Sermon Text: Mark 10:13-16
Sermon Excerpt
In many churches the simplest way to identify which rooms are intended for children and which are reserved for adults is to observe the size of the furniture. Since so many of you are parents and grandparents, I hope you know that children are not miniature adults.
Some of the adults here have talked to me about our recent use of many different versions of the Lord’s Prayer. The most common comment is that this variety has led you to really think about what you are saying each time you pray the Lord’s Prayer. Perhaps you are becoming child-like in your approach. You want to know the right words for a given week and strive to say them with enthusiasm.
There are countless ways young children think the Lord’s Prayer should be said after listening to adults recite it. Perhaps you have heard a child say something like:
- Our Father who does art in heaven Harold be thy name, or
- lead us not into temptation, but deliver us some e-mail.
Whether about prayer or other matters of faith, we like to think that we teach children, but often they teach us far more than we teach them. And, they certainly ask some great theological questions
- In Sunday school my teacher told us what God does, but who does all that stuff when God is on vacation?
With questions such as these perhaps we should extend the time given to the children’s message each week. Or, maybe I should consider adding something new to each worship service: a time for adults. Imagine a child inviting all of the grandparents present to come forward to the chancel steps for a time of learning.
I don’t think we will go there, but . . . (read manuscript or watch video)
So What?
According to The Jesus Priorities, a book by Christopher Maricle that inspired this sermon series, we turn the priority of valuing children as precious into a habit when we
- become like children,
- protect children, and
- welcome children.
Which of these three is most challenging for you? for your church? How might you give attention to this growing edge over the next few months?