Deacons and the Ordination and Vows of Our King

Acts 6:1-7
November 14, 2021
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our church is going to have an ordination and commissioning service today. And Aaron, Brian, Joey, and Tim will make vows and be ordained as deacons. With their vows, they will devote themselves to the ministry of care and compassion and charity. And in the moment of ordination, there will be prayer for them and hands will be laid on them.

But what does all of this mean? Taking vows and getting ordained? And what is the meaning of the laying of hands?

First, ordination. Ordination is simply defined as an authoritative admission to the offices of elder or deacon in the church. It is an appointment to a ministry. It is a consecration for a work. It is a bestowal of a duty. It is a making of a servant. This is the meaning of ordination.

Second, vows. Vows are simply defined as solemn promises made to God and to others. It is a telling of a truth. It is a commitment of a decision. It is an entrance into a covenant relationship. It is an act of love. This is the meaning of vows.

Third, the laying of hands. The laying of hands is simply a gesture that symbolizes a passing of the baton and represents a giving of a gift. Moses laid his hands on Joshua in Numbers 27 when it was time for Joshua to take his place and continue to lead the people into the Promised Land. Moses passed the baton to Joshua. And in 1 Timothy 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6, Paul reminded and encouraged Timothy about how ministers who came before Timothy laid their hands on him and gave him the ministry of Christ. They gave the gift of ministry to Timothy. This is the meaning of the laying of hands.

Dear Highland, let us praise the Lord for all of this. Ordination and vows are wonderful and beautiful. And our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is at the center of all of this. It is wonderful and heartwarming and encouraging and to see our Lord ordain deacons for us. He is officially creating deacons for our church so that his care and his compassion and his charity would increase here at Highland and so that his name would be glorified. Praise the Lord. It is beautiful and epic and glorious to see Aaron, Brian, Joey, and Tim make promises to the King and promises to the kingdom. Praise the Lord.

But above all, ordination and vows ought to remind us about Jesus himself - about how we are saved by Jesus.

The Son was appointed and sent by the Father to do an ultimate ministry of salvation. A ministry of righteousness and perfect obedience to the law for our sake. A ministry of suffering and death for the payment our sins. A ministry of resurrection for our resurrection. The Son was chosen and ordained by the Father to do all of this so that we would be saved. Jesus was consecrated for a work. He was bestowed a duty. He made himself a servant. Jesus was ordained. He was ordained for you.

And let us never forget that the basis of our salvation was a promise. The starting point and the cornerstone of our salvation was God’s vows to us.

God promised that he would provide an offspring of the woman who would one day crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3). God vowed to Abraham that he would give Abraham a son and that Abraham’s spiritual descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven above and the grains of sand by the seashore (Genesis 22).

God promised an eternal king who would sit upon the throne of David (2 Samuel 7). God vowed an eternal kingdom that would be victorious over all the kingdoms of the earth (Daniel 2).

And then, in the fullness of time, God fulfilled all of his promises and his vows to us. The Son lived and died and rose again - all because of promises made. Jesus saved you because it was his truth. It was his decision. It was his covenant of grace. It was his love. He chose you. And he did not change his mind about you. He never did. He never will. Jesus made vows. He made vows to you. He made vows to his bride that is the church.

So I hope that you will understand the meaning and see the bigger picture of our church’s ordination and commissioning service later today. Aaron, Brian, Joey, and Tim will make vows and be ordained as deacons. They will devote themselves to the ministry of care and compassion and charity. And there will be prayer for them and hands will be laid on them. Let us be thankful and joyful… because our Lord and Savior Jesus is at the center of everything.

Come, Lord Jesus!

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all.

Soli Deo Gloria