Sermon Summary: In this message, Gaddiel DeMattei emphasizes the importance of having childlike faith in our relationship with God. He draws from Mark 10:13-16, highlighting Jesus’s affirmation that the kingdom of God belongs to those who believe like children. DeMattei underscores three key points:

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Jesus Loves You – Gaddiel DeMattei – March 24, 2024
Full Transcript…

So we go over a memory verse this year. We’re going over a big memory verse, right, guys? What’s the memory versus, I’m sure, some 91. The whole chapter. All right, you guys can take a seat. All right. So every week we kind of introduce different things. Okay. So to help us, some of these words are really big in this chapter.

And so if we can get maybe the verse to pop up that way, we all know what we’re talking about. So some 91 one he who dwells in the secret place of the most high shower and okay, so we kind of got it. All right. So I need some. So here’s our Samuel Company core team. They’re going to come up and helps to show.

Let me come up first. So this part here, he dwells in the secret place of the Moses shall abide under the shadow. So showing me here is a shadow, Right? So how do we. How do we be under the shadow? What’s the key here? We have to be kind of close. Right? If I’m over here, I’m not under the shadow.

But if we’re here, we’re under the shadow. Right? All right, so next verse. Let’s go over the next verse. Let’s all sit together. Everybody, I will say of the Lord He is my refuge and my fortress. My God and Him will trust. Surely he shall deliver you from the snare of the Father Kapos puzzle. Snare the Fowler. Okay, everybody, do we know what a Fowler is?

It’s a hunter, right? So Frenchie here. He’s a hunter. Okay. And he lets. He put snares down and he tries to hunt for. What are you hunting for, Rabbit? wow. Do we have to. What do we have to be to hunt Rabbit? You have to be very, very quiet. very, very quiet. Because we’re hunting a weapon.

Hunting? You have. Okay, so the snare of the Fowler. Okay, Now, the next part of this verse, it’s kind of crazy. It’s a big word. Do you guys remember with this big word is perilous Peasant ski, perilous pestilence. Come on out here. I be perilous Pestilence. Most scared pirate of the seven seas. All right. Do you guys remember perilous pestilence.

Perils? I was perilous Pestilence a few weeks ago, and I made some kids cry. Actually a little too perilous. So we’ve adapted. And we have Mr. Lucia’s perilous pestilence today. It was a little too scary. So now, love the next. Let’s go to the next one. All right. Next one is he shall cover you with his feathers and under his wings came for frees.

So Jenny here is going to be God. Last week it was g. G was very beautiful in his wings. This week we have Miss Jenny. So let’s see. Dante. Come on up here. How would you. How would you get take refuge under God’s wings? Just like that. See that? All right. Thank you, Don De. All right, so we’re going to take refuge under his wings.

His truth shall be your shield and buckler. All right, So shield and buckler, we actually learned about this a couple of weeks ago with Mr. Bishop preaching. Okay. The shield. You can take refuge behind it. And actually, the buckler, that’s for going on the offensive right? You have this thing can hit the enemy. All right. I’m not the enemy, actually.

Pastor John was the enemy in that skit.

All right, so let’s all do this one more time together. And if you can try to do it without reading. All right. So from the top, Psalm 91 one, he who dwells in the secret place of the Almighty. the shadow of the almighty, I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress in trust.

Surely he shall deliver you from the snare of the fouler and from the peril list. Pestilence now tells you with those hands and under his ways, sat in which you shall be your shield and butler. Okay. I faded out there because I was messing up so much. All right. Do we know how important it is to memorize Scripture Church, Samuel Company?

Because if you know who you are, do you know who you are as a Christian or as a child of God? Because that’s the most important thing. Because when you know that, then Satan can’t lie to you and tell you otherwise. Okay. That is why it is so important for us to keep his scripture written on our heart, to keep it.

Because if it’s not there, then you’re not going to have it for when you need it. Right. When Satan is trying to tempt you and tell you lies. Okay. He said, Wait, wait. No, no, no, no, no. I know my scriptures. All right. So with that, let’s have you guys stay up here. Let’s give a big round of applause to the SAM code team.

