Children (including teenagers) struggle to pay attention and focus during the worship service where Christians have gathered together to worship God and learn more about Him. It can even be difficult for some adults (I will admit I have struggled with this) to focus on the sermon, song service, prayers, the Lord’s Supper, or giving to the work of the church. How can this problem of focus be overcome?
I think the key to learning to focus during the worship assembly is developing some good habits (the younger this begins, the better). Here are a few habits I think can help overcome the problem of focus during the service.
- Bring your Bible AND use your Bible. Bring your Bible and turn to the passages mentioned. It will not only help your focus, it will also improve you knowledge of the Bible, as well as to check to see if what the preacher is saying truly does come from the Bible.
- Take notes. Take notes? I do not ever want to do this (I think because I take so many notes during school), but taking notes really will focus your mind on the message at hand.
- Actively engage your mind during the lesson. Do whatever it takes to actively engage your mind, whether it be contemplating a point the preacher made or asking yourself a question about something which was said.
Sermons are not written for children. Sermons (unless it is some special occasion) are not directed toward children. This makes the task of developing good behavior during the assembly even more difficult for parents.
Here are a few ways to help children learn to listen to the lesson.
- Have children mark down each time the preacher says a key word (could be something as simple as God or love). They will have to listen to the lesson to complete the task!
- Help children use their own Bibles. Have your children bring their own Bible. If they get used to bringing it as a child, it might help develop a lifelong habit.
- Find out what some of the scriptures are that the preacher will use during his lesson. Print them out on a piece of paper with some words missing. Children must listen to fill in the blanks.