Jesus Loves the Little Children (12/31/2023)

INTRODUCTION

EXPLANATION

WE NEED TO

(1) BE CHILDREN

Before we can talk about the rest of what Jesus teaches about children, we need to start with this ultimate foundational truth about what it means to be God’s child.

Spiritually speaking, there are only kinds of children: children of God and children of the Devil.

1 John 3:10 (ESV)

10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Bad news: the Bible says that we are sinners by birth AND sinners by choice; we don’t practice righteousness, we practice selfishness; we don’t love others, we love ourselves

Psalm 51:5 (ESV)

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Ephesians 2:3 (ESV)

3 by nature children of wrath

Because of our sin, we deserve God’s righteous judgment on us, a verdict that says “Guilty” and deserving of the appropriate consequence for sinning against God and others.

BUT the GOOD NEWS of the Bible is that God has come to bring us into his family, to rescue us and to adopt us, so we can be sons and daughters of God — God’s children.

1 Peter 1:3 (ESV)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 John 3:1 (ESV)

1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.

Romans 8:16–17 (ESV)

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

So, this before we can talk about how we should live out being the children of God, we need to make sure that we are the children of God.

And the Bible is clear that the only way we can become the children of God is if we are born again and adopted into God’s family, by God’s grace, appropriated through faith in Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Gospel Call: believing that Jesus did for you what you could never do for yourself; that he came to this world as a child, grew up as a kid in Mary and Joseph’s house, that he lived a perfect life, never sinning, but died a sinner’s death on the cross, bearing the wrath of God and paying the penalty for the sins of everyone who would ever turn from their sins and trust in Jesus; he was buried in a tomb, and rose from the dead on the third day, ascending into heaven to sit on David’s throne as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, until that day still in the future when he will one day return to judge the living and the dead and to make all things new in a restored and glorified New Creation.

The Bible is clear that you can’t make yourself God’s child, but you can cast yourself on the mercy of God and cry out to him, turning from your sin and trusting in Jesus as your only hope for eternal life, and the promise of God’s Word is that everyone who comes with that kind of humble dependence finds forgiveness of sins, the hope of eternal life, and a place in God’s family.

[Talk to me after the message; great way to start off the new year!]

(2) WHO ARE LIKE CHILDREN

Jesus unashamedly holds up children as examples of what greatness in God’s kingdom looks like.

Listen to Matthew 18:1-4

Matthew 18:1–4 (ESV)

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them

3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

We’ll look at the last couple verses of that section soon, but look at what Jesus does.

His disciples are asking about who gets to be the greatest in God’s kingdom, and Jesus points to a kid.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of greatness, I don’t usually think about kids. I think about people with great achievements, with great deeds, with great impact in the world.

Jesus, on the other hand, points to a child.

What is it about a child that Jesus says points to greatness? It isn’t achievement; its dependence.

Psalm 131:1–2 (ESV)

1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.

2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.

We live in such an achievement culture, don’t we?

When you meet someone new, what’s one of the first things we ask? “What do you do?”

Our life is consumed with achievements.

Employee of the month.

Honor roll at school.

M.V.P - Most valuable player

High School diploma, Technical or trade school certification, undergraduate degree, grad school degree, terminal degree, the list goes on and on

In an achievement culture, what kind of achievement can little kids get?

Most needy award?

Most unstable award?

Most messy award?

Most dependent award?

Yes. All of those.

And Jesus says that it’s not the achievements of children but the dependence of children that makes them the perfect examples of greatness in God’s kingdom, because by their dependence they magnify the greatness of Jesus.

Big Idea: True greatness looks like humility and humility comes through child-like dependence, not adult-like achievement.

Application -

(1) Maybe you’ve fallen into an achievement mentality in your relationship with God.

You think God’s happy with you on the days when you read your Bible, but angry at you when you don’t

You think God loves you when you remember to pray, but that he’s mad at you when you don’t.

