Faith of A Child

I want to focus on what childlike faith look like as it represents our entrance into the kingdom. This passage teaches us the truth of childlike faith, humility and acceptance as we began life in the kingdom. It also represents the same attitude that we must embrace so that others may see the reality of kingdom life in us.

Jesus challenged any type of ‘doorkeeper’ mentality that kept people from coming to Him. He stripped away all the layers of man made rules and wanted people to discover Him with the wonder of a child. May we come today and experience the presence of Jesus with that kind of awe as we see Him through the eyes of a child.




MORPH…. to change and become like little children…


Let’s talk about children

They are unpredictable - You never know what they are going to say. They don’t have filters and embarrass us at times, but often they surprise you and we are captured by what they say….out of the mouth of babes right!

Is it time to do something unpredictable, something radical to recapture your faith?? Maybe it is time to draw outside the lines? Have you lost the gleam in your eyes, a faith that stand speechless in Jesus’ presence?



They are filled with wonder and love to play and dream- They can easily get lost in the moment of fresh discovery.

The critical issue facing the church is dullness. We cannot let ourselves fall into this slumber. The Good News has become okay news. Christianity is no longer life changing, it is life enhancing. God wants us to be ‘wide-eyed and mystified’ to steal a title from an album.

The greatest enemy to the faith states one writer maybe that we have Christians who are no longer astonished and amazed.

The story of Rylan’ faith…April 19th was a great day for me.

It was one of those days that I took Rylan to the rink for parent/ tot hockey and in the dressing room he started talking to me about when I get to be a grandpa, get grey hair and all that good stuff. Then the subject moved to dying and he was concerned about when I would die and so the conversation moved to heaven and how you get there. He then asked me, "So, when I go to the doctor, will he see Jesus in my heart?" He expressed last night that he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart. So, we prayed together and he continued praying thanking Jesus for dying for his sins. After I told him that he is not only my son, but God's son as well. He wanted me to know that he was Jesus' son too! He then yelled out "I am a Christian" from his loft bed so Jord, Bryn and Addi could hear what happened.


AW Tozer ‘the culture is putting out the light in men and women’s souls’


It is time to find the place where the wonder of faith can be experienced. Maybe it is a time to consider wild abandon, risky faith, quiet listening, happy terror! He came to rescue you from the flatness of your soul

It is that time of the year again where we are reminded of Mary, a young woman, a virgin betrothed to young guy in town by the name of Joseph. They had the respect of their community, I’m sure everybody thought ‘what a neat couple’ and plans were in the making for a great wedding…and then an angel shows up and turns a predictable engagement into a walking nightmare. Joseph has to embrace a pregnancy that is not his. As a couple they have to deal emotionally with the death of so many innocent babies because of their child. They have to flee the country, live in exile and such is the great adventure of faith!

Has God given you a crazy dream…pray for it to become a reality but prepared to commit to it as Lois so wonderfully put it to me last time, ‘stepping out in faith means you actually have to get out there and walk on a limb!

Maybe it is time to quit college or university and take a year off to go on the mission field. Maybe it is time to give up a secure job and go back to school. Maybe it is time to leave the corporation because the work is killing you!

Are your possessions possessing you?

What is the other option? The danger is that the voice will grow silent inside of you, the still small voice of God leading you, giving you dreams for His kingdom because the blaring noise crying out to you from work, from culture is so loud in your life telling you that the only thing that really matters is your work, how much you make and if you want fun, just wait for the weekend…


What about play?

Mike Yaconelli writes “play is an expression of God’s presence in the world; one clear sign of God’s absence in society in the absence of playfulness and laughter. Play is not an escape; it is the way to release the life-smothering grip of busyness, stress and anxiety.

What if we invited people over to our home and, instead of telling them about our joy, lived it by playing with them?

Come humble like a child v4


L’Arche community is where the majority of the members of the community are physically and mentally challenged.

The following is a blessing given to Henri Nouwen by his spiritual mentor. Henri served ten years at L’Arche in Toronto from ’86 –‘96 in seemingly oblivion. After all, prior to that he was a professor of theology at Harvard and Yale… However it was his writings on discovering God have captured many of us because of what he learned there at L’Arche. He wrote on solitude, community and ministry as the three avenues to create space for God to speak.


May all your expectations be frustrated, may all your plans be thwarted. May all of your desires be withered into nothingness, that you may experience the powerlessness and poverty of a child and sing and dance in the love of God the Father, the Son and the Spirit.”

Children accept the fact that they are not in control, there is someone bigger that is running the show. They ask a lot of questions and often they speak more to the relationship than to the answer. They know that they are secure because someone cares for them.

Well adjusted children know that they don’t always get what they want, but they can sure be persistent! They don’t give up easily!

Being humble doesn’t mean being passive. It is actively pursuing the will of God, having the heart of a servant and doing it with grace no matter what position you have.

In Luke 21 we discover a widow who came every day to the temple to give her small offering in the face of enormous ridicule, people would look down on her and demean the size of her gift, but she had that type of humility and abandonment to offer what little she had and Jesus recognized it for what it was.

God hides Himself in difficulty, in the challenges, in the shadows, in the failure and disappointment as well as the light and great surprises, but He is always there…

Deborah and the images of people standing at the foot of her bed…He is waiting for us to discover Him, waiting for us to learn.

Humility also means that we are not afraid to ask for help. We admit that we don’t have all the answers. We don’t know how everything will turn out. Our strength is found in admitting our weaknesses and realizing that good Christians are not always strong. As adults we just become more and more hesistant to admit we are in trouble

Put the welcome mat out!! v5

God forgive us for any type of ‘doorkeeper’ mentality that holds us back from embracing all people from every kind of background and experience.

It is the type of attitude that says that my way of worshipping God or my approach to God is superior to yours or this is the formula for prayer

We need to learn how to pray like children, no clichés, just being real with God and praying exactly what it on your mind. They are honest, simple and direct

It is worrying more about our appearances than who we really are. It is that thought process of wondering what will people think of me if I really run into Jesus’ lap and I embrace His presence. It may be the same mentality that comes into your mind if you thought about raising your hands in worship. I don’t want to appear too different from everyone else.

That is exactly what is going through the minds of those trying to keep the children from Jesus. We need to have decency and order.


The Takeaway

Rediscover your faith in Jesus through the eyes of a child, the wonder, the humility and abandonment.

Questions For Discussion and Small Groups


What’s the difference between being childlike and childish?
I long for a life that explodes with meaning and is filled with wonder, risk and danger. Do you think life should be lived dangerously? What would a dangerous life look like for you?
Can you name one prominent dream stealer in your life? Did you realize that dream or lose it?
Childlike faith is a faith that longs for God and seeks Him wherever He may be-even in the place of no answers. How do you think you can meet God in “the place of no answers?

Questions are provided from Dangerous Wonder (available in our library)