God's Rugrats Series

GOD’S RUGRATS

John 1:10-13

#John1

INTRODUCTION 1… https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-funniest-thing-your-kid-said_n_7213254

I ran across some funny quotes by children this week that I wanted to share with you. I found them pretty funny. I selected the best of the best for us to enjoy and ponder on a little bit.

1 I went to see a mortgage advisor with my 7-year-old son. As I sat at the desk, my son sat down and said to the man, “Hello, I am not her husband.”

2 5 year old: Can I have a twik? Me: You mean twix? 5 year old: No, I only want one.

3 Soccer coach: When you are trying to score a goal, kick the ball with the laces of your shoes. 4 year old: Um, we are in preschool. Dere’s only belcro walking around here.

4 Me: Why is the dog’s head all wet? My 3 year old: Oh because I peed on him.

5 I told my kids that we are no longer saying ‘shut up’ because it sounds mean and can hurt people’s feelings. So my kids are getting creative with their use of words. My 9 year old daughter was talking and my 6 year old son couldn’t take it anymore and said “Silence you peasant!”

6 When my child came home from school on the bus, I paused a work conference call I was on to ask how her day was. She responded, “Shhh, go back to work. I have a list of things I want you to buy me with the money you’re making.” She’s five.

When we think of children, we think of characteristics like sweet, honest, innocent, and playful. When we think of children, we also might think of characteristics like demanding, disobedient, too honest with no filter, and selfishness. Children also need to be taught and do not know about life. I like the honesty of the kid who said there’s no ‘belcro walking around here.’ Peeing on the dog’s head is funny and expected and bad all at the same time. ‘Silence you peasant’ will probably make it to our house now. Children have a certain perspective on the world that is often lost as we get older and have more experiences. Children, according to Jesus, have a quality in their faith that you and I should emulate for He said (Matthew 18:3): "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

INTRODUCTION 2… Larry Skirvin Last week (p)

Last week, Larry Skirvin got up to do his communion meditation and before he even started he addressed the congregation and said, “Good morning… children!” Do you remember that? He then said that we don’t often think of ourselves as children, but we are according to the Bible. Our passage this week talks about believers in terms of children. As we dig into John 1:10-13, we are going to see some characteristics of God’s children and then I want to encourage us in our identity as children of the Almighty God.

READ John 1:10-13

He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11 He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. 12 Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

In this part of John 1, the Apostle John is reflecting on the implications of Jesus coming into the world and being the True light. He is reflecting on Jesus bringing us salvation and life. One of the huge implications in John’s mind is that we have the opportunity to become children of God.

We can have Him as our Heavenly Father.

We can be heirs of all of Creation that God has made for us.

We can be adopted into His family.

In John 1:10-13, the children of God recognize Him, receive and believe Him, and have certain rights as His children.

I. RECOGNIZE HIM (VERSE 10)

One of the first marks of a child of God that John points out is that they recognize Him. The world does not recognize Jesus because they don’t want to or have not found the need to. The world does not recognize Him, but those who are His children do. We have come to know Him and recognize His voice in the Scriptures and obey His teachings. He is our Savior. He is our True Light.

John talks about this also in 1 John 3:1-2 which says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”