Series: Childlike Heart
Message: Childlike Heart
Preacher: Jessyka Albert
Daily Walk: Jessyka Albert

Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 118:19-29.

Read: Matthew 18:1-6 (Message). Note 1–3 insights or questions that arise from the paraphrase. 

Reflect: One of my favorite times on Saturday morning is before we even start church. At Boulder Church we have many incredible people who arrive at 7:30 a.m. to make sure the building is set up, songs are practiced, coffee is brewed, screens are working properly, Livestream is ready to rumble, etc. Along with this group of volunteers usually comes a pack of grade schoolers. It didn’t take long for them to find out my office is full of hidden treasures: flat rate boxes, markers, bright orange Boulder balloons, packaging tape, you name it! 

Knights in shining armor have stepped bravely out of my office and into the uncharted territory of the halls equipped with cardboard swords and shields. Photographers have been born, getting the perfect shot from a camera made of a flat rate box (Thank you, U.S. Postal Service!). Balloons can be seen brightening up the building on any given Saturday. In my reading and research, it took no time to convince me that elementary kids are motivated by fun. If you have any questions, please swing by early on a Saturday morning!

Ivy and Joiner put it so eloquently:
Elementary-age kids are primarily motivated by fun. So if you try to motivate kids with too many restrictive rules, it may work against their primary motive and drive them to find enjoyment somewhere else. But when you guide them with love, you introduce transferable principles that will help them win in life and friendship. You influence them to make wiser choices and to treat others with kindness. (126)

Maybe this hits too close to home, or maybe it doesn’t resonate with you at all, but often times church, religion, or whatever you want to label it tries to motivate people with too many restrictive rules. Oftentimes, people leave and find enjoyment somewhere else. Maybe that’s your son or daughter. Maybe that’s your sister or your best friend. Maybe that’s you.

Jesus understood this when He shared commandments saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind . . . and love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37-38). Jesus didn’t make nitty gritty rules. He said, “Live Love.” 

Grown ups usually trade in fun for seriousness somewhere along the line. Although seriousness is important, fun is fundamental. If we believe that kids are made in the image of God, we believe our God is a God of fun.

Recalibrate: ​​​Are you having fun following Jesus?

Respond: Take time in prayer to dream and imagine with God.

Research: Read “Do You Need More Fun In Your Life?” by Martha Beck on Oprah.com