Let the Little Children Come to Me and Do not Hinder Them | When a Child Is Taken to Heaven - Part I

In Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” When a Child Is Taken to Heaven is the sermon I preached to my congregation after a young man in our church tragically drowned days earlier. I wanted to bring scripture to bear on the situation, which meant looking at the accounts in the Bible of people losing children. Children die in God's Word more often than you might expect, and I believe it’s because it occurs in our lives more often than we might expect. We live in a fallen world, and this is one of the worst realities of it. I looked at the account of Elijah raising the widow's son in 1 Kings 17:17-24 and Elisha raising the Shunammite's son in 2 Kings 4:18-37.

Many people have experienced miscarriages and I hope these sermons will encourage them too, but with that said, while miscarriages are difficult and I don’t want to seem insensitive to people who have experienced them - especially late in pregnancy - I don’t think they compare with the loss of a child that has been born.

One other reason this sermon is important is even if you’re fortunate enough to never lose a child, as a member of the body of Christ, you need to know how to minister to people who have.

This sermon is different in that instead of being expositional, it was more devotional. I didn’t think that this was the best time to have a deeply theological or academic sermon with my church feeling like I’m preaching at them. Instead I hoped they felt like I'm talking with them.

This is the first sermon I’ve ever preached that I didn’t look at any commentaries. I wanted to do my best to share what God gave me to share, versus something I gained from someone else.

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Here's the accompanying podcast episode: https://www.scottlapierre.org/podcast/let-the-little-children-come-to-me-and-do-not-hinder-them/

Sermon Lessons for Let the Little Children Come to Me and Do not Hinder Them | When a Child Is Taken to Heaven - Part I

Lesson 1: It’s okay to ____ __________ (1 Kings 17:18).

Lesson 2: God isn’t __________________ ______ (1 Kings 17:18).

Lesson 3: Jesus takes believing children ____ ______ ________ (1 Kings 17:19 cf. Mark 9:36, 10:16).

Lesson 4: Jesus ________ __________ believing children (Rom 15:4; 1 Cor 10:6, 11 cf. 1 Kings 17:23).

Lesson 5: Go ____ ______ ________ with your loss (2 Kings 4:22-27, Psa 34:18, 147:3).

Lesson 6: You can ____ ________________ (2 Kings 4:28; Deut 29:29; 1 Cor 13:12)

Lesson 7: Death reminds us ________ is __________________ (1 Cor 15:22, 26, 54-57; Rev 20:14).

Family Worship Guide for Let the Little Children Come to Me and Do not Hinder Them | When a Child Is Taken to Heaven - Part I
Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 15:22

Day 1: Read 1 Kings 17:18-23, Mark 9:36, and 10:16, and discuss: Why is it OK to be upset? Even if we’re angry, what do we need to make sure we don’t do? What might we be tempted to think God is doing, that we need to convince ourselves He’s not doing? What did Jesus do during His earthly ministry that can be an encouragement to us if we lose a child?

Day 2: Read 2 Kings 4:22-27, Psa 34:18, 147:3, Deut 29:29; and 1 Cor 13:12 and discuss: Where should we go when we experience loss and suffering? Where should we not know? Why is it OK to be confused? What other reasonable feelings might we experience? Are there unreasonable feelings we should try to avoid?

Day 3: Read 1 Cor 15:22, 26, 54-57; Rev 20:14, and discuss: What have you seen God bring forth from your suffering and trials? Why do unborn children in the womb die? Why is Death capitalized in 1 Corinthians 15, in other words why is Death personified? Explain the victory Paul mentions in the verses.

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