On-Line Resources

Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs:

Many folks shy away from God's sung praise in the home because they aren't as comfortable leading their family in singing.  A lot of people think along these lines:

"Sing in church?  Sure.  No problem.  They have musicians and other voices to help cover up my 'joyful noise'.  Sing at home?  Not likely.  I'm just not that good of a singer, and we haven't hired a live-in musician yet."

But one of the joys of practicing family worship on a regular basis is getting to hear our children sing.  So for those people who are more likely to go on-line than sit down and sing, here is a link to a site that contains all the hymns in the old Trinity Hymnal along with a file you can download or stream on-line that plays the piano accompaniment for each hymn.  The accompaniment might not be a thing of beauty.  Your family's singing might not get you an invitation to sing at the Sydney Opera House.  But this is a start.  And, as a man once said, anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.     

http://www.opc.org/hymn.html?list_type=alpha 

(You'll need to have Windows Media Player open in order to play the accompaniment.) 

[stay tuned... more coming soon]

Catechism For Young Children: 

The following link will take you to a catechism that is frequently used to introduce young children to the basic teachings of the scriptures.  The questions and answers are simple and any words like "covenant" or "transgression" are defined within the catechism itself.

http://www.opc.org/cce/FirstCatechism.html

The link below is to an excellent guide that one can purchase for the purpose of helping children, not just memorize the catechism, but understand how the biblical truth of the catechism applies to their young lives.

http://www.cepbookstore.com/p-176-how-to-teach-catto-chil.aspx
Preparing Children for the Lord's Supper

Baptism and the Lord's Supper seem like such simple things.  After all, they appear as if they are only just sprinkling some water and reciting some words... eating a little piece of bread and drinking a little tiny cup of wine and saying some prayers.  But the Church also seems to tell us that there is something mysterious going on.  So many of us ask ourselves:

  • "How do I communicate to my child the simple nature and mystery of these two sacraments?" 
  • "How do I use the scriptures to instruct my child about the sacraments?"
  • "What do I tell my child is the meaning of their baptism?"
  • "Should I just let a pastor or elder from the church take care of this part so I don't tell my children something wrong?"
  • "Should I be afraid that my child might do something wrong or eat and drink in the wrong way at the Lord's Supper?" 
  • "Am I really even sure I know what the Lord's Supper is?"

Questions like these roll around inside our minds and cause many of us to unnecessarily postpone bringing our children to the Lord's Supper.  Click on this link to access a study guide that includes a very simple Bible study on the meaning of baptism and the Lord's Supper as well as the corresponding Children's Catechism questions and Westminster Shorter Catechism questions.  This should prove to be a good primer to help parents communicate to their children how the Lord Jesus marks us and feeds us through these simple yet mysterious signs and seals.   

 

 
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