A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 A daily, Bible-based message of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Click here to support our ministry.The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archive edition Wednesday, March 13, 2013  Wedding ceremony for Mike and JoAnna Gardner March 12, 2005  Listen to this message on your audio player."Teach Them Diligently" "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise" (Deuteronomy 6:5-7). On Sunday morning two couples gathered at the front of our church to dedicate their babies, the third child for both. It was a blessing to observe these two young couples who are raising their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. One set of parents is a couple who celebrated their 8th wedding anniversary yesterday (photo featured above). I had the privilege of conducting their wedding ceremony and I'm so pleased to see them taking seriously the Biblical instructions Brooksyne and I shared around our dining room table in the premarital counseling sessions.  Baby dedications are a special time when parents make a commitment to the Lord to bring their children to church and to teach them about Jesus in their home. These are tender moments in a church service when parents publicly declare their intent to raise their children in the ways of the Lord. Of course, you can't script babies or small children so there's always a possibility of something unpredictable happening. Consider the preacher who was holding a rather agitated little fella, arms flailing about, who knocked the preacher's eye glasses off while he was praying over him. Sometimes the pastor gets it wrong. My brother Pat, who is a pastor in eastern Pennsylvania, recalls a time when he was dedicating a little boy named Joshua but kept referring to him as Caleb throughout the ceremony. At least he had the Bible associations correct since Joshua and Caleb were associated with one another! Children can also have a potential for misunderstanding such as a little four-year-old who, after witnessing his baby brother's dedication, sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His mom and dad asked him three times what was wrong but got no reply, only more sobbing. Finally, the boy cried out, "The pastor said he wanted us to be brought up in a Christian home, but I want to stay with you guys!" In the wonderful hymn by Barbara Hart titled "A Christian Home" we have these words of guidance and conviction: O give us homes built firm upon the Savior, Maybe Moses was holding a massive baby dedication service when he issued the following challenge to parents recorded in Deuteronomy 6. It presents a timeless responsibility for godly parents: "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." This speaks of a home permeated with God's truth day in and day out.Where Christ is Head and Counselor and Guide; Where every child is taught His love and favor And gives his heart to Christ, the crucified: How sweet to know that tho his footsteps waver His faithful Lord is walking by his side! * As we witnessed the dedications this last Sunday I rejoiced at my association with a remnant staying faithful to the Lord. But my heart was grieved as I consider the increasingly hostile world these little ones will be growing up in. May the Lord richly bless and encourage all young families today and grant prevailing grace upon each home committed to faithfully serving the Lord and building a Christian home. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, we pray for our children, that they may grow in faith as they grows in years. May they walk in the ways of Christ, and not in the ways of the world. Keep their steps safe, but should they stumble, we know You will uphold them with Your right hand. When tempted by the devil we pray that You will deliver them and remind them of the Biblical principles they learned from their earliest memories. We commit them to Your loving care and watchful eye. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.A baby dedication is…
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources * "A Christian Home" Audio A sincere family quartet. This is the song in which we share the first stanza in our message. We haven't heard it in many years and miss singing it. It's hard to find this hymn anymore and it's not in most hymnals. Sung to the tune of Finlandia (Be Still My Soul) by Jean Sibelius it's very singable. The rest of the stanzas are here. "Find Your Wings" Video Mark Harris "He Gave Me You" Video Singer not specified "I Want To Be Just Like You" Video Phillips, Craig & Dean "Legacy" Video Nichole Nordeman "Let Them Be Little" Video Lonestar I first heard this song at the wedding of the oldest daughter of Pat and Charlotte Mallery, the very first couple I married. A cute baby dedication with Pastor Chuck Smith illustrating why some baby dedications are funny. Good thing Pastor Chuck doesn't wear glasses! Video Today's photo: Mike and JoAnna requested a very special feature in their wedding service, washing each other's feet. I had never seen it before or since but it was a very touching moment. A search on YouTube reveals it is not unique. See here. |
 Stephen and Brooksyne Weber (Click on photo to enlarge) "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 12/31/12)  Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. We ask you to consider an offering to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible. Click here to donate online.2013 YTD financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net as of 3/12/13: $3,793.00. We express thanks to all who support our ministry! SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION  Were you forwarded this edition of Daily Encouragement Net? If you desire you can receive your own free! To receive these "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. These messages are never sent by us unsolicited. It was sent to you because you either signed up to receive it OR it was forwarded it to you. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or as an email subscription through Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)Cancel: We respect and value your time and privacy. If you no longer desire to receive these messages you can remove your address from the list by merely using the link automatically inserted by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each email message. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Weekly Version: The weekly version is intended for those who may not check their email regularly or who may desire less frequent mailings. It is Friday's message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. Daily Encouragement on Facebook and Twitter:  The daily message and prayer on Facebook. The daily message and prayer on Twitter.Reader Survey: Please take a few minutes to assist us in improving our ministry effectiveness by filling out this online reader survey. To take the survey click here. Please feel free to pass these messages on! Our other blogs: "A Daily Prayer" - A blog simply posting the daily prayer. We keep this up each day since it's merely the prayer from the Daily Encouragement Net message! "A Little Foolishness" - Humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!) (Note: This material is satire!) "Clear Minded" - Longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the faithful believer and church. (Actually this is my intent but I haven't done much with it!) "Hymns of Hope" - Brooksyne along with two friends made a CD using classic hymns. Brooksyne tells the background story of the 11 hymns. All of these songs are also available for download on the site. Personal Mission Statement "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."  How to become a child of God Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. Other versions are also occasionally used. © Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us  Endorsed chaplain "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
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