Ephesians 1:3-5 "The Father of Adoption"

Placing a Child for Adoption

What a profound picture of a birth mother's love seeing the work of God in her adoption, "God was using me to find his family not me choose his family. My baby's family shared him with me, not me sharing him with them." (7:30)

Denise and I love this video because it shows how blessed we were to have a birth mother like Charity. One quote I love from this video is her emphasis that the monthly disappointments and the long wait for choosing a birth mother was because God was waiting to bless the birth mother with the child. She needed their baby to be born to her to help save her from the challenges that she had been facing. Adoption is a wonderful gift for both the birth mother and adoption parents. However, it is often a blessing that is accompanied with tears.

Finalization is complete.

We had a wonderful day! To God be the glory great things He has done.

Our Covenant of Adoption

At 9:00 we will finalize Crosby's adoption at the Seminole County Courthouse. Prayerfully, I will be able to read this statement as a covenant before God and the state of Florida.

Today is the final step in a long journey that has led us to this courtroom today. We have not walked this path alone but have walked together with the love and support of many family and friends while being led by our Good Shepherd Jesus Christ. Crosby was blessed to have a first mother whose courageous love sacrificed her own interests in order to give him the life she could not provide. Today we stand before God, this court, and our family to pledge our unconditional love for Crosby. We covenant to raise him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and teach him to fear God and love his neighbor as himself. We covet your prayers and look forward to a life of blessings filled with laughter and tears as we enjoy the gift of Crosby James Partyka.

Ephesians 1:3-6: Predestined for Adoption

Over the past month I have been given the privilege of preaching through the doctrine of biblical adoption. This doctrine is very dear to my heart but also a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. So much so that John Stott calls it the "highest blessing of the Christian faith". He says, "If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption." (Knowing God p. 201)

Sermon Link: Ephesians 1:3-6

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved."