Suffer the Children to Come to Me

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray McDaniel preached through the passage known as "Suffer the Little Children," drawing from Matthew, Mark, and Luke together as part of the ongoing Harmony of the Gospels study. The sermon looked at how Jesus responded when his own disciples tried to keep children away from him, and what that means for how the church treats children today. It landed right in the middle of a morning that...

Read together

1. Psalm 42:11 quoted before a song to illustrate choosing hope over discouragement
2. Isaiah 64 referenced as the source of the potter and clay verse used before the offering
3. Luke 17 cited as the passage warning that stumbling blocks will come and woe to the one who causes a little one to sin
4. John 3:16 recalled as the verse a Sunday school teacher introduced to Pastor Ray as a child, which registered with him for the first time
5. 1 John 1:9 cited to illustrate the Greek word meaning to send away, in the context of God forgiving and releasing our sins

Talk about it

1. Ray said his family's motto is that their biggest contribution to the kingdom of God isn't what they do but who they raise. What does that idea stir up in you, whether you are a parent or not?
2. Pastor Ray pointed out that it was the disciples, not the Pharisees, who were turning children away from Jesus. Why do you think that detail matters, and where might we be doing the same thing without realizing it?
3. Pastor Ray listed several things that made Jesus indignant or angry: hindering children from coming to Him, blocking people's access to God, religious refusal to help someone in need, the hardness of the human heart, and death itself. Which one of those surprised you most, and why?
4. Pastor Ray described receiving the kingdom of God like a child as trusting in what has been done for you rather than what you have done. What makes that kind of posture easy or hard for you personally?
5. Pastor Ray shared that roughly 85 percent of people who come to faith do so between the ages of four and fourteen. What does that number mean for how we spend our time and energy as a church and as individuals?