Our recent move to the midwest has prompted a change in our church routine. When living in CA we subscribed to the typical "send your kids off to Sunday school" mantra. After praying about that choice for our family we have decided to no longer send our kids to Sunday school when we attend our church service. I knew this would change the dynamics of our church worship time. I expected more disruptions and less concentration on the message our pastor was preaching. I never expected the amazing blessing that would be bestowed upon me early on in our family worship experience.
Tonight I felt the hand of Our Heavenly Father move through me. Shortly before communion as my 3 year old daughter sat beside me I quietly explained to her what was going to happen during communion. She in turn asked me why. So I explained to her the reason we take communion and what we as Christians need to do before taking communion. What she said next shocked and touched me to my core. She asked to pray with me to ask Jesus into her heart. Yes, I know she is only 3 and I fully expect to pray this prayer with her again as she gets older. But nonetheless, she asked and we prayed. I held back the tears of joy as I prayed quietly there in church with my sweet and precious little girl.
As I reflect back upon this evening I am filled with the joy of overwhelming blessings afforded my family tonight. The religious teaching moments with my boys and the acceptance of Christ by my daughter would have not been possible if they had been ushered off to Sunday school. Admittedly, I had my doubts about family church time because my children are not accustomed to sitting still for an hour during church. But God has shown me very early on in our family church experience that this is the right decision for my family.
Do you worship as a family or do you prefer quiet time without your children during your church service?
What a blessing you were to me with that beautiful story. YOu are raising wonderful children with kind hearts for sure.
ReplyDeleteWe have always taught our children to sit with us during church, since we started going when our youngest was about 2yrs old. The church we attended did not have a Sunday School during worship, it was the hour prior to worship. So the kids have just always learned to sit with us, and I prefer it that way. God Bless You and your beautiful daughter :)
To be saved you have to first now you are lost. I am very happy that our children know that God is real and Jesus died for our sins, but even our 10 year old is not ready to make the decision to become a Christian. Our 13 year old was baptized into Christ just in May. The first time our son took communion after baptism was Mother's Day. The Bible clearly says that baptism is essential to Salvation. I am not sure why so many denominations skip this entirely or make it something to do after "you are saved". Texts are taken out of context, or completely ignored to support salvation without baptism. The NT example is baptism, so we follow it.
ReplyDeleteOur church has classes for children while adults have Bible study, but everyone comes together for worship. I think children should be in attendance for worship. :)
I hope your child keeps her desire to follow God with her whole being throughout her lifetime.
We have a very solid Christian education program at our church so I allow my girls to go there most weeks. They do also come into church with us, depending on the week. The thing is, they tend to "zone out" during church because the messages are geared towards adults and teens; therefore, the applications, etc., are often not relevant to them. That's okay in our case because the Christian ed. program is WAY more than babysitting...and, with home educating, we have LOTS of time to discuss various spiritual topics together.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to say, though, that I can relate to your feelings with your 3-year old. My girls were 4 and 5 when they asked to pray to receive Christ, and - aside from the days I gave birth to them - those are probably my happiest days ever. Yes, they need to grow as they mature and may need to "re-commit" when they're a little older, but I've seen fruit in the four years since that their prayers were real; you'll see that in your little one, too. :^)
That sounds wonderful. I attend a church that really isn't child friendly. The morning service is from 11-2ish and most of the people in the church expect for children to blend into the furniture. My two are 2 of 3 under 5 and are really the only two that consistently come to church. They are with me until the sermon begins and then they had back to "Children's church" where they take part in a lesson I've prepared for them. It's nice to be able to be in the service without my children and that they are in a place where they are growing in their knowledge of the WORD. However, I don't like the attitudes that have forced them out of the sanctuary during this time.
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing this was to read tonight! We left EFCC this summer to help start a home based church (homebased for now) that is family integrated! Today was challenging and I so wanted to give up. But I know we are in teh center of teh Lord's will with this decision, even though it seems so hard. Can't wait ot hear more about your journey! Love you!
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