SPECIAL DAY: YOUTH SUNDAY
TEXT: MARK 10:13-16
TITLE: “THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR MINISTRY TO YOUTH”
INTRODUCTION: A. Two young children were talking to each other about parent problems. One of them
complained to the other, saying: “First they teach you to talk, then they teach you to
walk, and as soon as you learn how to do both, they tell you to ‘Sit down and shut
up!’”
1. What is your view of young people in the church?
2. How do you believe your view matches up with Jesus’ view?
3. Does your attitude toward the young sound something like this:
a. We want you in Sunday school but we’re not going to go out of our way to see
that your spiritual education needs are covered.
b. We want in the Sunday morning worship service but we’re not going to do
anything that meets your needs
--Just sit still and be quiet
c. We want you here on Wednesday nights but don’t make too much noise
downstairs
d. We want you in church as long as it doesn’t cost too much money or too much
of my time
B. Mk. 10:13-16 – “People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to
them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of
God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the
kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his
arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”
1. John Piper asks: “Have you ever asked why God designed the world so that the
human race multiplies by having babies that take years to become adults? Why
didn’t God design the human race so that we multiply like earthworms: one adult
splits to become another adult? He could have done it that way or any number of
ways. Why did God ordain that there be children? And not just adults?”
2. Piper gives this answer: “Children stand for something. They point to something.
They represent something. They signify something bigger than themselves. They
stand for the kind of dependence and helplessness and need and insufficiency and
faith that is required of adults to enter the kingdom of God. To ‘such as these’
(verse 14) belongs the kingdom. That’s the meaning of their unique existence. They
point the way to salvation: to such as these belongs the kingdom.”
C. Don’t be upset if you’re a teenager/young adult and you hear me use the term
“children”
1. In the Greek of the first century, there was no word for “teenager”
--the word used in our passage today means youth of any age
2. Also, in the first century, you were either a child or an adult
a. Once you turned 13, you were treated like an adult
b. Some of you are thinking, “Hey, that’s great!”
--You not only were treated like an adult, you had the responsibilities of an adult
and had to work like an adult
c. Now you’re thinking, “Whoa! Bummer!”
3. Actually, because you’re young, lots of folks are jealous of you
--We’re funny people. When we’re young, we want to be old and when we’re old
we want to be young.
D. What does our passage teach us about our ministry to youth?
--three basic things:
I. ENLIST
A. Did you notice that it says “people” were bringing children to Jesus?
1. I wonder why Mark doesn’t use the term for “parents”?
--I guess it was because more were involved than just parents
a. They must have been grandparents, brothers and sisters, and even neighbors
b. The same event is recorded in Matthew and Luke and they also use the term for “people” and not
“parents”
2. Many of us will sit back and talk about all that’s wrong with the young people and how things are not
like they were when we were growing up but we never do anything positive to get involved with them.
--We’re called to bring the youth to know and be blessed by Jesus
3. As a result of the adults who brought the youth to Jesus and Jesus’ acceptance of them, the youth were
able to find intimate relationship with Jesus.
B. Why is it important to bring them to Jesus while they’re young?
1. A 2004 Barna survey showed that 85 percent of Christians began their relationship with Jesus before
age 14.
2. A fairly recent Gallup poll showed that:
a. 19 out of 20 Christians are saved before the age of 25.
b. After age 25, 1 in 10,000
c. After age 35, 1 in 50,000
d. After age 45, 1 in 200,000
e. After age 55, 1 in 300,000
f. After age 75, 1 in 700,000.
3. If you look at things statistically, it makes sense to spend time evangelizing the young
--the prospects of a return for your investment is greater than for older folks
4. D.L. Moody once returned from preaching a revival meeting and reported that there were two and a half
conversions. Someone asked, “Two adults and one child?” Moody replied, “No. Two children and one
adult. The children gave their whole lives. The adult only had half to give.”
II. ENCOURAGE
A. Notice that the disciples kept the people from bringing the youth to Jesus
1. They were the all-important “keepers of the inner circle”
--they thought Jesus didn’t need to be bothered by people as insignificant as children
2. This event is not only recorded in Mark but Matthew and Luke as well
--The term used when referring to what the disciple did is “rebuked”
a. It’s the same word used to describe what Jesus did to calm the storm on the Sea of Galilee
1). It means “to muzzle”
2). It has the idea of strictly forbidding something with the threat of punishment if the command is
not obeyed.
b. In no uncertain terms, the disciples were going to keep these noisy children and their nuisance
guardians away from Jesus
--After all, He had to have better things to do
B. Why would the disciples do something like that?
--After all, they had already seen Jesus’ heart for children. In Mark’s gospel, he records several events
where Jesus reached out to children:
1. Mk. 5:41 – raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead
2. Mk. 7:29-30 – delivered the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter from a demon
3. Mk. 9:25-26 – delivered a boy who was possessed with a demon that kept him mute
4. Mk. 9:33-37 – “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, ‘What were you
arguing about on the road?’ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was
the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must be
the very last, and the servant of all.’ He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking
him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name
welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.’”
5. Yet, after all they’d seen, the disciples were the problem.
--They kept the young people from coming to Jesus
6. You know, it’s always amazed me that the people who should be the closest to Jesus cause the most
trouble in churches.
a. They’ve been in church almost every Sunday of their lives.
b. They’ve sat in Sunday school classes and studied the Bible.
