Mothers Day Children’s Sermon: Jesus Meets the Mothers

I. Some parents were bringing their children to Jesus. They wanted His blessing upon their precious little sons and daughters. But the disciples felt like this wasn’t important enough to bother the Master with. They were trying to stop these parents from bringing their children to Jesus. But when Jesus saw what was going on, he got upset and said to His disciples, “Let the children come to me; do not stop them! Don’t you realize that the kingdom of God is for them as much as it is for you.” And so he welcomed the parents bringing their children, and he took the little ones in his arms and put his hands on them and blessed them.

II. Thoughts on the story

A. Some people don’t treat children the way they should be treated. They don’t treat children as if they’re important.

1. The disciples thought the kids were not important enough to take up the Lord’s time.

2. It is so easy to think other things are more important than being with the children.

3. The disciples weren’t the only ones Jesus is rebuking here. He is rebuking a certain common attitude toward children, an attitude which ignores children, which pushes them aside and doesn’t include them. It is an attitude which thinks of children as a bother.

B. Jesus didn’t feel this way. The perfect man had a heart for children.

1. Jesus wants the children to be with Him.

2. Jesus thought these parents bringing their children to Jesus were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing.

3. He actually got angry when the disciples suggested that His love for the children wasn’t big enough to take the time to pick them up and bless them. Here is a gentle man: tender, kind, patient. Not many things made Him angry. And yet all of a sudden He is using such strong language.

III. The blessing of Jesus

A. These parents knew that the blessing of Jesus was a most valuable treasure for their children.

B. There is nothing you need more in life than the blessing of Jesus. Jesus’ blessing is the best thing you can have in the whole world! And the best thing your mom and dad can give you is to bring you to Jesus.

C. You know, that’s why your parents bring you to church. They want to bring you to Jesus. They want Jesus to bless you. It is more of a blessing to bring you to church than to a restaurant or to the movies or to a swimming pool.

D. Whatever happened to those children who got blessed by Jesus? Don’t you think that for the rest of their lives, this blessing by Jesus was their claim to fame?

1. And yet, do you think these children knew what was going on at the time?

a. They were very small, small enough that the natural way for Jesus to bless them was to pick them up and hold them.

b. They were probably thinking about lunch, or about playing with their friends, etc. And yet, this moment was the most important moment of their whole life. Their parents probably realized this, but most likely the kids had no idea.

E. And this is the same thing with all of us. The things we’ve done, the things we’ve discovered, the things we’ve created, the things we’ve experienced: in the end these won’t be what matters most. No, what will really matter is the blessing of Jesus.

IV. Mothers’ Day

A. So often it’s mom who’s the one bringing her children to Jesus.

B. As a father, I’ve been woken up in the middle of the night many, many times: sick children, cleaning vomit off the carpet, children with nightmares, children who can’t sleep, malfunctioning smoke alarms, strange noises that need to be checked out, hungry infants. And I have to admit it. I hate it. It’s one of my least favorite parts of parenting. Everything in me is drawn back to that bed.

1. But numerous times when we had babies, when I’d get up in the middle of the night I remember on the way to the bathroom passing by my wife holding one of our just-nursed babies, gazing adoringly at them and stroking their little cheeks. Wow! That’s the love of a mother.

C. You may live a long life. You may meet thousands and thousands of people. But I bet you never find one person who loves you more than your mother. There is no one but Jesus who loves you more than your mom.

D. Now there are a lot of mothers who love their children, but not all mothers realize that the most loving thing to do for your children is to bring them to Jesus, and seek the blessing of Jesus upon them. If you have a mommy who loves Jesus and who wants Jesus to bless you, you have just about the greatest thing anybody could have!

E. And I want you to know that your mommies are some of the best mommies I’ve ever known.

1. They willingly devote themselves to the precious lives entrusted to them by the Lord.

2. Many of your parents have sacrificed much in order to be love you and spend time with you.

F. Think about all the ways God has blessed you through your mother, all the ways she’s loved you and cared for you and blessed you. When you get older, you’ll realize that a lot of people didn’t have that.

G. I hope you are thankful for your mom. She is one of the best things you have in the world.

H. And I hope that when you’re mommies and daddies, I hope you love your kids as much as your mommies love you.

V. Jesus loves you

A. Your mommy loves you very much. But there’s Someone who loves you even more.

B. In fact, you know why your mommy loves you so much? Because Jesus put His love for you in their hearts.

C. Your mommy is not perfect. And sometimes even her love for you will fail. But the love of Jesus for His children will never ever fail.

D. At times you might feel lonely or afraid. You may not like the way your parents are treating you. Always remember Jesus’ love for you.

E. You’re never too small to be loved by Jesus. He gets angry at people who think that way.