“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” – Ephesians 6:1-4
In the first edition in this series on “The Worshiping of the Family Together,” I wrote about the importance of God’s people understanding and taking our duty to be faithful and regular in worshiping the living God in the contexts He calls us to (private, family, and corporate) seriously. May we all be diligent to do so! Part of that understanding is grounded in the biblical witness of the Scriptures, in both the Old and New Testaments, that all of the members of the family of God are called to prepare, be present, and participate in worship. Importantly, because children belong to the corporate, covenant people of God, their preparation, presence, and participation is also desired and required. They are welcome to join in public worship from the earliest age.
We find the Apostle Paul addressing and instructing children in the congregations in Ephesus and Colossae in Eph. 6 and Col. 3. Now, we know that the children, or in Greek, tekna that he was speaking to were actual children and young ones in the congregations, not “children” referring to believers as a term of endearment. We know this because of the connecting reference to their parents and their duty to them. This is what Paul’s message centered on in our focus text above. The 5th Commandment and his command that children be faithful in obeying it, knowing the wonderful, divine blessing that comes with obedience. Notice also that he gives the same general message to parents and children in both congregations – that being children’s duty to obey their parents, coupled with the duty of fathers to not provoke their children to wrath, lest provocation cause them to become discouraged, respectively.
As you think more about children being welcome, consider Jesus’ response to the chief priests and scribes when they heard children praising God in Matt. 21:14-16, “Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.” But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” [emphasis added] (Matt. 24:16) See the indignation of the chief priests and scribes because of the children’s praise of Jesus. They were upset that children would honor Christ with their hearts and voices, when they saw Him to be undeserving. It’s true that when Christ is most honored, proud men, His enemies, are most angry. Notice what else was true of those children. They were worshiping in the temple. Corporate worship is where our children need to be – all of them, even the young babes and nursing infants, Jesus says. Children, know your right place in the worship of the living God! Thinking about Christ’s response, praise Him for His tenderness for, and work in and through, the lambs of his flock.
Considering the importance of their presence, there are wonderful benefits of your children being in corporate worship. A few are:
- Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) 21.8 teaches us,”This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest, all the day, from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.” Like adults, children benefit in learning to prepare for, to delight in, and to keep the Sabbath Day holy. A good portion of their preparation and participation is focused on the worship of God. How do you and your family prepare for the Lord’s Day? How do your children prepare for Worship? If they don’t, today is a great day to start.
- Another benefit is their being gathered with God’s people in the powerful presence of the Triune God. Our gracious God converts hearts and grants faith through the preaching ministry of the Gospel (Rom. 10:17). It’s good for them to learn how God desires to be worshiped and then to wholeheartedly give Him that worship. As is true for you, it’s good for them to sit under the preaching of the Word, and that Word be applied to their hearts and walk. It’s good and right for them to partake of the means of grace, for our communicant children to partake in the Lord’s Supper. It’s good for all to learn to and participate in praying and singing together. The list can go on.
- Our children also benefit from the work of the Holy Spirit in worship as He is working in and through His Word, in and among us. The idea that is common in the broader church, which thinks that your children can’t get anything out of worship and preaching if it is not “relevant” and “fun” must be rejected. Worship isn’t about how you “feel” or “experience” in it. God has prescribed simple, biblical worship in His Word. Therefore, that is what we offer with our children, not thinking that something is lacking, but rather offer it with joy knowing it’s what He desires. We are happy and committed to giving God what He wants from us. Our children then grow by that same instruction, example, and practice, having great joy in worshiping their Lord as well. Praise Him!
As families with children, especially young children, press forward to carry out all of these duties, they often find aspects of preparation, presence, and participation challenging. Maybe one or all of these have been a challenge for you. Some may say, “We’re going, going, going on Saturday. We get home from the activities of the day and crash in bed with little preparation for the Lord’s Day, if anything at all.”
Maybe your challenge is more on the Lord’s Day morning in getting everyone awake, fed, dressed and to church on time. Maybe you’re thinking, “Pastor, it’s so hard to have my children in church with us. I’m kind of getting to my wits end as to how to make their presence and participation better.” Indeed, some of you are walking through the joy, yet challenge of new babies, a growing family, trying to find the balance and consistency of effectively shepherding your children at home, when you’re out and about, at church, and especially in Worship. I totally get it!
So, what are some practical training tips to help you and your children grow in preparation, presence, and participation in worshiping together with the body in corporate worship? I’ll dive into that in the next edition.