Leader:

Hello! Wow, what a beautiful day to praise the Lord! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise, praise, praise. I love praising the Lord. Children, what do you think it means to praise the Lord?

Children:

Worship. Praise. Praying. Singing.

​Leader:

Those are all great answers! Praising God is how we thank God for all that God has done for us. It is a way for us to say something good about God like, “Wow, God. You are so good and powerful.” But let me ask you a question: When is it okay to praise the Lord?

Children:

In the morning? Anytime?

Leader:

Yes, we can praise God in the morning, at night, even in our dreams! And who can praise the Lord?

Children:

People. Kids. Parents.

Leader:

Those are all great answers—and not only people, but the Bible says the animals, the plants, everything that has breath should praise the Lord! Okay, where can we praise the Lord?

Children:

In church. At home.

Leader:

That’s right! We can praise God here in this sanctuary. We can praise the Lord in our homes. We can praise in the park, or at the dinner table, or even at school. God invites us to praise anywhere and everywhere! Okay, last question: How do we praise the Lord? What are some things we do here at church and at home to praise the Lord?

Children:

Sing. Pray. Preaching.

Leader:

Yes! There are many ways we can praise the Lord! But there is one way you didn’t mention—by playing instruments! (Bring out your bag of instruments.) I just happen to have a bag here full of things that will help us praise God. Let’s see what we have in here. (Take out instruments and begin to distribute. It’s probably not helpful to try to keep everyone quiet as they receive their instrument, and in fact not really necessary!) Let’s praise God with these instruments. Does everyone have one? All right, let’s have a concert of praising God. When I give you this signal, start playing (show them the signal you will use); and when I give you this signal (show signal), stop. Is everyone ready? Let’s practice (do a few starts and stops). Wow, ​you are fast learners! I bet God can’t wait to hear us praise God with our music. Okay, here we go.

Narrator:

“Praise [God] with trumpet sound.”

Leader:

(Signal children to play a few moments, then stop.)

Narrator:

“Praise [God] with lute and harp!”

Leader:

(Signal start and stop.)

Narrator:

“Praise [God] with tambourine and dance.”

Leader:

(Signal start and stop.)

Narrator:

And “praise him with strings and pipe!”

Leader:

(Signal start and stop.)

Narrator:

“Praise [God] with clanging cymbals; . . . with loud clashing cymbals!”

Leader:

(Signal start and let the “music” continue for a bit longer this time, then signal to stop.) This was really great! Let’s have a prayer and give thanks that God received all of that and all our praise, and that we can give praise in so many ways. (Prayer)