The same study by LifeWay Research found that listening to Christian music increased the chances that a child would be a faithful Christian as an adult; but listening to primarily secular or popular music decreased that likelihood. This highlights the importance of teaching our kids to love music that is good, beautiful, and true. Music is a good gift from God, one of his most incredible creations. Wisdom and discernment is necessary in choosing what we listen to and what we allow our children to listen to. When a message is delivered through a song, it can impact us emotionally in ways a lecture might not. When a message is delivered in a song it tends to stick with us. After all, who hasn’t had an awful song stuck in their head and been unable to get it out? This is why we must expose our kids to music that honors God and uplifts one another. For Christians, there is more at stake when it comes to music. Christians are called by God to worship him through singing themselves (for just a few examples of this exhortation see Psalm 100:2, 101:1, and 108:1). To give our kids a faith that lasts we must teach them not only what kind of music is beneficial to listen to, but how to sing.
Singing is an integral part of the Christian life because it is one of the primary ways God calls us to worship him. Ephesians 5:18-19 calls Christians to “be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all our heart.” Singing is a way to express our adoration at God’s greatness, our gratitude for his grace, and our wonder at his blessings. We make melodies to the Lord, but notice, Paul says that Christians are also to address one another with songs. When we sing in church, we are singing to one another as well as to God. Singing in church is not a private moment between you and God; it is corporate worship, a mutual profession of faith, and a method of encouraging fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
The songs Paul has in mind when he says “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” are what we know as the Psalms. Paul is calling Christians to encourage and exhort each other with the divinely inspired Psalter, what we might call “God’s songbook.” In another of his letters Paul describes the function of Christian singing this way, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16). Singing is an integral part of the Christian life because it is one of the primary ways believers teach and correct one another. This being the case, it should be clear that one of the best, God-given methods for raising our kids to have a lasting faith is through music.
Songs are a great way to teach your kids the truth of the Bible. In addition, the practice of catechesis serves a similar purpose. A catechism is a series of questions and answers, usually written in such a ways as to be easily memorized, that teach the truths of the Christian faith. In addition to teaching our kids Scripture and helping them memorize God’s word through song, we can teach them theology with catechisms. Some catechisms are even put to music (see the references below)! A good catechism will, in an age appropriate way, instruct your child in the basics of the faith. They will learn orthodox doctrine, which is of course, a fundamental need if your child is to know not just what you want them to believe, but why they believe themselves.
