This sermon emphasizes the importance of learning from children, particularly in their humility, love, and openness. It highlights Jesus' endearing words to his disciples as 'little children' and the commandment to love one another. The message stresses the significance of creating a loving and peaceful atmosphere in our homes, where children witness and experience genuine love and affection between parents, fostering a secure and nurturing environment for their growth.

As we dedicate this little child, we can always be reminded that Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven, he likened the kingdom of heaven to little children, and he said, except you become converted and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. So there's a lot that we can learn from children, especially in the early stages of their life, and we are to, if we are to really live under an open heaven, to have the attitude of a child. Many, many are the exhortations in scripture. And Paul says in one place that he says, when it comes to evil, be like little babes, be like children. And that's how it must be. And Jesus often said that we have to humble ourselves, so we won't learn humility, we learn it from little children. Many things that we can learn from little children. And I was, it was very interesting to see this in John chapter 13. I think this is the only place that Jesus calls his disciples little children. And this truly is a chapter where we see Jesus pour his heart out to his disciples, you know, at their last supper, as it is called. It says there right in the beginning of this chapter that when his heart come that he would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And then you know what he did. And it's, the picture here is like somebody going away, it's like a parent going away, having to say goodbye to the family, goodbye to the children. And it's so lovely here in verse 33, when Jesus says little children. I don't think there's any other place where he refers to his disciples as little children. But you see the context in which he says that. He says little children, I am with you a little while longer, you will seek me. And as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, where I am going, you cannot come. A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. So, we see there that to love one another, we have to become like little children. Paul often refers to that. The Living Bible puts it very nicely. The Living Bible says that passage, verse 33, it says, dear, dear children. Jesus used endearing words there, because he is leaving. The disciples, he knew that in a few moments they would all forsake him and run away. But that didn't stop him from loving them like it says in the beginning to the end. We really see something here, what it means to love one another to the end. Jesus said in Matthew, in chapter 24, speaking of the last days, that he who endures in love to the end will be saved. And for me and you and I to endure in love, we can learn something from our children. If we have a family, even if it is one child, we can learn something from them. And one thing we can learn is how they love. They love mummy and daddy. And, you know, when the time comes when dad has to go, mummy has to go somewhere, their hearts are moved. And so Jesus says, dear, dear children, how brief are these moments before I must go away and leave you. And though you search for me, you cannot come to me, just as I told the Jewish leaders. And so I'm giving you a new commandment. I'm giving you a new commandment to you now. Love each other just as much as I love you. Your strong love, listen to this, your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples. And that's something children love. They love unconditionally. Even when you discipline them in many things that they don't like, they are assured that mummy and daddy loves me. And so apart from learning humility, apart from learning many other things that we can learn to love like little children, in fact Paul says, if you turn to this word in 2 Corinthians 6, you know, he says to these Corinthians, spiritually they were carnal and they were babes, but yet he says to them here in verse 11, he says, our mouth has spoken, 2 Corinthians 6.11, our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is open wide. You're not restrained by us, but you're restrained in your own affections. Now in like exchange, I speak as to children, open wide to us also. You know, open your arms wide. You know, little children, they see daddy comes home and mummy comes home. Mummy comes out, comes back from shopping. They are with arms open wide. And that's something that we can learn from children and that's something that teaches us that our homes, you know, it says charity begins at home. Love begins in the home. We cannot love one another and prove that we are disciples of Jesus if we don't love each other in the home. If our children do not experience a love relationship that mum and dad have, if our children don't see us show affection to each other. You know, Paul says here, in our Indian culture we are so afraid of showing affection, but he says here, you're not restrained by us, but you're restrained in your own affections. Now in like exchanges, I speak as to children, open wide. Open your arms to us. That's how the Apostle Paul, he was a father even to this church that was full of babies spiritually. There's not one wise man there. But he tells them, you're restrained in your own affections and that's something that must speak to us. We cannot blame others. I cannot blame that somebody else is cold when I myself am cold. I cannot blame that somebody else is distant when I myself am distant. So it all depends on what our home atmosphere, and that's something that we can bring up our children, bring up our children in an atmosphere of peace. Our homes must be islands of peace. Our homes must be havens of love. Mum and dad love one another, and the children see it. Mum and dad show affection to each other, and show affection. I hope we show affection to our children, that we hug them, and kiss them, and pat them on the back, and encourage them, and appreciate them. That's the way we should bring them up. You know, we can bring them up like tin soldiers. I was long back, many years ago, I was talking to Brother Zach, he said he's never written a book about bringing up children. Never felt the freedom to do that, because each one does it differently. But he says, if ever I write a book, I like to write a book that we don't bring up our children as tin soldiers. You know, toy soldiers, tin soldiers, do this, don't do that, and all the time we are at them. And so the home becomes a place of don't do this, don't do that. Of course, we have to keep them under law, till they come to know grace. But in seeking to keep them under law, and teach them the fear of God, and teach them the right things, that