Religious reflections for 3-27

— By Richard Merritt

When my grandchildren sit with me in worship, I encourage them to participate.

Occasionally, we stand briefly for one verse or a prayer. I remind Bethani, Carli, Brody, Michael and Zach to close their eyes in the prayer. They are encouraged to sing the precious hymns of the faith. As I hold the hymnal or they do, I trace the words across the lines of the hymn. Sooner or later they begin to follow the ups and downs of the notes.

When we get to the chorus of a hymn, even the ones too little to read the words have the opportunity to sing “Jesus saves, Jesus saves,” or “At the cross, at the cross.” Their young voices sound great singing “Power in the Blood,” or “Come Unto Me.”

I love for them to see my joy in singing hymns and it is great to hear them sing enthusiastically on the parts they know. We look at the hymnal together, we join our voices in praise to God together and often hold hands (my oldest grandchildren are eight).

They love to put money in the offering plates. Interactive worship includes families sitting together, singing the same hymns, finding and reading Bible verses or looking at the Bible together (when I am not the one preaching) and hearing the same sermon.

Interactive worship requires some knowledge of the order of the books of the Bible.

We were challenged as children to memorize the sixty-six books of the Bible at an early age. Children may be successful learning the books of the Bible even before they can read. When they go to church, it is great to see children want to find the Bible verse. Some need help to do so, but it is not an inconvenience to show a child where the Bible verses are.

Reading the Bible in worship becomes an interactive experience when the parents or grandparents hands touch the cherished pages of God’s Word. When the older and younger hands touch in using the Bible, you can almost see the love of the Grand Old Book passing from one generation to the next.

Interactive worship is also reverent worship. We prefer little children to sit with family or friends. Family members will usually demand a more reverent behavior in worship.

It is not a laughing matter for children to act out, speak out loud or sing aloud during the sermon. God’s Word declares, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (KJV Prov. 22:6).

Families have the responsibility to teach children how to behave in worship. Adults should model sitting in the proper position, face forward, paying attention and remaining in the seat until the last amen.

Sure, there are always exceptions due to health or other reasons, but many times we do not have reverent worship because we do not ask for it, expect it or demand it.

One interactive worship experience that made an impact on my life was the switch my parents applied to the proper portion of my anatomy.

The way it used to be was the parent stood up, took the child by the hand or carried them out for a more firm understanding of reverent worship.

I knew if I acted up during worship, there were serious repercussions. It was so powerful and painful an experience that I did not have to ask “Is that what you call a spanking?” Somehow, I just intuitively understood that when one of my parents whipped me, I did not want a repeat performance. I was a slow learner with a short memory.

I went out week after week with my parent for disciplinary correction. When we started back inside, the inevitable question was “Now, are you ready to go back in and sit down and behave?” It was a truly interactive experience.

Interactive worship was where I learned about Jesus (Rom. 10:9, 10, 13).

Like Paul, I can now say “For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (KJV 2 Tim. 1:12).

That same boy that got whippings at church came to the time that he asked Jesus to save him.

Interactive worship for me includes thanking God for my salvation, for what Jesus did on Calvary, for my family, for my church, for my teachers in the Bible classes at church and praying for my grandchildren and others to be saved and praying for other spiritual needs of fellow church members.

I ask God to forgive my sins, to restore my soul and to help me be a better example so others can see Jesus in me. Interactive worship is family worship on the same pew!

(The Rev. Richard Merritt is the pastor at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church.)

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