To download the text and/or audio file for this week's sermon, please go to the "Sermon Archive" page and follow the instructions you'll find there.

For a study guide to prepare for next week's sermon, please click HERE

CARING FOR CHILDREN = CARING FOR JESUS

April 29, 2007

Pastor Graig Flach

INTRODUCTION

Here’s a story that may resonate with your experience as it does with mine. A hospital nurse in a pediatric ward, before listening to the little ones' chests, she would plug the stethoscope into their ears and let them listen to their own hearts. Their eyes would always light up with awe. But she never got a response to equal four year old David's. Gently she tucked the stethoscope in his ears and placed the disk over his heart. "Listen," she said, "What do you suppose that is?" He drew his eyebrows together in a puzzled line and looked up as if lost in the mystery of the strange tap-tap-tapping deep in his chest. Then his face broke out in a wondrous grin. "Is that Jesus knocking?" he asked.

Jesus is knocking in the lives of children, and the way He knocks is often through you and me. Although I am not officially starting the anticipated sermon series “Building Great Relationships,” our message today does deal with relationships, the important relationships we have with children, who certainly need and deserve great relationships. I’d like to consider how we care for our children in three ways: in our families, in the church family, and in the world, our global community.

Matthew 18:1-5

1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  2 He called a child, whom he put among them, 3 and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  4 Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  5 Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

CONTEXT

I’ve said that this sermon is about children… children in our families, children here at church, and children out there in the world. But the Scripture passage is not really about children, if you look closely. It’s really about discipleship.  It starts out with the well-known discussion among Jesus’ closest disciples about who will be greatest in the kingdom. And in response, Jesus uses a child as an example of the desired mentality and attitudes that help us develop hearts and minds for kingdom living, for being like Jesus. Greatness is not about power – Jesus says this more than once and in more than one way --  it is about faithfulness, about humbly understanding our place in God’s plan, just as we expect our children to understand their places in the family structure, or in a classroom structure, and so on. Sometimes we adults forget that we, too, are children – God’s children. I find it curious that we expect kids to cooperate, to accept their places in given situations, but we don’t apply the same principle to ourselves in God’s grand scheme of things. I suppose this is because we really want to be the head of the household, to have the say-so, call the shots, and be masters of our own destinies. We’d rather not be directed, not by boss, spouse or pastor, let alone our children. We are generally not humble by choice. But we expect our kids to be.

Jesus understands this weakness. He sees it happening even among His closest followers. Our passage is really about the heart of a disciple, the heart of us disciples. But in the course of making His point, Jesus gives us at least two major principles related to children that are very instructive.

PRINCIPLES FROM THE PASSAGE

First, children belong in the middle of our lives, not on the margins. That’s what the Greek means literally when it says Jesus puts the child “among” them, or “in their midst.”  In Jesus’ time, children were not valued like they are now. They were pretty low on the priority list. Jesus demonstratively puts the child in the middle of things.

One of the things I appreciate deeply about the ministry of our youth department is that Jim McClelland and Kathleen Fast and their staff are committed to having our youth being a part of the life of the larger church. They are not to be an appendage, just off doing their own youthful activities. That’s not enough. They are an integral part of our church family. They are to be in our midst. And we need to welcome them.

The second principle Jesus offers is in the last verse of our passage, verse 5: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Let’s consider what “welcoming” (NRSV) or “receiving” (NIV) a child mean? It’s like welcoming someone into your home and family life. It is “holistic hospitality,” which can entail feeding someone, maybe putting them up for the night, offering them clothes if they need them, and so on. It is the word used when Jesus sends out the disciples to proclaim the kingdom with acts of power (Mt 10). Those who received the disciples would house them, feed them and perhaps see to other needs. As guests, they were to be cared for. And near the end of that chapter, listen to what Jesus says: "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me” (Mt 10:40). Hmmmmm… that sounds not only like our passage (“Whoever welcomes one such child welcomes me”), it also sounds like that other well-known passage, “What ever you do to the least of these, you do it to me” (Mt 25). There seems to be a pattern here.

Now we can understand this connection with respect to Jesus’ disciples. These were the protégés of Jesus, His representatives. The way they were treated reflected directly on Jesus and His team. Those of us who have experienced respect and special treatment because of the reputation of parents or the organization we represent know what this is about on a human level. We experience it in our travels to Africa or Mexico. GoTeamers who have never been there before are treated with loving trust and respect because they are connected to Lake Grove Church. But how is this principle true for the poor and marginalized (Mt 25) or for children (today’s passage)?

