This sermon was preached at Ascension Reformed Church in Moscow, Idaho on November 8, A.D. 2026.
Mark 10:13–16
“Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.’ 16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them” (NKJV).
Introduction
This morning we have come to the second sermon in our brief series on children.
Yesterday my son asked me what I was writing about, and I said, “keeping our children in the church.” And he looked at me, confused, and said, “Why? Everyone does that.” I’m glad that’s been his experience so far in life, but I had to explain that wasn’t actually the case.
Many well-meaning and honorable Christians do not worship with their children on Sundays. Instead, they are sent away into the nursery, children’s church, Sunday School, or youth groups—separated from the rest of the people of God. Again, we must acknowledge that those who practice often have the right intentions. They want their children taught the faith, and so they think the best way to do that is to give them age-appropriate programming with their peers.
Unfortunately, this experiment—which is exactly what it is: a many-decades-long modern experiment—has not panned out in the church’s favor. Many studies have shown for years now that a large percentage of children raised in the church abandon regular church attendance and the faith during and after college. But one could ask – have they really left the church if, in a sense, they were never really a part of it? I don’t mean that rudely, but as a practical observation.
If someone’s whole experience with the church on the Lord’s Day was being segregated into a separate program, they really didn’t get to participate as a normal member. They are not leaving something they were once part of, but rather never joining something they were never taught to embrace as their own. And so this morning, we will consider why we have the peculiar practice of keeping our children with us in church, how best to accomplish this difficult task, and what we hope, in faith, it will accomplish in the lives of our children.
Summary of the Text
The story in our passage this morning appears in all three Synoptic Gospels—Matthew 19, Luke 18, and here in Mark 10. Here Jesus is teaching in public in Judea, alongside the Jordan. Pharisees are there testing Him, and it’s apparent that families are observing the discussions. For we read in verse 13, “Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them…”
Often in the Gospels, when people seek Jesus’ touch, they are hoping for healing. But we do not have any indication here that the children have any bodily ailments. Rather, their parents believe a blessing from Jesus would be for their spiritual health. And something about Jesus and His personality must have made it clear that, although He was a man who spoke with authority, He was also someone they could approach freely and ask for such a thing.
But the disciples did not like this—not at all. Mark writes that “the disciples rebuked those who brought them.” They react and speak as if they knew Jesus’ mind on the matter. You can see that they are trying to protect their Teacher and His time—He does not need to be bothered with insignificant little children and their parents; the Messiah surely has more important things to do.
But the disciples should have known better than this. For in each Gospel, this story follows an earlier one in which Jesus interacts with a child and uses him to teach His disciples a very direct spiritual point. In Mark 9, starting in verse 3, Jesus asks His disciples, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” But they do not respond—because they were arguing over who would be the greatest in the kingdom. And so He sat them down and stated, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” And to make the point even clearer, He took a young boy up in His arms and said, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
And so back to Mark 10, perhaps a couple of days later, what do the disciples do? They do not receive the little children in His name, in fact, they turn them away with a rebuke.
Jesus did not like this at all. In verse 14, the NKJV translates His response as “greatly displeased.” The ESV translates that word as “indignant.” It means to feel a violent irritation, and in this case, to be righteously angry. He said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”
Commenting on this verse, Matthew Henry noted that Jesus,
“owned [children] as members of His church, as they had been of the Jewish church. He came to set up the kingdom of God among men, and took this occasion to declare that that kingdom admitted little children to be the subjects of it, and gave them a title to the privileges of subjects.”
Jesus continued, in verse 15, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” In these two verses, we see a statement of fact, and then its application.
First, children are members of the kingdom of God. And not only that, but to apply this truth, all who enter the kingdom must enter like little children. As Jesus says in Matthew 18:3, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Who are the strongest among us? Who are the most learned? Who are the greatest Not our children. But the kingdom requires humility and childlike faith. All of you must become like children.
In verse 16, our passage ends beautifully with Jesus taking the children up into His arms, laying His hands on them, and granting them a blessing from the Christ. This could be seen as the fulfillment of a prophecy in Isaiah concerning the Messiah. For in Isaiah 40:11 we read,
“He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.”
In our passage this morning, we then see two important teachings regarding the place of children in the church. We see Jesus’ disposition toward the children of believers. He loves them, considers them worthy of covenant blessing, sees them as exemplary members of His kingdom, and warmly embraces them. And we also see an example of faith in the parents, who knew the character of Christ and willingly brought their children to Him to receive His blessing.
