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The Nursery of the Holy Spirit: Welcoming Children in Worship
Public worship is the nursery of the Holy Spirit. As you enter the sanctuary, you notice them at once. Then, as you take your seat next to a family, they are right there beside you. Throughout the ensuing service, you see them--and hear them. The presence of children in public worship is not only striking, but also increasingly strange in modern American church life. In fact, the idea of your children sitting or standing next to you during prayer, singing, or the pastor's sermon can be downright scary. This book is based in the conviction that public worship is the nursery of the Holy Spirit and that bringing children in is both beneficial and a blessing. The Nursery of the Holy Spirit offers practical advice on how to make this ideal a reality in your children's lives.
- GenresTheology
90 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2014
3 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Daniel R. Hyde
41 books31 followersDaniel R. Hyde (ThM, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary) is the Pastor of the Oceanside United Reformed Church in Oceanside, California. He is the author of over ten books, including Welcome to a Reformed Church, Why Believe in God?, and God in Our Midst.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 28, 2018
Livro fantástico!
February 24, 2019
"The children of believers.., are children of the church and belong to the Holy Spirit's most child-friendly nursery - public worship." (pg. 15)
Do young children and youth get any benefit from being in the worship service from beginning to end? Isn't it better for them to be dismissed so they can attend an "age-appropriate" service? In a very gracious tone Danny Hyde attempts to answer these questions and more from the view of a father and a Reformed minister.
A little about my reasons for picking up this little volume; any Reformed book about children and worship perks my interest because my wife and children have recently (2015) become members of a Reformed church that recognizes children of believers as members of Christ's church. This is a new doctrine for me, and since I've never seen this modeled for me as I grew up in Anabaptist and Wesleyan churches I have been trying to read any book or blog I can get my hands on regarding this topic.
So, lets get to it.
After the great forward by John D. Witvliet, Danny Hyde, in his introduction, begins by laying his cards on the table. He mentions his reasons for writing this book is, firstly, to show that children in worship is a practice consistent with what we see in scripture and, secondly, to give practical helps for parents seeking to faithfully perform this intimidating task (pg. xvi).
The first chapter "Children's Church or Children of the Church?", Hyde, with the weight of biblical authority, contrasts the modern practice of children's church with the historic view of the covenant, that children of believers are a part of the church and the proper recipients of the church's initiatory sign, baptism. He argues this point very well.
In the second chapter "Children in Worship in Scripture", Hyde works from his conclusions made in the previous chapter to show how these "little Christians" worshiped and were addressed in worship in both the old and new testament. Again Hyde doesn't skip a beat. Every objection by the reader is met with scriptural evidence.
The longest section of the book is the third chapter, "Parenting in the Pew". Hyde mentions that he borrowed this name from another book written by Robbie Castleman (Parenting in the Pew, Downers Grove: InterVarsity). **Just a short note: Castleman's is a great book that I would recommend after you have read this volume.** Anyway, the reason for the length of this chapter is that in it Hyde gives very practical applications for parents who believe their children ought to be in worship. They have the right doctrine, but now how does this doctrine work its self out. This is where the the rubber of the first two chapters meets the road, and in a very gracious tone Hyde delivers.
The book ends with a very short conclusion, followed with a helpful bibliography for further reading and indexes for the scripture and confessions that were cited.
*My Rating*
To conclude, this book gets 5 stars from me because Hyde does a great job of teaching biblical truth in a very succinct and accessible way. Even if you are single or have no children this would be a great book on reorienting yourself with how you should view the children who are a part of your congregation, as Witvliet writes in his foreward, "Children are an indispensable part of the worshiping community, incorporated into the Christian community at baptism not as second-class church members to be merely tolerated, but as deeply cherished gifts of God to be embraced." (pg. ix). Also, for those who don't see their children as a part of the church (baptists, Pentecostals, non-denom) though this book will probably not change your convictions, it will give you fresh insights on how to parent your children in a God honouring way.
Highly recommended.
Do young children and youth get any benefit from being in the worship service from beginning to end? Isn't it better for them to be dismissed so they can attend an "age-appropriate" service? In a very gracious tone Danny Hyde attempts to answer these questions and more from the view of a father and a Reformed minister.
A little about my reasons for picking up this little volume; any Reformed book about children and worship perks my interest because my wife and children have recently (2015) become members of a Reformed church that recognizes children of believers as members of Christ's church. This is a new doctrine for me, and since I've never seen this modeled for me as I grew up in Anabaptist and Wesleyan churches I have been trying to read any book or blog I can get my hands on regarding this topic.
So, lets get to it.
After the great forward by John D. Witvliet, Danny Hyde, in his introduction, begins by laying his cards on the table. He mentions his reasons for writing this book is, firstly, to show that children in worship is a practice consistent with what we see in scripture and, secondly, to give practical helps for parents seeking to faithfully perform this intimidating task (pg. xvi).
The first chapter "Children's Church or Children of the Church?", Hyde, with the weight of biblical authority, contrasts the modern practice of children's church with the historic view of the covenant, that children of believers are a part of the church and the proper recipients of the church's initiatory sign, baptism. He argues this point very well.
