Worshiping God All Together
by Maxine A. Randall
(from January/February, 2009 HCG newsletter)
(from January/February, 2009 HCG newsletter)
Dear Lord, here in Thy house of prayer
We come to worship Thee;
Help us to feel that Thou art near
Our little words of love to hear,
As we sing joyfully.
We come to worship Thee;
Help us to feel that Thou art near
Our little words of love to hear,
As we sing joyfully.
All dressed up and ready to go! Where are we going? Why, we're going to church! One of my favorite books for young children is Leading Little Ones to God by Marian M. Schooland. I've used it with my children when they were young. In Section 78 of the book, entitled "How We Worship God in Church," Mrs. Schooland said this:
"You can worship God at home. You can be happy in the Lord at home, on the Lord's day. But we go to church to worship God there. God has told us that he is pleased when we come together in His house to worship Him. And He has promised to be there with us."
And isn't this true, dear ones? But who are the "we" and the "us" that are mentioned here? It's all of God's people, of course, but as Mrs. Schooland is directing her words to children, very young ones at that, I would agree with her that it's more than appropriate to assume we may consider whole families as being the ones who "come together" to worship in the Lord's House on the Lord's Day. Can you think of anything we do or any place we go together that's more important?
There are several schools of thought on the subject of children in the church service. I've always been interested in this subject and for some reason, it's occupied my thoughts quite a bit of late. So I took another little excursion around the web to gather information on yet another topic to pass along to my newsletter readers. From these online readings and from information I've gathered from folks I know, there seem to be various degrees of thought on quite a few different perspectives about this issue:
1. Some churches have a separate children's church. The ages for this separate children's worship vary from church to church, but for the most part, children and adults are in separate quarters for most of the worship hour. Generally, churches do it this way so that the worship of both the adults and the children will be age appropriate and therefore enhanced.
2. Certain churches have children present for the singing portion of the service until it's time for the sermon. Oftentimes, they'll gather the youngsters up front for a brief "children's moment" where they hear a few words from the pastor and then leave for a separate service while the adults listen to the sermon.
3. I've noticed that there are still a few, but not many, congregations that encourage age integrated worship from start to finish, including children from preschool on. I even read one article by a church which encouraged its members to bring their little ones into the service from infancy.
"You can worship God at home. You can be happy in the Lord at home, on the Lord's day. But we go to church to worship God there. God has told us that he is pleased when we come together in His house to worship Him. And He has promised to be there with us."
And isn't this true, dear ones? But who are the "we" and the "us" that are mentioned here? It's all of God's people, of course, but as Mrs. Schooland is directing her words to children, very young ones at that, I would agree with her that it's more than appropriate to assume we may consider whole families as being the ones who "come together" to worship in the Lord's House on the Lord's Day. Can you think of anything we do or any place we go together that's more important?
There are several schools of thought on the subject of children in the church service. I've always been interested in this subject and for some reason, it's occupied my thoughts quite a bit of late. So I took another little excursion around the web to gather information on yet another topic to pass along to my newsletter readers. From these online readings and from information I've gathered from folks I know, there seem to be various degrees of thought on quite a few different perspectives about this issue:
1. Some churches have a separate children's church. The ages for this separate children's worship vary from church to church, but for the most part, children and adults are in separate quarters for most of the worship hour. Generally, churches do it this way so that the worship of both the adults and the children will be age appropriate and therefore enhanced.
2. Certain churches have children present for the singing portion of the service until it's time for the sermon. Oftentimes, they'll gather the youngsters up front for a brief "children's moment" where they hear a few words from the pastor and then leave for a separate service while the adults listen to the sermon.
3. I've noticed that there are still a few, but not many, congregations that encourage age integrated worship from start to finish, including children from preschool on. I even read one article by a church which encouraged its members to bring their little ones into the service from infancy.
Each family has its own convictions and will and should embrace whichever of these prospectives works best for them; however, my purpose in writing this article is simply to give my "two cents" about what I believe is one of the most beautiful sights on this side of heaven, and that is the sight of whole families, from the youngest to the oldest, worshiping God as one group at a Sunday morning or evening service. What a precious picture this is, in my opinion, to see this group giving glory to God in the highest together, from the opening hymn to the final amen. Sure, I know there are challenges, but I can think of little that presents (to me) a more beautiful testimony of the glory of God in the life of a given family. I think it's good for the church, good for the individual family, and good for the child.
About the infant and toddler, I would have to agree with most that there certainly is a place for a church nursery in most instances. But even in that, and I hope you'll agree, we should have no problem when a particular family makes the decision not to make use of the nursery at all. Some families simply want ALL of their children with them and we should let them make that decision without causing them to feel one shred of guilt about it. They, of course, have an obligation to carry out their decision in a way that others are not overly distracted and hindered in worship, but then again, others need to learn the discipline of not letting normal children sounds interfere with their concentration in worship. This is most definitely an area where everyone should be "fully persuaded in his own mind." Hopefully, this would not be a place for judgmental attitudes, but one of Christian charity and forbearance on all sides.
Having said that, I would like to encourage the parents of young children who want to worship with their children for the entire service that you are doing a good work. Of course, it has its share of difficulties, but what aspect of parenting doesn't? It all starts on Saturday night when you get all the Sunday best clothes ready; it continues the next morning when you put on these "good" clothes. That fact alone is teaching your young ones how special it is to go to worship. If there is a Sunday school class to attend, they get a lesson for their age and have interaction with peers, which in my opinion is great, depending on the child, of course. But, after that, in you all go as a family to worship the Lord! More from Mrs. Schooland to the children:
"How do we worship God in church? We worship Him first by being quiet. We want to be quiet, so that we can think about Him and all His wonderful works, especially His work of salvation. And we worship God by singing praises to Him. And we worship Him in prayer. We pray silently, in our hearts, each one alone. And we pray together, when the minister talks to God.
