Intro: Today we honor Mrs. June Neff, who has taught at Wayside Christian Pre-school for the past 18 years. We have photographs of former classes in the hallway downstairs, and there you can see old pictures of "Miss June," dating back to 1982. Same cheerful smile, a few more wrinkles in the recent pictures. But every wrinkle is a trophy of grace. Today is an appropriate day for us to think about Jesus, and His love for children. This passage in Mark teaches us some valuable lessons:

I. Little children are capable of real faith and service for Jesus.
A. "The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these," said Jesus.
B. The Bible gives many examples of children with strong faith:
A. Samuel (I Sam. 1:21-28; 2:26; 3:1, 19-20)
B. David (I Sam. 16:11-13; 17:33, 41-43)
C. Timothy (2 Tim. 3:14-15)
D. Have you brought your child to Jesus?

II. There are many forces at work to prevent children from coming to Jesus.
A. The world, the flesh and the Devil (a paraphrase of I John 2:15-16)
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."
B. Parents have more influence than anyone, especially in the early years.
When your children look at you, and listen to you: are they moved to want a relationship with your God? Or do they want to leave home and quit the churchas soon as they can? They may want to do that anyway, but don't let it be yournegative influence that makes them want that.

III. Parents and the Church are responsible to help children come to Jesus.
A. It is primarily a parental responsibility (Deut. 6:4-9).
B. Parents delegate some responsibility to various schools. Parents are still in charge. We must not drop them off, and care not what they are taught.
C. We are grateful for Christian schools and Christian teachers who servethe Lord as they teach our children.

Conclusion: Parents and teachers, your work has a great impact on the lives of children, and eventually on the entire world. The future of the Church and the Nation lie with our children. (Prov. 22:6). Hear the poem, "Influence." May the Lord help all of us to do our best to bring our children to Jesus.