1. By Brian Aiken

2. o Matt. 19:13-15 o Mark 10:13-15* o Luke 18:15-17

3. Eph 4:11-15 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--

4. o Characteristics and qualities of children o Do we also hold these same characteristics?

5. o Do we depend on God? o Matthew 7:7; James 1:5 o Do we find our emotional support in Him? o 2 Samuel 22:1-7; Psalm 103:8-14 o Do we accept discipline from Him? o Deuteronomy 21:18; Proverbs 3:12; o Heb. 12:6; 1 Pet. 1:14; 1 Cor. 4:14

6. o Do we imitate Him and find our identity in Him? o 1 Corinthians 11:1; John 16:28; Matthew 11:27; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:1-5 o Do we walk and talk like our heavenly Father? o 1 Peter 4:11; 1 Corinthians 2:1,4,16; 2 Corinthians 11:6; 1 John 1:5-7 o Do we grieve with God? o Mark 3:1-5

7. o Are we merciful, compassionate, tender and humble? o Matthew 18:1-6 o Are we always growing and reaching new heights? o Ephesians 4; 1 Peter 2:2; Hebrews 5:12

8. o Are you innocent? o John 3; Romans 6; o 1 Peter 1:22-23 “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever”.