Opening Prayers / Calls to Worship. Strengthen us for the work of the Kingdom, a worship and a service which is ours today as well as tomorrow. O Blessed Trinity, fill this place and these people with Your presence. May Your Spirit move in our midst, waking us up when we are tired, opening our eyes to the goodness You spread before us. Opening Prayer For Children's Church![]() The Children's Message Though this practice is common, and potentially very valuable, there are also significant difficulties and risks involved. The children's message can be a valuable time for the children to be 'up close' to the pastor if they come forward to meet him or her, and it gives the pastor the opportunity to relate to the children in a much more personal way. This event often makes children feel that they are important by focusing the attention on them. If handled correctly, this can be an excellent time for teaching the children about matters relating to worship, the sanctuary, and the liturgy. Downloadable rock music. • “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley & The Wailers • “Hey Ya!” by Outkast • “Drops of Jupiter” by Train” • “Suspicious Minds” by Elvis Presley • “Some Nights” by FUN. However, various problems can creep into this part of the worship service. Often the one presenting the children's message is speaking to adults more than the children, though not admitting it. Or it can become a time for children to 'act out' in a distracting way, though it may evoke laughter from the congregation. If someone other than the pastor presents the message to the children it may raise in children's mind the fear that they don't count enough to warrant the pastor's attention. And if moralisms or object lessons are the focus of this message, they can easily go beyond a young child's ability to grasp or understand. Whatever your practice, we offer the following guidelines so that if you include children's messages, you will be able to do them well: 1. The pastor should present the children's message most of the time so children don't get the message that you 'turn them over' to someone else. Opening Prayer For Children's ServiceDon't try to engage in funny and unpredictable dialogue; it can be distracting in public worship. If you bring the children forward, find a position where you face them and can speak to them, rather than sitting on the steps with them and facing the same direction they do. Get down on the children's level (physically) and speak at their eye-level. Having a small stool to sit on can be very helpful. Vary the placement of the children's message in the worship service so that its location in the liturgy is appropriate to the subject of the message. Speak about the liturgy on a regular basis, using the children's message as an opportunity to teach kids why we are doing this or that in worship. (You will find the appendix of Marva Dawn's book Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down [Eerdmans, 1995, pp.
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