Thank you, guys. You just dropped the line. All right, so with that, we’re actually going to introduce our speaker today, who is also on the SAM co team, Mr. Gabriel Demartini, who’s one of our wonderful, talented teachers. He’s in charge of the third through fifth grade class. I explore. Yeah, everybody. All the kids are going to grab a palm branch.

Okay. You guys know what day it is today? Kids palms, Sun, you guys. Art Junior church children are highly educated individuals in the word of God. And I don’t even have to tell them what to do because they already know this story. So I do need Nick to come up. Nick, come on up here. Right here. Nick, you got to put put on this costume.

Nick and I need Gaetano is going to come up. We’re going to act out the Palm Sunday scene right here, guys. All right, Can you guys adlib this? Can you guys are the crowd? Do you guys remember what the crowd yells on Palm Sunday? Okay. Hosanna! What else? What else did you see? They play the palm tree. What else are they going to yell?

Did they just yell, Hosanna! Blessed is the king of kings. Blessed is the one who comes right? All right, so we’re going to do it. Ready? Here we go. We got to wait on the donkey. Here. Okay, let’s split. Split. While he’s slowly setting up. Let’s split the split. The sea of palms here, Hadassah and that’s you guys split?

Not Hadassah. You guys split, Elly split. And you guys split over there because this is where Jesus is coming down. Look at this. What’s. What’s going on? What do I do with this? Okay. All right. We got this is the Mount of Olives. See the olives? You guys Mount of Olives. Jesus is coming down. All right, donkey, let

Let’s see it. Kids, What are you yelling? What are you yelling? Come on. I can’t hear you. Kids. Come on, let’s go. Here we go. Down from the Mount of Olives. Everybody’s worshiping Jesus. Say, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. All right, all right. Okay. Okay.

Cut, cut, cut, cut. All right, let’s let’s reset. Let’s reset from the top. gosh. Jesus. Jesus just ate it. Okay. All right. Okay. Okay. All right, everyone. All right, everybody, take it. Take each pill for a just a second. Okay. CROWD You did awesome. Jesus, You did awesome, donkey. We got some work to do on this scene.

Okay, donkey, listen, this is your moment. You have never been written before in the first person that’s writing you is the king of kings. And I need you to act like you are carrying the king of kings. All right, donkey, you know your motivation. You have it. You have it. All right, ready? And action. Let’s do it again.

Here we go. There we go. Much better. Here we go. Here we go. Down on that. Good. Down from the down Devil lives. The donkey is. Yeah. Big day for the donkey. Big day. Okay. Okay. Cut, cut, cut. All right, You guys did perfect again. I want you to do that same thing. You know, Donkey, we got to work on this.

Come here. Come here. Everybody else, take. Take five. Okay, donkey, listen. All right? I don’t think you understand the magnitude of this scene We’re working here, all right? This is a key part of the movie. Key part of the movie. Jesus is coming to town as the king of kings and the Lord of Lords. And you. Your job is to get him there.

Okay? You got it. You got to act like you were just. You were really important here. All right, let’s do it again. All right. Are you ready? Can you do this for me? All right. One more time. Yeah. All right. Here we go. An action. Let’s go. Yes, Yes, I love it. Yes. The donkey bringing Jesus to town down from the Mount of Olives.

Good. Perfect. Yes. And that’s a wrap. We got it. Good job, donkey. We really made it at the end there. Good job. Okay, everybody, put this. Put the palms back in the buckets. Put the palms back in the buckets. Okay, Mike, check. Okay, that’s enough. That’s enough, Thomas. Yeah. There we go. All right, go ahead and take the buckets for me.

Clean up all these leaves and put it. Take them to the side. All right, So kids, you can do whatever you want. You can stay up here and sit down or you can go back to your seat, whatever you want to do. But my message for today is for the kids. Okay? My message for today is for the Samuel company that are with us today.

Adults, you’re welcome to stay. Okay. You’re welcome to see if you can learn anything from this message that’s for the kids. All right. But I wanted to focus on you guys because you’re here today so. Thomas, have a seat. And. Yeah, Johnny, have a seat. All right, here we go. And Dante, you can go to Impact.

You can sit down here. Yeah, whatever you wanna do. Okay, so here we go. All right. What time is it? Okay, you guys, I’m excited to be here. Okay, let’s see here. So, my name is Gabrielle, in case you didn’t know. And there’s a very special song that all the kids in the junior church and all the kids that I’ve ever taught in junior church know.

