Your children NEED you. I want to remind you that you as parents are the primary disciplers of your children. Knowing that truth is one thing; but knowing how to do that is another thing! One of the most effective ways to disciple your children is by having faith conversations with your kids at home. This Sunday we are going to be taking communion and as we prepare our hearts I thought we would send you 5 points to explain to your kids regarding communion.
5 things you need to know about how to explain communion to children:
- Communion is reserved for followers of Christ. Take them to passages like 1 Cor. 11:23-26, where Jesus is addressing His followers about how communion is something that they would do together. Explain that communion is to be done by every Christian, and that Christians are supposed to do it together as the church.
- The purpose of communion. Look at the Scriptures together, pointing out that Jesus wants Christians to remember Him through communion, and that they should continue to do this until Christ returns again. Good passages to look at would be Matt. 26:26-98; Luke 22:19-20; and 1 Cor. 11:24-26.
- The symbolism of body and blood. Because children usually don’t begin to develop abstract thinking capabilities further until they have reached the upper elementary or junior high years, they won’t be able to understand clearly how the bread and drink are not actually the physical flesh and blood of Christ. It will be somewhat confusing. However, you can explain that they are symbols. This might lead to more questions, at which point it is perfectly acceptable for you to take the opportunity to explain that we really don’t know anything more than that, because Jesus did not tell us any more about those elements. It’s ok to say that it’s partially a mystery to us all, because it is!
- Why we keep doing communion. Share that Christ told us to keep remembering Him through communion until He returned again. So until Christ returns one day, we should keep participating in communion together as a church.
- Before doing communion. 1 Cor. 11:27-29 says that we must examine ourselves before participating in communion. A simple way to explain this is that if they know they have done something wrong that they need to apologize for, then they need to do that before taking communion. As your children get older, you can have deeper discussions about what it means to be right before God.
(Retrieved from KidsminTools.com)
Be diligent. Be Faithful. Keep fighting against the power of the evil one. Your children NEED you.
Let me know if I can help.
Striving to be a disciple who creates disciples,
Greg Salmon
Pastor of Student Ministries
