WEBVTT 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:04.080 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:08.960 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:10.720 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:20.000 Some of you might not know me because I actually joined the Awakening staff March of 2020. 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:24.719 So if you can imagine, I didn't get to meet a whole lot of people right off the bat. 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:26.559 So I want to introduce you to my family. 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:28.879 We're gonna have a picture of them up on the screen. 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:35.600 My husband Christian and I have been married for seven years, and we have these two adorable children. 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:39.200 We have Luke, or Lukey, as we all call him. 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:46.799 He is one and a half, and he is just this burst of joy and excitement and energy all the time. 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:52.320 And then there's Ella, and she is five and a half, and she's starting kindergarten this year. 00:00:52.560 --> 00:00:57.520 And so this move up Sunday has been really fun and extra special for me. 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:08.480 I've been through a lot of move up Sundays over my years in ministry, in both youth ministry and kids ministry, and now I'm getting to celebrate this day in my own family, so it's been really fun and exciting. 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:14.000 She was talking about it all week that she got to move up to kindergarten today. 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:23.120 And at the phase she's in right now, at five years old, she has about a million questions every single day. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:27.040 If you've ever been around a five-year-old, you know exactly what I'm talking about. 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:32.400 She even says to me sometimes, wow, I sure have a lot of questions. 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:34.959 Sometimes these questions are silly. 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:39.599 Like, what would happen if I mixed peanut butter with my scrambled eggs? 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:42.239 Often the questions start with, why? 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:44.319 Why do I have to brush my teeth? 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:46.480 Why do I have to clean up my toys? 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:49.920 Why did the eggs taste so bad with the peanut butter on them? 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:58.159 And sometimes her questions are ones that just stop me in my tracks to answer. 00:01:58.879 --> 00:02:03.280 The other day, she was skipping around our house as five-year-olds do. 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:07.840 And she said to me, Mama, who is I made to be? 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:17.280 And this just made me freeze because of the magnitude of this very casual question that she asked me. 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:20.479 And I responded, a child of God. 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:23.199 And she said, Well, Mama, who are you made to be? 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:25.599 And I said, A child of God. 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:28.159 Then she went through the rest of our family. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:32.560 She went thata, she went through Luki, and she wanted to know who we were all made to be. 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:35.520 And I responded the same way each time. 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:40.479 And this was surprising to her, but also sufficient. 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:43.919 She didn't have any more questions, amazingly enough. 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:53.680 But at just five years old, kids ask some really profound questions that even as adults, we're still asking. 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:57.199 Like this question, who was I made to be? 00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:00.000 Ella's asking that at five years old. 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:06.800 Our fifth graders, right now, who just moved up to middle school, they're asking that question as they move into a new phase of their life. 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:12.240 Our high schoolers are asking that question as they're looking ahead to college. 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:16.879 Our college students are asking that question, wondering what comes next. 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:26.960 And we continue to ask this question in our 20s, in our 30s, our 40s, our 50s, and into retirement: who was I made to be? 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:32.800 And these are the types of questions that our souls are longing to find the answers to. 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:41.199 And the way that Jesus approaches kids gives insight to who we are as his disciples. 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:43.840 And that's what we're gonna unpack this morning. 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:54.000 The way Jesus interacts with kids shows us both how we are to interact with kids and also how to relate to him. 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:58.879 Today we're celebrating kids and youth all morning. 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:05.039 As they're moving up a grade and finishing, I think what we can all agree was one of the craziest school years ever. 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:09.520 But why would we do this move up Sunday and make it such a big deal? 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:16.959 Why would we pause our sermon series, bring all the kids and the youth into the tent, and celebrate them as a whole church? 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:25.920 We wanted today to be a celebration, not just of what these kids and teens and families have accomplished over the last year. 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:32.240 Today isn't just about this milestone or them moving up in our ministries. 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:40.560 Today is a day where kids and youth get to know that they are welcome in the kingdom of God. 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:54.879 As we celebrate them, as they were invited into the tent with all the grown-ups and you all cheered for them, this communicated that they are a valued part of our church and that they're a part of God's kingdom. 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:58.560 We believe that kids are a part of the kingdom of God. 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:03.040 And we believe this because of how Jesus interacted with kids. 