And that’s the song of how to spell my name. Okay. My mom wrote it so that I would remember how to spell my name. So who knows that song? Everybody raise your hand. Who knows the song? Okay. All right. We’re all going to sing it together so we learn how to spell my name on your right. Ready? One, two, three.

Go, G and D, p e. And that’s how we spell Gadi. Thank you, guys. C, That is not nice. My mom was a genius. You guys. That’s how I have to sing it every time. All right? I’m at the age now where I like to talk about how long I’ve been doing things. Okay. I think old people like to do that because, like, you’re like, Well, at least I have something that I’ve been doing all these years.

I haven’t been just sitting around doing nothing right. I think that’s why old people like to talk about that. So I’ve been teaching in the junior church for 30 years now. Okay. This junior church, the same one for 30 years. I started when I was ten. And the reason why I started is because missing he told me to take I don’t know if you were looking for something more spiritual than that, but then again, missing.

He’s a pretty spiritual woman. And if she told you to do something, you did it. Can I get the podium brought over by somebody? To be in A podium is being brought over. We’re going to we’re going to get we’re going to end service early to get to the memorial service for ION today. And I like to think that I would like this message.

So I hope that you do also. All right. So like I said, kids, this message is for you. I have three things to tell you, and I got to turn on this thing. And we can we can go with the slideshow. I have three things to tell you today. Are you listening? It’s going to be really easy. Is going to be really quick.

Don’t worry. You guys are probably going to be quicker than when I teach you guys in junior church. All right. I’m going to put this over here. Sorry. I wasn’t clear on where I wanted that. Okay. Three things I’m going to tell you. One is that Jesus loves you. Okay? Number two is that your faith is stronger in power, more powerful than in adults faith.

Okay. Now, I think that. Jonathan. What do you mean, what you guys have? You just went around praying for people. You didn’t know that your faith was stronger than my faith. Well, I’m glad I’m telling you this. All right, Number three thing I want to tell you is that you are never too young to make Jesus your king, okay?

You’re never too young or too old to make Jesus your king. All right. So let’s dive right into this here. Here we go. Number one was what Jesus loves You all right to tell you about how much Jesus loves you. I will now read to you. ROMANS Let’s a little delay here. there we go. Okay, there’s a delay

All right. Thank you. I got my pointer. Okay. Romans 8:35 to 39. In the ad version, JD stands for Gabrielle Anthony. Demetri okay. You might not be able to find it in your Bible app. Are you ready for this, kids? All right. Remember, this is a scripture that’s all about how Jesus loves you. The love of Jesus Christ is bigger and greater and ginormous, sure than anything you could ever imagine getting your us here.

Now, if his love had a height, it would pierce the ceiling of the universe. If his love had a depth, it would swallow an entire ocean and still be thirsty. yeah. If your parents love you, Jesus loves you more. His love is stronger than Superman, Hulk and Captain America combined. it didn’t work. Okay, That’s all right.

Well, we lost. We lost Hawking, Captain America. But you get the picture, don’t you? Nothing can separate you from the love of Jesus Christ. Hawkeye’s arrows can’t do it. Thor’s hammer can’t do it. Not even Thanos. His gantlet can do it. No matter how many bad things you do, you can’t make him stop loving you. And no matter how many good things you do, you can’t make him love you anymore.

That’s because his love for you is already infinite. But how big is infinite, really? Google is a really big number. It’s a one followed by 100 zero, followed by 100 zeros. That’s what a Google is. A Google plex is an even bigger number. That’s a one followed by a Google Zeros. It’s ten to the power of a Google.

But Jesus’s love is bigger than a Google plex. Times a Google plex, that’s a Google plex squared and it’s called the Google Plex. That it’s equal to a Google plex. Google plex is and that’s a number that’s bigger than the amount of atoms in the entire universe. And that just goes to show that not even the universe that God created is big enough to contain the amount of love that He has for you.

Okay? That’s how much God loves you and that I can’t even describe it. God loves you even more than I could possibly describe. Okay, so that’s point number one. Point number two is that your faith is greater than my faith. Your faith is greater than every single adult in here combined. You’re just not you know, I’m going over it again.

