The life of every member in our church body contributes either to the preservation or the demise of Christian education in our midst. To see how your life is weighing in the balance, let me encourage you to spend a few moments holding a young child in your arms. Look into that child’s eyes and contemplate how you are literally holding the future in your hands. One day, when you breathe your last breath, how will you know your life has mattered? I suspect you’ll find your answer in the eyes of those you leave behind. Will they be looking back at you expressing a common faith that unites your hearts? Will you find in those eyes spiritual successors, children of God who will share the love of Jesus with everyone they meet?

Brandt, James A. Passing the baton of faith, p. 11
October 2005. Forward in Christ - Feature, Vol. 92, No. 10

QUOTE - MUSIC & ALZHEIMER'S

I learned… how the disease in its relentless attack on the brain reaches the music storage area last. I learned that it was through music, those hymns that so beautifully carry the message of the gospel, that I could continue to reach through the mist of failing memory to renew and refresh the darkened spirits. How precious are those words and melodies that we have learned! I came to understand, too, how important and precious the words of God as expressed through the pen of Paul are: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19).

Kogler, Fred. Play us another hymn, Jimmy, p. 14
February 2005. Forward in Christ - features, Vol. 92, No. 2

QUOTE - WORLD'S VIEWPOINT

Consider joining a faith community. By regularly attending services and social events at a place of worship, your child will come to see that spirituality plays a central role in the life of the community. She’ll also grow up more comfortable with the liturgy and rituals of your faith and come to see a house of worship as a place where she can feel comfortable and secure. “Kids thrive on predictability,” says Neifert (Marianne Neifert, is a pediatrician, mother of five, and the author of Dr. Mom’s Prescription for Preschoolers: Seven Essentials for the Formative Years). “Whether it’s a Catholic child seeing the communion bread and wine, a Jewish child hearing the Hebrew prayers, or a Hindu child smelling the incense in the temple, by experiencing rituals kids come to appreciate the predictability of a religious service, if not the deeper meaning.” Most churches and synagogues also have children’s services that introduce kids to the tenets of a religion in a way they can understand and enjoy.

How to raise a spiritual child
December, 2004. MSN Family – Raising Kids

Comments: Even the world sees the common sense of forming spiritual habits early on. How can 'Christian' parents be so 'ho-hum' about bringing their children to church? It's vital for their spiritual growth... because there they hear God speak on a regular basis.

QUOTE - WORLD'S VIEW ON INTRODUCING SPIRITUALITY AT HOME

“Young children don’t understand who God is, but they don’t really understand who a grandparent is either,” says Neifert (Marianne Neifert, is a pediatrician, mother of five, and the author of Dr. Mom’s Prescription for Preschoolers: Seven Essentials for the Formative Years). “Still, you want them to know Grandma, so you start talking about her from day one. It’s the same thing with the idea of God.” Just as your child takes your word for it that Grandma is an important person in her life (even if she rarely sees her), so she’ll take your word for it that God is, too. And by introducing spiritual practices early on -- such as lighting candles or singing hymns together -- your child will view them as a natural part of life, and you’ll have a spiritual influence on her before other people do. Even if you don’t believe in God or see God as a single all-powerful being, it’s worth talking to your child about it. “Kids are going to hear about God all over,” says Neifert. “If you don’t put your own spin on it, with your own values, they’ll absorb someone else’s.”

How to raise a spiritual child
December, 2004. MSN Family – Raising Kids

COMMENT: I agree that we have to instill our faith in our children early on, so they know who we consider important. If we never talk about God, apparently God isn't all that important to ourselves. And it's not just someone else who will try to put a different spin on God and faith -- the devil will always be trying to get his two-cents worth in, so that our kids are confused or led astray from Christ as their savior.

LUTHER FACT

Familiar to all who have studied Luther’s Small Catechism is the introduction common to each of the six chief parts of Christian teaching: “As the head of the family should teach them in the simplest way to those in his household.” Martin Luther envisioned Christian fathers and mothers teaching their children the truths of God’s Word.

Brandt, James A. Passing the baton of faith, p. 11
October 2005. Forward in Christ - Feature, Vol. 92, No. 10

Comment: Unfortunately we've seen a great decline in parents taking an active role in the spiritual education of their children.