Parents
Pastor Joseph Campbell
Sunday Morning • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 26:55
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In recognition of the fact that God is the source of all life and that He, in His sovereign wisdom and grace, has granted us this child, we, the parents of _____, do prayerfully and solemnly covenant that:
God is the source of all life.
God is the source of all life.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
God has granted this child.
God has granted this child.
Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: And the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Hannah, the prophet Samuel’s mother, said:
For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him:
We will seek to so live before him that he will, from his earliest days, witness in us a pattern of the Christian life which will be to him a constant incentive to holy living.
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
2 Timothy 3:15 (KJV 1900)
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
We will remember, at all times, that even though he is a child, he is a child of wrath by nature, and in need of salvation as soon as he reaches an age of accountability.
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
We will pray that God will keep us from assuming that he is a Christian simply because we, his parents, are children of God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
We will purpose to so incline his heart to the truth that in God’s time he will of his own free will, with a glad and ready mind and heart, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as his own Lord and Savior rather than set his will against God and reject God’s offer of salvation.
Yes, I do understand that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink.
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
As I asked our Academy families this past Friday night:
What kind of environment do you provide your children?
Does your home provide an environment where it is conducive for your children to come to the truth of God’s Word?
We will train him according to God’s Word to keep the commandments therein so that when he is old, he will not depart from them.
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV 1900)
Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Dr. David Sorenson:
Where Christian parents frequently fail in training their children is inconsistency.
They train them partially in the way they should go, but are inconsistent therein.
They often don’t practice what they preach.
They tell their children that God is most important in life, but then skip church to go fishing.
They teach their children to do what is right, but then fight with each other.
They teach their children that the world is evil, but then flirt with the world’s entertainment.
They teach their children to be faithful to the things of God, but then are not consistent in faithfulness themselves.
When Christian parents train their children to do right consistently and then live what they have taught consistently before them, their children will not depart from the way they were taught.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
We will endeavor to discipline him in accordance with God’s Word, which teaches us that to spare the rod is to spoil the child.
For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
The rod and reproof give wisdom: But a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
He that spareth his rod hateth his son: But he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
We will saturate our child’s life with the Word of God within the atmosphere of a Bible-believing, and Christ-honoring local church, and will set the example.
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Blessed is the man That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
We will remember our marriage vows and the divine purpose of marriage to reflect the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and His bride.
Turn to and read Ephesians 5:21-6:4.
Turn to and read Colossians 3:18-21.
We will maintain family worship, pray for him, love him, guide him, guard him, and keep him to the end that God, who gave him to us, might be glorified through his life both in time and in eternity.
Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
Finally, we will encourage him to discover the will of God for his life. We will implement this intention by giving him back to God for His service and will never interpose our will in opposition to God’s will for our child.
For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him:
Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Young people, the best way - the only way - to discern God’s will for your life is to stay as close to Him as you possibly can and you do that through His Word!
We recognize the fact that public or private dedication as a parent resulting in the presentation of a baby or a little child is never to be associated with the local church ordinance of Christian baptism.
We do not sprinkle nor baptize infants. Baptism is reserved for those who have trusted Christ as their Savior!
The Ethiopian Eunuch asked Philip:
And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Parents have an awesome responsibility to bring their children up in the nuture and admonition of the Lord and this morning, along with these other parents, would be a wonderful time to recommit yourself to doing just that!
Church, we have an awesome responsibility to assist our parents in their responsibility of bringing their children up in the nuture and admonition of the Lord.
We will not hide them from their children, Shewing to the generation to come The praises of the Lord, and his strength, And his wonderful works that he hath done.
Let us use today as an opportunity to recommit ourselves to that responsibility!