In the second chapter "Children in Worship in Scripture", Hyde works from his conclusions made in the previous chapter to show how these "little Christians" worshiped and were addressed in worship in both the old and new testament. Again Hyde doesn't skip a beat. Every objection by the reader is met with scriptural evidence.
The longest section of the book is the third chapter, "Parenting in the Pew". Hyde mentions that he borrowed this name from another book written by Robbie Castleman (Parenting in the Pew, Downers Grove: InterVarsity). **Just a short note: Castleman's is a great book that I would recommend after you have read this volume.** Anyway, the reason for the length of this chapter is that in it Hyde gives very practical applications for parents who believe their children ought to be in worship. They have the right doctrine, but now how does this doctrine work its self out. This is where the the rubber of the first two chapters meets the road, and in a very gracious tone Hyde delivers.
The book ends with a very short conclusion, followed with a helpful bibliography for further reading and indexes for the scripture and confessions that were cited.
*My Rating*
To conclude, this book gets 5 stars from me because Hyde does a great job of teaching biblical truth in a very succinct and accessible way. Even if you are single or have no children this would be a great book on reorienting yourself with how you should view the children who are a part of your congregation, as Witvliet writes in his foreward, "Children are an indispensable part of the worshiping community, incorporated into the Christian community at baptism not as second-class church members to be merely tolerated, but as deeply cherished gifts of God to be embraced." (pg. ix). Also, for those who don't see their children as a part of the church (baptists, Pentecostals, non-denom) though this book will probably not change your convictions, it will give you fresh insights on how to parent your children in a God honouring way.
Highly recommended.
October 28, 2016
What a great little book on including our children in public worship! Pastor Hyde does a great job laying out the Biblical and practical reasons for putting our little ones on our laps or beside us on Sunday morning. He does so with cheerfulness and without being too harsh. He does not make this a hill to die on, as some in the family integrated church movement do. But he does clearly indicate its value. Along the way he carefully articulates the place of children in the covenant. Also it has a great bibliography, which us book lovers always like.
The only problem? The book costs too much. It is only 60 pages long and retails at $15.99 with used copies going for $8.00 plus shipping. Someone needs to take this book, fix a few typos, and bring the price down to about $5-8. If they did I would buy some for every family at my church.
I highly recommend this book for all pastors, elders, worship leaders and all those interested in children and their place in the church.
The only problem? The book costs too much. It is only 60 pages long and retails at $15.99 with used copies going for $8.00 plus shipping. Someone needs to take this book, fix a few typos, and bring the price down to about $5-8. If they did I would buy some for every family at my church.
I highly recommend this book for all pastors, elders, worship leaders and all those interested in children and their place in the church.
December 15, 2017
Livro incrível, incrível. Aconselho não somente aos pais essa grandiosa obra, toda a igreja, todo cristão deveria lê-la.
February 8, 2019
Excelente.
September 9, 2019
Esse livro me foi extremamente útil.
December 4, 2024
Studied through this one with our Sunday school class. Hyde makes a compact and powerful biblical-historical defense of including children in worship rather than shuffling them off to “age appropriate” activities on the Lord’s day. He writes from a staunchly reformed perspective. I disagree with the pedobaptist orientation of his covenant theology, but the rest is helpful.
April 20, 2024
This is a small book, only 60 pages of text, but very convincing. SHould children be in the same worship assembly with adults? The author says "yes" and makes his case strongly and Biblically. I commanded this book for your consideration.
October 9, 2019
Hoje queremos dá a igreja a função de educadora dos filhos, mas a igreja está para instruir e nos preparar para esse que é o nosso ofício! O culto infantil, surge com uma ideia de dá aos filhos um culto que em uma linguagem mais simples comunique as verdades do evangelho. No entanto, quando olhamos para a Escritura não encontramos esse modelo, quando olhamos para a história antes do Culto Infantil entrar nas igrejas não vemos dificuldades no aprendizado das crianças. Por tanto, esses e outros argumentos em levaram a ler o livro e toda a expectativa que tinha na leitura foi superada. Os argumentos, são totalmente bíblicos e nos leva a pensar em nosso papel como pais, na educação em casa e no culto de nossas crianças. Valeu a pena cada página lida!!!!
January 28, 2015
This was an outstanding book. It makes a compelling case for children in worship being biblical, God glorifying, practical and necessary. It displays how we can still raise our kids biblically against the cultural church paradigm we see all around us. This book coupled with Family Shepherds and Family Driven Faith both by Voddie Baucham are must reads for any Christian family, especially fathers. I highly recommend to those parents, and church leaders that want to align biblically with Scripture, and not haphazardly pass on the faith once delivered to the saints, but to purposefully, intentionally, and biblically do so as obeying God. Read this book and drink deeply from its truth.
November 19, 2016
The author does a good job of laying out the scripture which compels us to bring our children into worship with us. I did wish for some more "Parenting in the Pew" tips, but the main portion of the book is for convincing churches who segregate services by age, or banish young children all together, that worship is fellowship for the whole body- even those who are tiny, screaming, and nursing. And the parents of those fidgety children! Timely words, succinct.
March 3, 2018
Um livro excelente sobre um assunto negligenciado no Brasil, mesmo por igrejas reformadas. O autor aborda o tema de uma perspectiva bíblica-aliancista. É didático, bem escrito e organizado.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews