This sermon was preached at Mt. Gilead UMC in Georgetown, KY.

If you want to listen to the whole worship service, click this first link below.

Mt. Gilead UMC Worship – 2021-05-23

If you want to listen only to the sermon, click this second link below.

Children in the Hands of a Loving Father

1 John 2:28–3:3

Introduction

Perhaps the most well-known sermon in the history of the early Americas comes from the preacher and revivalist Jonathan Edwards, who played a very important role in the First Great Awakening in America during the 1700s. His sermon was titled, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” In public school, I actually had to read this whole sermon for one of my high school English classes. Has anyone heard of this sermon or read it before? I was a brand new Christian at the time who knew one thing and one thing only—the love of Jesus. So this sermon really bugged me. It is the ultimate “fire and brimstone” sermon void of any sense of the love of God.

I share this with you this morning because this has been on my heart lately and I want to share what the Lord has been teaching me.

Children in the Hands of a Loving Father

Everyday, from the moment I wake up to the moment the kids go to sleep, I am with them and meet most of their felt needs for nearly 12 hours everyday. It’s a lot of work caring for three children. I know that many of you have done this in your life before and a few of you are still doing it now even with grandchildren. And it’s just takes all of you to do it, and that’s how it should be. Kids deserve our attention and love. That’s what children need the most more than anything else. They need love and attention.

Well, being with my kids nearly every waking moment I have has taught me a lot and grown and challenged me as a person in ways I never wanted to be grown and challenged. And I want to share one of those ways this morning.

People often say that they never really understood God’s fatherly, unconditional love until they had their own children and became parents. Holding their child for the first time was just love at first sight. Here’s this new human being, this new life that looks just like you which God has placed and entrusted into your hands. It’s quite the responsibility but it’s also quite a joy. And being a parent reveals perhaps the most important attribute and characteristic of God and who God is—that is, God as our Father, our Father in heaven who loves us so deep, so wide, so long, and so high.

And so, God is our Father, and we are his children through Christ, the only begotten, one of a kind, the only Son of God. So instead of this “sinners in the hands of an angry God” business from Jonathan Edwards, perhaps we should flip that sermon title around into something like “Children in the hands of a Loving Father.” That’s what I think the biblical message is, that we are God’s children and that he loves us so.

Loved, Forgiven, and Okay

Now of course, sometimes children anger their parents. Can I get an Amen? But I don’t define my relationship with Asher, Ayla, and Adelynn as them being a demon children in the hands of an angry parent. That sounds ridiculous, and if that were the case, I would hope that someone would call child protective services.

But kids are kids. They mess up. They make mistakes. They’re learning. And in those moments when maybe they make a mistake or bad choice and do what they shouldn’t do even if they already know the rules and know that it’s wrong—even then, the last thing that kids need is someone yelling at them and threatening them with punishments. Yes, children need discipline, and we discipline our kids. But more than that, children need love. Kids need connection and attention. And many times the reason that they have acted out or gotten into trouble is precisely because they aren’t getting the love, connection, and attention that they need. And we have found that love is far more effective than punishment, threats, and the like. Or like I said a few weeks ago, love should be our motivation for having a relationship with God, not fear of eternal torment in hell. Fear will never save anyone, only love will.

And this morning, we have read in 1 John that God calls us his children. And when we make mistakes, when we mess up, when we make bad choices and do what we know is wrong, God isn’t there staring at us with a stern face, with his belt off ready to discipline and punish us. When we sin and make a mess of our lives, we don’t find ourselves to be sinners in the hands of an angry God. No! No! No! When we disobey and knowingly do what’s wrong, we find ourselves to be children in the hands of a loving Father. You are a child held in the hands of a loving God. You are a daughter in the hands of a loving Father. You are a son in the hands of a loving Father. God is not angry. Shoot, Jesus hung out with the “sinners,” and the only people that he ever came close to preaching in a “fire and brimstone” style to was the religious leaders. He went and ate with “sinners.” He spent time with them, got to know them, and had compassion on them—while the religious leaders in his time were probably preaching sermons like Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the hands of an angry God.”

So throughout the day this past week and especially during bedtime, I’ve been telling Asher and Ayla three things, and this is what’s really on my heart to share this morning because I think people really need to hear it: “you are loved, you are forgiven, and everything is okay.” Sometimes this dad does yell. Sometimes this dad hands out the punishments and judgments, and sometimes they’re well earned and deserved. But like one person said after Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “Mr. Edwards, Mr. Edwards, remember the mercies of God!” At the end of the day, I don’t want my kids dwelling on what they did wrong—no parent wants that. I want them reminded that no matter what they do that I will always love them and care for them no matter what! They should go to bed with smiles on their faces knowing that daddy loves them even though they made mistakes and daddy yelled and took away my favorite toy for the afternoon. None of that matters. What matters is how much they are cared for by me and Paige.

Jesus said that each day has enough trouble of its own, and we are all so good at getting ourselves in lots of trouble each day. And it’s easy to begin to think, “God doesn’t love me. He wants to punish me and will always hold this against me. And things are not okay.” That’s where our minds go, I think. It’s human nature to think that way. But let the Holy Spirit whisper into your heart this morning those three things: you are loved, you are forgiven, and everything is okay. God loves me. God forgives me when I mess up. And everything is going to be alright and everything is alright right now. Why can we say these things? Because we are children in the hands of the loving God. I am a child in the hands of a loving Father. I want to hear you say that: “I am a child in the hands of a loving Father.”

So if you’ve messed up this week, hear God saying this to you right now this very moment with a smile on his face and kindness and tenderness in his voice: “I love you, child. I forgive you for what you’ve done. Everything is okay.”

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!…Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:1, 3).

Let me hear you say it this morning: “I am loved. I am forgiven. Everything is okay.” Hallelujah! Amen.