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:11.680 We see lots of stories of Jesus interacting with adults, but there's one key story that we see Jesus with kids. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:23.519 And what Jesus says in this moment is really challenging and important for both parents and also those who aren't currently raising kids to hear. 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:25.680 This is for all of us. 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:31.120 It's important for the kids, and it's also important for us. 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:41.199 In Mark 10, it says, People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place their hands on him, but the disciples rebuked them. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:44.079 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:51.759 He said to them, Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:58.319 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:03.680 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them, and blessed them. 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:07.279 Kids matter to Jesus. 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:09.360 Plain and simple. 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:14.079 This is why we as a church are celebrating these kids and youth today. 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:20.000 Jesus made it so clear to his disciples that these little ones matter to him. 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:29.120 Now, the first thing that I want you to notice, you know, we often jump to this wonderfully convicting phrase where he says, Let the little children come to me. 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:30.959 And we'll get there in just a second. 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:35.839 But there's something vital that comes before that in the text. 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:40.959 Notice that the kids weren't coming to Jesus on their own. 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:46.000 The passage says, people were bringing little children to Jesus. 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:52.160 It actually took someone scooping them up, bringing them to Jesus, and making an introduction. 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:59.199 And that is when Jesus says this famous verse of, let the little children come to me. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:10.160 It was so important to him that the little children got to meet him, that he even went as far as rebuking the disciples for turning them away. 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:15.040 There's something so notable about people bringing children to Jesus. 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:35.120 We don't know if these people were their parents or grandparents or an aunt or uncle or even an older sibling or a friend, but what we do know is that somebody cared about these little ones so much that they wanted to make sure that they got introduced to Jesus. 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:37.759 This is discipleship. 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:40.639 Jesus calls all of us to make disciples. 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:45.040 The Great Commission, you've heard it before, go and make disciples. 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:48.959 Many of us have heard this verse, and many of you are doing that right now. 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:56.480 You're leading a small group, you're talking to your coworkers about the gospel, you're walking through something difficult with somebody that you love. 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:03.920 But some of us read that verse and sit back thinking, what does that even mean? 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:06.399 How do I make disciples? 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:10.480 Isn't that the job of maybe a pastor or a missionary? 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:13.360 You know, I'm not sure I want to do those things. 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:22.560 But in this passage, we get a glimpse into one of the most tangible ways to make disciples. 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:34.399 By introducing kids to Jesus, by bringing them to Jesus, by talking to a kid about Jesus, you are answering his call to make disciples. 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:40.240 Someone once said to me about their own kids, well, they have their whole lives to follow Jesus. 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:44.240 Implying our family's not making that a priority right now. 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:50.080 Because our kids have too much to worry about between school and sports and friends and fun. 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:55.759 But I want to say the same thing to you, but differently today. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:01.200 Kids have their whole lives to follow Jesus. 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:08.399 If they meet him now, they get to walk with him for a lifetime. 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:10.960 Think about your own life for a moment. 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:16.399 Think about what your life was like before you knew God compared to after. 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:18.559 What were your choices like? 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:20.159 Who did you care about? 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:21.600 How did you spend your time? 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:23.440 How did you make decisions? 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:29.200 Now, some of you have known Jesus from a young age, and that is such a gift. 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:37.200 And if that's you, think for a moment of how your life could have been different if you didn't know God at such a young age. 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.960 But for many of us, we didn't know God as a small child. 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:50.879 I gave my heart to Jesus when I was 17 years old, and at 17, my life choices began to radically change. 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:58.720 So I want you to think for a moment of how your life could have been different if you knew Jesus since you were little. 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:07.759 And now not in a regretful sort of way, because each of our stories are special and unique and they lead others straight to the heart of God. 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:29.440 But just imagine if when you were five years old, you knew that God loved you no matter what, and that you had been introduced to Jesus, who wanted to be your friend forever, and that you knew that you were created in the image of God. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:34.720 What might your life look like at 15 or 25? 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:41.200 How might the foundation of what you believe about yourself and about others be different? 