We are called to make a joyful noise and sing of God’s goodness. Learn what praise teaches our children and how to encourage them to have a heart of worship.
Jingle All the Way: Why We Sing at Christmas
"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way! Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!"
You've probably heard this song—or had it stuck in your head—more times than you can count. It's one of those melodies that children belt out without self-consciousness, often at volumes that make parents wince. But there's something worth noticing here: children instinctively understand that joy is meant to be expressed loudly.
"Jingle Bells" might not be a hymn, but its exuberant spirit captures something deeply biblical: the call to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Throughout Scripture, we're commanded not just to feel joy, but to vocalize it—to sing, shout, and celebrate with our whole selves.
This Christmas season, as carols fill your home and your children enthusiastically (if not always tunefully) join in, you have a beautiful opportunity to teach them something profound: singing and celebrating aren't just fun traditions. They're spiritual practices that form joyful hearts and declare truth to a watching world.
The Biblical Command to Worship
The Bible is filled with scriptures all about having a heart of worship and raising our voices to praise God:
- "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!" (Psalm 100:1-2)
- "Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!" (Psalm 96:1)
- "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)
Notice the emphasis on volume and enthusiasm—"joyful noise," "shout for joy," "sing aloud." God isn't asking for polished performances. He's inviting full-throated, uninhibited praise.
Why? Because singing does something to us and through us. It unites our minds, hearts, and bodies in worship. It declares truth audibly, allowing us to hear ourselves proclaim what we believe. It creates community as voices join together. And it expresses emotions that words alone can't fully capture.
The Joyful Noise Principle
Psalm 98:4 says, "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!" The Hebrew word translated "noise" here (teru’ah) means a loud sound—shouting, trumpeting, or acclamation; in this verse, teru’ah also means exuberant praise that encourages worship and joy in covenant. It's not quiet or reserved.
This is important for parents of young children to remember. Your toddler singing "Jingle Bells" or “Silent Night” at the top of their lungs (for the hundredth time) isn't noise pollution—it's joyful noise. Your five-year-old's off-key rendition of "O Holy Night" isn't a performance failure—it's sincere worship.
Don't squelch this or overcorrect. Instead, join in. Celebrate that your children feel free to express joy vocally.
What Praise Teaches Our Children
When you encourage your children to sing aloud—whether it's "Jingle Bells" or "Joy to the World"—you're teaching them several vital lessons:
- Joy is meant to be shared. Happiness kept silent diminishes, but joy expressed multiplies. When children sing out their gladness, they're learning that good things like the God we serve and His mercies are meant to overflow from us to others.
- Our bodies matter in worship. David danced before the Lord (2 Samuel 6:14-22). Abraham’s household bowed down in worship (Genesis 24:26). Throughout the Bible, people clap, sing, shout, and kneel in worship. We worship with our whole selves—voices, hands raised, knees bent. Singing teaches children that physical expression of faith is good and right.
- We were made for community. There's something transcendent about singing together. Even if your family can't carry a tune, joining voices in song creates unity and belonging. Your children learn they're part of something bigger than themselves.
- We are reminded of the truth through repetition. Why do you think you still remember songs from childhood decades later? Music is sticky. When children sing worship songs, they're memorizing theology in a way that will stay with them far longer than a lecture would.
- Celebration is a spiritual discipline. We often think of spiritual disciplines as somber—fasting, confession, and study. But celebration is equally important. It trains our hearts to recognize God's goodness and respond with gratitude and delight.
How to Explain Praise to Children
Teaching children to praise God starts with a simple explanation they can understand: praise is telling God what we love about Him, just like we might tell a friend or family member something we appreciate about them. When we praise God, we're acknowledging who He is—His goodness, His power, His love, His faithfulness. It's a response of gratitude and wonder to the One who created us and cares for us.
As parents, we've been given both the privilege and the responsibility to teach our children about God and to model expressive worship for them. Moving from explanation to participation, here are a few tips for teaching kids to praise God with their whole heart (vocally):
- Sing daily, not just on Sundays. Incorporate singing into your routine. Sing grace before meals. Sing while you clean. Sing as you drive to places. Make it as ordinary as a conversation.
- Don't apologize for your voice. If you tell your children, "Sorry, I can't sing," you're teaching them that singing is only for the talented. Instead, sing anyway. Model that participation matters more than perfection.
- Learn new songs together. Make it a family adventure to learn a new carol each Christmas season, or a new hymn each month. Struggle through it together, laugh at mistakes, and keep going.
- Create worship traditions. Maybe you have a bedtime song. Maybe you sing the doxology when something wonderful happens. These simple traditions build a singing culture in your home.
Teaching Praise to Kids: A Heart That Sings
Ultimately, what you're cultivating through singing isn't musical skill (though that's a lovely bonus if it develops). You're cultivating a heart posture—one that readily expresses joy, gratitude, wonder, and praise.
The world needs people who know how to celebrate, who can recognize goodness and respond with delight, who aren't so self-conscious or controlled that they can't let joy overflow in song. Your children can be these people.
So this Christmas, jingle all the way. Sing loudly. Sing often. Sing together. In doing so, you're not just creating holiday memories—you're forming joyful hearts that know how to make a glad noise to the God who deserves all our praise.
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