I let you know what I’m going to say, and now I’m saying it, and then I’m going to say it one more time. Okay? Can you handle this? You guys? All right? Don’t worry. We’re going to get through it together. You guys, I promise. Your faith is bigger than an adult’s faith. Okay, I won’t. Let’s see. Yeah, I’ll now read to you, Mark.

Chapter ten, verse 13 is 16 again in the JD version. All right, here we go. Some people were bringing their kids to Jesus so he could pray for them. But the disciples told the kids and their parents to get lost, that Jesus was too busy for that. When Jesus saw this, it made him mad and Jesus was all like, Leave them alone and let the kids come to me.

My kingdom belongs to kids. And then he was all like, Brah, no one is allowed to enter my kingdom unless they believe like a kid believes. Who can tell me what Jesus is saying here? Like a little kid believes. There we go. Thank you, Thomas. What Jesus is saying here is that people like me can’t even enter the kingdom of God.

We can’t even understand what Jesus is saying unless we act like you guys. I know you see, you guys, your whole lives are trying to do things the way adults do it, right? You want to drive a car like an adult drives a car, you want to operate a chain saw like it now operates a chain saw? No.

What do you want to do? Like an adult does? Nope. Nothing. Camille, what do you want to do that an adult does teach? You want to see? All right, good for you. But Jesus is saying that adults need to do the exact opposite. We need to believe like you guys believe. That’s how strong and powerful your faith is.

That’s why Jonathan asked you guys to come up and pray today, because when you guys pray, it has more power than when I pray. And when Jonathan prays and when anybody in here prays. That’s what Jesus is saying here. All right. So when you get an ally and your parent come and ask you if they can pray for you, you should say, don’t worry, I have more faith in you.

I’ll pray for myself. All right. All right. The diary, where is it? It’s like, I forgot about this. Yeah, Nick and I decided to get a few of the kids together and pose for a picture. That’s me right there, up to the left. That’s me. Nick has the yellow head thingy on. That’s Nick here. I’ll just go right up here.

This is Jayden right here. And this is Declan. This is Maverick. Yeah, this is Ellie. Right here we are. We all pose. George took the picture, and he’s really good at Photoshop. I was just looking for pictures on the Internet. That was a weird one. But Jesus with kids, these are some of them that I like. That’s just extra for you guys.

I want to admit, Jesus had a special place in his heart for kids. And you know, he really. Thomas That’s an that Jesus had a special place in his heart for kids. He wanted to be around them and he wanted them to be around him. Come back down, please. Thank you. Yeah, I know, I know. Just say, junior church, buddy.

I’ll make you go sit with your mom. All right. Jesus had a special place in his heart with kids, so I just had to find these and show them to you guys. So the third thing that I want to tell you kids, are you listening still? All right? We still have your attention, right? How about adults? You with me so far?

All right, good. You’re never too young to make Jesus your king. This is Palm Sunday when Jesus came into Jerusalem as the king. And there were all kinds of people yelling, Jesus, King, Jesus is coming to town. All right. After they were all yelling now, because they had just heard that Jesus had raised somebody from the dead. And then they came and then he walked into town.

So they thought, this must be the Messiah, the one we’re waiting for. After he got after all these people were doing their palm branches worshiping him as their king. After that, he wrote into town. He started performing Miracle after Miracle in Jerusalem in front of everybody. He was doing these miracles. But John, 12, tells us that there were three groups of people in Jerusalem.

There was one group of people who were skeptical, and they didn’t believe that Jesus was king. There was a bunch of those people, even though he was making doing miracles, they still didn’t believe there was another group of people who believed, but they were too scared to say that they believed. They were afraid of what everybody of all of their friends were going to think of them.

They were afraid of what would happen to them if they admitted that they believed in Jesus. Okay. Then there was a third group, the group of people who believed that Jesus was their king. It was a small group because they’re jumping in, diving into the belief that Jesus is their king, saying, I’m going to take this leap of faith and I’m going to believe that Jesus is my king and I’m not going to hide it.