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:46.399 Kids have their whole lives to follow Jesus. 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:50.080 And they need someone to introduce them to him. 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:56.559 Someone who knows Jesus and sees the value in walking with him for a lifetime. 00:10:56.799 --> 00:11:04.559 Someone who will consistently show up in their lives to walk through the questions they have and the experiences that they're going through. 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:09.279 Someone who will point them to Jesus at every opportunity. 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:11.679 Someone who will disciple them. 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:15.840 Most of you probably don't really know what I do here. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:29.519 Sure, you know I'm the kids' pastor, but I would guess that the picture that you have in your mind of what that looks like has something to do with changing diapers and coloring and passing out snacks. 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:31.600 And most of that is true. 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:38.879 But kids' ministry is so much more than wiping icky noses and playing duck duck goose. 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:42.240 It goes beyond childcare or babysitting. 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:44.639 And that's why we don't even call it that here. 00:11:45.039 --> 00:12:01.679 Instead, what we do is we create a safe and joyful environment for kids to get to experience God, to build relationships with other kids, and to be cared for by Jesus-loving leaders. 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:14.320 The vision of Awakening Kids is this Awakening Kids exists to awaken the kids of this generation to the wonder of Jesus and the truth of God's word. 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:21.440 And everything we do in kids' ministry, right over there, everything we do is connected to that vision. 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:30.480 Kids matter to Jesus, and we want them to know that they matter to the heart of God and that they're actually a part of his kingdom. 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:32.399 So it looks like this. 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:38.960 We share stories about Jesus in a way that invokes their sense of wonder. 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:49.360 We do activities that use their innate sense of curiosity, and we do both of those to point them back to the God who put those gifts in them. 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:56.320 The story of Jesus is so amazing, so we share it in a way that communicates that to their hearts. 00:12:56.559 --> 00:12:58.480 We also point them back to Scripture. 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:01.039 We teach directly out of the Bible. 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:10.879 We don't water down the stories for them, but we share the truth about who God is and who they are, all found in Scripture. 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:24.720 And as they're rooted in Scripture, some of the big questions in this world feel a little bit less scary because they know the God of truth, and that truth is found in the Bible. 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:36.879 This idea of living their own truth that's so prevalent in our world becomes living God's truth because God's truth becomes their truth. 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:52.879 Kids' ministry and youth ministry are made up of an incredible team of volunteer leaders who spend their Sunday mornings investing and discipling kids so that they can know Jesus. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:14:09.360 If you asked any high schooler or adult what it was that had the greatest impact in their life, you rarely hear a program or a curriculum or a sports team or even a church. 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:13.759 It all goes back to a person, right? 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:16.399 Someone who invested in their life. 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:29.840 A teacher, a camp counselor, a family member, a sports coach, a kids' ministry leader, someone who believed in them, someone who loved them, and someone who invested in them. 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:36.960 So I've mentioned making disciples a few times, so I want to paint you a picture of what that looks like in the day-to-day. 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:41.919 It's the parent of young kids who's reading Bible stories at home. 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:45.519 The little ones, the toddlers, their babies. 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:47.840 They don't yet know Jesus. 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:51.360 And you get to be the person to introduce them to him. 00:14:51.759 --> 00:15:04.879 It's the aunt or uncle or grandparent or sibling who shows a deep, unconditional love to the child in their life and points them toward Jesus through the experiences that they share with you. 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:15.120 It's the college student who's working as a nanny and teaching and playing and sharing the love of Jesus by how you care for those kids. 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:26.960 It's the single young adult who has friends with kids, and you choose to not just spend time with your friend, but with the whole family, and you build a relationship with those kids. 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:33.840 It's the volunteer who gives their time and serves in kids' ministry or youth ministry, because that's what's going on over there. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:35.200 It's discipleship. 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:41.919 It's talking to kids and walking with them as they have big questions about God and faith and life. 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:52.000 And it's the tired parent who has been distance learning for a whole year, and then their kids finally get to go back to school, and then six weeks later, somehow it's already summer break. 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:58.639 And yet, you still choose to pray over your kids every night as they're going to bed. 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:01.039 This is what discipleship looks like. 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:05.919 It isn't limited to parents or pastors, it's all of us. 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:18.080 As we invest in the kids and youth of today, building a foundation of faith in their lives, we're helping to create the world changers of tomorrow. 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:29.200 As they know and love Jesus at a young age, because someone, because you invested in them, we're gonna see them do amazing things. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:34.399 These kids could be the ones to dismantle racism in America. 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:42.720 The kids that you're discipling could become foster parents who give a home to kids who desperately need it. 