Back to 2022 Church Weekly List

Vol. XIX No. 24
13 March 2022

MINISTRY TO CHILDREN

Children are VIPs, they are very important to God and to us. The word “children” occurs over 1500 times in the Bible. Psalm 127:3 says, “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” Children are God’s gifts to us and for children to be a blessing to parents, church, society, and country, there must be strong marriages, strong families with a daddy and a mommy, not a daddy and a daddy, or a mommy and a mommy; gay marriages destroy family, and eventually country.

Jesus said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:14). The word “little children” here is the Greek paideia and it refers to infants and toddlers (children from day one to five years old). The kingdom of heaven is full of people who have childlike faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” (Mark 10:15). Jesus also said, “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 18:3,4). Children are so teachable. They listen and learn—A is A, B is B, C is C, white is white, black is black (cf Matt 11:25). Unless we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word like a little child, we cannot be saved.

Jesus blessed the little children and prayed for them. Children need good and godly parents, parents who are Christlike who will teach them the Bible and pray for them. That was why Moses said to Israel, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (Deut 6:4–7). Are we doing that?

Let us love our children, teach them God’s Word from day one, and pray for them and for their salvation. JK

NURSERY WORSHIP REPORT

Joycelyn Chng

When the Children’s Worship classes had to be taken online in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we did not know that it would be a long one year and nine months before we could resume in-person classes. We are thankful to God that during this time, the Children’s programme—Sunday School and Children’s Worship—was able to be conducted online without disruption. In God’s good time, He opened the door for us to hold the Children’s Worship class physically at RELC again. Although it is only the Nursery group that could resume, and the Sunday School continues to be held via Zoom, we praise and thank the Lord for this precious opportunity for His little ones to gather together physically to worship Him.

After much prayer and planning, the in-person Nursery Worship class resumed on February 6, 2022. It runs concurrently with the English and Chinese Worship Services at 10.30 am, and is held at RELC Level 6, Room 602, for children aged 3 to 5. By God’s grace, a roster was worked out that complies with the prevailing government measures, and we thank God for a team of committed teachers and assistants who availed themselves joyfully to serve in this ministry.

Each Lord’s Day morning, the children are warmly welcomed by the teacher and assistants as their parents bid their goodbyes and leave to join the main worship service. They begin with a fun attendance-taking activity, before settling in for the main worship time of songs and Bible lesson. Thereafter, they engage in various post-lesson activities including memory verse, craft and games.

The following are testimonies by sister Yee Fong, who heads the team of teachers, and sister Katharine.

“We thank and praise God for paving the way for the resumption of the first Nursery children’s worship class which went on smoothly on 6 February 2022. The number of children who were registered by parents were 8 but 2 could not successfully attend due to separation anxieties which is entirely normal since these are only 2-plus-year-olds.

“Parents’ feedback was positive and encouraging as they look forward to have their children attend class the following Lord’s Day. This is the feedback from one of the parents, “…thank God for class because we have not been able to really listen to service weekly.”

“After coming close to 2 years of Nursery children’s worship via the Zoom platform, words cannot describe the joy to be able to meet the children in the flesh, to teach them God’s Word, and to have personal interactions with them through memory verse recitation and lesson-based activities. These precious little ones are very happy and eager to learn God’s Word through hand-held visuals, hands-on craft and game activities, while we abide by all the necessary safety precautions and guidelines laid down by MCCY, to the best of our abilities.

“We pray for God’s mercies and grace to preserve and protect both the spiritual and physical health of the parents and children; for God’s leading and enabling of the teachers, song leaders and assistants as we co-labour with likeminded zeal, love and humility in serving Him.” (Yee Fong)

“Thank God for the opportunity to teach in the Nursery Children’s Worship. It was a prayer answered to return for physical class. Preparation was carefully carried out because of the many restrictions in place. Thank God for bringing 7 students to our class on 13 Feb 2022. Although there were crying children (mostly the younger ones), the lesson was carried out successfully. The children got to listen to the Bible lesson, and participate in post-lesson activities such as crafts and games. We’re looking forward to seeing more children attending!” (Katharine)

We have around 6 children attending each class on average, and we give thanks to God for the faith of the parents who bring their children to join the Nursery Worship. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”This verse tells us how critical it is to bring up our children in God’s way. Parents especially, have this God-given duty (Deut 6:4–7; Eph 6:4), and the Church provides support in this vital task through the Sunday School and Children’s Worship programme.

With this long-awaited resumption of in-person worship for the nursery children, it is our prayer that more parents will take hold of this wonderful privilege given by God and bring their little ones (aged 3 to 5) to join us. “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16). Here in Nursery Worship, the children learn about God’s creation, promises and sovereignty. They also learn about prayer and about Jesus, the promised Saviour. By ensuring that our children attend the Nursery Worship, we impress upon their young hearts the importance of the learning of God’s Word, and the worship of God. “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High” (Ps 92:1). We pray that some may even come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through the Nursery Worship. May the Lord be pleased to use this ministry for the extension of His kingdom unto the praise and glory of His name.

1 Goldhill Plaza, #03-35, S(308899)
admin@truelifebpc.org.sg
6254 1287

© 2024 True Life Bible-Presbyterian Church