Skip to main content

Welcome Children

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to Him, and placed the child among them. And He said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." - Matthew 18:1‭-‬5 NIV

This past Sunday was simply life-giving at Westside Christian Church. The energy and excitement were palatable. My daughter couldn't wait to get to church. She was excited to worship with her friends and have fun together afterwards.  

With the VBS takeover, the church was packed! Sure there were a few seats open, but there was a line of people standing in the back. It is safe to say it was "standing room only". Fitting with the story of Zacchaeus that Pastor Russ shared.  

Jesus says that we are to "change and become like children." I wonder if He had VBS Sunday in mind when He shared that statement. I think one of the takeaways is a push for each of us to embody the same excitement, jubilation, and anticipation as these children when we come together to worship. 

I am grateful to be a part of a church that surrenders the entire Sunday operation to the children. We honor them by letting them lead us. We honor God when we welcome them. Jesus says that we actually welcome Him when we welcome children.  

The energy and excitement of the children was actually the presence of our Lord. God was present on Sunday. Jesus joined us because we invited His kids to lead us.

Be blessed and be a blessing
Matt


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Anchor House: Week 6 Buried Treasure

When I started at Anchor House I committed to write at least one blog per week. Writing is something I enjoy and a way I get to interact with God. I can recall wanting to write about Anchor House in the days before I started, but my knowledge was limited..  To be honest I felt like I knew three things before I joined Anchor House. First,  Anchor House was a mission at Port Manatee (the Seaport, not the jail) Second, I knew it was a mission that my church, Westside Christian Church, supported with our Show Love funds.  Third, I knew God was calling me to serve Him there. However, what happened at Anchor House day to day was something of a mystery to me.   After being here for a few weeks I have learned quite a bit. I know where to look to find out when ships are coming in or departing.  I have learned that I am just tall enough to hit my head where most seafarers don’t. I have learned that flexibility is the key to serving at a seaport. One of th...

Anchor House Week 4: Strawberries

This week I had the chance to come through on a promise I made to one of our regular ships. When they were in port last we were hanging out in the break room with the crew. Somehow we got on the subject of strawberries, Florida strawberries of course. I made the bold statement that Florida strawberries were the best. Trish followed up by clarifying that Plant City’s are the best. She had a point that is hard to argue with. In the discussion, I told the seafarer that I would bring them some strawberries next time they were at Port Manatee. Sure enough the next time they were in port I ran to Detweillers, first thing in the morning, and picked up a half of a flat of some of the most beautiful strawberries you've ever seen. They were big, red, perfectly placed in the container in a neat and orderly fashion. They looked magnificent. As we approached the ship, the seafarer whom I had made the promise to waved and said, “You remembered!” After we boarded the ship, we t...