It is an act of hope that one day this child will believe in Jesus Christ and publicly testify to that faith through baptism.
So these three things – a Child Dedication is not biblically required, it doesn’t save anyone from their sin, and it doesn’t relate to baptism.