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Caleb's Dedication Celebration








Caleb's Dedication Celebration in the Home
Sunday, September 23, 2001










I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life
(1 Samuel 1:11)


Father's Blessing
Welcome to our home.  We ask that each of you join us as we pray for and bless our newly dedicated child.

I announce to you, with great joy, that Beth and I have been given a marvelous gift of life.  For this child we prayed, and the Lord has given us our petition which we asked of Him.  So we dedicate him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord (1 Samuel 1: 27-28).

We present to you and to all the peoples of this earth, our son who was born on April 30, 2001, and whom today we have dedicated to God.  

God spoke to Moses commanding that the first male offspring of every womb be devoted to the Lord, sanctified to the Lord.  (Exodus 13: 1, 2, & 12) And so we give our son to God, that the Lord might say “The child belongs to Me.”

Her mother and I have given to him this name, Caleb Alpheus Grant, by which he shall be known.  May our child and this name be enrolled forever in the Book of Life.

As parents, we ask your prayers and support so that we may show him the path of life, the holy way of Christ, by our lives lived in love of God and one another.  May you, Grandma Hosley, as well as his other relatives, likewise be good examples for him by showing the way to live as a family united in God.

My son, I bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Mother's Blessing
Caleb Alpheus Grant, I, your mother, bless you with tenderness and call upon God to watch over you, my child, all the days of your life.

You, Caleb, are the crown of the love between your father and me.  May you grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52).

We announce to all who are present and to everyone that you, my child, have a holy purpose in life, that you are a royal and priestly person.  

From before the dawning light of Creation, God has known your name and has held you as precious.  We rejoice, today, that this dream of God has become flesh and blood, has become our child.   

May the grace of God be upon you, Caleb (Luke 2:40); may God find joy and pleasure in His relationship with you.

Your father and I sincerely ask all those who are present for their prayerful support so that we may encourage you, Caleb, to become the unique and creative individual that God has made you to be.  We pray that we may be good and loving parents.   

May we give you to the Lord all the days of your life
(1 Samuel 1:11).

I bless you, Caleb Alpheus Grant, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Significance of his names:
Caleb means faithful and bold in Hebrew. The name Caleb comes from the Old Testament. In Numbers chapter 13, Caleb and Joshua are the only two Israelite spies sent into the land promised by God who report that with God's help the land can be taken. Ten other spies advise against entering the land out of fear of the inhabitants. Joshua chapter 14 tells of how, forty-five years later, when the Israelites finally conquer the Promised Land of Canaan Caleb is given his choice of inheritance of the land. Though he is now 85 years old, Caleb asks for Hebron, the area with the most difficult enemies still remaining. Joshua 14:14 says that Caleb "followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly." Our hope is that our Caleb will also follow the Lord faithfully, wholeheartedly, and boldly.

Alpheus Richardson (10/3/1830 - 12/12/1915) is Caleb's maternal great-great-great-grandfather, a pioneer who traveled from Ohio to California in a covered wagon in the 1850's.  He was a Christian patriarch of the family and helped found the Methodist church in Byron, California, presenting the church with its first Bible.  

Harold Grant Unkenholz (9/29/1895 - 1/9/1976), who went by the name Grant, is Caleb's paternal great-grandfather.  He was a North Dakota farmer who, despite having his formal education end after 8th grade, was a life-long learner.  Many stories are told of his graciousness, care for his family, integrity, light-hearted spirit, and helpfulness to others.  He was a devout Christian whose faith was probably influential in having one son become a pastor and both daughters marry pastors.  

Grandmother's Prayer of Blessing

Prayer of Blessing

Caleb, may you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30).  

May you be a lover of people (Matthew 22:39); as you love others, may God richly abide in you, and may His love be perfected in you (1 John 4: 7-12).

May you walk in the law of the Lord and seek Him with all your heart.  May you meditate on His precepts and delight in His words.  May you keep His commandments and may God bless you with understanding.  May God's words be sweet to your mouth and may they be a lamp to your feet.  May your lips utter praise and your tongue sing of His word (Psalm 119).

Caleb, the Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26).

Song
Barocha (Numbers 6:24)

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face shine upon you
And give you peace
And give you peace
And give you peace forever

The Lord be gracious to you
The Lord turn His face towards you
And give you peace
And give you peace
And give you peace forever



Thank you for joining us in celebrating this day with Caleb.