Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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*/Bless the Children/*
Matthew 18:15-17
*1.
SITUATION OF WORLD, FAMILY & SOCIETY*
· *World* situation is scary
· uncertain future for our children
· Jobs
· World is betting on science to solve all problems
· World's concept of Faith: "build on yourself"
· you have to rely on yourself
· *Church* experiences the same kind of despair
· Not only at NKMC
· churches around the world have this desert experience
· People loose hope in the organized church
· There is a sense of finality: "last one to leave please turn off the lights"
· Hopelessness about the future of the church.
· *Personal Faith: *for many a wasteland experience.
· Confusion about what to believe and why.
· pain of departure of many friends.
· We feel the temptation of the world.
· We feel the confusion of trying to find a way out of the desert.
· Lack of a sense of direction.
· Lack of spiritual convictions:
· about the assurance of salvation
· there is a lack of certainty about where our faith is taking us.
· Lack of hope in a prosperous future for our spiritual family.
· When we rely on ourselves for salvation and spiritual renewal we will fail.
· We forget what God has done in the past.
· We forget that God is faithful
*2.
But, we have a rich Spiritual Heritage to build on:*
· We remember the story of *Samuel:*
· Hanna: a mother who is unable to conceive - laughing-stock of the women in the village.
· In her despair she cried to God for help.
· God gave her a son who was then dedicated to His service in the temple.
· Samuel became one of the most remarkable priests of Old Testament.
· We remember a long-haired teenager named *Samson* who had nothing better to do then to set foxes on fire and let them loose in the fields of the Philistines.
· His parents dedicated him to the service of the Lord.
· And he saved his people from their enemies with the strength and power of God.
· We have a locust-eating prophet crying the wilderness: /"Prepare the way... something great is about to happen."/
· We remember an old man's blessing on the *baby Jesus* in the Temple: (Luke 2)
/29 //"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
/
/ /
· *JESUS *himself blessing the little children:* *
· Matthew 18:15-18 recounts the story:
/13 //Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them.
But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
/
· I wonder about the parents who brought their little ones to Jesus...
· I wonder what motivated them...
· The parents were bringing their babies so that Jesus would put his hands on them and bless them.
· Their good intentions met with opposition from the disciples.
· /"Can't you see the man is busy?! Leave him alone.
Don't bother him with your kids."/
· And, Did you see what Jesus did?
· He said: /"Let them come!
And don't stand in their way."/
· He took the children in his arms and blessed them.
*/ /*
· *Jesus gives us a model to follow:*
· He teaches us that:
· We must find creative ways of blessing our children.
· We must encourage the children to come, and be part of the church community.
· We must encourage them and lift them up.
· Express appreciation for who they are and not only what they can do.
· Jesus teaches us to take the children in our arms and to bless them.
· Jesus teaches us also that we must take the children under our wings when they go through difficult times.
· Jesus teaches us to pray for the children.
· And he tells us in no uncertain terms that *we must learn from the children.*
/ /
/ /
*/"What is there to learn from a child",/** you say?*
· I think everyone could guess "patience"
· But there's more:
· Jesus says that the future belongs to them.
· The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
· The children have got what it takes to get to the Kingdom of God:
· total dependence, full trust, frank openness, complete sincerity.
· Those are the qualities that God desires from us
/ /
· We have a rich spiritual heritage.
· Countless *faith models* teach us that God has been faithful throughout history.
· They teach us that there is hope beyond ourselves.
· They teach us that as long as we have faith there is hope.
· They teach us that *God is Faithful!*
/ /
· And so, we build on God's Faithfulness as we bring our children to Christ that he may lay his hands on them.
· The ritual of bringing our children to Christ is a symbol of our hope.
· It is a statement that we make against all hopelessness, that God is with us.
· When we bring our children for dedication, we are in fact saying that we believe in the future that God has in store for us.
· We believe that God will lead us out of the desert.
· And it's no surprise that children are a big factor in our own sense of hope for the future:
· A song from Rankin Family Album "North Country" expresses this hope:
/ /
/When the waves roll over the waters/
/And the ocean cries /
(Expression of turbulent times)
/We look to our sons and daughters/
/To explain our lives/
/As if a child could tell us why/
/ /
/That as sure as the sunrise/
/As sure as the sea/
/As sure as the wind in the trees/
/ /
/We rise again in the faces of our children/
/We rise again in the voices of our song/
/We rise again in the waves out on the ocean/
/And then we rise again/
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