Protect The Innocent -Part 1 – Sermon Notes

by | Nov 23, 2025 | Sermon Notes

Protecting the Innocent
Core truth: Jesus fiercely loves and defends children, and he calls his people, especially men, to stand between the next generation and the evil that hunts them through the devices in their hands.

(Goal of this section:
Set the tone that Jesus is not neutral about kids. He is fiercely for them. To hurt, exploit, or neglect them is to pick a fight with the Lord of heaven.)

1. What Jesus Says About Children

Matthew 18:1-6 (ESV)

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

  • Paint the scene in Matthew 18. The disciples are arguing about greatness. Jesus puts a child in the middle of the room and says greatness looks like protecting and becoming like this little one, not using them.

5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,[a] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

  • Highlight the warning: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better…” That is not soft language. It is holy, protective anger in the heart of God.

Matthew 19:13–15

13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

  • The disciples try to screen Jesus from “unimportant” kids. Jesus corrects them, welcomes children, lays hands on them, blesses them, and declares, “To such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
  • Tie in James 1:27 and Proverbs 31:8-9 as “echo verses”:

James 1:27:

27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

  • True religion cares for the vulnerable who cannot protect themselves. Today, that absolutely includes children alone behind a screen.

Proverbs 31:8-9:

8 Open your mouth for the mute,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.[a]
9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
    defend the rights of the poor and needy.

  • “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” Our kids may have a voice on a device, but they do not have power against a global predator network.

Goal of this section:
Wake up parents who have been passive. Call Christian men out of comfort and distraction into their God-given role as guardians of their children’s hearts, minds, and bodies.

2. Our Role as Christians in Protecting Kids

Here we pivot from theology to identity and calling.

  • Emphasize that every believer is called to protect the vulnerable, but fathers and men are given a particular charge to shepherd, guard, and lead spiritually.
  • Use language of stewardship: every phone, tablet, Xbox, PlayStation, PC in our home is something we will give an account for.

CONTRAST TWO TYPES OF CHRISTIAN HOMES:

  • A passive home, where devices raise the kids and parents say, “I just hope they make good choices.”
  • An active, watchful home, where parents, especially dads, say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, including what happens on these screens.”
  • Connect to your legal slide as a reality check, not just for Texas parents but for the moral duty of Christian parents:
    • In Texas, parents have both the authority and the duty to oversee phones and devices, and courts have made it clear that children do not have an absolute right to digital privacy from their parents.
    • Spiritually, Scripture gives that same mandate: you are the watchman on the wall for your house.

3. The Tactics Evil Uses, With NCMEC & FBI Statistics

a. Scale of the problem

  • Nation Center for Missing and Exploited Children – NCMEC’s CyberTipline received 36.2 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in 2023, including more than 104 million files of suspected CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) Thorn
  • In 2024, they still received 20.5 million reports, which corresponds to an estimated 29.2 million distinct incidents of suspected exploitation, even after de-duplicating. Missing Children Center+1
  • Financial sextortion reports to NCMEC jumped from


“These are not just numbers. Every number is a child with a face, a name, and parents who thought, ‘That would never happen to us.’”

b.  The Tactics Evil Uses to Gain Access to Our Children ( Roblox Case Study )

Why Roblox Matters

Roblox claims to be “the #1 gaming site for kids and teens,” with over 80 million daily users and roughly two-thirds of U.S. children ages 9 to 12 having accounts.
The State of Texas lawsuit alleges the platform is “a multibillion-dollar digital hellscape that preys on innocence under the banner of play.”

How Predators Use Roblox

  1. Anonymity and Avatars:

·      Anyone—from a 4-year-old to an adult—can create an avatar, hide identity, and lie about age.

·      Adults wander virtual “experiences” appearing as kids, gaining children’s trust under a mask of play.

  1. Chat and Voice Features:

·      Until late 2024, adult strangers could directly message children and chat with them in-game even if not “friends.” Roblox’s own design bypassed parental controls, allowing alternate accounts to pose as over 13.

·      In 2023 Roblox added voice chat (“Roblox Connect”), enabling real-time conversation through avatars and making predatory actions easier according to user complaints.

  1. Sexualized and Explicit “Experiences”:

·      Thousands of player-made games ( “experiences” ) simulate sex acts, strip clubs, or even “Epstein’s Island,” and “Charlie Kirk’s assassination games, often labeled “All Ages”.

·      Children encounter avatars that remove clothes and engage in simulated sex acts, normalizing exploitation.

  1. Robux as Lure and Weapon:

·      Roblox’s in-game currency, Robux, is used to tempt children into sharing explicit images or moving conversations off-platform.

·      The State of Texas Lawsuit and Bloomberg’s investigation note kids often say they’ll do “anything for Robux.” Predators offer gifts, then threaten exposure if demands aren’t met.

  1. “Condo Games” and Role-Play Grooming:

·      In “condo games,” avatars perform explicit acts in virtual bedrooms or bathrooms. Children join thinking it’s harmless fun, but these serve as first-contact zones for predators.

