Talk About Praise

Contents

1.Tools for Parenting Teens
2.Learn Their Lingo
3.Links to Learn From
4.A Little Encouragement...And Humor

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1. Tools for Parenting Teens
From http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/

Talk About Praise

You likely experience praising God together with your family regularly at church. But how often do you talk about that experience? Why do we do it? Why does God care? What does it do for us and for Him?


I was reminded at church this week that so much of our education about who God is and what matters to Him comes during times of singing praise and worship songs in church. The mom sitting in the row behind me was telling her curious pre-schooler the name of each song and a line about what it meant: “God’s love is big!”

I grew up singing hymns and praise songs in church from before I could talk. I eventually realized as a young teen that some of the songs I’d been singing my whole life didn’t make sense to me. But the more I learned about the Bible, the more I understood how those words I’d been singing fit into everything I believed. The songs started to matter more.

We’re pulling our talking points about praising God from Psalm 66 this week. We hope a few of questions below might help you to have a productive conversation with your child about how we praise God and why it matters.

Talking Points

•Do you enjoy our time of singing praise and worship songs together as a church? Why or why not?

•What do you like most about it?

•What do you like least about it, if anything?

•What are a few of your favorite songs that we sing?

•What do you think singing those praise and worship songs does for us as Christians? How does it help us in our relationship with God? How does it help us to live better for Him or closer to Him? [Parent: Emphasize that we are commanded to praise God and that doing so helps us to draw closer to Him. It also reminds us of what is “real,” that He is God and every good thing comes from Him.]

•Do you think our singing of worship and praise songs does anything for God? Does He benefit from our sincere worship and praise? [Parent: Emphasize that yes, God cares about and responds to our worship. Some Bible verses you could look at together include James 4:8; Psalm 22:3; Psalm 103:2; Hebrews 11:6.]

•When David praises God in the Psalms, he often talks about shouting and being loud. Do you think we’re loud enough when we praise God together at church? Why or why not? What’s the point of being loud? [Parent: See Psalm 66:1-2.]

•In the Psalms, David often praises God for specific things about God that are great, like His power or mercy. What are some other great things about God we can praise Him for?

•Another thing David does in the Psalms is that he notices and describes great things God has done for him or Israel—and then David brings those things up again and again to talk about how good God is. What are some great things God has done for our family that we can remember and talk about when we praise Him?

•In the middle of praising God for the good things He has done for Israel in Psalm 66, David mentions that God tested them, “brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs” and then “brought us into a place of abundance.” Why do you think David would praise God for taking his people into and out of a terrible time? [Parent: God’s grace to us includes using the hard times in our lives to bring us closer to Him—and He deserves our praise for that, too.]

•Of course we can praise God silently in our hearts and minds as an act of personal worship. But Psalms 66 encourages us to praise God out loud to each other. Why do you think that matters? [Parent: Emphasize that praising God to each other encourages us all to praise Him more.]

Daily Prayer
Ask God to help your child to keep remembering the works He has done on their behalf and to keep rejoicing in Him. (See Psalm 66:5-6.)
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2. Learn Their Lingo

Automagically = something that happens automatically, but that also has some mysterious, "magical" element to it. "Smart" appliances, features, etc. that do intelligent things with less help than you might expect.

Mantrum = when a grown man throws a tantrum when he can't have his way.

3. Links to Learn From

Fort Hood Shooting: Five tips to help parents talk to their kids about violence in the news
http://www.examiner.com/x-14708-Toddlers-to-Teens-Examiner~y2009m11d6-Fort-Hood-Shooting-Five-tips-to-help-parents-talk-to-their-kids-about-violence-in-the-news

Teenage pregnancy does not discriminate
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=861929&category=OPINION

Hunger in America: Half of Our Kids on Food Stamps
http://chattahbox.com/us/2009/11/03/hunger-in-america-half-of-our-kids-on-food-stamps/

4. A Little Encouragement...And Humor

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

- John Fitzgerald Kennedy