House Dedication & Candle Lighting: We dedicate this home to love and understanding.

May its joys and sorrows be shared and the individuality of each person who lives and visits here appreciated. We light a candle to love. (Light a candle.) We dedicate this home to work, and rest and play. May our home have joy and high fellowship, with kindness in its voices and laughter running within its walls. We light a candle to joy. (Light a candle.) We dedicate this home to friendly life. May its doors open in hospitality and its windows look out with kindness toward other homes. We light a candle to friendship. (Light a candle.) We dedicate this home to cooperation. May its duties be performed in love, its furnishings bear witness that the work of others ministers to our comfort, and its table remind us that God works with us for the supply of daily needs. We light a candle to cooperation. (Light a candle.) We dedicate this home to the appreciation of all things good and true. May the books bring wisdom, the pictures symbolize things beautiful, and the music bring joy and inspiration. We light a candle to appreciation. (Light a candle.) We dedicate the time and talent of those who live here to help build a world in which every family may have a home of comfort and fellowship. We light a candle to Christian service. (Light a candle.) We dedicate this home as a unit in the Church universal, an instrument of the Kingdom of God, a place of worship and Christian training and a threshold to the life eternal. We light a candle to spiritual enrichment. (Light a candle.) As the flames point upward, so our thoughts rise in gratitude to God for this home, and in prayer for God's blessings upon it. Scriptures and Reflections about Homes and God's Care: (Offered by friends and by the Pastor) 1. The Bible teaches us that a home is far more than a physical building. Proverbs 24:3-4 (RSV) By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. 2. We need God's presence, power and direction for our lives and homes to be fruitful. Psalms 127:1 (RSV) Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 3. The Bible indicates that it is important to dedicate our homes to God. Before going into battle, the men in the Bible were warned to dedicate their homes! Deuteronomy 20:5 (RSV) Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying, 'What man is there that has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. 4. God told his people to write his word on the doorposts of their homes. Many Jewish people today place a portion of God's Word on a parchment scroll in a container on the doorposts of their homes. They touch the scroll every time they go in or out to remind them that their homes belong to God, and what happens there is to be directed by God's Word. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (RSV) And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and 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. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 5. When a person dedicates their house to God, we trust that God responds to their commitment. When Solomon dedicated the temple, God responded, speaking to him. 2 Chronicles 7:15 (RSV) Now my eyes will be open [says the Lord] and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there for ever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 6. When people in the Early Christian movement gathered to teach and preach about Jesus, and to pray

in the power of the Spirit, they often met in homes. Acts 5:42 (RSV) And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. Acts 28:30,31 (RSV) [Paul] stayed two full years in his own rented quarters, and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ... 7. Jesus can use our homes to minister to us and with us if we will welcome him. Revelation 3:20 (RSV) Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 8. In his teachings, Jesus presented home life as a model of what it means to live a life in God's presence and love. John 14:1-3 (RSV) "Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 9. The Psalmist saw God's care in a similar way. Psalms 91:1-2 (RSV) He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust." 10. How will we use the homes God has loaned to us? Dedicating our homes to God is not a one-time act. It is an ongoing ministry! Hebrews 13:2 (RSV) Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 11. We are accountable to God for the use of our homes and our hospitality. God honors those who consecrate the use of their homes to bless others in need. Matthew 25:31-46 selected (RSV) "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats... Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was ...a stranger and you welcomed me...' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see thee...a stranger and welcome thee...? And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' Prayer of Blessing: L: Our help is in the Name of the Lord ALL: WHO MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH. L: The Lord is with you. ALL: AND ALSO WITH YOU. L: Let us pray God the Father Almighty, we thank you for the desires of this family, that all they have and do here may be in accord with your divine plans, that this home and its residents may be truly and completely dedicated to you, and to serving your kingdom. We ask you to strengthen them in this commitment. We pray to you, O God, for this home, its occupants and possessions, that you may bless and sanctify them, enriching them by your kindness in every way possible. Pour out on them, O Lord, heavenly dew in good measure, as well as an abundance of earthly needs. Mercifully listen to their prayers, and grant that their needs be fulfilled. As we bow before you, bless this home & every aspect of it, cleansing any misdeeds of the past, and leaving it pure, fresh and holy. Bless this house, just as you blessed the homes of Abraham and Sarah, of Isaac and Rebecca, of Jacob and Rachel. Within these walls, let your angels of light preside and stand watch over those who live here, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Response: AMEN!