You think God likes you when you’re happy, but that h

You know in your head that you’re saved by grace, but in your everyday life you fall into the trap of performance-based, achievement-driven Christianity.

We need to learn and relearn what humble, child-like dependence means in our lives.

It means coming to God with nothing, trusting Him with everything.

Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress, Helpless, look to Thee for grace: Foul, I to the fountain fly, Wash me, Savior, or I die.

Augustus Toplady (1740-1778)

(3) WHO LOVE CHILDREN

If Jesus holds up children as examples of what child-like dependence looks like, which translates to greatness in God’s kingdom, than this last point follows pretty obviously.

Since Jesus loves the little children, we should love children too.

And that love can’t just be sentiment or feeling; its needs to be tangible, taking real steps to make sure children are provided and protected, both physically and spiritually.

Matthew 18:5–6 (ESV)

5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,

6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Matthew 18:10 (ESV)

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 19:13–15 (ESV)

13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people,

14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

In the church, children are not in the way, they lead the way. And so we need to provide for and protect our children both physically and spiritually.

Notice some of those words and phrases in those passages.

“Receive one such child in my name”

“Do not despise one of these little ones”

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them”

“Don’t cause them to ‘sin’ or ‘stumble.’

When we put up obstacles to children’s access to hear and understand the Word of God, to encounter Jesus in the Gospel, we are guilty of despising the little ones, and we are potentially guilty of causing them to stumble.

That phrase doesn’t just mean cause them to sin, though it certainly includes that. It means putting up anything that would cause them to fall away from the faith, or seriously jeopardize their relationship with God.

That is a broad category, and it doesn’t just apply to children, though they are certainly the ones immediately in view.

Jesus says in essence that it would be better to die a quick and immediate death by having a millstone placed around your neck as you drown in the sea than to have to face God’s wrath in hell -which never ends-- for causing one of the little ones to stumble.

This is drastic and dramatic language, and we have to take Jesus seriously.

If we want to love children the way Christ loves children, we need to provide for them and protect them physically and spiritually. We can’t cause them to stumble.

Application

(1) Parents, this includes looking a certain way on Sunday when you’re at church but being completely different Monday through Saturday. You don’t think that’s going to send a message to your kids?

(2) Older church member, maybe you don’t like it that we have the kids in for the first part of the worship service, or even that some families want to have their kids in for the whole service, and you think of the children as an obstacle to your worshipping God.

(3) Back to parents, maybe you treat your two year old or your four year old like a ten year old in your family life and in your discipline, and you have unreasonable expectations. Or, maybe you treat your ten year old like a four year old, and are not teaching them what it means to live a life of humble obedience to authority, and you essentially allow them to run the home.

(4) Maybe you just don’t like kids and you’re just mean around them. And maybe you wear it as a badge of honor. You think children are annoying, and that they are an inconvenience, and that they should just shut up and not speak unless spoken to. Look, there’s nothing honorable or holy about being mean to kids. It’s profoundly anti-Jesus, its horribly sinful, and you’re going to give an account for every careless word, including and probably especially for the careless and destructive words you speak to children.

What is your heart toward children in general and toward the children of our church?

Does it sound like Psalm 103:13, which is God’s heart for children?

Psalm 103:13 (ESV)

13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

If it doesn’t can I invite you to repent of your sin? The sin of hardness of heart toward the littlest humans? Your hardness of heart is a terrible offense against a holy God who loves children, and genuine believers can’t live in unrepentant despising of children.

[recap]

Big Idea: True greatness looks like humility and humility comes through child-like dependence, not adult-like achievement.

WE NEED TO

(1) BE CHILDREN

(2) WHO ARE LIKE CHILDREN

(3) WHO LOVE CHILDREN

APPLICATION: How can we best love the children of our church?

Genesis Kids:

“Genesis” means “Beginning.” And our ministry is called Genesis Kids because we want to make sure that from the very beginning of the lives of the kids, we are “Helping little hearts love big truth, and we are trying to do that in three ways: through service, safety, and sound doctrine.”

