It was an exciting day at the young church at Ephesus. There was a letter from the Apostle Paul to their congregation and it had been announced that this was the Sunday when it would be read aloud for all to hear.
All ages of the young church gathered together. Many families sat together. Some older children or teens sat with other friends from other families. Slaves, free, wealthy, poor, kids, teens, marrieds, singles. All one in Christ. All waiting to hear the inspired words read aloud for the first time.
It was hushed as the leading elder began the reading, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God to the saints who are at Ephesus…” Saints! People set apart to God, all of them. They perhaps sat taller and listened well to their glorious calling (1-3) and then their challenge to “walk worthy” (4-6). A few of the smaller children leaned on Mom or climbed onto Dad’s lap.
Paul’s inspired words got more and more personal: “Wives… Husbands…” And then, perhaps to everyone’s surprise, and maybe most of all to the children’s, the word was clearly read, “Children…” Yes, God knows you are there, kids. He has instructions specifically for you to hear as part of God’s saints, God’s Church, God’s people.
Ephesians 6:1-3 may be the only verses in the New Testament directly addressing children; but they remind us that children are important to the God who became a human, grew up as a child, and during His ministry took little children in His arms to bless them.
The word to “Fathers…” (also applicable to mothers) in Ephesians 6:4 also demonstrated how vital the entire family is in the plan of God. God wants marriages and parenting to reflect His love and truth.
This Sunday, August 21, our Pastor of Children’s Ministries, Chris Marion, will preach for our congregation from this vital passage, Ephesians 6:1-4, as part of our Pastoral Team Summer Series, “Walk” (Ephesians 4-6). We will not have our regular separate classes for elementary age so that children can be in “big church” to sit with their parents or grandparents and hear this important message. (Nursey and pre-school will still be provided separately this Sunday.)
I am thankful for all of our pastors and for our multi-generational church. Usually, we segregate by ages for the sake of learning and application at different levels; but we probably need more times like this when all ages are together at church, demonstrating our oneness in Christ, across the generations. Children are not just the church of tomorrow; they are an important part of the church of today.
Don’t miss this Sunday. Parents, coach your children ahead of time to be ready to sing, pray, and listen to God’s Word from Pastor Chris and to sit respectfully with the older teens and adults. Help them bring their Bibles and be ready to look up the passage that begins, “Children…”
It should be an exciting Sunday for all of us! Maybe it will feel like church in first-century Ephesus because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”