Читать книгу Suffer the Children - Willie Jr. Thompson Jr. - Страница 4

The message of the Bible is as relevant today as it has been for centuries in addressing the nature of the relationship God desires for his most vulnerable creation: children. The most precious gift from God outside of God’s inspiration is to have the responsibility of caring for, facilitating and nurturing the life and destiny of a child. In the accounts recorded by historic, poetic, prophetic, gospel and apostolic authors lie the secret treasures of the treatment of children, who always find favor and freedom in the presence of a caring and tender God.

As a young preacher, sharing this message at youth conferences, youth revivals, annual youth days, lock-ins, juvenile detention centers, college campuses and youth festivals across the United States, Africa, Australia, Canada and the Caribbean, and then blessed with the opportunity to serve as a youth minister and youth and young adult pastor, I have developed a collection of messages called, “Suffer the Children.”

Some messages were developed on college campuses, some on mission trips and some in the church van. I might also add that many were developed right after youth and young adult choir rehearsals and Christmas and Easter production rehearsals, with hay and straw in my socks and glue and Crayola under my fingernails. Some were developed in isolation and others in the heat of group discussions, even after a long afternoon at Six Flags America, a Magic Johnson Theatre and a knock on my dorm room door in Carver and Drew Halls on the campus of Howard University.

Some of these presentations emerged in the heat of crisis, or right after I got a call from a child afraid to call home with disappointing news and others at the graduation ceremony of a child needing multiple hours of positive academic reinforcement and a comeback from being held back three years in a row, due to lack of meeting promotion requirements. One in particular emerged right after a parent left my Columbia office needing to know, “What does God say to parents with growing children?”

In these pages, you will experience the journey of a young preacher trying to grapple with a call to share a message of hope and triumph with and to serve a generation he is a part of.

Jesus clearly expresses the thought that the kingdom belongs to those who come as little children. And with the word “suffer” preceding the phrase, the message literally invites any hindrances to aggressively move, giving the children free access and a central seat in the hearing and carrying out of the kingdom agenda.

May you find inspiration, accountability and revelation in these next few pages that will assist you in creating a path for the children to encounter the kingdom.