Baby dedication is an act by the parents to present their child to God and to make a life-long commitment to raise, nurture and train their child in the ways of the LORD. We have two examples of infant dedication.
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In one of the most beautiful passages in the Bible Hannah presented her young son Samuel to God in an act of child dedication (1 Sam 1:19-28)
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We experience the incredible and prophetic dedication of the Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:22-35)
However, we must understand that “baby dedication” does not bring salvation to the baby; one day as the child grows and understands the message of salvation he or she must make a decision to repent of their sins and ask Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to be their Lord and Savior.
Baby dedication is a first step of parents to present their child to God in thanksgiving, as well as to petition their heavenly Father to guide, help and bless them with wisdom, knowledge and understanding from the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit to raise, train and nurture their precious one in the way, the truth and the life of Jesus Christ His Son. This act of dedication is presented before the church body, whereas, all Christians agree in prayer; saying truly, we are the family of God and will love this family and will help disciple this little one with God’s grace, mercy and love!
Jesus left two ordinances for Christians to do here on earth. They are communion and baptism. Both are reserved for people who have willingly and personally accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Baptism is an act of obedience for the believer. It is also a symbol of the believer’s identification with Jesus’ life, death and resurrection as described by Paul in Romans 6:3-4.
The believer testifies in baptism that he/she was in Christ when He was judged for our sin, buried with Him and raised to newness of life. Baptism is an outward expression of an inward profession. The person being baptized is communicating to those around them about what has taken place in their hearts.
At least twice per year at Calvary Chapel of Clayton, we offer the opportunity to be baptized. Before a baptism service, we hold a short baptism class so that those being baptized fully understand the meaning of the ordinance.
It is important to note that we do not baptize infants; instead we dedicate them to the Lord. Please see Baby Dedication.
We serve individuals seeking biblical advice to help them solve a problem, handle a crisis, and/or motivate them towards change. The goal of biblical counseling is to provide support by exploring biblical principles and insights, and discovering how to apply these principles to one’s life. Through each session, we seek to help those in need attain healing and peace from their current struggles in a loving and confidential environment.
We provide counseling for those getting married and seeking God’s Will for their future as they prepare for Biblical marriage. As well as Marital Counseling and other counseling.
One of the most important gifts that we receive from God is the opportunity to enter into the throne room in heaven through prayer. The church began in prayer (Acts 1:14) and continued in prayer daily (Acts 2:42-3:1, 12:5). The Bible consistently exhorts us to live a life of prayer, (Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6-7; Col. 4:2; 1Thes. 5:17-18; 1Tim. 2:8; James 1:6-8; James 5:16; 1 John 5:14).
In fact, all of the great revivals and movements of the Holy Spirit, throughout the history of the church, began with prayer and repentance. Yet prayer is the most neglected thing in the church today. However, here at Calvary Chapel of Clayton, leadership is committed to fostering a church culture of prayer. We do that by including corporate prayer in our Wednesday night Bible study time, our small group meetings, all leadership meetings and occasionally during our Sunday morning worship services.
If you have a prayer request, there are two ways of submitting it:
You can fill our a Get Support card or you can use the prayer request tear-off portion of our giving envelopes located on the walls by the sanctuary doors and place them in the “My Offering” boxes.
Our Pastors and Elders meet once per week to pray for all of the prayer requests we receive. Please give us the opportunity to pray for you and lift your need up before the Lord.
Marriage is a wonderful gift of God and weddings can be one of the most joyous events of our lives. However, every marriage faces challenges and many fail due to lack of understanding and preparation. If you think you have found, "the one", we strongly encourage you to seek out godly counsel before moving forward. The Bible says that marriage is God's Holy Institution which He loves. It's for this reason that we believe God has a plan for every marriage and He desires to help you build a beautiful life together, one that glorifies Him and blesses you.