Loving Those Lost to the Father
There are two cries going out across the earth that the Body of Christ must hear.
One is a cry for dedicated men to train children as young as 3 and 4 years old to be terrorists and martyrs, taking the world for the evil one.
The other is a cry going out from the throne of God, for dedicated men to raise up the next generation of children, as young as 3 and 4 years old to be a generation of Nasserites, who will go to the darkest places on earth and take the harvest with signs and wonders. This generation is to declare to the nations that God is Ruler of them all.
Many of the Body of Christ do not hear either of these. Yet they are both a wake up call. Both cries need our urgent attention.
In your streets, in your schools and cities are children who have been set apart for such a time as this. But the Church of Jesus has not identified them.
When a child is missing the local community to search until the child is returned to the grieving father often forms a search party. People volunteer willingly and will search all night if necessary. There is a Father who is grieving today because His child is lost, He is calling the local community to form a search party and search all night if necessary because "He is not willing that one of these little ones should be lost". (Matthew 18)
The Father is not willing that ONE of these little ones is lost. Are we that emphatic about the children of our neighbourhoods, what do we see as we walk the streets? Do we see shops and scenery or do we see the lost little ones in our supermarkets and roads where we live. What are we preoccupied with as we walk our cities…. The Father is preoccupied with those children who are lost, from whom He is separated.
Church, cells….this is not an optional extra in our lives, it is not something that children's ministry is called to do alone. It is the call on every believer for the Bible tells us "one generation shall praise your works to another."
If a child is lost from home no one considers who is called to the task, who has been appointed or who feels led. A whole community turns out.
How much more should we all "turn out" for the Father whose heart is breaking as He sees his little ones lost. This is for the Father. If we love Him we will want to gladden His heart.
I pray for ALL of us that we receive the heart of our Father for the children or our neighbourhoods and the children of the nations. Let them be prepared to die for the gospel if they are called to, if we don't win and disciple them there are many others who are prepared to do so and the heart of the Father will break for His little ones. They belong to Him.
Familes
Choose 15 minutes this week to go together and walk your street praying for the children and their families who live there. Pray together and sing a praise song before you leave your house. When you come back thank the Father for each child and family you know asking Him to give you an opportunity to show them that Jesus loves them.
Children's Cell material
Theme: Loving those who don't know Jesus
Materials: Paper, pencils, celotape, toy sheep. Toy shepherd, improvised sheep fold
Welcome: Have drink and biscuits while you share with the children about their week, and they share the highlights of their week with each other
Icebreaker: If you could bring one other child to our cell meeting who has never been, who would it be and why would you like to bring them?
Worship: Stand in a circle. holding hands and welcome Jesus - Sing a lively praise song and encourage the children to be expressive in their praise - Go round each child in the cell and ask them to finish the line "Jesus I love you because..." Write down their responses, add your own line - Now read the total response of the cell in an attitude of worship - Sing a worship song - Ask each child to repeat the line they wrote and then thank Jesus for His love
Word: Ask the children to find share times when they lost something. Encourage them to share how they felt when they found it was lost. If they found it again encourage them to share wheat it was like finding it. - You share with them an incident when you lost something and have never found it. Tell them how you felt about never having it again. - Read Matthew 18: 12-13 - Help the children to "get inside the story" i.e. what might the lost sheep have felt like when he got lost, what might the shepherd have thought when he found that the sheep had gone, and what might he have done when he bought the sheep back home - If you feel it is appropriate the children might act out the story - Pray thanking Jesus for looking for them and encourager the children to thank Him for being the Shepherd who loves them so much
Witness: Read Matthew 18:14 and talk about it with them asking them what they feel it means - Ask the children to share about friend who does not know Jesus and help them to understand how Jesus feels about them not knowing Him (compare this to the lost) - Set up the "fold" and the shepherd (with the name Jesus stuck on him) Write the names of the children they are praying for and stick those names each on one of the toy sheep. - As each child prays for their friends let them move their "sheep" into the fold (this is a prophetic act)
Finish by standing in a circle and praying for each other and the coming week |