"We worship God with our gifts, too. God will use our money. . . We are glad to give our gifts to Him, because we love Him. . .
"And we worship Him by listening to what He says to us. He speaks to us when the minister reads the Bible, and when he explains the Bible. . ."
How beautiful is THAT? What better lessons are learned than THAT? As their parents, what more can you teach your children than that which they assimilate while they are there with you, watching you participate in all these blessed activities of worship? Who, may I ask, is better equipped to teach them how to behave in the corporate service along with all the other people of God?
Tell me now, where is the place that you would want them to be, even from an early age, on any given Lord's Day at those times when you and the other saints meet in the house of the Lord? I hope that it's with you, and may God bless you and them if you do.
I think I should mention in closing that I'm not trying to present a Biblical mandate here, but simply the personal preference of one who has already passed through those days of dealing with the challenges of having little ones sitting by our side on the pew. And I hope you won't think I don't understand that for some, another choice is more feasible. Originally, I had intended to make this article more practical by giving some suggestions and by being a little more specific in spelling out my rationale for thinking the way I do, but I found a couple of articles which I feel express what I'm trying to say better than I can. These links are put here to offer practical help with your Sunday morning worship experience, even though there may be some doctrinal positions I don't hold to:
About the infant and toddler, I would have to agree with most that there certainly is a place for a church nursery in most instances. But even in that, and I hope you'll agree, we should have no problem when a particular family makes the decision not to make use of the nursery at all. Some families simply want ALL of their children with them and we should let them make that decision without causing them to feel one shred of guilt about it. They, of course, have an obligation to carry out their decision in a way that others are not overly distracted and hindered in worship, but then again, others need to learn the discipline of not letting normal children sounds interfere with their concentration in worship. This is most definitely an area where everyone should be "fully persuaded in his own mind." Hopefully, this would not be a place for judgmental attitudes, but one of Christian charity and forbearance on all sides.
Having said that, I would like to encourage the parents of young children who want to worship with their children for the entire service that you are doing a good work. Of course, it has its share of difficulties, but what aspect of parenting doesn't? It all starts on Saturday night when you get all the Sunday best clothes ready; it continues the next morning when you put on these "good" clothes. That fact alone is teaching your young ones how special it is to go to worship. If there is a Sunday school class to attend, they get a lesson for their age and have interaction with peers, which in my opinion is great, depending on the child, of course. But, after that, in you all go as a family to worship the Lord! More from Mrs. Schooland to the children:
"How do we worship God in church? We worship Him first by being quiet. We want to be quiet, so that we can think about Him and all His wonderful works, especially His work of salvation. And we worship God by singing praises to Him. And we worship Him in prayer. We pray silently, in our hearts, each one alone. And we pray together, when the minister talks to God.
"We worship God with our gifts, too. God will use our money. . . We are glad to give our gifts to Him, because we love Him. . .
"And we worship Him by listening to what He says to us. He speaks to us when the minister reads the Bible, and when he explains the Bible. . ."
How beautiful is THAT? What better lessons are learned than THAT? As their parents, what more can you teach your children than that which they assimilate while they are there with you, watching you participate in all these blessed activities of worship? Who, may I ask, is better equipped to teach them how to behave in the corporate service along with all the other people of God?
Tell me now, where is the place that you would want them to be, even from an early age, on any given Lord's Day at those times when you and the other saints meet in the house of the Lord? I hope that it's with you, and may God bless you and them if you do.
I think I should mention in closing that I'm not trying to present a Biblical mandate here, but simply the personal preference of one who has already passed through those days of dealing with the challenges of having little ones sitting by our side on the pew. And I hope you won't think I don't understand that for some, another choice is more feasible. Originally, I had intended to make this article more practical by giving some suggestions and by being a little more specific in spelling out my rationale for thinking the way I do, but I found a couple of articles which I feel express what I'm trying to say better than I can. These links are put here to offer practical help with your Sunday morning worship experience, even though there may be some doctrinal positions I don't hold to:
How to Encourage Your Children to Worship
I liked quite a few of the suggestions here, particularly the one
about the journal. If you read this, I'm almost sure you'll find something helpful.
I liked quite a few of the suggestions here, particularly the one
about the journal. If you read this, I'm almost sure you'll find something helpful.
Little Children and the Worship of God
While the author and I may not hold the same position on "covenant children," I did find this to be a worthwhile article from the section "Should Little Children Be Included in the Public Worship Assembly?" and following. Very good Scripture references here to support age integrated worship. I also agree with the author's contention that young children are capable of learning great things. And, I would add that our God is certainly capable of teaching them great things.
While the author and I may not hold the same position on "covenant children," I did find this to be a worthwhile article from the section "Should Little Children Be Included in the Public Worship Assembly?" and following. Very good Scripture references here to support age integrated worship. I also agree with the author's contention that young children are capable of learning great things. And, I would add that our God is certainly capable of teaching them great things.
Should Children Be In Church?
The writer here presents a very strong argument for children, even infants, being included with the family in corporate worship, with much biblical support. I like the gentle, loving way she presents this argument.
Even if you don't go as far as she does with this, surely there is much food for thought.
The writer here presents a very strong argument for children, even infants, being included with the family in corporate worship, with much biblical support. I like the gentle, loving way she presents this argument.
Even if you don't go as far as she does with this, surely there is much food for thought.