THINKING LIKE JESUS

I think this phrase structure, “The way you treat these folks is the way you treat Me” functions for Jesus as a kind of “heads up” mechanism. It is His way of saying, “Pay attention! These folks are important to me. I have special love in My heart for those who love and trust Me (like My disciples) and for the ‘have-nots,’ the poor and oppressed (as in Mt 25) and for children.” These categories of people are so close to God’s heart that He is directly impacted by the way they are treated. And for those of us who follow and obey Jesus, that means we want our hearts to “be broken by the things that break the heart of God,” as World Vision founder Bob Pierce used to say.

Jesus has a special place in His heart for children. In Mark’s version of the “children’s passages,” he describes Jesus taking children in His arms, touching them and blessing them (Mk 9:35-37; Mk 10:13-16). If we follow Jesus, children are to be a central focus of our lives, “in our midst.” They are to be exalted, “lifted into our arms,” and they are to be blessed. Is that how it is in the life of this church and its members? Yes! I believe so, thank God. And we must be diligent to keep it that way.

FAMILY AND CHURCH FAMILY

I am the pastoral resource for our Christian Education and Nurture commission. We want our church to support families as they focus on raising their kids in the Lord. We have all kinds of families in this church. Families with two parents or one, families in which grandparents are parenting again, adoptive families and foster families. In many two-parent families, both parents work. In others, there are stay-at-home moms or dads. Some families have more money than they need, others literally do not have enough.

All the different kinds of families in our church have a couple things in common. First, they are all dysfunctional, in one way or another… some have just a little dysfunction, and some have a lot. The other thing all the families in our church share in common is the desire to do right by our kids. And the church wants to come alongside you all in your respective efforts to raise your kids in abundant living. Please note that word: we come alongside you, who are doing the main work of raising kids. We are partners in this, but you are the major partners and the church is a minor partner. Please do not fall into the trap of leaving the Christian education or spiritual upbringing of your children to the church! We only have them once or twice a week for an hour or two. It’s what happens the rest of the week that is formative. And here at Lake Grove we want to be a resource for you as you do the primary spiritual and moral upbringing of your kids, so strategize with your teachers and the Children’s Ministry staff about what you are doing during the week, and what we can do here to help you.

Now, a good number of you do not have kids at home. You’ve chosen not to have kids or God has chosen for you. Or your kids have grown up and moved out. Be that as it may, you too have a share in Jesus’ focus on children. We all do. There are lots of ways you can make a difference. Look at our music staff for children: Beverly Seifert, Pam Davidson, Julie Strong – these women no longer have kids in our music program (at least not directly – their kids still help sometimes!) And yet they are pouring themselves into kids, using their skills to make a difference in kids’ lives. And they are amazing. I sit in sometimes on the rehearsals. These women are absolutely remarkable in the way they guide our kids, teach our kids and build them up at the same time. I could not do what they do.

Then there’s Doug Brannock. I think Doug is on the other side of 70 years of age. He does not have kids here at church, and never has. But there he is every week, teaming with Jim to teach Sunday school to our high school students, and volunteering at youth group, too. He has caught sight of God’s vision for kids, and he wants to do his part.

These folks – and there are many others of you -- know that God has put children in our midst, that it is a sacred trust, and they have chosen to share in the heart of Christ for our kids. I thank God for them.

You never know what your influence will be! In the 1800s there was a Sunday School teacher named Edward Kimball who led Dwight L. Moody to Christ. Moody, of course, (whose grandson attends this church, though ill health keeps him home), led thousands to Christ. Moody also inspired a pastor named Fred Meyer (a different Fred Meyer!), who led a student named Wilbur Chapman to Christ. Chapman worked for the YMCA, where he sent out a former baseball player named Billy Sunday to do evangelistic work. Billy Sunday became a mighty evangelist. When he led a revival in Charlotte, North Carolina, the people there were inspired to organize a follow-up revival, where a preacher named Mordecai Hamm shared the gospel and a young man named Billy Graham responded by putting his trust in Jesus. That’s an amazing line of influence. Imagine the countless souls who were drawn to Christ because of the faithful service of a humble Sunday School teacher long ago. 1

So, yes, Lake Grove is a place for kids and we all get to be a part of that if we want to, in diverse ways. And our influence can be life changing. You heard from our Children’s Ministry team last week, and they will be in the Gathering Area again to answer your questions or help you join the team to help care for our kids… to care for Jesus by caring for our kids.