Corporate Worship
Our children belong here in Lord’s Day worship because they are Christians.
As Jesus said, “of such is the kingdom of God.” They are members of this church, and so they gather with the church. This is actually not a new concept in biblical history. We see examples throughout the Old Testament of children joining the people of God in worship. In Deuteronomy 31:10–13 we read,
“And Moses commanded them, saying: ‘At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.”
Moses is commanding that every seven years, during the Sabbatical year at the Feast of Tabernacles, all Israel were to gather before the Lord to hear the Word—including little ones—that they would learn to fear the Lord their God.
Likewise, in Joshua 8:30–35 we read of a covenant renewal ceremony at Mount Ebal, and it reads,
“Afterward [Joshua] read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them.”
And so we gather with our children before the Lord each Sunday, so that, as Moses said in the Deuteronomy passage, they “may hear and learn to fear the Lord [their] God.”
Our children belong here with us because they are fellow Christians, and just like us, they need to be here because they are still growing in Christ. They are little disciples who need to be taught the basics of our faith and practice. If one of the most central aspects to your Christian faith is covenant renewal worship, your children do not learn to love and obey that practice—outside of it. If they are constantly separated into an age-segregated group, why would you expect them one day to suddenly understand and value corporate worship with God’s people? Instead, you want your children to never remember a time when they weren’t with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s Day.
So if the goal is for your children to grow into adults who love God and the worship of God, then you need to help them along in this practice. You need to teach them, by word and example, to have joyful reverence during our worship service.
Now, some parents hear this, and think then that their main objective each Sunday morning is to keep Johnny silent. This might be preferable to the other error and ditch, which is Johnny is welcome here and can roll around the aisles and scream as much as he wants—but it’s still a short-sighted goal.
Your goal with your children in this service is not merely to keep them quiet. Your goal is to train them in worship. To teach them how to worship their God with everyone else. You want them to learn to participate in the worship of God, not just sit quietly and watch.
So the question is then, what does this participation look like for little ones?
It means having them stand and sit along with everyone else. This is a fairly easy one to practice once they’re walking and receiving instruction. Is the congregation standing to sing? Have your children stand with you. Is an elder reading the Word of God? Whisper to them that he’s reading the Bible and have them stand and listen. Is it time to kneel to confess our sins? Have them kneel. I can tell you by experience that kids love this one… maybe a little too much.
When we are singing, your children who can read should be singing along. There’s no reason they shouldn’t join in with God’s people as much as they can. When they are too little, there are still some weekly songs that they will know by heart without you even needing to teach them, like the Lord’s Prayer or the closing doxologies with hands raised.
And don’t forget the saying of “Amen!” at the end of the songs and prayers. There might be few things I love more about having children here than the occasional delayed shout of “Amen.”
Now, perhaps the hardest part of the service, not just for your children but for you as well, is the sermon. You are asked to give a little over 30 minutes of undivided attention to one man preaching. And here is where, as parents, you just need to think ahead and be very practical. There is nothing wrong with handing out quiet snacks at this point in the service. In fact, I recommend it. Bring a few board books with you. Get paper and crayons. With older kids, have them draw pictures inspired by the sermon or take notes to discuss later. Basically—there is no need to expect your younger children to sit with hands folded for thirty minutes. But you can expect them to learn to sit quietly with busy hands for thirty minutes. That is an obtainable goal.
To return back to the idea of keeping them quiet—while that is not your sole end goal—it really is still one of your aims. Family-integrated worship is not meant to be a zoo. Teaching them to be quiet is for their good, as they learn to be like everyone else. And it’s for the good of those sitting around you, as they worship God and hear the Word preached. Which means that, out of love for your neighbor, if your children are fussy, restless, crying, or need discipline, you really should take them out of the service for a moment downstairs. There is no shame at all in getting up with your children in church to help them. We are all glad to see you taking care of them.
But notice I said to take them out of the service “for a moment.” One error I sometimes see in our churches is taking children out of the service for a considerable length of time. I understand the reasoning for this—they are squirmy and it’s easier to stand in the back or downstairs and listen to the sermon while they can roam around. But the problem with this is that it doesn’t actually help them learn to sit quietly during the service.
I remember that with each of our kids so far, there was a season when we were up and down a lot during the service. They were little and still learning to be quiet. But it was frequent because we were committed to bringing them back in to try again. The wonderful thing about that practice is that, before you realize it, they really do learn to sit still. It takes patience and effort, but those seasons do not need to last forever.
