heaven sent

Dear heavenly Father, we stand here this morning to publically acknowledge that You are our God and that we are your children. We want to thank You for the gift of life You have given us in our daughter, Campbell.

Today, in this baptism, we celebrate the fact that as water has been poured over Campbell’s head, your grace has already been poured out over Campbell’s life. Because we believe that all babies go to heaven, we acknowledge the truth that You have loved Campbell first, before she could do anything to earn or deserve your favor. And so we welcome her into the fellowship of this church.

Yet at the same time we recognize that in the fullness of time, Campbell will reach an age of accountability, when she must choose for herself whom she will serve. We pray that because of the grace we celebrate today, when that day of individual responsibility does come, she will grasp how wide, how long, how high and how deep your love is for her. And it will then be a natural transition for her to make your love complete, by accepting you as her personal Lord and Savior.

As Jan and I stand before you this morning, we confess our inadequacy in that we don’t yet have a handle on raising boys and now we are adding a girl to the mix. We pray that your grace would be evident in our home and that you would give us the wisdom to raise our children in a way that would be pleasing to you.

We also pray for Harrison, Sawyer and Graham, may they be the big brothers every little sister could hope for. May they be kind and gracious and able to look out for Campbell in the days ahead.

We pray too for our extended family and our church family. May those who care for and teach Campbell, have a positive influence on her life and her relationship with you.

We pray especially for Campbell today. We rejoice in the fact that baptism , unlike the symbol of the old covenant, is not just for boys, but rather now in Christ, there is no distinction between male and female. We are all one in You. Yet at the same time, we recognize that our culture places unique pressures on our girls. We pray that Campbell would not seek to define her self by those around her, but rather that she would be defined by who she is in You.

Let your presence be strong in her. Give her the courage to stand for her convictions in spite of the pressures of the crowd. May she be rooted and established in your love, with a compassionate heart and a sensitive spirit, enabling her to be used by You, to make a difference in our world.

We pray all these things in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.