Grace Lutheran Church

Starting March 19th (Saturday) whoever wants to shoot some hoops from 10am till whenever we‘re too tired to play anymore can meet at Grace in the gym. We’ll play ball every Saturday. If you want to play, just show up! Oh yeah, and bring your gym shoes…See ya!

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:8

While most parents would call their kids the light of their eye or their greatest joy;  children can be a handful. They have a way of testing every nerve, teaching us real patience. Young children seem to act up exactly when we want them to behave most for instance, at Church.
What do you do with toddlers who‘d prefer not to sit still, to listen attentively, or keep quiet? Do you keep them in the sanctuary, causing, what seems to be a disturbance? Do you bribe them? Or, do you take the easy way out, not coming at all waiting till they get older?
Attending Church with children can be difficult a nightmare, even. But is it worth it? Yes; by all means, yes! It‘s worth every drop of sweat trying to keep them in line. It‘s worth every shred of pride and dignity you feel you‘ve lost for your child acting up. It‘s worth it all every hassle, struggle, and embarrassment.
Why? Well, for many reasons, but two in particular. First, because this is part of their learning, their growing in the faith. They are the baptized; and baptism without teaching isn‘t the way our Lord gave it: Baptize them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I‘ve commanded you (Mt 28:19-20). The baptized need to be taught. And part of their teaching includes sitting still, when to be quiet and loud, and learning to come to Church.
Children actually enjoy this teaching, often called discipline. They like structure, they like to sleep, eat, play, and go potty; sleep, eat, play, and go potty. It would do great harm to say, just do what you want, when you want. That sort of freedom (which is actually no freedom at all) will hurt them. Therefore, saying, when they grow up they can decide for themselves is perhaps the most harmful thing you can do as parents. They learn the faith by simply coming and being taught how to worship.
The Book of Proverbs says, Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it? (Prov 22:8). Part of that training, that disciplining, is bringing the baptized up in the faith. It‘s teaching them to worship: to fold their hands and bow their heads, to sit still, to notice the colors, recognize the pastor, listen, and to say Amen. These simple things are the ways in which worship takes place, the traditions, by which the faith is handed down. As parents (or grandparents!), this teaching, this disciplining, this handing down of tradition, is given to you to bless your children.
And secondly, by bringing your children to Church, you bring them to Christ to the place that He‘s promised to be for them. Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, Jesus says, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 19:14). Yes, the Kingdom is given to whiney, loud, overly-opinionated children. It‘s given to kids who don‘t pay attention to the sermon and who color during the readings. It‘s given to those who really don‘t deserve it (and yes, that includes us parents, too!). In the Divine Service, children, toddlers, infants, receive the salvation of their Lord.
So is it worth the sweat and headache of keeping the children in the service? Is it worth the sudden outbursts and occasional tantrum? Yes, it is! They‘re kids they don‘t come out knowing when to be quiet and when to be loud! That‘s our job as parents. And the Church rejoices when children cry and parents teach. Please, don‘t keep your kids from the Divine Service (or from any part of it); don‘t take them out of the service but for a minute to recoup and try again if needed. While they won‘t get anything out of the words of the sermon yet they‘ll eventually learn well the discipline of sitting still. And that discipline, learned early in life, will be with them the rest of their lives. They‘ll benefit greatly from this, from watching their parents: learning the structure and forms of worship, as well as receiving the gifts Jesus has for them. They might even listen to the sermon some day! And in the meantime, they‘re right where our Lord Jesus wants them, and no bother to the rest of us!

Yours in Christ our Light, Pastor Boyle