Lastly, I do want to point out and encourage one more practice that has grown up quite organically in our churches—and that is fathers taking the lead in helping the kids and taking them out. Dads, don’t just sit there and expect your wife to handle all of the kids. Of course, there are some needs that you can’t fulfill. But part of loving and leading your family, and giving your wife needed Sabbath rest, is eagerly helping with your kids during church.
I love seeing this, because I really think if a reporter came into one of our large church services and saw the number of dads holding children in the back—they would be confused and amazed. But it really is just “The Patriarchy” in action.
So we want to bring our children to Jesus every week, training them to worship Him alongside everyone else, and trusting that just as the Lord is pleased to bless us, He is extending that blessing to even the smallest among us.
Covenant Communion
Last week I explained our practice of infant baptism, so this morning I want to turn our attention to the sacrament we celebrate every Lord’s Day together and with our children—the Lord’s Supper. While our passage this morning isn’t directly teaching on baptism or communion, it certainly speaks to those things. It is relevant.
Again, it shows Christ’s disposition toward the children of believers. His willingness to bless them and point to them as worthy of imitation. And importantly, He speaks to them as members of the visible church, members of the kingdom of God.
So every week our covenant renewal worship culminates with the celebration of communion. And an important distinctive of our church and denomination is that we believe the Lord welcomes children to His table, so we bring them. Children are members of the covenant community, have received the covenant sign of baptism, and therefore ought to partake in the covenant meal.
To be clear on what we’re talking about—we are not talking about spoon-feeding bread and wine to babies in bucket seats. Instead, what we are talking about is young children, who are beginning to follow the service and noticing communion.
Our church Constitution actually defines our practice here. It reads,
“We would clarify that ‘worthy receivers’ of the Lord’s Supper should include all baptized covenant members who are able to physically eat and drink the elements, including very young children being raised in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. We deny that an artificial standard of age or mental capacity is consistent with the Biblical basis for partaking of the Supper. We defer to the heads of households in discerning the capacity of their young children to partake in the Supper.”
Additionally, it reads,
“Any baptized child may partake of the Lord’s Table, provided the parents instruct the child at each observation of the Supper, and the child can heed the instruction.”
Again, we say that children are welcome provided their parents instruct them and they can heed the instruction. So we are looking for participation from our children—according to their maturity.
Now, there are a number of ways you could explain or defend this practice, but this morning I’ll just offer one.
We know that in the Old Testament, Jewish children participated in the covenant meals by virtue of their membership in the covenant. In Exodus 12, we read that “all the congregation of Israel” was to participate in the first Passover meal. When preparing the meal, the Israelites were to acquire a lamb for every household, and if one’s household was too small to eat an entire lamb they were to join together with a neighboring family (Ex. 12:3–4). Households necessarily include any children present, and children indeed are present at the Passover meal, for God says they will ask, “What does this ceremony mean?” and the parents should answer, “It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for He passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when He struck the Egyptians but spared our houses” (Ex. 12:26).
Likewise, in Deuteronomy 12, we read the command that during sacrificial worship in the presence of God, “you and your families shall eat and rejoice in everything” (Deut. 12:7, see also 12:12, 18). Additionally, in Deuteronomy 16, at the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths, the Israelites were to “rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter…” (16:11, 14). At no point do we read of children being excluded from these covenant meals; rather, everything points to their inclusion as members of the people of God.
Now we are in the New Covenant, and the Lord’s Supper serves as the meal of the covenant, a Passover celebration with Christ as our Lamb. And so we still have every reason to believe Christ welcomes the children of the church to His Table in the new and better covenant, just as He did under the Old Covenant.
Again, I do want to highlight the need for instruction—as we saw in God’s commands surrounding the Passover meal. You must teach your children, according to their maturity, to understand what is taking place here now. Children are not to be passive participants in this sacrament, receiving the bread and wine merely as a snack.
It is good in your homes, and in your car on the way to church, and even quietly during communion, to ask your young sons and daughters if they’re baptized, if Jesus loves them and if they love Him, reminding them what this meal is all about. For the youngest among us, some families have taught their children to pat their heads when they are asked if they are baptized. As they grow older, you might simply tell them frequently that the bread represents Christ’s broken body, and the wine represents His shed blood—that He died for them. And of course, at some point your children will be able to hear and understand the minister’s words during the Lord’s Supper, just as you do.
