I love the newness that comes with back-to-school season—new school supplies, new teachers, new opportunities. But for children, a new school year can also bring fresh worries about friendship. Will I have any friends in my class? Will anyone sit with me at lunch? Will I have someone to play with on the playground?
Back-to-school season may also signal a lot of driving for parents. While it can be frustrating to spend so much time in the car, some of the best discipleship opportunities with my kids come up through questions they ask while we’re on the road. We’re all facing the same way and we’re usually listening to music, which is somehow the right cocktail to elicit spiritual questions. Perhaps a modern paraphrase of Deuteronomy 6:7 would say of God’s commands, “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you drive by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
We can’t prevent our kids from having anxiety about their relationships, but we can help them understand the security that comes through friendship with Jesus. This playlist is created in the hope that it’ll spark in children’s hearts an understanding that Jesus’s words “I have called you friends” (John 15:15) are meant for them.
Find the playlist on Spotify or Apple Music, and see the tracklist below.
- “What a Friend We Have in Jesus (Kids Sing Version),” The Sing Team
- “He Calls Me Friend,” CityAlight
- “Remember the Lord,” Colin Buchanan
- “He’s My Best Friend,” Betsy Hernandez
- “Friend of God,” Shout Praises Kids
- “Even Better,” Lifeway Kids Worship
- “Wherever I Go,” Ellie Holcomb
- “The Lord Is by My Side,” CityAlight
- “Come to Me (Matthew 11:28–30),” Slugs and Bugs
- “Are You Serving Cap’n Jesus” Colin Buchanan
- “In My Father’s House (John 14:1–2),” Seeds Family Worship
- “Jesus Loves Me,” Go Fish
- “My Jesus, I Love Thee,” Shai Linne
- “1 John 4:7–12,” The Corner Room
- “The Joy of Following Jesus,” Colin Buchanan
- “Jesus Wins” Michael J. Tinker
- “Romans 8:38–39,” The Corner Room
- “God Showed Us His Love,” Awesome Cutlery
- “Jesus, Strong and Kind,” CityAlight, Colin Buchanan
- “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” African Children’s Choir
Read more from Betsy Childs Howard in her new book for kids, Arlo and the Keep-Out Club (TGC Kids/Crossway). Purchase through the TGC Bookstore or Amazon.