I’m going to tell everybody that I believe so. Kids, my question to you is this What group of people are you? You don’t know. Are you the raise your hand if you’re the group of people who don’t believe that Jesus is your king? All right. Raise your hand if you’re that group of people who don’t believe you’re that people.

no. Well, we’ll talk later, okay. Raise your hand if you’re in the group that you believe, but you’re too afraid to say that you believe. Why? You act as an example. All right. Now, if you’re in the third group of people who believe in Jesus and believe that he is your king, I want you to stand up.

I want you to jump up and down. And I want you to say, Jesus is my king. Jesus is my king. When my guy Jesus is my king, my kids, when I was. Good job. You guys had kids. When I was your age.

I can remember. I know that it seems weird for me to remember when I was your age, but I remember a day when I was in the junior church in the hallway and for no reason at all.

I said to myself, walking into church before church started, I was walking to my classroom, the same junior church that you guys go to junior church in. And I said to myself, You know what? I believe that Jesus loves me. And I believe that he’s my king. And I believe and I’m going to serve him for the rest of my life.

That day, I made a decision. I was already saved. I was already filled with the Holy Spirit. But that but I hadn’t really thought about it before. And I just made a decision that day. I praise Jesus. She’s excited about it. What do you guys know? That you’re never too young to make that decision? I do. You know that you can make that decision right now.

We don’t need any music to play. We don’t need a preacher to make an altar call because it’s a simple decision to just believe that you’re in that third group of people, that you believe that it’s a matter of taking your childlike faith, putting it in the love of Jesus. And if you do that, there’s nothing left to do but to walk with Jesus for the rest of your life.

Thomas Go ahead and sit down. John You too, John So you got to you got to nip that in the bud. Otherwise they’ll just take over. You guys. So to the adults, the challenge of this message, can you continue to walk with your walk with Jesus, with childlike faith? Can you put aside all of your past experiences where Jesus or God seemingly lets you down, believe as a child, believes in the unstoppable and unquenchable love of God?

That’s a decision that I need to make pretty frequently. And to the kids, Can you take your powerhouse faith that’s inside of you and believe in diving headfirst to the love of God. If you can do that, stand up. Can you make the decision that you’re always walk with God? Let me hear you answer. Can you decide to believe?

Do you decide to believe? All right. I can’t promise you that this walk with Jesus is going to be easy. But I can promise you that that decision is the best decision you will ever make. Okay? JOHNNY Okay. GAETANO Okay. EMMETT Yeah. All right. DECLAN Amen. Well done. JONATHAN Check, check. There we are. Well done. Good. Good leap of faith.

There. All right, CHURCH It’s so good to be together. It’s so good to have our families together. You know, the energy that our children have. Sometimes we yearn for. But according to this message, that’s something that God can bring you. Okay, So time to grab hold of some faith. We’ve got a lot going on today. And so I know we had the brave weather today and all those things, but, you know, we’re going to just close the service here in prayer.

But I’m just so grateful for this Sam Samuel company team. And I just want to thank God here, you know, all the work that he put into this to put on display, you know, just the tools and the extra bit of resources needed to teach our children and those sorts of things. That’s what our our Samuel Company teachers do.

And they make sure to provide for our kids just a great learning experience so that they can grow. But sometimes we need those tools too. So praise the Lord. Amen. Father, I thank you for all that you’re doing. And God, I thank you for the challenge of our faith today. God, that we would let go. Lord of of just the difficult things to understand.

Father God, and hold on to your word. Hold on to Father. The work of your son in God, I pray in Jesus name that there would be a move from Heaven, God that continues to allow us to unite with your your son in the work of the cross. Father. And we thank you for this. In Jesus name, keep everyone safe.

God is as they travel. Lord, we thank you for all you’re doing in this hour. Thank you, Father. Amen. All right. We’re going to be transitioning here to a memorial that’s going to be starting up at 1130. And so if you know, you need to take care of a couple of things, now’s the time and we’ll be setting up.

In the hustle and bustle of adult life, with its complexities and uncertainties, it’s easy to lose sight of the simple yet profound essence of faith. We often find ourselves weighed down by doubts, fears, and rationalizations, forgetting the pure and unwavering trust of childhood. But what if we could tap into that innocence once again? What if we could embrace childlike faith as a key to unlocking deeper spiritual connections and experiences?

“Childlike faith isn’t about being naive or ignorant; it’s about approaching God with the same trust and openness that a child exhibits.”