And so hear the words of Jesus again, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.” We do not want to forbid our children from receiving Christ at His Table. Rather, with growing faith and understanding, we want them to participate in every aspect of the life of the church, according to their maturity.
Encouragement for Kids, Parents, and the Rest
Now, before we conclude, I want to offer a few scattershot encouragements to you all this morning. So first, I want to talk directly to our kids.
If you’re here with mom and dad and understand English, I want you to listen to me now. This is especially for you. I want you to know that Ascension Reformed Church is your family’s church. It’s where your family worships God. Which means—that this is your church. When you come into this church, the Lord Jesus Christ is eager to meet you here along with everyone else.
This worship service, the songs we sing, the prayers we say, and the sermon I preach are for you—not just your parents. I am your pastor, I love you, I care about you, and so do the other elders and deacons. When you look around this room, these are your people—the people of God.
Some of you might go to school or co-op. And there you listen quietly to your teacher for a little while and ask questions when you’re curious or confused. This means that you are not too little to pay attention in church and think of questions to ask your parents or me about what you hear and see.
This is all a great gift from God to you. God has placed you in a home that loves Him, with parents who teach you about Jesus, His Word, and how to obey Him. Many children do not have that gift. It might be hard to imagine—but their parents do not love God and do not bring them to church. So you should be thankful to God for His kindness toward you.
Next, a note for all you parents. Sunday mornings are hard. It can be stressful to get little ones to church on time, and it is not easy keeping them in the service with you.
Do not grow weary in doing good. By bringing and training your children in corporate worship each week, you are planting seeds that the Spirit is pleased to water and give life to. Great oaks start as acorns. Remember the fruit you hope to see—the harvest you expect to reap by faith—one or two decades from now.
Imagine your children grown and walking with the Lord. They are married to a lovely Christian spouse, faithfully continuing to worship the God of their father and mother, with their own little ones at their side. That is glorious. And that reward makes every difficult Sunday morning worth it. It makes every trip downstairs to discipline or comfort worth it. It makes every clean-up of spilled snacks worth it. It makes wine-stained church clothes worth it. Every week you are the parents in our passage this morning, and Jesus is pleased to embrace your children and bless them again and again.
Lastly, for older couples with grown children or the unmarried here this morning. You can be tempted to think that sermons like this are not for you. I’ve even heard of people visiting other congregations to avoid family series—because they think they don’t need it. That is wrong.
First, if it’s something taught in the Word, it’s for you—regardless of your station in life. But not only that, you are either in a position to encourage the parents and families around you, or you are someone hoping to have a family one day. And so my encouragement to you is to embrace the little ones around you as young brothers and sisters in Christ. Do not hesitate to lend a hand to busy moms and dads—whether sitting in their row or holding a baby.
If you are ever tempted to despise their presence in worship—when they’re crying in the row behind you or distracting you with their movements—turn that moment of annoyance into a moment of praise. Don’t be like the disciples in our passage this morning. Instead, thank God for all the members of His Body, even the tiny and sometimes loud ones.
Conclusion
In conclusion, hear the words of our Lord Jesus again.
“Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
This passage teaches us how to regard our children in the kingdom, but it also instructs us on how to view ourselves. The disciples wanted to know how to be the greatest, and Jesus brought a child before them.
Jesus says that you must become like a child in faith to enter the kingdom of God. What does that mean? Well, if you think about your children or children in general, it looks like both weakness and absolute trust. Little children are the most vulnerable among us, because they are helpless. They can’t defend themselves. They can’t provide for themselves. They need their parents for so many things each and every day.
In a loving home, they absolutely trust their parents for everything. They don’t hesitate to climb into your lap. To hold your hand. To eat the food you have given them. It doesn’t cross their minds to doubt you. They never look up at you and wonder if you are really their mom or dad, and if you really love them.
And so we must in humility recognize our weakness before the Lord, and turn to Him in faith with absolute trust in all things. All of us are children here before the throne of God. All of us are as children when we come to the Lord’s Table. We live every day in helpless reliance on God our Father.
In this, we imitate our Lord Himself. The eternally begotten of the Father was born of Mary, the virgin.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder” (Isa. 9:6).
He Himself came and took on flesh as a helpless baby. He came as a little child. And in fact, His whole life was marked by childlike faith and absolute reliance on His Father in heaven. So in imitation of your Lord Jesus, all of you are to come to worship as little children, seeking the blessing of your God.