The Gospel For Kids

Thank you for joining us on the CCW podcast.

Make sure you connect with us on social media to stay up to date on ministries and events happening at CCW.

We hope you're encouraged, inspired, and motivated by today's message.

To find out how to connect with us, keep listening after the message ends.

Good morning, kids.

Wait, do that again, Rick.

Darren says, do it again.

He didn't like the first go-around.

Good morning, kids.

We're live over here now.

Wound for sound.

Well, just a couple of uh prayer requests.

Um, I do want to say thank you, Eli, for preaching the message.

No, that was good.

And uh thank you, Pastor Dave, for the good word last week.

I finished that this week in sweet-spirited service.

Um, and I hope you had a good spring break.

If you got a break.

If you didn't get a break, I'm sorry.

When the next one comes, take it.

You need it.

I promise you do.

Uh, but it's been a good week.

And I would ask uh be in prayer Tuesday.

My mother has to see an ENT doctor, um, and it's cancer related, and so we just covet your prayers over that.

And I've been on the phone with uh Donna McCrendle this week.

Her daughter is uh very in very critical condition, so please be in prayer for that family as well.

With that being said, I need all my kids when I teach kids, and I'm gonna invite the adults to be a part of all this.

I teach kids, I ask them to sit up real tall.

I need to see big bug eyes and little bitty lips.

Turn your Bibles to Mark chapter 10.

Mark 10 · chapter mention

We're gonna look at Mark 10, Mark 9, and the gospel on the ground.

Kids, I am so glad that you're here this morning with us, and I'm glad that you're in church.

When I was your age, this was church.

This was all that there was in church.

There was a hard pew that by the time you were done with church, you felt like you got a spanking.

And that was church.

There was no junior church or kids' church that I went to.

It was just this was church.

But I want to ask the kids and adults, uh I think I think they can handle it.

Kids, do you believe?

Raise your hand up if you can handle it this morning.

Raise your hand if you if you can't handle it.

Alright, I got my eye on y'all.

There was a few adults that just raised their hand.

Okay, here we go.

But I'm gonna tell you the truth today.

And by the way, kids, adults, Satan hates it.

I want to say this with this particular sermon because uh it is, it does stick out about children.

If you're single today, if you're married without kids today, if you're married and your kids are grown and out of the home today, it doesn't mean that this doesn't apply all the same to you.

The kids at your church are a part of your family, and we need the whole family of God investing and loving and praying for and receiving the children.

By the way, Jesus was not married, and he did not have his own children, but Jesus loved the children.

Pray with me.

Father, we love you.

And we ask that your presence would fall this morning on our service.

God, we pray and thank you for our children and God, to be able to have service together this morning.

And I pray that you would do a work, God, it was motivating to see uh uh this stage full of all of the investment that we have to put out.

And God, we are looking forward to a bright future at CCW.

Now, God, I pray that you would open our hearts to what you have to say through the word of God this morning.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

The first point this morning is this a child is to be led.

Look there at Mark chapter 10, verse 13.

Mark 10:13

It says this.

13, we'll read 13 through 15.

It says, Then they brought the little children to him that he might touch them.

But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

But when Jesus saw it, he was greatly displeased.

Some verses say he was indignant and said to them, Let the little children come to me and do not forbid them, for such is the kingdom of heaven.

Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

The first point under that this morning I want you to see, letter A, is by equipping them for living.

How do we lead a child?

By equipping them for living.

I want to get this out of the way to our children this morning.

I'm gonna be talking a lot to your parents, so you can go over this with them later.

But children, okay, your job biblically, the Bible says this.

Some of you don't like it, but it's just the truth.

Ephesians 6 1 says, Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right, and obedience is immediate.

Okay, so obeying your parents and honoring your parents is what the Bible sets forth for you to do.

Now we can move on.

This passage alludes to the idea that somebody brought children to Jesus.

Most commentators believe that it would have been their parents that brought them to Jesus.

They brought them for a blessing.

That word bring is the word prospero, and it means to treat, to present, or to bear towards, to lead in a direction.

Parents, I want you to know this morning something that you are a bringer.

Adults, you're a bringer.

How are you bringing your child?

We get this word, the upbringing.

It's about where and how you bring them.

Good news is you're here today.

That means you're a bringer to church.

I didn't have to call you tomorrow.

You're a bringer to church.

One of the great stories in the Bible about one of the great bringers in the Bible is about a lady named Hannah.