Gaddiel DeMattei, Sunday Service 03.24.24

Rediscovering Childlike Faith: Childlike faith isn’t about being naive or ignorant; it’s about approaching God with the same trust and openness that a child exhibits. It’s about surrendering our need for control and understanding, and instead, embracing a posture of humility and reliance on God’s goodness and love. Just as Jesus welcomed children and affirmed their place in the kingdom of God, we too are called to embody the qualities of innocence, wonder, and simplicity in our faith journey.

“In a world that often celebrates skepticism and cynicism, embracing innocence can feel like a radical act. Yet, there is power in letting go of our preconceived notions and intellectual barriers to fully surrender to God’s will.”

Gaddiel DeMattei, Sunday Service 03.24.24

The Power of Innocence: In a world that often celebrates skepticism and cynicism, embracing innocence can feel like a radical act. Yet, there is power in letting go of our preconceived notions and intellectual barriers to fully surrender to God’s will. When we approach God with childlike trust, we open ourselves up to experiencing His love in ways that surpass our understanding. We find peace in the midst of uncertainty, joy in the beauty of creation, and hope in the promise of redemption.

Practical Insights for Cultivating Childlike Faith:

  • Spend time in nature: Take a cue from children who delight in the wonders of the natural world. Spend time outdoors, marveling at the intricacies of creation, and allowing yourself to be awed by God’s handiwork.
  • Engage in creative expression: Tap into your inner child by engaging in creative activities such as art, music, or storytelling. These endeavors can help you connect with your imagination and sense of wonder.
  • Foster a spirit of gratitude: Children often possess a natural inclination towards gratitude, finding joy in the simple pleasures of life. Cultivate a habit of thankfulness, recognizing God’s blessings, both big and small, and expressing gratitude in your prayers and daily interactions.

“As we rediscover the power of innocence in our faith journey, may we be inspired to approach God with the same openness and trust as a child, finding joy in His presence and peace in His love.”

Gaddiel DeMattei, Sunday Service 03.24.24

Personal Reflections on Childlike Faith: As I reflect on my own journey of faith, I am reminded of moments when I experienced the profound simplicity of trusting God like a child. Whether it was finding solace in prayer during difficult times or marveling at the beauty of a sunset, embracing innocence has allowed me to deepen my connection with God and find peace amidst life’s uncertainties.

Conclusion: In a world that often values intellect and skepticism, embracing childlike faith can feel counter-cultural. Yet, it is in our innocence and trust that we find the truest expression of our relationship with God. As we rediscover the power of innocence in our faith journey, may we be inspired to approach God with the same openness and trust as a child, finding joy in His presence and peace in His love.


Study Guide

Sermon Summary: In this message, Gaddiel DeMattei emphasizes the importance of having childlike faith in our relationship with God. He draws from Mark 10:13-16, highlighting Jesus’s affirmation that the kingdom of God belongs to those who believe like children. DeMattei underscores three key points:

Ice-breakers:

  1. Share a childhood memory that reflects your innocence or trust in something without questioning.
  2. If you could experience one aspect of childhood again for a day, what would it be and why?
  3. Describe a moment recently where you experienced joy or wonder similar to how a child might perceive the world.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How would you describe the concept of having “childlike faith” in your own words?
  2. DeMattei mentions that adults often struggle to believe as children do. What are some common obstacles or reasons that might hinder adults from embracing childlike faith?
  3. Share a personal experience where you felt the presence of God’s love in a way that exceeded your understanding.
  4. Reflect on a time when your faith was challenged, and discuss how you responded to that challenge.
  5. What practical steps can we take to cultivate and maintain childlike faith in our daily lives?
  6. DeMattei talks about the three groups of people in Jerusalem during Jesus’s entry. Which group do you find yourself identifying with the most, and why?
  7. Discuss the significance of making a decision to believe in Jesus as your King. What does this decision entail for you personally?
  8. How can we support and encourage one another in our journey of faith, especially during times of doubt or difficulty?

Short Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you for the reminder of the simplicity and purity of childlike faith. Help us to approach you with the same trust and openness as children, believing in your love and power. Strengthen our faith, Lord, and guide us in our journey to walk with Jesus as our King. May we support one another and grow together in our understanding and experience of your grace. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.