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:50.000 And the kids that you saw this morning, they could be the ones to put an end to world hunger or sex trafficking. 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:57.919 And the first step to all of that is found in Jesus' words, let the little children come to me. 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:03.440 So we've talked a lot about kids because kids matter so much to Jesus. 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:06.799 But there's also more in this verse that he says. 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:15.119 The second part of this verse is maybe even more challenging because Jesus wasn't even talking about kids anymore. 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:20.799 It was directed to the disciples of how they needed to respond to Jesus. 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:24.720 This part is about us, the grown-ups in the room. 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:31.039 He says, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:37.519 Matthew, in his gospel, he records it a little bit differently and maybe even more strongly. 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:48.400 He said, Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:58.000 Jesus calls us to teach and disciple kids, and he also calls us to learn about faith from kids. 00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:08.240 This is an invitation from Jesus to every one of us to step into his identity, to our identity as a child of God. 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:16.240 When we choose to believe in Jesus as our Savior, we are adopted into God's family as his sons and daughters. 00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:20.079 Our identity becomes being a child of God. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:26.720 And there's so much that we can learn from kids about how to walk out that identity. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:31.279 Kids teach us a simplicity of faith. 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:33.759 Now, I want to make this really clear. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:38.000 This does not mean to not have a well-thought-out faith. 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:42.960 It's not, this doesn't mean be gullible or uneducated or naive. 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:46.799 It doesn't mean to water down scripture or your relationship with Jesus. 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:48.160 Absolutely not. 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:58.559 But what Jesus is saying here is to approach your relationship with him like a little child does, with a simplicity of faith. 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:03.759 Something we often say around awakening is there is no junior Holy Spirit. 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:09.200 And our former family pastor, Kirsten, she put that into the culture of our church. 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:15.680 And what that means is this when we accept Jesus, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:20.400 Every one of Jesus' followers has the Holy Spirit living in them. 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:21.920 And that includes kids. 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:26.640 There's no distinction between an adult follower of Jesus and a kid follower of Jesus. 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:29.119 We're all the body of Christ. 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:32.799 And we all have the same Holy Spirit. 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:38.960 So when Jesus says change and become like little children, what exactly does that mean? 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:43.680 I want to share some of the faith lessons that I have learned from my own kids. 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:50.880 Three ways that I'm learning to have this faith like a child and how to relate to God like little children do. 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:54.400 First of all, kids ask all the questions. 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:56.640 That's what I started out talking about, right? 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:59.920 Is all the questions that I'm asked every single day. 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:02.720 Kids aren't afraid to ask questions. 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:09.200 I think sometimes, at least I do this, we read a Bible verse and we have some questions at the end. 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:17.119 But we don't want to ask the question and reveal to somebody that we don't already know the thing that we haven't learned yet. 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:24.160 So instead, we close the Bible, the next day, we move on to a different chapter or a different book. 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:31.839 We sweep these things under the rug and we pretend like we understood what it said, and we move on with our lives. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:38.559 But then the next time that this passage comes up, we still have the same questions, but we shrug it off. 00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:45.279 After a few times of this, it starts to feel too late to ask the question that we're dying to know the answer to. 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:57.920 I think as adults, we don't ask questions, maybe sometimes out of pride, and maybe sometimes out of this fear of judgment of what other people will think if we ask this question. 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:00.640 But see, kids aren't like that. 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:05.440 Kids have a question and they ask it right away. 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:12.960 They don't debate if it's a question worth asking, they don't think about how they might be perceived by the people hearing the question. 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:18.079 They just ask it because they're curious and they just want to know more. 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:33.759 As I've taught kids in kids ministry for many years now, I have seen time and time again, kids have so much curiosity that it just starts to bubble out of them, and they are just so excited to find out the answer to the question that they have. 00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:40.799 And now that I'm reading the Bible with Ella, these questions have been more of a daily occurrence in my home. 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:46.960 Questions that I've never even thought of, that I ever never even thought that maybe I knew the that I needed the answer to. 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:55.519 One morning recently, during breakfast, completely out of the blue, Ella said, Mama, where did Noah come from? 00:21:55.920 --> 00:21:59.200 And I answered a little snarkly, from his mama. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:02.720 This was not the response she was looking for. 