KIDS WORSHIP
GIVING KIDS A BIBLICAL DEFINITION OF WORSHIP ( PART 2 ) | Yancy
We get to be stewards of these lives that we impact through our churches . What an honor . I don ’ t want to create fluff . It ’ s not about adding to the noise , checking boxes or filling minutes . I truly believe kids are the easiest group of people to lead . They are closest to the starting line of life before they have unlearned and misguided their worship . Just the other day , I saw an image online of a newborn baby with both hands lifted up . The baby was in a worship position . I smiled thinking about the image as evidence of Psalm 8:2 . ( Go look it up !) Our God has created and ordained praise and it starts at the beginning of our life . Praise isn ’ t something that we grow into or a status we achieve in our Christianity . It is part of the DNA of how we were created to function .
Even still your kids and students need you to guide them . They need you to shepherd them , to lead them . I have a curriculum series to teach the heart of worship . One of the things we do in HEARTBEAT is teach Hebrew words for praise . It is something the children have leaned into and gravitated towards . Why ? Because it takes something that ’ s a little abstract at times and makes it concrete . The knowledge answers the “ how ” and “ why ” questions . It takes worship from just being an action to purpose . The definition of the word helps us better understand how to do it . The understanding will move us from being spectators to participators . This is what we desire for those we lead in worship ! Let ’ s learn some Hebrew words for praise .
YADAH - yaw-daw It means “ To worship with extended hands . To hold out the hands .” It ’ s an active posture of praise expressed by those who adore God . The Hebrew people in the Bible showed their excitement and enthusiasm for God by raising their hands during their praise and worship . Their hands shot upward in response . When you experience something amazing , you celebrate it . Have you ever raised your hands at a sporting event as your team scores ? Your arms go up in victory . Or , when you see something beautiful , you stand frozen in awe . Your expression reflects the beauty that ’ s captivating your senses . When your heart is filled up with good things , what overflows from your heart is thankfulness and praise to our good God . Psalm 86:12 ( NLT ) says : With all my heart I will PRAISE ( Yadah ) you . O Lord my God . I will give glory to your name forever .
BARAK - baw-rak It means “ To kneel . To bless God . To praise , salute and adore .” Barak is a word of humility . It ’ s used 289 times just in the book of Psalms alone . Maybe you ’ ve seen someone kneel down before royalty or before a King . It ’ s a way to express honor . When you praise God with Barak , what you focus your eyes on changes . Your physical posture changes what your eyes are fixed on . See , when you kneel down , you bow down in honor . If you ’ re truly kneeling before the Lord then that means you ’ re focusing on God . The intention of your heartbeat is to bless God and honor His greatness . Psalm 95:6 ( NLT ) says : Come , let us worship and bow down . Let us kneel before the Lord our maker , for he is our God .
SHABACH - shaw-bakh It means to shout ! to address in a loud tone . To commend glory and triumph . Have you ever noticed in life that what we are truly passionate about , we get excited for ? And when we ’ re really excited about something there is usually an outburst . ( A surprise in the mail , unexpected trip , cheering on your favorite athlete .) Worship isn ’ t always soft and quiet … in fact sometimes its loud and messy . David ’ s worship was like that . It was on one of the hardest days of life ,
while he was in the wilderness that he penned Psalm 63:1 , 3 & 4 saying : “ God , You are my God . I seek You with all my heart . With all my strength I thirst for You in this dry desert where there isn ’ t any water . Your love is better than life . So I will bring glory ( Shabach ) to you with my lips . I will praise ( Barak ) you as long as I live . I will call on your name when I lift up my hands in prayer .”
Start teaching these practical explanations and Biblical definitions to your kids . I have more things to add to this list next time . May their heart posture before the Lord always be a heart of worship , as long as they live !
© 2023 Yancy Ministries , Inc .
Yancy Yancy is a worship leader and songwriter for kids that travels the globe doing family concerts and training worship leaders . Every week her songs are used in thousands of churches around the world . Her Dove Award winning music is all the things kids love and everything adults value . Her newest “ Little Praise Party ” album is “ Out of This World ”. Yancy has a passion to serve the Church which is why she created “ Heartbeat ”, a curriculum to teach kids the heart of worship . She recently authored the book “ Sweet Sound : The Power of Discipling Kids in Worship ”. She lives with her husband and sons in Nashville , TN .
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