Family Dedication

Family Dedication

President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. He established the day as a time for "public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country." Don’t forget to revere Mom this Sunday. (That’s a heads-up for those of you who still need to hit the gift shop and/or make the brunch reservations.

Remember, Mother’s Day is just like Father’s Day only more expensive).
Historically, Mother’s Day is one of the best attended services of the year. This Sunday should be especially well attended due to the fact that we are including a special Dedication of Children as part of the service. Hopefully we’ll be able to welcome many guests from the extended families of those little ones being dedicated.

In Luke chapter 2 we see Joseph and Mary taking the baby Jesus to Jerusalem to be dedicated in the Temple. Also, much later, Jesus said, “Let the little children come unto Me” (Luke 18:16), as people brought infants to be touched by Him. So, the dedication of children is a biblical pattern that we at Living Oaks gladly follow. However, we hope that it is more than a mere formality.

Scores of children have been baptized, dedicated and otherwise officially committed to God by their parents in churches over the centuries. However, for too many the ceremony has been nothing more than that: a ceremony; a ritual; a mere formality. Somehow they falsely believe that they’re pleasing God by going through the motions or, worse yet, they’re simply trying to please relatives that have a strong expectation concerning the maintenance of the custom.

This Mother’s Day I’m very thankful to have my mother; healthy and as active as ever. My dad is in heaven, but because of the faithfulness of my parents, I have the hope of seeing him again. They had us four Posey kids baptized as infants according to their Lutheran tradition, but it was more than a ritual. They followed through with consistency; raising their children to fear God and attend church regularly. Mom now drives herself from Wood Ranch in Simi to LOCC in Newbury Park every Sunday. She still demonstrates that consistency we saw as kids (and is probably there each week partially for the purpose of making sure I’m where I’m supposed to be on Sunday morning). Sunday morning is for church. At least it always was for the Poseys.

If you are in the congregation at Living Oaks this Sunday, pray for each of the children that are being dedicated. But, pray especially for the parent or parents who bring them. Pray that they will not see our Dedication of Children ceremony as mere religious rite. Pray by name for each child and each parent. Write them down and continue to pray.
The Dedication of Children is also a dedication of the parents and the church family. The adults dedicate themselves to be a resource for those directly raising the children. It doesn’t necessarily take a village as someone once said, but sometimes it takes a church.
Happy Mother’s Day from Living Oaks!


“Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord,
she shall be praised.
─Proverbs 31:30