As a Christian mom, it’s one of my deepest desires to see my children not only be born again into a saving relationship with God, but have a genuine attitude of worship from the heart.   Music is such an integral part of our worship experience – but we also must remember that even if our children are singing about God, they may not be singing TO him.  In Isaiah 29:13, the Lord says, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.”  Unfortunately, that verse can apply to children as well as to adults.   Many children go through the motions of singing a song because everyone else is singing it, but the wandering eyes, fidgety bodies and frowns on their faces let you know that they aren’t quite catching the spirit of things.  On the one hand, we don’t want to nag them into mere external behavior, but we’re sometimes at a loss of how to cheerfully train them to cultivate sincere reverence and gratitude.

With this in mind, I’ve compiled a little list of ideas of what we can do at home to make worship more meaningful for the whole family.

* Talk a little each day about who God is and what he has done for us.  How does this personally apply to our lives?  Often we assume that our children know the Gospel message because they are growing up in our Christian home, but do they really understand it well enough to fully appreciate it?  When God convicts you of sin, do you express your gratitude for his mercy in sending you a Savior?  When you see a beautiful sunset or rainbow or butterfly, do you express your wonder at the majesty of the Creator?  These thoughts set the stage for worship because they put us in tune with the goodness of God.

* Minimize your children’s exposure to “entertainment” which would undermine a spirit of worship in your home.  This might include music, TV shows, video games, books, etc.  Do your best to select wholesome, God-honoring resources.  Talk with your children about how to choose these wisely.  Not even all “Christian” music is helpful in promoting worship.  (Though I don’t mind loud, exuberant worship, I personally draw the line when I can’t even hear the words being sung, or when the lyrics have little redemptive value.)

* Play worship CDs often.  Let your kids dance around creatively to the music.

* Learn Scripture memory songs as a way of hiding God’s word in your hearts.  The Hide ‘Em in Your Heart series by Steve Green is excellent.  You can even get the videos!  Or make up your own little tunes to Scripture verses that you want to learn.

* If you have little ones, teach them some Bible action songs like “Father Abraham”, “Only a Boy Named David”,  or ”Rise and Shine” where they can get their bodies in motion.

* The Praise Baby videos are a very sweet and simple way to introduce your littlest ones to a life of worship.

http://www.praisebabycollection.com/home.html

* At home during the week, learn the words to the songs you sing at church.  If they are from a hymnal, see if you can buy a copy.  If your church uses song sheets or lyrics on a screen, see if they can make copies for you.  Take the time to explain any unfamiliar words or concepts.

* Make a family song book that you can use during devotional times.  (In a separate message next week, I am sending the text to a few dozen hymns.)

* Sing hymns and Christian songs at bedtime.  This is a very receptive time, and a great way to send your children off to Sleepyland.

* Sing to bless other people – whether it is for friends or relatives, or at a nursing home or other place. 

* Learn the stories behind hymns in such books as 101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth Osbeck.

* Get your children involved in a children’s choir at church or in the community.   Many of these perform musicals once or twice a year, which gives valuable training in drama skills also.  For those who live near Washington, D.C., the National Christian Choir is starting a children’s choir for ages 10-14 in Silver Spring, MD.     http://www.nationalchristianchoir.org/childrens_choir/index.html

* Learn songs in a foreign language or in sign language.

* Study what the Scriptures say about worship and music.  (I am sending a list of Bible passages about music in a separate message next week.)

Saturday morning, my eight year old son Andrew was humming the tune to Shine, Jesus, Shine.  He wanted to sing it, but couldn’t remember all the words, so he ran to his bedroom to get a copy of our family song book.  We sang several songs together, as he told me which ones he particularly liked.  Andrew is one of my children who is not particularly enthusiastic about singing in church, where the children join in for the worship time before going to Sunday School.  I asked him why he enjoyed singing at home, but not at church.  One of the things he said is that he doesn’t like being in large crowds.  (He is very much a homebody, and certainly would not enjoy a school classroom on a daily basis!)   I shared with him that all the people at church are FAMILY.  Because God is our Father, they are our sisters and our brothers.  (And he thought he had a lot of sisters and brothers just at home!)  He was amazed at this concept!  Next I shared a little application with him: since the Lord encourages us to meet together as a church family to worship him, we don’t need to be upset to be in a big group of people singing to God.  We also talked briefly about what worship and discipleship mean, and then I read to him the following story about Isaac Watts.  I am thankful for this teachable moment with Andrew, and pray that God will continue to make me sensitive to the heart-thoughts of each of my children.