This is our way of trying to obey what Jesus is commanding here in these verses. This is how we are trying to be obedient to his command to love children.

(1) Service

1. Service to Jesus (Matthew 25:35-40; cf. Matthew 18:5, 10)

When we serve the kids of our church, we are actually serving Jesus.

Jesus says in Matthew 25:40 that our acts of kindness and service and practical acts of love toward “the least of these” in the church — feeding them and giving them drink and welcoming them and clothing them and visiting them — are actually acts of service to Jesus himself. That certainly applies to more than just the kids of our church, but it certainly doesn’t mean less.

Our primary motivation in serving the children of our church is our desire to serve Jesus.

2. Service to Kids

Obviously, our kids ministry is for our kids. But not only our kids, but also for kids in our community who may yet find our church as a place of hope and refuge and safety.

We want every single child who comes through Genesis Kids to feel absolutely loved, valued, cared for, and served.

Just as Christ entered into our world to show us the Father’s love and to bring us salvation from our sins, so we enter into the world of our kids to show them the love of Christ, and to share with them the good news of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, and the hope of eternal life.

3. Service to Families (Dt. 6:4-9; Eph. 6:1-4; cf. 2 Tim. 3:15)

There are 168 hours every week, and your child might spend 1 hour or 2 hours with us, if you attend church every Sunday.

Parents, the Bible is clear that you are your children’s primary Evangelists and Disciplers! They are going to learn more about Jesus and the Christian life from you than anyone in the whole world.

Parents, you need to be faithful to cultivate an atmosphere of reverence and love for Christ in the home.

Your parenting needs to be rooted in and shaped by the Gospel.

Your schedule Monday-Saturday needs to include regular family Bible times, where you read Scripture and pray and review the things of the Lord and think about all He has done in your lives.

If you can set aside hours and hours each week for piano practice and baseball practice and gymnastics and going out to eat and watching TV, then TIME isn’t the issue. The issue might just be your priorities.

We take care of our possessions for our children. But of the children themselves we take no care at all. What an absurdity is this! Form the soul of thy son aright, and all the rest will be added hereafter.

John Chrysostom (347-407)

Listen to Ephesians 6:4

Ephesians 6:4 (ESV)

4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Parents, this is your responsibility. This is your job.

But thankfully, God doesn’t call us to live the Christian life alone.

He has given us the body of Christ, and this is one of the ways that we want to come alongside and serve the families of our church.

We want to come alongside you for one or two hours each week and support the evangelism and discipleship that you are already doing with your kids, so that when you check your kids in for their classes, they are surrounded by volunteers and other kids who are saying and believing the same things your kids are hearing at home.

And for those who come to our church from our community who maybe don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray that maybe they might experience the eternity-altering realities of the Gospel through the kids who learn about the love of Jesus and the story of the Bible in our kids ministry.

4. Service to Volunteers (Phil. 2:4)

Living the Christian life means putting the interests of others over your own interests, considering others more than just yourself.

One of things we are praying for is that God would add more volunteers to our team who are eager to serve Jesus, serve kids, serve families, and eager to serve the other volunteers.

One practical way to serve other volunteers is by committing to serve on a rotation, which frees up other volunteers to participate in the rest of body life in the church. It’s being willing to commit and say, “Yes, I’ll serve this whole Sunday School term,” or “Yes, I’ll serve in the Nursery once every 6 weeks or 8 weeks” or “Yes, I’ll serve for 4 weeks during Kids Church in the sermon time.”

We want to cultivate an atmosphere where we are readily thinking of other volunteers as more important than ourselves.

(2) Safety (Matthew 18:5-6; cf. James 2:14-17)

If we are going to love children the way Christ wants us to, we need to keep them safe. Unfortunately, there are those want to do children harm, and as followers of Jesus, we need to make sure that the church is the safest place in the world for children.