While we are talking out Children’s Ministry, let me take the opportunity to share about one important dimension of it: the safety of our kids. We want to ensure that Lake Grove remains a safe place for our children. As you are aware, churches are no longer automatically safe places. By God’s grace, our congregation has been spared any harm to our kids. But the world is changing, and we must be vigilant and intentional about making the church a safe place. We can no longer assume that our kids are safe just because they are in church. Did you know that sexual predators seek out places like churches because church members let down their guard in church, assuming that nothing bad could happen here? We want our church to be as safe as possible for all of us, but especially our most vulnerable. Those of you connected with Children’s Ministries will begin to see some tightening of our security measures in coming months, to keep our kids safe, and I encourage you to support them. These are needful and good things.

CHILDREN IN THE WORLD

What about the world’s children? Do we have a responsibility to pay attention to them? Well, as God leads, yes! And we do.

For example, we have been supportive of the International Justice Mission office in Zambia, where our guest Pamela Mumbi serves. Some of you will remember having IJM’s director, Gary Haugen, preach here about 4 years ago. Since that time, we have kept the relationship warm through occasional donations and largely through the involvement of Clay Creps and his family. Our Zambia GoTeams have visited the IJM office in Lusaka for the last 3 years. Mrs. Mumbi and her team there serve poor and dispossessed widows and orphans. They now process between 100 and 200 cases every year, serving children by helping them get their homes and rightful property back when parents die. They also serve children by protecting them from sexual abuse. There is a case being prosecuted right now in which the director of an orphanage (a pastor!) is accused of taking advantage of 5 girls living in his orphanage, between the ages of 8 and 15. It took time for someone to speak up. That person went to a pastor and sought counsel. The pastor, one of the most famous in Zambia, Joshua Banda, went to the IJM office. IJM saw to it that the girls were brought to a safe place and that the director was removed, so that no more harm could be done. The case is now in process, and we pray that justice will be served.

Sometimes caring for children means more than adding good things to their lives. Sometimes it means removing evil or extricating them from an evil situation. Pamela Mumbi and her team care for kids by standing up for them in court, by mediating conflicts and by engaging police support when necessary. We thank God for them as they reach out with the love of Christ to seek justice on behalf of widows and orphans. In caring for children they are also caring for Christ.

Our church also cares for international kids in other ways. Most of you are aware that families in our church sponsor between 400 and 500 children in a dozen different countries through facilitators like World Vision. As we have said at other times, this kind of sponsorship, sending 30-some dollars per month to ensure food, clothing, health care and education for a child at risk, makes a profound difference in that child’s life. Sometimes it is the difference between life and death.

Many of the sponsorships in our church are tied to our partnerships in Senegal and Zambia. These partnerships, as well as the one in Tijuana, are another dimension of our outreach to children with the love of Christ. Beyond the focused care for sponsored children, we are helping raise the standard of living for literally thousands of children in these 3 countries, Mexico, Senegal and Zambia. In our African partnerships, the community development we support is giving villages and families and children hope in the future for the first time. I have often said that our dollars go a long way in the developing world, both literally and figuratively. In sheer numbers, more lives are impacted by our mission dollars in Africa than anywhere else.

In Mexico, hundreds of children benefit from the school meal program that Nurse Martha Gonzales administers in a ghetto of Tijuana. God has called us there, we have responded. You make that meal program possible.

We cannot yet measure the impact of these God-guided efforts, because the prime beneficiaries, the children, are still growing up. The oldest of the children who have benefited from these partnerships are just now reaching adulthood. I hope that we will be blessed with many stories of their influence, the influence of children who survived and thrived because you cared and responded.

So thank you, my church family, for caring for kids. When you do, our Lord says you are caring for Him, too. Let us continue to keep children in the middle of our family and church life, and let’s not forget children outside our walls, as God leads. In doing these things, we make God’s priorities our own priorities. That’s a discipleship principle for life in its fullness. And I can’t help but think that our faithfulness in these things surely pleases and glorifies our loving God. When we care for children, we are caring for the Lord. Please remember that, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

1. From an article titled, “One Life Invested for Jesus as a Sunday School Teacher Bears Abundant Fruit”, at www.sundayschoolnow.net .