HOLY WEEK REFLECTIONS DAY 3 - THE MOVEMENT SHOULD BE LED BY CHILDREN

Read Matthew 21: 15-16 and Psalm 8:1-4

When the chief priests saw the children shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they got offended. But Jesus didn’t correct the children, He quoted Scripture:

“Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies, you have prepared praise’?”(Matthew 21:16, quoting Psalm 8:2)

While the adults grew silent, the children kept singing.

While the religious elite questioned, the kids worshiped.

While grown folks stood in silence—trying to make sense of Jesus or play it safe—the children kept praising.

They weren’t worried about politics, positions, or approval. They just knew Jesus was worthy.

Their Hosanna didn’t need approval from people, it was appointed by God.

And still today, many adults miss what children grasp with ease.

Psalm 8 reminds us that God uses the most vulnerable, the least powerful, the most overlooked—to silence the noise of the enemy. That means God uses children not as accessories to worship, but as instruments of it.

We heard Jesus' concept of childlike faith, but rarely do we follow it.

We’re so full of fear, pride, and ourselves that we crowd out the very voices God is using to remind us of truth.

We give children a corner in the sanctuary but not a seat at the table.

We prepare them for someday, instead of recognizing that God is using them right now.

Jesus didn’t shut them down.

He welcomed their praise.

He defended their worship.

He affirmed their voices.

And you and I need to start...doing more listening than leading.

Still, we live in a world, and often lead churches where children are seen but not taken seriously. Where youth ministry is treated like babysitting. Where leadership is postponed until age, degrees, or decorum align with adult expectations.

But God didn’t say wait ‘til they’re 18. God ordained their praise now.

So before we silence another generation with our fear, our control, or our traditions,

Let’s make room.

Let’s lean in.

Let’s ask ourselves:

What is God saying through the children…that we’ve been too grown, too proud, or too distracted to hear?

Now, here are 10 reflections that call us back to childlike faith, and forward to child-led worship:

1. The children got Jesus before the adults did. While the grown folk grew quiet, the kids kept singing. Their Hosanna didn’t need approval of people, it was appointed by God. 

2. Sometimes grown folk are too full to be formed. That’s why we’ve got to listen to the children because they ask what we’ve stopped wondering. Their questions are holy.

   
   

3. It’s clear that God is using children. So if the church chooses not to, or only uses them sparingly, then the church is resisting the very move of God it keeps praying for.

4. Adults are obsessed with being wise. But kids are open, humble, and closer to truth. Wisdom from God isn’t about age, but it’s about receptivity.

   
   

5. We don’t need children in church just to say we have a youth ministry. We need them because they often carry the clearest faith in the room, and can lead us closer to God.

6. There needs to be less passing down—and more passing up. We’ve got to spend less time on indoctrination and more time on formation so the Holy Spirit can use children to shape their faith… and ours in the process.

7. Since God has ordained praise from the mouths of children—then children are worship leaders. And if you’re not contributing to what God ordained, you’re in the way.

8. Stop hindering children from leading as children. God didn’t say “once they’re grown.” God calls children when they are children. Welcome the leadership of children now, and not just in the future.

9. The religious leaders saw the kids' praise as a mistake. Jesus didn’t. Sometimes it’s not the children that need correcting, it’s the adults.

10. Jesus accepted the worship of children because it was pure. Untouched by performance.Unchained by pride. The church doesn’t need to entertain children, it needs to follow them.