Hannah was barren, meaning she couldn't have children, and she prayed at the temple to the Lord so hard, so fervently.

And the Bible says that God met with her and God answered her prayers.

She was able to bring forth a child named Samuel.

And when she brought forth a child named Samuel, she was good to her promise.

She said, God, if you'll bring to me this child, I will bring him back to you.

And when Samuel was of age, Hannah took Samuel, brought him to the priest Eli, and said, God answered my prayers for a son.

Now I'm bringing him to you to learn the ministry because he is to be in the work of the Lord all of his life.

I committed that unto the Lord.

She brought him to Eli, and Samuel became the spiritual leader of Israel.

Why did that happen?

Because a mother prayed, and a mother was a bringer.

Parents, I want to ask you, where do you bring your children?

Where are they most often?

What are you doing to bring your child?

When I first started youth ministry, I met up with this couple across town in Connorsville, Indiana, and they had started about the same time, and we were talking some youth ministry philosophy, and he struck me with something that I was like, I don't know if I agree with the things that he was saying.

He said, um, he had been in a little bit longer than me, and he said, our philosophy with our kids is we want to be careful when they're not at church for church purposes to keep them away from events.

We don't want them to get over church and feel like it's their job.

So when we have youth ministry activities, we're not gonna bring them, we're not gonna have them at camps, we're gonna make sure we're careful to have people watch them.

And as he was talking through that, I thought to myself, this is ridiculous.

I brought my kids to everything.

I brought my kids to every camp, every activity.

My kids have been playing laser tag since they were three.

They've been at every arcade, they've been at everything that's had to do with teenagers, they've been at every bowling, skating, all of it.

Ice skating, they have done everything with teenagers.

They've been everywhere, they've been in the back of winter retreat rooms causing them up.

I mean, just all of this.

And I loved every moment that my family experienced the things of God constantly.

And I'm gonna tell you in a little bit why I think bringing them is a good part of their upbringing.

Well, the Bible says, Proverbs 22, 6, that we are to train up a child and the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

My child's greatest need is to be pointed towards their Savior.

We have some opportunities right here, church, for some bringing.

I would bring my children on Wednesdays to the one-way services that happen here.

I would bring my children to Hi-Fi, that's our kids' service on Wednesday.

I would bring them to Sunday school.

When I worked in youth ministry, parents would say, this is cute.

Parents would say, I don't want to make my child come.

That'll make them a hypocrite if I make them go to church.

And I thought to myself often, do you make them brush their teeth?

Or is it their choice to have halitosis and gingivitis?

Do you make them?

Do you make them do their homework?

Or is there is it their choice to just get F's?

You have to make them.

Are you hearing me?

You have to make them.

Who else is gonna make them do things if you don't make them?

Do you make them take a bath?

Are you just okay with a choice to smell bad?

You have to make them do things.

I'm gonna tell you, I didn't always like church.

I'm sorry.

Not always, not every service.

Now I love church.

Oh, I love church.

But I don't remember one time, Eli, that my parents consulted with me.

I don't remember them getting together and saying, you know, we should ask Rick about church this day.

That's not one time was I consulted.

Guess what?

I was trained up in the way that I should go.

And when I became older, I'm not old, older, I didn't depart from it.

I love church and I love the Lord, and He's been so good to me, and I can't imagine having missed so much of the things that I had to be a part of.

But they made me.

You hear me?

They made me when we moved here to Alabama.

Um, we got struck pretty fast with this question.

Have you declared?

I'm like, declare what?

What does that even mean?

Have you declared?

And we for a short while lived in the uh David and Christy Wilson home.

And they asked us this question, have we declared?

Is it Alabama or Auburn?

And I'm like, man, I I want to care, but I just don't.

Okay?

I didn't grow up with this.

But they loved Auburn.

And then I got to meeting and really getting to know Benji Wilson, their son.

And you know what?

Benji's diehard.

He loves him some Auburn.

I mean, loves it for real.

Him and his brother both love Auburn.

You know what?

That's not real surprising given the home they grew up in.

Given that they felt that way and they were sort of trained up a certain way.

They fell in love with something.

You know, his mom loves something, his dad loves something.

Guess what?

So do they.

Not real long ago.

We planned a trip.

I've got a picture.

We went to Dollywood and took Weston.

There it is.

It's been about six months ago.

And we had church, we had the best day together.

It was just Heather, myself, and him.