We want to do that in at least three ways.

1. Safe Facilities (Dt. 22:8)

One practical way we can keep kids safe is by making sure that the only way in to where the kids are is through the main double doors on the south side of the building.

The way we think about the safety of our facilities is a practical way we can love our kids.

2. Safe Volunteers (Exodus 22:21-24; Psalm 10:7-11; 1 Cor. 5:11-13, Lev. 20:1-5; cf. Isaiah 1:17; Micah 6:8)

We don’t want to live in fear, but we do want to be wise.

We have a thorough application and vetting process that we are taking to the next level. We want to make it as hard as possible for people who might do our children harm to have access to our kids.

In our volunteer training, we are also emphasizing how important it is that our volunteers know how to appropriately interact with children in a way that is safe and completely above-board.

3. Safe Practices (Prov. 14:16; Prov. 22:3)

These are things like our check in and check out process, where we are going to give parents or guardians a security tag that you need to show us when we check out your kids.

These are also policies like there always need to be at least two trained volunteers with the children.

(3) Sound Doctrine (Ephesians 4:14; Prov. 1:8)

Kids ministry is fun, but it isn’t just fun. It isn’t babysitting; we are trying to super intentional about instilling sound doctrine in the hearts of our kids.

“Helping little hearts love big truth.”

Kids’ hearts are sponges that God designed to be able to absorb big, wonderful, life-giving, Gospel-truths that have the potential of changing their lives forever.

1. Our Curriculum

“Be sure, whatever you leave out, that you teach the children the three R’s,—Ruin, Redemption, and Regeneration.” Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)

We are using a kids curriculum that doesn’t just teach Bible stories as moralistic stories. It goes from Genesis through Revelation and it makes connections to Christ all the way through, incorporates all of the major categories of systematic theology, and highlights the many attributes of God.

It is a solid, meaty, theologically-rich curriculum.

And it has lots of practical and fun activities built in that help to engage the kids at different age and grade levels.

2. Our Team (Titus 2:10)

More than just the curriculum, we want to cultivate sound doctrine through the relationships that the kids make. All of our volunteers are members of the church who are expected to be growing in their own relationship with God and the overflow of that is that the kids are not just hearing these lessons, they are actually seeing the results of sound doctrine in the lives of their teachers and helpers.

3. Our Resources (cf. Dt. 6:4-9; Eph. 6:1-4; cf. 2 Tim. 3:15)

We don’t just want to go through lessons at church, we want to resource and equip the parents of our church to evangelize and disciple their kids.

One practical example is through resources that go along with our catechism.

Next Sunday, we are going to start using the New City Catechism, which has a new question and answer every Sunday and works through all the major doctrines of Christianity in a compact and easy to learn way. In the Newsletter, there are some links for some free resources that parents can use to incorporate the catechism of the week into your family Bible time. That’s just one example of how we want to help little hearts love big truth through sound doctrine by connecting parents with resources.

CONCLUSION

As we move into the new year, I did want to bring your attention to a big need that we have. As we are prayerfully trying to sharpen our pencil in a few areas in our kids ministry, we have a need for volunteers who are ready and willing to help us with our mission of helping little hearts love big truth through service, safety, and sound doctrine. We need your help!

If you’re willing to help, either as a Nursery volunteer or as a volunteer for the Elementary kids, even if you don’t have a lot of experience working with kids, I would love to talk to you.

If you’re wanting to get started, the best thing for you to do would be to pull out your phone and type out a quick email to [e-mail] and ask for a volunteer application for kids ministry. We’ll send you the application and then we’ll go from there.

[recap]

Big Idea: True greatness looks like humility and humility comes through child-like dependence, not adult-like achievement.

WE NEED TO

(1) BE CHILDREN

(2) WHO ARE LIKE CHILDREN

(3) WHO LOVE CHILDREN

May God help us be who He wants us to be, for His glory.

Let’s pray.