In our last post, we discussed a few ideas to help train and prepare children for the musical portion of our weekly worship. This time, I want to focus on training our children to worship by listening to the Word. This part can be a little more daunting, so it helps to start all the way down at the foundation.
What’s the whole point of this? Is it to have well-behaved children so other people don’t look at us all “judgey” during the church service? Obviously not. Is it to have a well-ordered worship service that brings glory to God and edifies the believers that are present? That is a good thing, and bringing glory to God should be our desire above all else. But I would argue that there’s something even more foundational than that – that we train our children to listen to the Word of God, to hear with their ears and their hearts, and to gain knowledge that turns into wisdom. Proverbs 1:7 tells us that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom . . .” How can we help our children hear the Word of God and understand it, retain it, and apply it? I think the answers to those questions are longer than a standard blog post! Let’s keep this simple and look at one small aspect.
One easy way to remember what we learn from a sermon is to take notes. As adults, we’ve all adapted our own note-taking strategy. Our teenagers may already have their own preferences as well. But this is a skill that young children need to be taught, and different personalities will each have their own “styles.” You know your own children the best, so think about what might work well for them.
You could use Pastor Sam’s Sunday sermons for practice, or listen to a sermon from another favorite pastor during the week. If this is new to your children, keep these practice sessions short – perhaps no more than 10 minutes. Focus on main points or big ideas. Encourage your children to remain seated and quiet, and to pay attention carefully. As their little muscles strengthen, stretch that time out little by little.
The littlest children (ages 5 & 6, perhaps) can be encouraged to draw what they’re hearing. For example, Pastor Sam’s last two sermons have been on the topic of generosity. Perhaps your little ones can think about what that looks like – one person (or stick-figure) holding out a gift to another person. With young children and short attention spans, it’s less important that they hear the whole message. Rather, let them pick up on one easily-understandable aspect and focus on that.
Older children (1st – 4th grades) can draw out parts of the sermon and add their own captions. If it’s helpful, lightly write out the word(s) your child uses to describe their picture, and allow them to trace over them as practice. Help them learn to spell the books of the Bible (some are hard!) and write verse references correctly as well. Click HERE for a Draw & Write note sheet that you can print out.
For older elementary children, help them jot notes as they’re listening and organize them under certain headings. This is where that PAUSE button comes in handy, and why this time of worshiping at home is so good for practice – we certainly can’t stand up in church and tell Pastor Sam to WAIT while we catch up on our notes (not that I haven’t been tempted to)! As you’re listening to the sermon and helping your child with their notes, pause the video and explain why a point is important to record, and how it supports the main point. This is also a good time to define terms, or help with spelling issues. For a note sheet similar to the ones we offer at church, click HERE for a copy you can print out.
For children of all ages, teach them to consider what the Scripture passages teach them about God. It’s a common – but fatal! – mistake to read or hear the Word of God as though we were the center of it. To help them avoid this pitfall, ask them questions that point out God’s character or attributes. Complex ideas can often be simplified for younger children into concepts they can understand; God is big, God is everywhere, God loves us, God knows everything, God is the strongest, etc.
All of these ideas seem obvious, and they’re certainly not ground-breaking. However, learning to listen to the Word of God taught, to sit quietly and focus, to apply oneself to learning and understanding, to record information to meditate upon later . . . these are skills that are important for our children to learn and they’re unlikely to pick them up through imitation. Why not use this extended time at home to practice?
One last point – it’s our job as parents to set the tone for this kind of learning. If we treat it as drudgery, our children will treat it as drudgery (and perhaps carry that idea with them for a lifetime!) Instead, examine your heart to ensure you view learning the Word of God as a joy, and if necessary, perhaps pray that the Lord will deal with that attitude first. Then approach this time with your children as a joy-filled and cheerful practice. Start with small amounts of time and stop when the children have had enough. Encourage them, praise them, ask questions, and laugh together, and stretch out the time little by little. This could become a sweet past-time that you continue and enjoy for many years to come.