·      THIS IS WHERE GROOMING AND DESENSITIZING BEGINS

  1. Off-Platform Migration and Sextortion:

·      Groomers move kids to Snapchat, Discord, or Telegram to avoid Roblox filters and continue abuse.

·      Once explicit images are sent, children are blackmailed with threats to release the material unless they send more content or money in Robux form.

  1. Organized Networks like “764” and “The COM”:

·      The FBI and Texas AG confirm that the 764 Network—a nihilistic child-exploitation group—has used Roblox to groom kids and coerce them into creating sexual and self-harm content.

These groups are nihilistic, satanic cults:  A nihilist is a person who subscribes to the belief that life has no objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value, and that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded. 

Excellerationism

4. Real World Consequences and Stories

(Move from data to human faces)

The 10-Year-Old Texas Girl ( Doe v. Roblox Corp., S.D. Tex. 2025 )

  • A 10-year-old created a Roblox account and was soon surrounded by users sharing her IP and home address while demanding nude photos.
  • She was then groomed by a man posing as an online “counselor,” who moved the conversation to Discord, sent her explicit images, and ultimately traveled to her home to rape and film her.
    • ***This pattern—contact in-game, move off-platform, real-world abuse—appears in numerous cases***

Jordan DeMay, 17, Michigan:

·      Jordan was targeted on Instagram by accounts posing as a girl. Once they had explicit images, they demanded money and threatened to send the images to everyone he knew. Jordan died by suicide in 2022. Two Nigerian brothers were later sentenced to more than 17 years each for their role in that sex-tortion scheme, which targeted over 100 victims. U.S. Department of Justice+3ABC News+3The Guardian+3

Ryan Last, 17, California:

·      Ryan Last was contacted on a Meta platform by someone pretending to be a young woman, pressured into sending an explicit image, then blackmailed for $150 with threats to expose him. He paid, the threats continued, and he ultimately died by suicide. An international investigation led to multiple arrests in Côte d’Ivoire and the United States. AP News+1

Recent West Virginia case (Bryce Tate, 15):

·      investigators say a teen’s death by suicide this month has been linked to an online sextortion scheme that unfolded over the course of a single afternoon and evening. WCHS+2CBS News+2

MULTIPLE Roblox grooming and lawsuits:

·      multiple lawsuits now allege that predators used Roblox and its in-game currency, Robux, to groom children as young as 10, trading virtual currency for explicit images and then moving to private chats and, in some cases, in-person abuse. ABC News+2New York Post+2


“These are not urban legends. These are court cases, FBI investigations, grieving parents, and real funerals. And in nearly every story, there is a phone. There is a game. There is a parent who thought, ‘We talked about this once, so we’re probably fine.’”

ENDING MUSIC HERE

5. How Christians Can Protect Their Kids

a. Spiritual posture

  • Repent of passivity, distraction, and denial.
  • Commit as a family to treat phones, apps, gaming systems, and Wi-Fi as part of the spiritual battleground.
  • Fathers and mothers pray over the devices in their home and over their children by name.

b. Practical steps, tied to your presentation

“Be involved. Be educated. Be intentional.”

Concrete actions:

  • Check the phone and devices regularly. Remind parents they are not invading privacy, they are defending innocence.
  • No secret accounts. Every account, every profile, every username is known.
  • Move devices into shared spaces. No closed doors with a phone late at night.
  • Use parental control tools wisely:
    • Mention a few examples from your slide like Bark, Qustodio, Net Nanny, Canopy, Google Family Link, etc., but stress that no app replaces a present parent.
  • Teach early, age appropriate biblical sex education.
    • Explain bodies, boundaries, and God’s good design before the internet does.
  • Normalize confession, not shame.
    • Kids must know that if they are tricked, pressured, or make a mistake, they will be met with love, protection, and help, not just anger and punishment. That breaks the power of shame that keeps victims silent.
  • Set family tech rules that clearly connect to faith, not just “house rules.”
    • “We do this because we follow Jesus, not because dad is paranoid.”


“The devil is using technology to disciple your kids. The only way to win that fight is to be more intentional about discipling them than the world is about capturing them.”

6. Declaration: Jesus Is Greater Than This Evil

End with hope, not horror.

  • Reaffirm that Christ has already disarmed principalities and powers at the cross. Sexual sin, shame, addiction, and exploitation are not stronger than Jesus.
  • Proclaim that no image, no video, no mistake is beyond the healing power of the blood of Christ.
  • Invite:
    • Parents and grandparents to stand in commitment to protect and disciple the next generation.
    • Men specifically to repent of passivity and to step into their role as spiritual protectors and priests in their homes.
    • Anyone who has been victimized, or who carries secret shame around pornography, to come to Christ for forgiveness and healing, and to ask for help instead of suffering alone.

“Church, Jesus loves your children more than you do. He shed His blood for them. He has already crushed the serpent’s head. But until he returns, that serpent will try to crawl into your home through every screen he can find. Our job, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is to stand in the doorway and say, ‘Not this house. Not these kids. Not on our watch.’”