Grow Guide | August 1
Renewing Worship | Children in Worship
Connecting Question
Share a time when you were a child and learned how to do something from an adult. What was it? How did they teach you? How did it make you feel?
If you grew up in the church, did you sit in worship with the adults, or did you go to a separate place designed just for children? What might be the pros and cons of both approaches to having children in worship?
Context
This week we continue our summer series Renewing Worship by talking about the role that children play in the worship service. Some churches have a completely separate Children’s church/Sunday school program that the children attend while the adults are in “Big Worship.” Other churches purposefully have no programming for children during worship, and a separate time for Christian Education, so that children and adults can worship together.
As we move into the Fall we, at Easter, will be experimenting with a new way of approaching this topic. We plan to invite families to worship together, and then will release the children at the end of the service for their children’s lessons (JAM). This Grow Guide will explore how Jesus felt about children and how that might influence our decisions around children in worship.
Look at the Book
Read Matthew 18:1-7.
What are the disciples arguing about in verse 1?
What is required to enter the kingdom of heaven, according to verse 3? What do you think Jesus meant by this?
Who is considered the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
To what does Jesus equate welcoming a child? What might this mean?
The phrase “stumbling block” in verse 6 is translating the Greek word scandalizo. It is the word from which we get the English word scandalize. The word means “to cause to sin, to bring offense, to make to fall away.” Verse 6 can be translated “If any of you scandalize one of these little ones...” How does Jesus feel about people who put a “stumbling block” before a child?
If you want to go deeper, read through to Matthew 18:8-20. How does the story of the lost sheep and the gathering of two or three connect to Jesus’ teaching about little children?
Taking it Home
What are ways that society has “scandalized” children throughout history, in big or small ways? What effects do you think these practices have had on society?
Take a moment to visualize a worship service where there are children of all ages present throughout the entire service. What are the pros and cons of this situation?
How can children learn how to be part of a worshipping community, what the liturgy means, and how they belong to God and the larger community if they are never in worship with adults?
Discuss ways that the local church can best honor children in the way that Jesus honors them.