Dale Critchley
04/14/2019
Children’s Sermon
Catechetical point: Does Jesus love good people? Does Jesus love bad people?
Message: Because He died for us on the cross, we’re all good people to God, and He did that because He loves us all.
They walk among us!
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Text: (Matthew 13:24-30) Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed ears, then the weeds also appeared. "The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ "‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. "The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ "‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’"
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
I.Introduction
A.Imagine what it must be like to live in Israel or Iraq—or recently, England
1.You never know whether the person next to you is wearing a bomb, ready to kill you
2.You can’t tell who may and who may not
3.Because the bombers look like anyone else—regular people
4.The thought of trying to live life under such conditions is unfathomable to most of us
B.And yet, an even greater enemy with a worse and more effective weapon walks among us
1.He might be your neighbor
2.Or she might someone you watch on TV
3.Maybe even a member of your own family
C.Jesus speaks of this enemy in today’s text, another agricultural parable
1.He tells us not only who this enemy is
2.But also what to do about it
II.He set before them another parable, saying, "The Kingdom of the Heavens is like a man sowing good seed in his field.
A.Have you ever wondered why God placed you in such a sinful, corrupt world?
B.Or when you hear about children being hurt or killed, you wonder why God would put bad people in their lives
C.But Jesus didn’t sow that bad seed
D.Jesus sowed good seed
1.He made the world and said, “It’s good.”
2.He purified you through His Word and Sacraments
3.Jesus sows godly Christians
4.And He sowed that godliness in your heart
5.Because without His Spirit giving you faith, you could never be good seed
III."But while the men were sleeping, their enemy came and sowed darnel among the midst of the wheat and departed.
A.The people who hurt and destroy were not placed here by Jesus
1.They were put among us by the devil
2.God made us all, but the source of problems for the church is not Jesus, but Satan, the enemy
B.Of course, those are often the same people
1.Christians, while redeemed by Christ, are still sinners
2.And Satan is an expert with thousands of years of experiences in turning you into a poisonous darnel instead of the fruitful wheat God intends you to be
a)Anytime you step in God’s way or make trouble for His church, you are being a darnel instead of wheat
b)Anytime you act in such a way that causes people to think less of you, a Christian, and therefore less of Christ, you are being a darnel instead of wheat
C.But look around you
1.The harmful people are not always recognizable as such
2.We have many who masquerade as Christians but are not
a)We have a Jehovah’s Witness group to our east and Mormons to our west
(1)They use the name of Christ and quote Scripture like Satan did when tempting Jesus
(2)But the Jesus they worship is a different Jesus
(3)And their Jesus cannot save, because he is a false god of works-righteousness
b)We have in our neighborhoods churches that reject the existence of the Devil
(1)And by the way, the Devil is quite happy to be doubted.
(2)Because if you don’t believe he exists, you don’t have to watch out for him or be saved from him.
c)We have in our community churches that formally support homosexual marriage and even donate money to the homosexual cause, regardless of Scripture’s clear word on the subject
d)We have in our county churches that have to vote on whether Jesus is Lord and God, and even when they vote “Yes,” they don’t insist that their pastors believe such
3.They look like Christians, but Christians don’t have to debate whether Jesus is God
4.It’s a non-negotiable
5.But they’ll be quick to accuse us of “sheep-stealing” if we speak against them
6.Do you want your friends and coworkers being seduced by that darnel?
IV."But when the blade sprouted and produced fruit, the darnel became apparent.
A.We can’t see people’s hearts
B.And many who belong to heretical churches do not hold to those false teachings
1.Some are just ignorant of what their church teaches
2.Some are working to bring their church body back to the Word of God
C.Consequently, we need to be careful not to make assumptions about others
D.But sometimes, the darnel becomes apparent
1.Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruit”
2.So what happens when we see rotten fruit?
3.What happens when the world, our neighbors, attack you for you beliefs?
a)How can you be so closed-minded?
b)How can you claim that Jesus is the only way?
c)Who do think you are?
(1)Here’s a hint: It’s not who you are
(2)It’s Who Jesus is: He is “I Am,” our Maker and Redeemer
V."But the slaves of the landowner came to him saying, 'Lord, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then do we have darnel?
A.How did the darnel get among us?
B.Satan sowed it
1.Through false teachings that contradict (or ignore) the Bible
2.Through our own ignorance from lack of studying the Bible
3.Through too much emphasis on “programs” and “methods” and gimmicks
4.And not enough emphasis on the pure Word of God and living according to His Word
C.If you want numbers in the church, entertain
1.People will come for entertainment—for a little while
2.But entertainment doesn’t transform lives
3.Entertainment doesn’t save from hell
VI."But he said to them, 'A hostile man has done this.' But the slaves said to him, 'Then do you want us to go out and gather them up?"
A.It’s so tempting to write people off who show signs of toxic darnel
1.Those Mormons—I hope their place burns down!
2.Those gays (or insert your favorite derogatory slang)—I hope they get what they deserve!
B.But Christians don’t believe in jihad
1.We don’t judge and decide who’s worthy and who’s not
2.Wheat doesn’t pluck the weeds growing next to it
3.That’s not the wheat’s job
4.That’s the farmer’s job
5.You, the wheat, are simply called on to produce fruit
a)And the fruit of the Spirit is love, not rejection
b)It’s joy, not rage
c)It’s peace, not hatred
d)It’s patience, not giving up on people
e)It’s goodness and kindness, not self-righteousness
f)It’s faithfulness, trusting Jesus, not overstepping your calling
g)It’s gentleness, not violence
h)And it’s self-control, not mean-spirited jokes
6.God has made you to be wheat
a)Not just any old wheat
b)You are God’s wheat
7.That’s what God’s wheat does—it bears fruit
VII."But He said to them, 'No, since in your gathering the darnel, you might pluck the wheat with them.'
A.As much as we say, “It’s not fair” when a child dies and the murderer lives
1.Would you really want God to strike people down before they hurt someone?
2.Have you ever hurt someone?
3.Would you want God to strike you down before the fact (or at all)?
B.Instead of plucking you for the fire, Jesus came to take your place
1.God plucked Jesus, the ultimate wheat
2.And He treated Jesus like a weed
3.On the cross, God destroyed His perfect Son with all of His rage and wrath that we were due
4.And so, since Jesus was plucked at far from a ripe old age,
5.God has mercy on you
VIII."'Leave them both to grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers, "First gather the darnel and gather it into bundles to burn them up, but the wheat, gather into my barn."'"
A.What does this mean for us?
B.First, it means you shouldn’t be expecting any relief from trouble in this life
1.God is with you and carrying your burdens
2.But the weeds are still among us
3.So when trouble comes, just pick up your cross and keep going, knowing Christ is with you
C.It also means that the weeds will always be with us to give us trouble
1.There will always be those who persecute the church
2.And you may find that they sometimes look like the person next door
3.Or you may find that they look like the person in the mirror
D.But it also means that on the last day, God will send His angels to gather you into His barn
1.And He will keep you
2.You’ll never have to deal with weeds again, either within or without
3.He will harvest you to live forever in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Now the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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