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:05.680 I didn't actually know the answer that she wanted. 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:15.839 And so this put us on this journey of reading through scripture together and then eventually texting Chris because my answers were not good enough for her. 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:20.240 We can learn so much from this way of asking questions. 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:29.599 The ones that seem silly or too simple or like we should already know the answer, it keeps us humble and in a position of learning. 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:37.920 Last week, after about a hundred questions in a row, Ella said to me in her sweet five-year-old humility, there's things I don't know yet. 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:43.599 And when the more I say why, you tell me those things and I learn more. 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:51.839 As a child, she is aware and willing to admit that she doesn't know everything. 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:55.359 She asks questions because she's curious. 00:22:55.599 --> 00:23:01.200 And she's curious about the world and about God, and she just wants to know more. 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:09.359 Asking questions inspires our curiosity and it reminds us that we don't yet know everything about God. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:21.039 Our relationship can continue to grow with God year after year, because there's always more to learn if we're willing to ask the questions. 00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:26.880 Second, kids talk to God in prayer like they actually know Him. 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:30.160 And it sounds so simple when I say it like that, right? 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:32.480 But we tend to complicate prayer. 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:37.519 We want to make it sound good or flow well or we want to ask for the right things. 00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:43.279 Now, don't get me wrong, there's so much power in praying scripture or in liturgical prayer. 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:45.119 I practice both of these. 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:52.079 But there's something so sweet and relational about just talking to God like we know Him. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:56.160 Like we're sitting with a friend just telling them about our day. 00:23:56.480 --> 00:23:58.640 Ella loves praying. 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:04.160 She was on many of our awakening prayer Zoom calls on Sunday mornings that we used to do. 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:10.319 And the way that she prays is bold, simple, and consistent. 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:16.880 Every single night, and many of those prayer calls, she prays for specific things. 00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:22.319 First, that God would heal the crazy world and heal the people that are sick. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:26.000 This is how our family has talked about the pandemic with her. 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:29.680 Second, that he would fix the broken hearts. 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:33.279 This is her cry for racial justice. 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:36.720 And lastly, that he would fix the winding road. 00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:41.839 And this is about Highway 17 going to the beach because she gets car sick. 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:50.079 I don't know about you, but I don't think I have ever once prayed for God to fix a road that I didn't like. 00:24:50.319 --> 00:25:02.960 Sure, I've complained about it, maybe to the people in the car or the people when I got to where I was going, but prayed for God to fix it, that is this childlike way of prayer, isn't it? 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:11.119 She fully believes that God can do something about this situation and believes that he's listening to her. 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:25.759 To her, these big prayers of ending the pandemic and ending racism, and this small prayer of just not wanting to get car sick on the way to the beach, they don't have these separate boxes of big prayers and small prayers. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:29.440 She says these all in the same sentence. 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:34.559 She isn't worried that maybe God has bigger things to deal with. 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:43.119 These are all things that she is bringing to God because she knows him and because she knows that he cares about her. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:49.519 Kids make it simple and they bring everything to God in prayer. 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:54.559 They're bold, they're specific in what they ask for, and they're consistent. 00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:58.480 They don't give up when they don't get the answer that they wanted the first time. 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:14.640 If we took this approach to prayer, praying like we actually know God personally, like He really cares about all the things that we care about, and continuing to pray those same things over and over. 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:20.400 I can't imagine a more intimate relationship with God. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:34.559 As we pray like little children, in this simple way, as we pray like we actually know God, we build this beautiful, real relationship with the God of the universe. 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:40.559 And lastly, kids approach God in awe and amazement. 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:49.519 Have you ever noticed how over and over in Scripture, stories about Jesus end with, and the people were amazed. 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:56.799 But it seems like sometimes we've lost that wonder to be amazed by Jesus, doesn't it? 00:26:57.200 --> 00:27:03.039 We've read the stories, we've heard the miracles, and we've lost a bit of that amazement over time. 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:06.240 We need bigger and better to be amazed. 00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:10.880 But kids, they're just filled with wonder, aren't they? 00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:14.480 Last Christmas, my little guy Luke, he had just turned one. 00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:18.400 And I remember the day we put up our Christmas tree and all the lights were on it. 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:40.079 He crawled over to it and looked up and said, Wow! And then through from that moment on, through the rest of the Christmas season, every single time we saw lights on a house, in a store, on someone's tree, he had the same reaction. 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:41.200 Wow. