Extreme Savior! Jesus Has Extreme Love: Blessing The Children

Unit: Extreme Savior
Bible Text: Matt. 19:13-15; Mark 10: 13-16; Luke 18: 15-17
Memory Verse: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Wow! What an “Extreme” theme we are having, boys and girls! Help me remember the “extreme” things we’ve been learning about Jesus in this unit so far. What was the first Extreme that our Extreme Savior showed us in the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace? Yes, Jesus has Extreme Power. How about the second story of Jairus’s daughter and the woman who touched Jesus’s robe? Yes, that’s right! Jesus gave Extreme Healing!

Today’s story is about another “Extreme” thing about our Extreme Savior. Today we are going to learn about Jesus’s Extreme Love!

Jesus has Extreme Love for you and Extreme Love for me! Wow, isn’t that cool?! Do you know how I know that Jesus has Extreme Love for us?

The Bible tells me so! In John 3:16, the Bible says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” When Jesus died on the cross, He was dying for my sins and for yours, and for all the people who have ever lived. But not for His own, because He had never sinned. That’s Extreme Love right there, to take someone else’s punishment when you don’t deserve it yourself. Jesus did that for ALL of us! That’s why He is our Extreme Savior!

But, don’t you think that maybe Jesus has MORE Extreme Love for, say, the President than you or me? The President – he’s a very important man! Surely Jesus loves him more, right? Or the Pastor! Oh Yes! Jesus must love him more! He’s the leader of this church, and he preaches about God – Jesus must love him more Extremely than you or me!

Boys and girls, do you think that Jesus loves adults more than children? Or “important” people more than “regular” people? Well, today’s story will show you that Jesus loves EVERY person Extremely. He loves us completely! And, he doesn’t love adults more than children, or “important” people more than “regular” people. In fact, in Jesus’s eyes, we are ALL important! Important enough for Him to die on the cross for!

One day, while Jesus was teaching His disciples, some parents decided to bring their children to see Jesus and be blessed by Him. The parents were so happy because they were going to see Jesus! And the children were so happy because they were going to see Jesus! They had to walk a little way to get to the place where Jesus was. The children; some who were very little, and some who were older, they probably walked like this to see Jesus. (walk stiffly and primly, with hands raised to chest as if in prayer) Don’t you think so?

No!

The children were probably running and skipping, jumping and hollering, singing and laughing all the way down the road to see Jesus!

I’m sure the disciples could hear the children as they were coming, because the children were soooo excited! Probably even the babies were excited! And I’m sure the parents were excited too! Wouldn’t you be excited to see Jesus? I would be!

Do you know who was NOT excited?

The disciples.

They looked upset! As the children and their parents came closer, the disciples looked even more upset! The parents got closer to where Jesus was and they could see the stern looks on the disciples’ faces. The children probably started to hang closer to their parents now, maybe even clinging to their parent’s legs.

The disciples stepped closer to the parents and spoke sternly to them saying, “Don’t bother Jesus now! He is too busy!”

Now the parents were sad. They were so disappointed. They had come a long way. The children were sad. They were so disappointed! I bet even the babies were sad.

Do you know who else was sad?

Jesus!

He quickly REBUKED his disciples. Rebuked is a very strong word! It means He told his disciples immediately they were WRONG! And Jesus was not happy with what they had said to the parents.

Jesus said to them “Let the children come to me! Don’t stop them! For the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these!”

Wow! Jesus wanted to see the children! They were important to Him. He wanted to hold them and hug them, laugh with them and Bless them. Most of all He wanted to tell them about God! I think that Jesus spent some time with the children, enjoying each child and telling stories and listening to them talk. The Bible tells us that the parents wanted Him to Bless them. That means to pray over them and encourage them to follow God. I think that Jesus had the biggest smile on His face, laughing and enjoying fun times with those children that day. When it was time for those children and their parents to leave Jesus and go home, I think every one of them had a huge smile on their face, and felt very important that Jesus wanted to spend time with them. They all knew that Jesus had shown Extreme Love that day to them.

Jesus had said something else to His disciples when He rebuked them earlier. He said, “I assure you, anyone who doesn’t have the kind of faith like these little children have, will NEVER get into the Kingdom of God.” Wow! What did Jesus mean by that?!

Jesus meant that you had to have trusting Faith like little children do. You have to ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins, and to come into your heart, so you can go to Heaven one day. Even if you are an adult, you have to believe in Jesus sincerely, with all your heart, the same way that children believe in things. Completely.

So boys and girls, sometimes you may not “feel” important, and some adults may not think you are very important, like the disciples did that day, but you are EXTREMELY important to Jesus! He said the “Kindom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” Who does it belong to? People who have child-like faith in Jesus and in what He did to take away their sins. Jesus died on the cross, and then rose from the dead three days later.

Do you have child-like faith in Jesus today?

Is He important in your life like you are to Him? Let’s pray about that now.