Gather:
Who needs Jesus the most?
Who in our church is capable of serving?
Who in our church should we treat with the most respect?
Who in our church has the ability to live into God’s kingdom?
I hope you answered something like, “Everyone!” to all of these questions.
Hear:
Matthew 19:13-14
13 Some people brought little children to Jesus. They wanted him to place his hands on the children and pray for them. But the disciples told them not to do it.
14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t keep them away. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people like them.” 15 Jesus placed his hands on them to bless them. Then he went on from there.
Wonder:
Why do you think people brought children to Jesus?
Why do you think the disciples told them not to bring the children to Jesus?
Why did Jesus take time to bless them?
Jesus has a habit of taking things that seem unimportant and making them important. A manger was used as a bed for a king, water was turned into wine, mud was used to cure blindness, and the list goes on and on. Here, the disciples didn’t seem to think Jesus had time for little “unimportant” children. Jesus, on the other hand prioritized the blessing of these little ones and used them as an example of the Kingdom life.
I’ve often heard people say that children are the church of tomorrow; but, like Jesus seemed to be saying, children are not just the church of the future, they are The Church of Today! Like adults, they can worship, fellowship, serve, and be discipled. The difference is that Jesus says we need to look to them to remind us of the child-like faith we need to live into God’s kingdom.
When VBS starts at 11 am this Wednesday on our youtube channel, it will be the first time in decades that we will not meet on campus. But our children are still important! Please pray for our kids who will be participating. Please share our Wednesday video with anyone you can think of who needs to hear about God’s great story of love, redemption and recreation. Let’s pray that God takes our humble online offering of scripture and teaching and multiplies it in such a way that our church of today grows leaps and bounds!
Bless:
Dear God,
Help us to see your kingdom when we see children in our midst. Bless all who are participating in VBS this year from those making the videos, the crafts, and the music, to those who are watching. Bless our children because they are the Church of Today!
Amen