How did that kind of transpire?

Well, my wife, some year and a half ago, she decided, I didn't know this about her.

I've told you before, but she started playing classic country music on the Pandora.

And uh I didn't know, but she knew every word to every song, and I'm like, who are you?

And she's singing these songs, and at first the kids would be in the car with us, and they're like, Oh, can you change this?

Oh, and then one day, out of nowhere, Weston said, Hey mama, can you turn on Dolly Parton?

And all of a sudden he loves.

I don't know if it's a good song, or I had to check the lyrics, but he loves him some Jolene.

It's probably one of her worst.

I don't know.

Jolene, he was singing along, and he just started, you know, you got fast information these days, so he started finding out things about Dolly and all this, and here we are, months later at Dollywood, and he is just loving this time.

Well, where did that start?

It started with his mama loving it.

What you love, parents, makes an impact on your children.

What you love in many cases will be what they love.

I have a question this morning.

Do you love Jesus?

Do your children know, without any shadow of a doubt, that you love Jesus?

Do your children not only know your favorite song on the radio station, but they know your favorite worship song?

Do they know your favorite Bible verse?

Because you talk about things that are your favorites.

Do they know your favorite Bible character?

What about it, grandparents?

Do your grandchildren know your favorite biblical things?

Do they know what's most important?

Do they know things on the calendar that are church circled and highlighted?

Do they know what's most important to you?

Because you are a bringer.

You're bringing and training them.

And what you love has an impact on what they love.

I want to say this in kindness.

It's not too late, by the way.

You may have had a season or something that you've been through.

And by the way, if you're a parent here and you're 60 or 70 or 80, you're still a parent.

You still got kids that need you.

There's 50-year-olds that need parented by their parent.

It's not too late.

It's not too late to right a wrong.

It's not too late to turn your course.

It's not too late to get right.

It's not too late for forgiveness.

It's not too late.

It's not too late in the game to parent now.

You may be sitting here thinking, man, my teenager's just so, I don't even.

Start now.

Whatever it is, whatever you got to face, just get in there, dig in and start.

It's not too late.

You are a bringer.

We all need that relationship.

There's not a person here that says, I don't need my mother or father relationship.

There's a lot of hurt, and there's a lot of things if I ask this crowd, but we all need it.

Bonhoeffer said this: it is from God that parents receive their children, and it is to God that they in turn must bring them.

From God and to God.

Let her be is this.

Kids, I promise we're gonna get going.

Let me see them bug eyes.

Miss Sarah, if we do real good today, we'll do a party for them.

Alright?

Miss Sarah, you guys good?

Okay.

Right now's the party.

Let her be by evangelizing them to the Lord.

We lead them by evangelizing our children.

I want you to go back to Mark chapter 9, verse 36 and 37.

Mark 9:36

We'll read 42 as well.

The disciples are having a dispute.

By the way, if you're here next week, we're going to be linking in and talking about this dispute, but they're having this dispute, and Jesus brings a child in front of them.

In verse 36, he says, Then he took a little child and set him in the midst of them.

And when he had taken him in his arms, he said to them, Whoever receives one of these little children in my name receives me.

And whoever receives me receives not me, but him who sent me.

And verse 42 says, But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he was thrown into the sea.

Those are strong words about receiving children, about how we act towards children.

And so I want you to know this principle of evangelizing our children.

Barna puts out a statistic.

It's on the quiz, kids.

Barna said, from five to 13 years old, 32% of all children that get saved get saved at that age, 5 to 13.

From 14 to 18, it's another 14%.

So here's the statistic.

Nearly half of all salvations happen under the age of 18.

So why does CCW spend a bunch of money on extravaganza and harvest jam and soccer and basketball and a children's program?

Because half of all salvations happen to those age groups.

We want to invest in evangelism.

Heather and I uh went last Sunday into our children's worship service as Pastor Dave preached in here, and we had the awesome opportunity to spend an hour with our kids in worship and teaching, and I hope that they were encouraged.

I 1000% was encouraged.

I hope that they needed something I had to say.

I needed what they had to give.

Children, innocently loving and caring and seeing smiles and joy on their face and taking in information was so refreshing.

It was beautiful.

And I want to affirm, Sarah, thank you for the way that you've jumped in.

And Corey's jumped in in our Upward Soccer program, and Eli has done a lot of groundwork with our children's ministry.

It is a beautiful thing.

And parents, I want to tell you, I didn't have to tell one kid to behave.

