Leading Little Ones to God II: Avoiding Ditches

This week we continue our series on presenting the gospel to children in our churches and families with Dr. John Snyder and his wife, Misty. The pair has spent years considering the topic, not just as parents, but as the authors of Behold Your God: Seeking Him Early, a curriculum that aims to present the realities of the gospel to children on their level.

We are continuing to get help from Charles Spurgeon’s small pamphlet, Feed My Lambs. In that work, Spurgeon warns against several ditches in presenting Christ to children. The first is not speaking on their level. This doesn’t mean we should just replace big words with small words. But it does mean defining the words we use carefully and in a way the kids can grasp. Additionally, when the Lord has done the miraculous work of converting a child, we must be careful not to expect perfect fruit or exceptional spiritual maturity before we embrace him or her as a member of the body of Christ.

Spurgeon also gives us an opportunity for self-reflection. Do our actions reveal that we don’t believe children can be or need to be saved right now? Jesus makes it clear throughout the gospels that he desires the little ones to come to him. He also makes clear how dangerous it is to be guilty of preventing them.

Let us bring our hearts to the Lord through this episode and pray he shows us areas we need to rethink and trust that He is able and willing to save our little lambs.

Show Notes:

Charles Spurgeon’s book for parents and teachers: https://gracegems.org/B/Spurgeon_children.htm

J. C. Ryle - Two Bears and Other Addresses to Childre:

https://www.christianbook.com/two-bears-and-other-addresses-children/j-c-ryle/9781583391051/pd/391052

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