牧者心聲
崇拜之後⋯⋯
駱綺雯牧師
2022 年 12 月 10 日 / 11 日
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某日崇拜之後，康澤 7 號房前：
媽媽：明仔，今日主日學教了些甚麼？
明仔：（沒有反應）
爸爸：明仔，你知道主日學老師叫甚麼名字嗎？
明仔：不知道。
以上片段，如有類同，實屬巧合。基督徒家庭，習慣了主日早上一起去崇拜，下午休息或溫習，晚上睡一覺，便又開始一連五天的日常，大的上班，小的上學。到教會崇拜已成為許多人慣性生活的一部分，以致很少去思想崇拜跟我們的生活有何關係。莫說小朋友，即使大朋友也不容易記得崇拜的事。
崇拜之後，繼續以禱告與神結連：孩子的信仰，從觀察父母的信仰生命開始。除了在教會，我們平日會常常禱告嗎？簡單如謝飯禱告，都可反映我們對上主的倚靠和感謝，有食物可吃，又吃得下，並不是必然。家長須有屬靈榜樣，要放下念經式的慣性禱告，帶領孩子認真地為神所賜的一切感恩，好使他們看見父母的禱告既不敷衍、也不空洞，而是在祈求中讓神聽見他們的需要，因而叫他們也看到神不同的回應。由此，孩子便會從家長身上學懂為得著的感恩，為得不著的順服、信靠。
崇拜之後，繼續在生活中實踐神的教導：父母要在家中建立常常討論神教導的氣氛，讓孩子習慣以聖經為閒談的內容。許多父母很懂得繪影繪聲地跟孩子講聖經故事，使孩子很快就吸收故事內容。除了時、地、人等知識性問題之外，家長也可加入深層的問題，例如「為甚麼」主耶穌要去壞人撒該的家裡住？因為祂要表達神對人無條件的愛。還有，以色列人「怎樣」過紅海？神將海水分開了，讓他們經過。原來過紅海是要叫軟弱的以色列人親眼看見神的大能，因而堅定信靠神；這故事要讓孩子明白，不是所有事情都可以解釋，重點卻在於神的大能、以及神對以色列的愛，從而讓孩子從小知道聖經不是要滿足人的好奇，而是讓人認識神，並信靠順服神。家長不要逃避孩子的問題，知道答案的就答，不知道的就答不知道，但可以回教會問問牧者。
崇拜之後，繼續在生活中敬拜神：在家裡，家長可以播放一些基督教的音樂，讓孩子從小就哼著唱頌。我聽過一名兩歲半的孩子唱《70+》，而且唱得有板有眼呢！敬拜神，不是要領詩時才預備，倒要常跟孩子唱詩歌，兒歌也有豐富的信仰內涵的。
崇拜之後，才是真正信仰生活的開始⋯⋯
(One day after worship service in front of Room 7, Main Church…)
Mom: What did they teach in Sunday School today, Ming?
Ming: (Silent)
Dad: Ming, do you know the name of your Sunday School teacher?
Ming: No idea.
Any similarities of the above episode to actual individuals or events are coincidental. Christian families are accustomed to worshiping together on Sunday morning. They take a rest or review school work in the afternoon, sleep well at night, and another five-day routine cycle begins: the parent(s) go to work, and the kids go to school. Worshiping at church has become the routine for many, so they seldom reflect on what the worship service has to do with everyday life. Adults, not to mention kids, can hardly remember anything from the worship service.
Connect with God in prayer after the worship service: The faith of our children starts with what they see about their parents' spiritual life. Do we often pray in our daily life besides praying at church? Simple things like saying grace before meals reflect our dependance on and gratefulness to the LORD. Having food to eat and the ability to eat it should not be taken for granted. Parents need to set a spiritual example. Their prayer must not be merely habitual. They should lead their children to seriously thank God for all that have been bestowed upon them. Parents should let their children see that their prayer is neither perfunctory nor empty but rather prayers to ask God to hear their needs. In doing so, the children will also see God’s different responses. From parents, the children will learn to be grateful for what God gives upon asking, and be obedient and trust in the Lord for what He does not give.
Practice God's teachings after the worship service: Parents need to foster at home an atmosphere of always discussing the teachings of God so their children get used to having the Bible as the content of their casual conversations. Many parents are good at telling their children Bible stories vividly. This helps the children grasp the content of the stories quickly. Other than the factual questions of when, where, who, etc., parents can add deeper questions, such as "why." Why did the Lord Jesus stay with Zacchaeus the evil man? That is because He wanted to express God's unconditional love for man. Now, "how" did the Israelites cross the Red Sea? God separated the water to let them cross. The Red Sea episode was to let the weak Israelites see the mighty power of God so they can trust Him firmly. The story is to let children understand that not all things can be explained. The emphasis is on the mighty power of God and His love for Israel. This enables the children to know from young that the Bible is not meant to satisfy our curiosity but to help us know God and trust and obey Him. Parents should not evade the children's questions. They should reply if they know the answer, and say they don't know when they really do not know. Of course, they can go back to church to consult the pastors.
Worship God in life after the worship service: At home, parents can play Christian music so the kids learn to sing the songs from young. I once heard a kid of two and a half years old sing "70+", our 70th anniversary song – and did so beautifully. Our worship of God is not restricted to our song leading. We need to often sing worship songs with our children. Children’s songs are also rich in spiritual content.
After the worship service is when the life of faith really begins…
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