“Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

(Mark 10:14)

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

As the summer comes to a close, and fall is right around the corner our children start another school year.  We have started a new year in Bible School and Confirmation along with some new Youth Group activities.  On Wednesday, September 11, we had a special service for Blessing of the Backpacks with 49 people in attendance.  We began the evening sitting down and sharing in a meal together.  It was a remarkable evening and a reminder how important the children are.

People were bringing their children to Jesus so that He could touch them and the disciples spoke to them sternly and were telling them to leave.  But Jesus overheard and saw what the disciples were doing and welcomed the children into His arms.  He ordered the disciples to “Let the little children come to me.”  We also need to be careful that our words and actions don’t become like the disciples.  In fact, we need to become more like little children if we want to be part of God’s kingdom.

 To be truthful we are all children.  We are God’s children.  In our baptism God claimed us as His own when He marked us with the cross of Christ and sealed it by the Holy Spirit.  Because we are God’s children, we also need to be careful with our words and actions towards one another.  For when we love one another it shows that we belong to the Kingdom of God and that we are God’s children.

Hear Jesus say, “Let the little children come on to me.”

And hear Him say, “Let the big children come on to me also.”

God’s Peace & Love,

Pastor Gary