--they have a pretty good grasp of what it says
c. Yet, there seems to be a discrepancy between what they read in scripture and what they practice in
their lives
C. What was Jesus’ reaction to what the disciples were doing?
1. V. 14 says that Jesus was “indignant” with the disciples.
a. That term in the Greek comes from a compound word that means “to grieve much”
--it’s a word that signified deep, emotional pain
b. It’s the only time this Greek word is used in the entire New Testament
2. What the disciples did made Jesus both angry and extremely sad
--No one should think of young people as being unimportant to Him
3. Jesus didn’t tolerate that attitude among His first century followers and He doesn’t tolerate it today
4. The disciples thought that Jesus needed protection from bothersome young people
--Jesus points out that it is sometimes the young people who need protection from the bumbling adults
5. Earlier, I shared a passage with you from Mark 9 when Jesus used a child to show who would be
greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Listen to the Jesus’ words from Matthew’s record of that event
--Mt. 18:1-6 – “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven?’ He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: ‘I tell you the truth,
unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And
whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of
these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung
around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’”
D. Some practical ways to encourage our youth
1. Speak to them
2. Give them a pat on the back and tell them you think they’re doing a great job
3. Send a card or letter of encouragement
4. Invite them to sit with you during church
5. Talk positively about the impact our young people are having on other young people
6. Tell others about our youth program
7. Work on encouraging some of our young people to consider full-time Christian service
--It’s been quite awhile since this congregation helped anyone go to Bible college
8. Pray about the need for at least a part-time youth minister
a. One of our problems is that we don’t have the money to do what needs to be done
b. If 30 people designated $10.00 a week on top of their regular giving to be used toward a youth
minister’s salary, we could put together a very good part-time salary package
--if 50 people would do the same, we’d have a full-time youth minister’s salary
III. EQUIP
A. What is youth ministry?
1. Youth ministry is an offering of service by the local church as a whole
a. to young people by the whole church
b. for young people on their behalf by the whole church
c. with young people by the whole church
d. from young people to the whole church
2. It involves:
a. Communicating the grace of God to young people through preaching and teaching of the Word,
through accepting them as being important in the kingdom of God, and meeting their needs
showing the love of Christ to them through our attitudes and actions
b. Enabling young people to find faith and identity in Christ and to develop their God-given ministry
within the church
B. Why should we invest in a strong ministry to youth?
1. It’s for their benefit
a. They need the saving power of God in their lives
b. They need a strong faith to face the pressures of this world
c. They need the love of Christ
2. It’s for our benefit
a. Notice that Jesus says that adults need to become more child-like rather than children becoming
more like the adults.
1). To truly live in the kingdom of God, we must become like humble, trusting, obedient children
2). In other words, the youth can teach us a few things concerning the kingdom of God.
b. Young people are precious in their own right and they stand for something bigger than
themselves.
--They model the kind of dependence and helplessness and insufficiency and faith that is required
of adults to enter the kingdom of God.
c. It demonstrates clearly that God’s acceptance has nothing to do with what we’ve accomplished
with our lives
--His grace is given to those who really have done nothing children.
1). Grace is God giving to me something that I cannot obtain on my own.
2). Grace is being accepted by God even though I do not deserve it, even though I am not worthy
of it.
CONCLUSION: A. Some important considerations in light of Jesus’ statements concerning the importance
of ministry to youth:
1. What we do in our ministry to youth is not about spending money, it’s not just about
having a good time and being entertained, it’s not about a different style of music,
and it’s not about a place where they can go so they don’t disturb the adults
--IT’S ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
2. We invest in the wrong things
a. We invest in houses that will get eaten by termites, burn, or blow away in a
tornado.
b. We invest in cars that will rust, break down, and get crushed for scrap metal.
c. We invest in CLOTHES that go out of style, get too small, and get discarded
3. But here is some sound investment strategy
a. WHEN we INVEST in youth, we are investing in the Kingdom of God.
b. WHAT we invest in youth, we are investing in the Kingdom of God.
4. “I Would Gather Children”
Some would gather money
Along the path of life
Some would gather roses
And rest from worldly strife.
But I would gather children
From among the thorns of sin;
I would seek a golden curl
And a freckled, toothless grin.
For money cannot enter
In that land of endless day,
And the roses that are gathered
Soon will wilt along the way.
But oh, the laughing children,
As I cross the Sunset Sea
And the gates swing wide to heaven
I can take them in with me.
B. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a
little child will never enter it.”
1. Have you done that?
--have you sought the kingdom of God with the simple but trusting faith of a little
child?
2. We cannot come to Jesus in our pride and self-sufficiency
--those things He promises to reject
3. Yet, to all who will come to Him and place their complete trust in Him, He will receive
as His own
--Mt. 11:28-29 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.”
4. Maybe the age statistics I quoted earlier have you scared
--Maybe I’m to old to give my life to Christ
a. Those statistics only show that it’s more difficult the older you get to come to Christ
in child-like faith and obedience
b. Jn. 6:37 – “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I
will never drive away.”
c. Jesus waits with open arms to accept you and bless you just like He did for these
young people 2,000 years ago.
