Jesus made it very clear that children are very important to God and, according to the Psalmist, are a gift from God to their parents (Psalm 127:3).

Jesus said: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these"  (Matthew 19:14). We need to hear what Jesus is saying here and not respond like the disciples (See Matthew 19:13).

It’s a privilege to have children in church, but it’s also a responsibility.

Privilege and Responsibility go together

Where children in church are concerned:

1: We want children to enjoy being in church and experience the presence of God, but they also need to learn how to respond to God.

2: We want parents to enjoy being in church and to be at peace over their children in church - but also fulfil their parental responsibilities to help their children rightly respond to God.

3: We want everyone to enjoy being in church and to be relaxed about children as they learn to respond to God - but also be supportive of parents and the children – and where appropriate, giving practical help.

No Stumbling Blocks

Jesus welcomed the children. He said - "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these"  (Matthew 19:14).

But in exercising our responsibility towards them we need to heed Jesus’ warning against putting stumbling blocks in the way of his little ones. He said, “…if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to *sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Naturally, Jesus wasn’t talking literally here, but he was trying to illustrate how vitally important it is we are not responsible for misleading a child over the most important thing in their life - their relationship with God

Jesus also said - "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). It’s all too easy to miss judge children and that’s the mistake Jesus warns against.

In bringing up children the best way is to lead by our own example, and we all have a responsibility in this (see - 1Peter 5:3). For instance:

If we enjoy singing and worshipping God, our children will too.

If we dance, our children will dance.

If we respond to the Holy Spirit, our children will too.

If we pray, our children will pray.

If, on the other hand, we sit unresponsive to God in church what sanctions do we have when our children play-up? We can only tell them to behave. Then they become bored - Children never get bored with enjoying themselves.

Should children take the Bread and Wine?

The answer is yes, as long as they understand what they are doing – and it’s up to the parents to judge when that is.

The question then is, at what stage can they understand?

The fact is - Children are far more spiritual than we think because we judge them by our standards. By contrast, Jesus says we need to judge ourselves by them. He says: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of  heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3-4).

The fact is, children can give their lives to Jesus at a very young age, and we need to be very careful that we don’t allow our rational minds to get in the way.

Anslem (Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093) said, “I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe that I may understand; for this I also believe, that unless I believe I will not understand.”

When we have begun to pray with our children at home and talk to them about Jesus they are able to understand that the bread and wine remind us how much God loves us, and that the bread and wine remind us that Jesus died so that God can forgive us.

They may not grasp the full impact of Jesus’ death but that will come.

The important point is that, as parents and as a church, we take responsibility for ministering these truths to our children and making communion a meaningful experience for them.

In this connection parents should personally give the bread and wine to their children so they don’t see this as break time - and ‘I’d rather have crisps’.

Do we have a commitment to our children’s salvation?

Basically, if it is important that we’re born again and become a Christian; and if it’s important that we are baptised in water and filled with the Holy Spirit in order to successfully live the Christian life…

Then children need that just as much as adults…

And the earlier they constructively take these steps the better.

Jesus said: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these"  (Matthew 19:14).

Let’s encourage our children

Let’s set them a good example to follow

Let’s give them every opportunity to discover Jesus and know his presence in their lives.