They just were behaved.

They were just there, they were locked in.

And you guys did awesome.

But I want to tell you what scripture is saying here.

Parents, you're the greatest evangelist in your child's life.

You're the greatest component to them coming to Jesus.

You are.

Matthew 18, 10, Jesus said this: that we are to take heed that you despise not one of these little ones.

That word despise despise there is catrafrenneo, which means don't think little of.

Receiving a child, he said, is having a reception for Jesus.

Every time that we receive a little one, he says, You're receiving them in my name, you're receiving me.

Do you think that we need to put some energy into receiving children?

When Jesus compares it to receiving him, it says, receive a child, bless a child, love a child.

Well, the disciples' behavior towards children made Jesus pretty angry.

It says, like I said in one version, Jesus became indignant.

The only time that word is used with Jesus.

Jesus, it says that word anglicae indignant is the word that means the bending, like the bending of an elbow in the wrong position.

That's the way that Jesus felt in this moment.

The bending of your arm in the warm.

Have you ever had that happen?

And immediately what came out of you?

Right?

You didn't have your arm bent the wrong way and you just sat there for a little while.

I'm gonna see how long this can hurt.

See how long I can endure.

When it bends, you scream, you move, you adjust quickly.

And this is what happened.

Jesus felt that feeling immediately.

He was indignant.

He was bent the wrong way.

Lately, Wyatt's been using this phrase, he crashed out.

That's what Jesus does here.

He crashes out.

That means you get upset.

You know, if I have the wrong response to something, Dad, why are you crashing out?

I don't know, man.

My arm felt bent the wrong way.

Jesus in the middle of teaching, he's speaking and he looks over and he sees the disciples pushing children away.

And Jesus is over here in the middle of his thing, because it it just abruptly goes from him speaking something into people, and all of a sudden, Jesus says, What is going on over here?

John, Luke, Peter, what are you doing?

Have you lost your mind pushing the children away?

He said, no, no, no.

We receive them.

Say, make that practical, parents.

You ever had a kid at your leg?

Hey mom.

Hey mom.

Hey mom.

You're like, hey mom.

Mom! Like, they don't care.

You're on the phone, they don't care.

They're not listening to that.

One time I was given announcements in church at the end of service.

Weston's like four.

And the whole congregation watches him run down the aisle.

Get up right on the stage.

And I'm like, okay, we're gonna do this together today.

How do you receive your child and their needs?

Are you like those who bring kids to Jesus?

You're a bringer?

Or are you like the disciples who have no time for babysitting?

Will you work in the nursery?

Would you work in preschool with toddlers?

Would you work in vacation Bible school?

Church, I want to tell you, we need ten more people to help with our kids right now.

It's like the lady at the former church I was at.

You know what she said?

Pastor, I have done my time.

Pardon me.

I'm sorry, miss.

I never seen that on the application for serving the Lord.

I've done my time, she said to me.

I thought, oh my, like it's a prison.

I've served my time.

I was in the nursery for 10 years.

Like it was falsome.

Come on, I've done my time.

Amen.

When it comes to kid, nobody, nobody has done their time.

We're not done.

If you've got breath, look, you know what the best thing for a kid is?

You say, Well, I'm white-haired, Pastor.

You're the best.

By the way, when I was in teen ministry, the grandparents were the best.

You know why?

Because parents are the authority figure in their life and they're done with them.

But a grandparent with some butterscotches and some gum, we can trust them.

They can pray with us.

I'm serious.

Why would you be done your time?

That's the perfect time.

Done their time.

I think Jesus would have beeline to that lady that was telling me that.

What did you say?

You're not gonna receive them no more?

You're done?

Really?

It makes him ache, indignant.

Well, let's learn something in chapter 10 about the children and their childlike faith.

Chapter 10, verse 14 and 15.

It says, Let the little children come to me and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God.

In this manner, in this way, in this childlike faith are those who are in the kingdom of God.

This does not mean if you get saved in your 50s or 60s, you won't come to heaven.

It says a childlike faith is the way.

What does that mean?

It's the way.

It's an example to us all because in this time period, a child was not some hierarchy.

A child was not looked upon as something to be heralded in the community.

Obviously, the disciples are pushing them away.

A child was never a threat.

You know, no one fears a child, right?

You're not afraid to meet up with a six-year-old in the alley in the dark.

Stick you up for cookies of milk.

Not afraid of a child.