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:43.920 Over and over again. 00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:53.200 And sometimes when it was really amazing, he said, wow, wow! And that awe didn't fade over the season. 00:27:53.440 --> 00:28:03.039 The wonder in his eyes and in his heart and in his mind were so strong, and he was so amazed every single time. 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:07.440 Kids naturally have this wonder in them. 00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:09.759 Everything is amazing. 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:13.920 But we've lost that wonder over time, haven't we? 00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:19.440 When we drive by the Christmas lights on the houses, we barely give it a second glance. 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:21.440 Sometimes we don't even notice. 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:29.920 Earlier this year, Awakening did a Bible reading plan together through the book of Acts, and we had a kid's version of this Bible reading plan. 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:40.240 As I was reading this to Ella each night, we got to this story in Acts where Peter preaches to the people and 3,000 people believe and get baptized. 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:45.599 Many of us have heard this story, and the wonder of that can fade a little bit over time. 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:55.599 But as I read it to Ella, her first time hearing this, she turned to me with her eyes wide and said, 3,000 people? 00:28:57.359 --> 00:29:02.960 She was so amazed by this, by what God was doing. 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:08.079 And it made me pause and think, when did I lose that type of wonder? 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:14.319 And more importantly, how do I return to this wonder of Jesus? 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:18.960 How do I receive the kingdom of heaven like a child? 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:24.400 And I think the answer lies in the heart of what Jesus says in this scripture. 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:27.519 In this passage, these aren't actually two separate ideas. 00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:32.240 You know, bringing kids to Jesus, discipling them, and having this simple faith like a child. 00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:34.319 He says this all at once. 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:41.119 He says, Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:47.359 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. 00:29:47.599 --> 00:29:52.000 I want to draw your attention to something right in the middle of this verse. 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:53.599 Such as these. 00:29:54.319 --> 00:29:58.319 This small phrase in the middle of these two big ideas. 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:01.599 This refers to two groups of people. 00:30:01.920 --> 00:30:04.240 The such as these, they are the children. 00:30:04.400 --> 00:30:07.680 They're the ones Jesus was saying should be allowed to come to him. 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:20.000 Such as all these kids and youth who are in here this morning, the ones that we celebrated, the kids and the youth that you know and you love dearly, the ones we're investing in and discipling. 00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:23.680 The kingdom of God belongs to them. 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:28.720 And also the such as these, it's us. 00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:35.920 When we approach God the way that little children do, it's when we have the wonder of Jesus. 00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:41.759 We are the such as these who the kingdom of God belongs to. 00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:48.880 When we invest in kids, we bring the experience that we've had with God. 00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:54.319 And they bring the wonder that God has placed in their hearts. 00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:59.440 And we all get to experience the kingdom of God together. 00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:07.119 And this discipleship that we've been talking about this morning, this introduction to Jesus, this isn't limited to kids. 00:31:07.440 --> 00:31:13.759 If there's someone on your heart right now who maybe isn't a kid, introduce them to Jesus. 00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:15.599 Invest in them. 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:22.240 And allow their newness of faith to inspire you to return to wonder of Jesus. 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:27.839 You have the opportunity to enter into someone's story. 00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:31.200 Choose to invest in a child's life. 00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:35.680 Point them toward Jesus, scoop them up, and bring them to him. 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:39.920 Their life will be deeply impacted by you. 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:48.400 Imagine what these kids could do to change the world if they walked with Jesus for their entire life. 00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:52.640 Now, back to Ella's question: Who was I made to be? 00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:54.960 Baby, a child of God. 00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:57.759 Mama, who were you made to be? 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:00.000 A child of God. 00:32:01.279 --> 00:32:09.279 As we invest in kids, they get to learn that they were made to be a child of God. 00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:15.759 They experience this wonder of Jesus and they get to know that they belong in his kingdom. 00:32:16.559 --> 00:32:23.839 And as we invest in kids, we get to learn that we were made to be a child of God. 00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:30.319 We return to the wonder of Jesus, and we get to know that we belong in his kingdom. 00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:32.559 Church, let's pray together. 00:32:36.720 --> 00:32:45.119 Jesus, thank you that you've given us children, that you've given us, that you've invited us in to invest in their lives. 00:32:45.359 --> 00:32:47.920 And Jesus, that we get so much in return. 00:32:48.160 --> 00:32:50.799 Thank you that you teach us through these kids. 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:59.359 Lord, thank you that you have invited us all into your kingdom, all into your family, and all into this identity as a child of God. 00:32:59.599 --> 00:33:04.480 Lord, would you imprint that identity on our hearts today? 00:33:04.799 --> 00:33:05.920 Lord, we love you. 00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:08.240 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:12.319 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:33:12.559 --> 00:33:17.519 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:20.000 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:26.160 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.