we, they see that we do it out of love. And that we are not doing it just to get a name for ourselves, just to maintain a testimony in the church. That we are doing it because we love them. And they see also that mom and dad love each other. And this is on my heart for all of us, who have families. There must be, in our home, we cannot love the brothers and sisters, unless we love each other in the home. Unless as partners, we love one another. We are not just living, you know, under the same roof, existing like many couples. They don't divorce, but they just live. And they don't show love, they don't show affection to each other. And the children are brought up in that atmosphere. Think what an effect it will have on them. Why is it that children who come from broken homes feel very insecure? And when they grow older, even when they become adults, so many effects of that broken home affects them, even when they go out into the world. Because they've never known security, they've never known love in the home. Mom and dad were constantly fighting. And that's how it was in my childhood. Constantly, all I can remember of my home was that my parents fought like cats and dogs. I hope none of our homes are like that, where parents fight like cats and dogs. But because we attend CFC, we can be very, very discreet about it. But yet we fight. And children sense it, you know. We may not argue in front of them or fight in front of them. I hope we don't. I hope we go to the bedroom or go outside to settle disputes. It's a normal thing. And so it's a normal thing also when we see our children fight. It's a normal thing. They're abnormal if they don't fight, if they have brothers and sisters or if they have friends. But one thing that they must see, no use just teaching them, that mom and dad say, I'm sorry. Our children must see it. I know my children. That's how it was. That's how we brought them up. And so all through their lives in the home, whatever happened and however disobedient or even as they grew older, however, you know, when they did things that we didn't like, even when they grew into their teens, I still remember my son, you know, before we never forget that picture. Every time when he grew up, he went through difficult stages. But at night before, when we were in bed, my wife and I, we would see somebody stand at the door. And he'd say, Dad, I'm sorry. Mom, I'm sorry. It used to bring tears to our eyes. That's how they grew up in the home because they saw mom and dad say, I'm sorry. It was my fault. Please forgive me. I hope those words never depart from our homes. I hope our children will hear that often, not out of formality, not because CFC teaches it and not because it's the right thing to do, but because I mean it. I'm sorry. And our children see us as those who make mistakes. They also see us that we also are battling, that we also are struggling. We should not put up a stoic front, you know, a front that, you know, everything is okay. We don't fight. We don't quarrel. But inside, you know, mothers can bottle up so many emotions because they don't get a chance to vent to their husband. They don't get a chance to open up. And then one day, like a pressure cooker, there's an outburst. And that's not good, and particularly when it's in front of the children. So I want to encourage us as we dedicate this little child this morning, you know, to become little children and learn to love one another. Paul says, you're not restrained by us. You're not the ones. Don't blame us. You're restrained in your own affections. I speak as to children. Open wide. Open your hearts. Our mouths speak freely. I like that. That's a word that's often come to me. I must not be weighing my words. Sometimes we have to with certain people. You know, we have to be careful with the words we speak, lest we offend them, lest we upset them. But, you know, if we are disciples and if we are growing to love one another as Jesus loved us, our mouths must speak freely. I can be myself. And that's how I've sought to be in the church in the 41 years I've been here. I am myself. I speak. I don't speak behind others. I don't backbite. I speak openly. I speak freely. Because my heart is open wide. Then my mouth can be open wide. But if my heart is not open wide, my heart is restrained. You know, I'm restrained in my affections. I keep a respectable distance from that brother or that sister. I keep a respectable distance from the elders. There's something wrong. Don't blame the elders. Don't blame that brother, that sister. There's something wrong. I've seen it. I have gone before the Lord. There's something wrong between me and that brother. If I feel a distance, there's something wrong with me. I'm restrained. And Paul says, like I speak as to little children, open wide. Open your hearts wide to us. I want to encourage us, my brothers and sisters, let our children in this cruel age that we live in, as the days get darker, as the days get more evil, when we see hardness and cruelty all around us, let our homes be a haven of peace and of love. Let our children grow up in an atmosphere of love. They see mom and dad love each other. I know my children, that's how it was, as we sort of bring up our children, right from infancy right till they left the home. And till today, they know that mom and dad love one another. And as we grow older, and the children leave, and the nest becomes empty, that we can grow older graciously, still loving one another. And that love is reflected in our faces. We don't put it on. We're not actors. So I want to encourage us this morning as we dedicate this little child of Sangeetha and Renam, that we would seek to repent of all the hardness and coldness that we have had towards each other's partners. Repent of it and ask the Lord, Lord, forgive me. I'm the one to be blamed. It's me, Lord, not my wife, not my husband, not my children. It's me, Lord. I repent of it. Forgive me. Pour into my heart the love of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. I pray that prayer often, sometimes many times a day. I come into different situations. I have to deal with different people. Lord, pour into my heart the love of God through the power of your Holy Spirit. I want to encourage us that we, in these days, that we see that we provide an atmosphere of love and security in our homes to bring up our children, that when they leave the home, they leave knowing they've been loved. They're not waiting to leave. It should never be like that, that our children just wait for the day when they can leave the house, or a daughter waits for the day when she can get married and go and have her own home. It should never be like that. That's how God wants our homes to be, not only an island of peace, but to be a haven of love. And in that atmosphere, if we bring up our children, they will become men and women of God. So may God bless us and help us through this end.