22-Sep-24 (Mark 9:30-37)

One day when Jesus was meeting with his disciples, he took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me."
I want you to think of a time when you felt really welcomed. What made you feel welcomed? How would you help someone else to feel welcomed?
[Wait for answers]
In order for someone to feel welcomed, they need to feel like you care about them and they need to feel like you care about what they think. If you spend all the time talking to someone else or never ask them for their ideas, they won't feel welcomed.
And Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me." So we've got to pay attention to even the people that people don't always think about.
Let's pray about that.

Prayer

God, we thank you for sending us Jesus to help us to realize that we need to welcome everyone, especially the ones who are often forgotten. Help us to remember to pay attention and welcome everyone. Help us to welcome them as we'd like to be welcomed ourselves.
We pray in Jesus' name. AMEN