Children are not good at lying.

Right?

How many of kids, how many of your parents have looked at you before?

Raise your hand if this is you, and they said, I know you're lying.

Right?

You're not good at it.

You hadn't been a bad person long enough.

You might get good at it.

I hope not.

Children, childlike faith is not because they're innocent or because they're so full of faith.

It has little by way of those concerns.

Here's what it has to do with.

They're not concerned.

A child is not much concerned what others think, not much concerned about image.

A child is a picture of true humility.

Childlike faith is true humility.

It doesn't have to think of itself when it is called to rely on somebody.

Your child has never said, No, mom and dad, I don't really want to put you out.

They hadn't had to put down their pride to have you cook dinner.

They accepted your help.

You had to give them money for a field trip, and they never say, you know, I could probably do it myself.

You know why?

They just rely on you.

They just believe that you can and will do what you said.

And that's what childlike faith is.

It's humility.

It's knowing you can't and he can.

It's knowing that he is bigger and you are smaller.

It's knowing that you are weak and he is strong.

It's knowing that you are poor and he has everything.

Do you have a childlike faith?

Well, I want you to look back to Matthew chapter 7.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

Maybe for some here, you've gotten jaded in some life situations, and you've been grinding away, and you've been doing it, and you've been going, and you've been providing, and you're living through that, and you're missing out on the need to rely on a God who is much bigger than your circumstance or even you.

Matthew 7, 7 through 11 says this Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find.

Knock and it will be open to you.

For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks, find, and to him who knocks it'll be open.

Or what man is there among you, hear this, who if his son ask for bread, will he give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a snake?

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to you?

The picture is of our Father in heaven, who has nothing that's outside of his control, nothing that's outside of his doing, and we come to him with childlike faith.

How vast is the resources of God to fix your circumstances, to soothe your situations, to help in time of need.

But too often we come with adult-like faith.

It's skewed by a lot of things.

Adult-like faith has lived through things, and we become jaded and tired, and we we care.

Adult-like faith cares a lot about whatever other people are going to say.

It's real hard to be humble if other people are watching me and they're watching my plight, and I don't know if list the what-ifs.

Many Sundays, as I'm out in the lobby, and even last Sunday helping with the kids, a child will run up to me haphazardly.

And it's a beautiful thing.

And I've been down and I watch a child run and want to embrace their pastor.

I had a child after I taught last week who's never embraced me, but I preached to her, and she came and runs and embraced me.

And it's this pure thing, you know.

And I'm not asking for an adult to come mow me over in the lobby.

But that childlike innocent, that run to that love for no other reason but to love.

Is it there?

Well, let's carry on.

The second point and the last point.

I promise, kids, keep them bug eyes open.

We only got two points.

I usually do three.

Okay.

The second point is a child is a legacy.

Mark 10 there, verse 16.

Look at what Jesus does.

After this altercation, it says, and he took them up.

Jesus took the children.

He didn't just rebuke the disciples over here for what they had done and say, that's not how you do it.

No, Jesus always living by example.

He publicly scolded the disciples around who knows who, and then went to the children.

And it says he took them up.

He received them in, and then he gave them a blessing.

Your second point this morning, this is a child is a legacy.

Have you ever received a blessing?

I've had great men of God lay a hand on me to bestow a prayerful blessing.

And circumstances, situations where I've been at certain times, I don't know why that I've been allotted some of these.

There's a pastor, Herbert Fitzpatrick, that was 60 years in ministry, and Herbert decided to like me.

I feel like this was the situation.

I was the little kid.

I was over here just young in ministry, and Herbert decided to like me, and Herbert wanted me to spend time with him, and Herbert put hands on me and prayed over me.

There's been pastors who prayed legacy and blessing over me.

Can you imagine?

Kids, think about this.

Imagine being one of the kids that were there that day that Jesus received in his lap and prayed over.

Imagine the story you'd have to tell your friends when Jesus was later crucified.

And then you heard word in town that this man was crucified, but he rose back again.

There was a time where that man put me in his lap.

That man that resurrected, he prayed a blessing on my life.

You'd have the best story anyone ever had.

Beat that one, astronauts.

Jesus prayed over me.

You're a legacy.

I want all the kids to say, I am a legacy.

I am a legacy.

Now look at your parent in the eye and say, I am your legacy.

Now give them this face.

It's the truth.

So Jesus blessed them.

He prayed for them and he received them.

