Mexborough Baptist Church Sunday 5th September 2021
We welcome everyone to this service of Thanksgiving and Dedication for Luna Rae, especially Luna Rae, her mum, sister, grandparents and supporters.
During this service we will thank God for the gift of new life in Luna Rae; Mum and her family and supporters will dedicate themselves to bringing up Luna Rae in the Christian faith; the church will promise to support and encourage Mum and her family and we will pray for God's blessing on Luna Rae that she may one day come to know Jesus for herself.
Right at the beginning of our service we celebrate how great God is as we sing together 'What A Mighty God We Serve' click on the link
One way we can see how mighty God is, is by looking around us at all the wonderful things He has created, as our next hymn reminds us - 'All things bright and beautiful' click on the link
Prayer
Father of all, you are worthy of all glory and praise for ever.
You founded the earth in the beginning and the heavens are the work of your hands.
In the fullness of time you made us in your image,
and in these last days you have spoken to us
in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us
let the light of your love always shine in our hearts,
your Spirit ever renew our lives
and your praises ever be on our lips. Amen.
Thanksgiving and Dedication for Luna Rae
The wall of sunflowers in church and the real ones growing in the church garden are a symbol of the new season in the life of our church - sowing, planting and growing. And it's wonderful that on this first Sunday of the new church term, we can celebrate a new human life in this service of Thanksgiving and Dedication.
Here we share joy over the gift of Luna Rae and praise God, the giver of all life.
We celebrate family life, acknowledging that children are persons with whose welfare and nurture we are entrusted. Concerned about the dangerous world into which they are born,and honestly aware of the sinfulness which will soon mar their lives, we here pray in trust that God will bless and protect them.
Bible Reading
People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
Mark 10.13–16
Luna Rae's Mum promises to bring Luna Rae up in the Christian faith, and her family, supporters and church promise to help and support her in this.
Prayer
Loving God, we pray for Luna Rae and her family: Mum, sister, grandparents, and supporters.
We pray that they might know the challenge and the comfort of your love, and see its power.
Take all we offer to Luna Rae, our care, wisdom and our mistakes, and through them reveal yourself.
Take the experiences which Luna Rae will have, and through them speak your gracious word.
As Luna Rae grows in body, mind and spirit, feed and guide her by your Spirit; bring her safe through childhood and youth, and lead her to make the good confession that ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’; through Christ your Son, our Saviour. Amen.
The church presents a certificate, a book and a candle to Luna Rae and her family to show that Jesus is the light of the world. We pray that Luna Rae may grow in his light and, one day, shine for him. We all want to shine for Jesus and we now sing together 'This little light of mine' click on the link
That's a great little song, isn't it? It's one of my favourites. It reminds me of something Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
What does light do? St Paul in Ephesians 5:13 says that light makes everything visible. Light shows things up, especially the sun on a gorgeous bright day - dust on the mantelpiece, dirty windows, cat hair on the chair, crumbs on the carpet. Maybe we'd rather these were not so visible. But what if it's something you want to see? Maybe you've dropped a small earring, or a tiny screw, or a little piece of Lego or a favourite marble and you can't see where it's gone. What do you do? You get your torch and switch it on and look in those dark places under the bed or the sideboard or the toy box until you see the flash or gleam of that little thing that got away from you.
How do we let our light shine? In the second half of Ephesians 5:13 and verse 14, Paul says that "everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” " We shine when Christ shines on us. But if we're asleep our eyes are closed, we don't see the light. We're not aware that there is any light. We can live our lives as if we're asleep, unaware that Jesus is there, or believing that he is not there, or ignoring the fact that he is there. In the Bible Jesus tells us, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). Jesus is like the sun, he is always there, always shining. As Paul says, we need to wake up, open our eyes, open the curtains and let the light shine in. Then Jesus will shine on us and our light will shine too, as this picture reminds us...
Just as we want Jesus to shine on us so that our light will shine, we also want Him to shine on our whole country so that it becomes a place of light where many, many people are shining for Jesus. Our closing song is a prayer for Him to do that - 'Shine, Jesus, shine' click on the link
Benediction
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift the light of his countenance upon you and give you peace, this day and always. Amen.
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