Are these kids saved?

Today I was telling my wife and our friend at lunch that when my parents used to go to Prayer Meeting, Wednesday evening, a Christian lady used to take us to a back room and teach us from a flannel graph--tripod about Jesus and His disciples. One night she taught us how to pray. Although, I believe as a child I was covered by His atonement, I experientially, learned to pray before I was actually saved. Coming to Christ came about five years later when I personally repented and received Jesus as my only Savior. This great lay person was building the foundation for God's future intervention in my life when my mother led me to Christ.

Little seeds often bud into real life and growth.

Some small children have the comprehension and ability to understand about inviting Jesus into their hearts.

Matthew said in 12:20, 'A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench . . . ' Even the most tender of soul and weakest of faith He will strengthen and develop continued and renewed faith. The spark of faith will become a flame.

 

That is sad. I recently watched a video of a Christian comic and even tho it's not MY taste, he did, at the end of his show, give the plan of salvation, explain fully what one needed to do to be saved and he did NOT ask people to raise their hands or pray some prayer but if they wanted to know more about how to become a Christian that he'd be around after the show to share with them.

Diane

 

trying2understand,

Don't presume that the comedy show wasn't producing fruit. It likely was an avenue for planting seeds.

Getting kids to understand the Gospel is not a light switch-type "instant-on" event. Rather, it's a process, that happens in God's time, not ours. If I were to judge any given religious preacher, teacher, event, show, etc, simply on one sermon, preformance, or occurrence, I doubt I'd be getting much of the full Gospel out of it, and in some cases, it may appear that the Gospel is notably silent. I can think of a few Veggietales videos which, by themselves, are devoid of the NT Gospel, but in the big picture, it's clearly there.

The seed planted by this comedy show may be nearly microscopic, but Jesus said that even faith as micriscopic as a mustard seed is significant.

These kids may not have an understanding of what it means to have Jesus in their hearts. But with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they in time, will.

 

tryingtounderstand,

You said the story teller said at the end, ' . . . that you will have more fun if you accept Jesus into your heart. Please raise your hand if you want to have more fun by accepting Jesus into
your heart.'

I think the story teller related very well with small children. The children who responded to accept Jesus understood very well that He could do this for them. Don't preachers say to adults that if you accept Jesus He will give you inner peace that you have never known before? It is the same thing. Some of you wanted the story teller to explain to the little ones about His death, resurrection, ascension and intercession and perhaps a tad about the Second Coming, so they could get the whole scoop about the Christian Gospel; and some of you don't understand that yet.

Little ideas for little ones.

Even at age eleven I only knew my need of Jesus but did not understand hardly anything else theologically. I did, however, know that He forgave me of my sins.

 

My pastor would never have allowed that to happen in our church. Our youth would never preform anything in our church that does not contain the gospel.

 

Sounds like this church is being irresponsible. We believe kids can and should have fun, but not at the expense of the gospel. Whenever there is an event of any kind at our church the pastor always presents the gospel.

 

Dear trying2understand,

Was anything done after the show for those who raised their hands? Did someone speak with them or receive their email address or phone number to contact them?

I agree with JohnV that perhaps the show helped plant the seeds. They just need to be cultivated.

Kim

 

I think Christians are allowed to have fun. And something can contain the Gospel without actually reading from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Actually, a lot of things that go on in church don't contain those. Like hymns and such. It's unwise to limit the avenues in which God wants to work in a person's life, especially if they haven't come to be a believer and a follower of His Church yet.

 

The answer is most likely not. Unless the youth had been under some conviction from prior messages and just chose that time to make it public then there was most likely no salvation. The sad thing is that a pastor of a church would allow such a thing to happen and not make things more clear.

 

The first thing Jesus said of the Apostle Paul (who wrote most of the New Testament) was that He would show him how great things he must suffer for His name's sake.

Acts 9:16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

Three times Paul was beaten with rods, once he was stoned, three times he suffered shipwreck, a night and a day he spent in the sea. There were times when Paul was so unhappy, he wanted to die.

2 Corinthians 1:8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

The Bible says "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). It also says we enter the Kingdom of God through much tribulation (Acts 14:22), and that we were appointed to afflictions (1 Thessalonians 3:3).

Please raise your hand if you deserve to go to hell forever because of your sins, and now believe with your heart that the sinless Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ satisfied God's Eternal Justice for you when He shed His blood and died on the Cross then rose from the dead; and choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost

 

I think Christians are allowed to have fun. And something can contain the Gospel without actually reading from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Actually, a lot of things that go on in church don't contain those. Like hymns and such. It's unwise to limit the avenues in which God wants to work in a person's life, especially if they haven't come to be a believer and a follower of His Church yet. </font>[/QUOTE]How does God work if there is no scripture in anything we do in church? Whats unwise is to eliminate scripture.

 

trying2understand

you really are in my community.. you went to Comedy for a Cause at Woodside Bible Church/formerly Troy Baptist, didnt you?

small world.. isnt it?

I've been to a couple of those..
I have to say that the evening is not made for getting people saved.
It is a benefit for Promise Village Home for Children.. It is a night of clean fun for Christians..

I dont remember the gospel being shared at the couple that I went to, and I was honestly fine with that.. It was nice to be able to go to a "comedy club" without all the smoke, liquor and dirty jokes..

having said that

what a very unscriptural altar call.. amazing how lightheartedly salvation is taken these days.

 

actually..

I think I might have spoke too quickly..

Woodside is a rather large church..


I should really read before talk too much..

 

THrough the Holy Spirit. There are several people on this board who got saved prior to having even opened a Bible.

Veggietales "eliminates" scripture in several of their videos. But the "message" of scripture is clearly there, in every single of their videos. The absence of scriptural text is neither wrong nor right.