Monday, November 04, 2013
“Saved Day” Celebration Encourages Remeberance
If eight years is long enough to call something a faith tradition, then we have a favorite in our family: a little something we call "Saved Day."
You won't find a reference to “saved day” in the Bible and I don't know of any church that recognizes it as a Christian ritual. But in our house, "Saved Day" is as anticipated as physical birthdays and equally as important.
When my wife and I had the privilege of leading our oldest child to accepting Jesus as his savior we vowed to do something to commemorate the decision in future years.
When we were attending Second Baptist Church, someone in our adult small group mentioned celebrating their child's salvation each year. From that simple comment was born our family "saved day" and our family calendar is marked for each family member on their special days.
We do not do gifts on “saved day.” The greatest gift (salvation) has already been received. The goal of the celebration is to remind the individual of the importance of this decision.
We do get a small cake to eat after dinner as part of our "saved day" ceremony. We share memories from the day of their salvation. Each family member talks about where they have seen Jesus Christ working in the life of the honoree over the past year. We give examples of how we have seen the person grow spiritually. We reflect on what Jesus has done in their life and we discuss what God may have in store for the future.
The honored person then talks about what they have seen over the past year in their relationship with Jesus and what they think have been benchmark moments. We end the celebration with a family prayer of blessing over the honored person.
"Saved Day" is a treasured family tradition in our house. But I suspect we are not the only family that conducts a "Saved Day." For those of the Christian faith, the day of salvation is a significant moment worth remembering in a humble, honest and spiritual way.
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Written by David Burton, January 2012. David and Stacey Burton and their children Matthew and Lauren are members at Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield. This article was printed in News-Leader in January of 2012 and is reused here with the permission of the author.
You won't find a reference to “saved day” in the Bible and I don't know of any church that recognizes it as a Christian ritual. But in our house, "Saved Day" is as anticipated as physical birthdays and equally as important.
When my wife and I had the privilege of leading our oldest child to accepting Jesus as his savior we vowed to do something to commemorate the decision in future years.
When we were attending Second Baptist Church, someone in our adult small group mentioned celebrating their child's salvation each year. From that simple comment was born our family "saved day" and our family calendar is marked for each family member on their special days.
We do not do gifts on “saved day.” The greatest gift (salvation) has already been received. The goal of the celebration is to remind the individual of the importance of this decision.
We do get a small cake to eat after dinner as part of our "saved day" ceremony. We share memories from the day of their salvation. Each family member talks about where they have seen Jesus Christ working in the life of the honoree over the past year. We give examples of how we have seen the person grow spiritually. We reflect on what Jesus has done in their life and we discuss what God may have in store for the future.
The honored person then talks about what they have seen over the past year in their relationship with Jesus and what they think have been benchmark moments. We end the celebration with a family prayer of blessing over the honored person.
"Saved Day" is a treasured family tradition in our house. But I suspect we are not the only family that conducts a "Saved Day." For those of the Christian faith, the day of salvation is a significant moment worth remembering in a humble, honest and spiritual way.
###
Written by David Burton, January 2012. David and Stacey Burton and their children Matthew and Lauren are members at Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield. This article was printed in News-Leader in January of 2012 and is reused here with the permission of the author.
