Question: Why should I make music a part of each class?
God tells us to sing!
"Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing." (Psalm 100:2)
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16)
It is a good thing to know that Psalm 92:1 says, "It is a ________ __________ to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy Name, O Most High." [It may be a good thing we gave you a hint to help you fill in those blanks!]
Musical messages are easily remembered and can be recalled
years later. Songs should be a vital part of each class you teach.
If you know the song "God Is So Good" use that
tune to sing these words:
Talk to the Lord
All through each day;
He hears each word
That you think or say.
We held up the visual we made for that song and asked the children in our Good News Club®, "Why is this a good song to remember?" Here are two responses:
"It tells me I can talk to God all day long
and I like that."
"It tells us God knows what we think and say
and if we remember that, we won't sin so much."
Consider these additional reasons for including songs in each class:
Songs allow
every child to participate! Involvement increases learning.
Songs can
set the scene and prepare hearts for prayer, missions, Bible memory . . .
whatever your next class activity.
Songs interspersed
in your program provide a change of pace.
Songs provide
an opportunity to reinforce key concepts from your Bible lesson.
Songs can
occasionally be used to invite children to trust Christ as their Savior.
Songs chosen
carefully help children worship God, witness, receive
comfort for a troubled heart or express faith and joy all week long.
Nine-year-old Stacy arrived very early, found us in the church library and said, "If you found a book real fast you'd have time to talk to me."
"Want to discuss something special?" we asked.
"No," she said. "I just like talking to somebody." So we chatted about church, an approaching holiday, sports and school.
"Guess what happened at recess today?" she sputtered. "I was talking with my friend, Lisa. Two other girls came and whispered something in her ear and she walked away with them. I was so-o-o-o mad."
"What did you do?" we asked.
"Well," she said half smiling as though ready to share a secret, "I stood there all by myself and sang a song in my head to cheer me up."
"What did you sing?" we questioned.
Quietly she started singing, "Father, I adore You . . ." We joined her and afterwards asked why she chose that song. "Because it makes me think about God," she said. "I know He loves me, and when I think about Him I feel better."
A song helped Stacy claim the promise found in Isaiah 26:3. She stood victoriously through a hard situation. Are you teaching children songs that minister to their hearts all day long? The song shown earlier sung to the tune "God Is So Good" will remind children to pray. Try teaching it to your class.
You may be wondering, "How do I select songs for children to sing?" That's a great question! We have the answer!
Where do you want to go next?
How do I select songs for children to sing?
To the place for encouragement (changed each week)