Letter A is this a legacy by external effort.

I want you to see Psalms chapter 127.

Psalms 127 · chapter mention

This is important.

Psalms 127, verse 1 through 5.

Psalms 127 · chapter mention

The psalm is believed to have been written by Solomon, who is believed and noted as the wisest man who had ever lived, one of the wealthiest men who ever lived.

Became disappointed.

But look at what he says.

Psalm 127, it says, Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.

Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

It's vain for you to rise up early, sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows, for so he gives his beloved sleep.

Behold, here it is, children are a heritage from the Lord.

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth.

Happy is the man who has them, his quiver full, or happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.

They shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with the enemy in the gate.

The psalm here says that children, if you build the house through the Lord, children are a reward.

Because it says, unless you build the house in the Lord, then you labor in vain.

If you build in your children spiritual principle, if you build in your children godly things, if you build in your children and you're a maker and a bringer, then they are a reward.

If you do not let the Lord build the house, then it says, you labor in vain.

I don't like that phrase.

Anybody ever worked and you felt like you did it and it was useless?

Anybody ever worked on something and you caused another problem?

Anybody ever worked and felt useless?

That word means worthless.

Kids, that means loser.

That's what worthless is, right?

He says, unless you build in the Lord, then you're a loser.

If money builds your house, you're a loser.

If sports builds your house, you're a loser.

If trophies build your house, you're a loser.

If having things build your house, if being popular builds your house, he says, unless the Lord builds your house, it's worthless.

It's in vain.

The things that you're building for is vanity.

It's vain.

Kids, I want you to think on something.

Are you reading the Bible in your house?

Do you see your parents reading the Bible in your house?

Are you learning to be a better Christian in your house?

Parents, is your house a place of serving God?

Grandparents, is a place where God is served?

Unless the Lord builds the house.

We can go through this life and be at the end of it, and it had been elevator music.

It can mean nothing unless the Lord builds the house.

So what do I do?

Here's a few practical things just for parents.

Just practical helps before we unfold verse 4 and we'll be finished.

Well, how can I make this better?

What can I do?

So for you and your family, you need a regular day of play.

Okay.

I'm not talking about play on the ball field.

Whether it's board games, whether it's play outside, whether it's go places, and again, you might be a parent who's 60 right now.

Your child who's 40 needs a regular day of you.

If you can make that happen, you will have invested in something important.

A regular day of play, a regular day of worship.

We're here at church on Sunday.

Every family needs a regular day of worship.

It needs to be consistent, it needs to be faithful.

You need electronic times.

I'm speaking to me, this is hard.

But in a day and age we're living in, we are coming upon what I think is going to be a counseling outburst of addicted electronics.

I mean, it just is.

You can't go to the store and look at a person in front of you anymore.

And they're talking, you know what they're talking about now?

My kids okay if I have I've allowed them now only one electronic at a time.

Multiple screens is causing scenarios in children today that's causing them anxiousness, and it's hard to fall back down, come back off that crash.

So now they're talking about multiple screens and the problem that that's creating.

It's not your babysitter.

God gave you the child.

Do the hard thing.

I'm preaching to me.

Okay.

Dinner times.

Be around the dinner table as much as you can.

Bible times.

Me and my family have practiced a long time having family devotions.

And I'm honestly reading through this.

It's not been that great lately.

But I'm convicted.

Dates with your children.

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain.

Verse 4.

Let's look at this and we'll be close to wrapping up.

He says something strange in the middle of this building of the house, children are a heritage, and he goes over to like, what is this, a war scenario?

What are we talking about?

Children says the fruit of the womb is a war, or like arrows in the hand of a warrior.

The kids say, What?

What are you talking about?

Arrows?

Well, let's pull some things out of what an arrow could mean.

Arrows in the hand of a mighty man.

Why, as a child, do I want to be an arrow in the hands of someone who's a mighty man?

Well, a couple things about arrows.

Arrows must be carefully shaped and formed.

Understand this, when there's a making of an arrow, it has to be carefully shaped and formed if it's going to be a good arrow.

Arrows must be guided with skill and with strength.

You ever tried to shoot a bow and arrow and you didn't have those two things, you saw a mess happen.

Arrows must be given care or they will not fly straight.

Hear me, folks.

Arrows must be aimed and given direction.

You don't ask the arrow, which way do you want to go?

Whatever you say, an arrow must be given direction.

They will not find direction on their own.

