SPEAKER_00: Good morning, my little friends.
SPEAKER_00: How you all?
SPEAKER_00: How are you guys doing this morning?
unknown: Good.
SPEAKER_00: Good afternoon.
SPEAKER_00: Are you sure?
SPEAKER_00: Let me ask again, how are you guys doing this morning?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a little better.
SPEAKER_00: That's great.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, I want to tell you all a story this morning about Jesus hanging out with the kids.
SPEAKER_00: Here's a story about Jesus hanging out with the kids.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to share this story with you because a lot of times we think someone as important as Jesus and as big as Jesus is, that he wouldn't necessarily have time to hang out with kids.
SPEAKER_00: Now tell me just for a second, what are some of the things that you know that Jesus did?
SPEAKER_00: What are some of the miracles he did?
SPEAKER_00: What are some of the things he did?
SPEAKER_00: He healed blind men.
SPEAKER_00: What else did he do?
unknown: He died on the cross.
SPEAKER_00: He died on the cross and he preached and he taught and he had conversations with the religious leaders and stuff.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus was very important.
SPEAKER_00: He was very busy.
SPEAKER_00: Every time you saw Jesus, there was a crowd around him.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this one time, I guess, you know, after Jesus had finished preaching, he had finished teaching, and he was by himself, all of a sudden, I guess it must have been the moms and the dads, they started bringing all the babies and the kids to Jesus, just like you guys.
SPEAKER_00: You know, they and matter of fact, how many of you have have a little infant, a real little baby, in your house?
SPEAKER_00: He even they even brought your sister or your brother?
SPEAKER_00: Your brother, they brought your brother.
SPEAKER_00: These little babies coming to Jesus, right?
SPEAKER_00: And so everybody saw this in the disciples, the the big shots, the adults.
SPEAKER_00: What do you think the adults said when they saw all these people bringing these babies to Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: What do you think they said?
SPEAKER_00: What do adults generally say when kids get it running around?
SPEAKER_00: And what do parents generally say?
unknown: Settle down.
SPEAKER_00: Settle down, right?
SPEAKER_00: What else do they say?
SPEAKER_00: Leave them alone, go to the playground, go play, right?
SPEAKER_00: You know, if a preacher came here and all of a sudden he was at the door and and all the kids were the first one to the preacher, everybody would be saying, you know what, come over here, come over here, let's let the guests meet Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You know, they wouldn't let the kids come.
SPEAKER_00: And so they were they were telling the parents, get back, get back, stop it, stop it.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus, he caught wind of this.
SPEAKER_00: He saw it.
SPEAKER_00: What do you think Jesus did?
SPEAKER_00: He said, No, exactly.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus saw them.
SPEAKER_00: He saw them, and they were doing all this to put the kids back, and Jesus looked up, and Jesus said, Ho, ho, ho, ho.
SPEAKER_00: What are you doing?
SPEAKER_00: Don't stop the kids from coming to me.
SPEAKER_00: And you know why he said that?
SPEAKER_00: And you know what kids were doing just like you around Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus wouldn't even bother, but they were rolling, jumping, crying, and they were fine.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus was fine.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, he had no problem with it.
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus loved the children.
SPEAKER_00: And notice what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says this, he says, Let the children come to me and don't stop them.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Because you guys, as small as you are, you have a key.
SPEAKER_00: There's something that we big shot adults can learn from you.
unknown: Jesus can do everything.
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus can do everything.
SPEAKER_00: And what do you think we can learn from you as adults?
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus said there was something that you can teach me.
SPEAKER_00: What do you think it is that Jesus might have said that you could teach me, the adults in this building this morning?
SPEAKER_00: Any ideals?
SPEAKER_00: You trust that your mom and your dad are gonna take care of you, right?
SPEAKER_00: You trust that mom and dad are gonna have food on the table, right?
SPEAKER_00: You trust that when they ask you, they say they're gonna do something.
SPEAKER_00: Most of the time, we don't always get it right, but most of the time they do what they say they're going to do, correct?
SPEAKER_00: And that is the exact same thing that Jesus says, I can learn from you.
SPEAKER_00: You see, because when we get older, and when you get older, you you you you get brains, you get smarts, you you you can figure stuff out.
SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, that doesn't make sense that if I did this, blah, blah, blah, and I don't have faith.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus says, you all can teach us here at APC what it is like to follow God.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for such uh for to such the kingdom of God belongs.
SPEAKER_00: And then he says, This truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom like a child will not enter.
SPEAKER_00: And so this morning, what I want you folks, you guys to know, is that every time you come up here to worship, and then and and I see you every Sunday when it's children's church time, I see you.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all be, you know, you be, and you want to run.
SPEAKER_00: And I know your parents tell you, walk, walk, you know, and but you're so excited to get there.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, let them run.
SPEAKER_00: Well, okay, Jesus says it, but he listened to your parents, okay?
SPEAKER_00: And I don't want all y'all next Sunday running over there to say, well, Pastor Mike told us to run.
SPEAKER_00: Don't drop that on me, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Work on walking, but he sees your excitement and he is so happy that you're excited to come to worship.
SPEAKER_00: You know what else Jesus wants you to know?
SPEAKER_00: He wants you to know that you are always, always welcome to come to him.
SPEAKER_00: Always welcome.
SPEAKER_00: There's not a thing too small in your world.
SPEAKER_00: You might you might be scared of the dog down the street, or you might be scared of some kid at school and and you're really worried.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, Well, come to me and tell me about it.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, continue to learn, you little ones, my little friends, what it means to go to Jesus for everything that you need.
SPEAKER_00: We can learn from you.
SPEAKER_00: I need to learn your faith.
SPEAKER_00: My faith needs to be strengthened.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, my brother.
SPEAKER_00: And he exactly made you and he made me.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, my brother.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for adding that.
SPEAKER_00: Now let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Father, thank you for these little ones here this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the gift that they are.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for their faith.
SPEAKER_00: They believe you.
SPEAKER_00: And Lord, may we learn from them what it looks like and what it means to trust you.
SPEAKER_00: And Lord, would you continue to give them an excitement and a joy to worship here on Sundays and to learn more about you?
SPEAKER_00: And Lord, would you teach them, teach them, teach them to continue to turn to you for everything that they need.
SPEAKER_00: No matter how big they get and how much education they get, maybe they never forget that you and you alone are all that they need.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: You maybe go back to your seats.
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
SPEAKER_00: God made him know.
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.