“And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.' And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.” Mark 10:13-16
The disciples (continue to) have an inflated sense of their own importance while looking down on those designated as “marginalized” by the culture. This marginalization included children.
Grace → Humility
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32
Humility is fasting from self and feasting on Christ.
“True humility is not thinking of yourself less but thinking less of yourself.” C.S. Lewis (adapted from Mere Christianity)
“It belongs to the very essence of the type of Christianity propagated by the Reformation that the believer should feel himself continuously unworthy of the grace by which he lives. At the center of this type of Christianity lies the contrast of sin and grace; and about this center everything else revolves…Though blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ, we are still in ourselves just ‘miserable sinners’: ‘miserable sinners’ saved by grace to be sure, but ‘miserable sinners’ still, deserving in ourselves nothing but everlasting wrath… The spirit of this Christianity is a spirit of penitent indeed, but overmastering exultation. The attitude of the ‘miserable sinners’ is not only not one of despair; it is not even one of depression; and not even one of hesitation or doubt; hope is too weak a word to apply to it. It is an attitude of exultant joy. Only this joy has its ground not in ourselves but in our Savior. We are sinners and we know ourselves to be sinners, lost and helpless in ourselves. But we are saved sinners; and it is our salvation which gives the tone to our life, a tone of joy which swells in exact proportion to the sense we have of our ill-desert; for it is he to whom much is forgiven who loves much, and who, loving rejoices much.” The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield VII Perfectionism, Part One, pg. 113-114
Arrogance → Elitism
VALUES:
In order to live out the gospel in all that we do...
- We submit to the Bible
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We are a family
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We serve others
- We make disciples
WE ARE A FAMILY
Because we recognize that God has ordained the institution of the nuclear family and called us into the greater familial community of the body of Christ, we celebrate and strive to build strong families within individual homes and across the generations of our church. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, Ephesians 4:11-16, Deuteronomy 6:6-7
1. We must continually taste the grace of Jesus which will bring about awareness of our need and realignment of our lives through repentance.
2. “For to such belongs the kingdom of God” needs to be central in our thinking. We come to Christ in humility with our needs, our hopes, and our self-effacing delights.
3. “Shall not enter it." (The kingdom).
4. There is empowerment, acceptance, and joy in the presence of the Lord.
5. Jesus is our Savior, sustainer, and strength.
QUESTIONS:
1. Why does Warfield say there is an attitude of “exultant joy” in “miserable sinners” Christianity?
2. What does the understanding of the undeserved grace of the cross and the forgiveness of sin (see Heidelberg Catechism, question 56) produce in our lives?
3. Is there a difference between Jesus placing his hands on and blessing the children and gathering the children up in his arms in a warm embrace?
4. As a parent/grandparent/mentor what is the most important truth/desire/hope we can build in the coming generations?