Arrows, in some regard, can only be launched once.

So you get this shot to shoot.

Arrows are an extension of the warrior's strength and accomplishment.

Where that arrow lands is a direct extension of what happened with that person shooting.

Solomon, the wisest and wealthiest man who had ever lived, had his heart later turned away from God.

This is interesting.

He had the most.

If anyone had the most, Solomon had the most.

He had all the biggest toys, he had all the stuff.

In fact, he had 700 wives.

And we only know from scripture one of his descendants, Rahboam, who doesn't do that great.

You mean he has 700 wives, 300 concubines, and we know of one male descendant.

We know he had some daughters.

He says, if Solomon wrote this, I don't know if he was happy or sad writing this.

He says, if a man is his quiver is full, happy is he.

All I can guess is Solomon.

Maybe he had other children, maybe he did it.

But he's saying, a man that was full of them, I only got one we're gonna name.

And he says, unless the Lord builds the house, my wealth built the house, the gods of my wives built the house, all of my wisdom built the house, it is vain.

It's empty.

Let the Lord build your house.

And that leads to letter B.

A child is a legacy by their eternal effect.

Jesus put a blessing on the kids.

He prayed over them, he received them in verse 16 there and put a blessing of legacy.

He prayed, your child is your legacy when you leave earth.

And it's the only part of you that stays when you leave.

And it's the only part of you that can come when you're gone.

The best way to impact the world long after you're gone is by impacting and investing Jesus into your family.

Proverbs 13, 22 says, a good person leaves an inheritance for their children and their children's children.

And I know that that verse is talking about living in a way that you can pass financial inheritance, but more than that, a spiritual inheritance.

Jesus understood what he was looking at when he saw the kids.

And Jesus said, No, this is everything that's coming.

What are we doing?

And church, I want to tell you, everything that happens over in this building every week is so vitally important to the way that we build and leave legacy, the eternal effort that we're putting forth.

And so maybe you can work, please work.

Maybe you can pray, please pray.

Maybe you can invest.

But be a builder of this kingdom.

Be a builder of our children.

Well, it reminded me this week going through this of an old story that I had read before.

And I wanted to read it as we close.

Children, you've done great.

We're finished right here.

I promise.

It is 11:15.

Isaiah 11:15

Some people preach to 11:30.

We have done good.

Okay?

We're going to wrap it up and we're going to have lunch all together.

Lunch is right in here.

If you've smelled all that good, that's because they've been cooking.

So we're going to eat in just a few minutes, but I want to share this story and we're done.

Story goes this way.

A minister used to tell it, and there were these two boats that left Memphis traveling the waters about the same time down the Mississippi to New Orleans.

These boats traveled side by side, and as they began going, sailors from one vessel began making remarks to sailors at the other vessel about how slow their pace was.

They exchanged words, and all of a sudden they didn't know it, but now they were in a race.

Challenges were made, and the competition, as it built, became very fierce at these boats traveling down this river, trying to move as fast as they can.

One boat began falling behind, not enough fuel, there had been plenty of coal, and so they began pushing it in faster and faster.

Another boat dropped back.

And a young sailor went down and took some of the ship's cargo, tossed it into the ovens, and saw that in the way that the coal had burned for the ships, the cargo also burned.

And so sailors began to burn up supplies.

Began to burn up coal and then fuel the boat with all of the things that they were carrying to the point that they were getting to.

All of the material they had been assigned to carry from one place to the next were now being burned up in transport over this race.

At that point, doing all they could to win that boat that burned up all that cargo won the race that day.

Church, families, God has entrusted to us precious cargo.

What are we doing with our cargo?

We have children, we have spouses, we have ministry, and our job is to do our part to see that this precious cargo reaches its destination.

How much cargo do we sacrifice in order to achieve the world's successes?

God does not need any one of us to be number one.

He needs to seek him number one.

Matthew 6, 33 says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added unto you.

Is that you today?

Can you say unequivocally, Pastor?

I am seeking him first with all my heart for my family, for my spouse, for my children, for my church.

He is it.

Trying to be number one.

I want you to bow your heads and close your eyes this morning.

We're excited you joined us for today's message.

Our heart is to connect with others in our community to grow with one another and build a bigger kingdom.

If you accepted Jesus today, we want to hear about it.

Take a moment and text CCW Connect to 94,000.

Thank you again for joining us on the CCW podcast.

We hope you'll make plans to join us in person on Sundays.