Family Worship 101
Family Worship 101
How will your children learn to pray? How will your children learn about the Bible? How will your children learn about salvation?
“Well, the church of course! … Right?”
While the church should play an important role in a child’s spiritual development, it is certainly not supposed to be the only place, or even the primary place, where children learn about the Lord. Would you be surprised to hear that you, the parent, are actually to be their primary Bible teachers and that your home is where they should primarily learn about the things of God? Sadly, the vast majority of Christian parents have relinquished this role to the local church. In the process, they have neglected their God-ordained personal responsibility to teach their children about God. For example, look at the commandment by God to the Israelite parents:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)
As you can see, the parents were clearly assigned, by God, the responsibility of daily teaching the Word of God to their children. Such lessons were not reserved for only one day per week, and certainly not relegated over to someone else to do. The task of teaching the next generation about God was the responsibility of the parents.
As I have shared before, I thought I was fulfilling my role as a Christian father pretty well, by saying a prayer with the kids at night, reading a verse, and making sure that they were in church every week. However, while on the campus of Ligonier Academy, in Sanford Florida, I was shaken to the core as Sinclair Ferguson pointed out how the next generation is being lost due to parental neglect.
Long story short, after sulking for a moment, I realized that he was right and I began to immediately implement a more thorough plan to teach and equip my children with God’s Word.
There is quite a bit of liberty in how and when you would like to do this with your family, but I am going to go over how I accomplish family worship in our house. Feel free to use all of it, some of it, or create your own plan.
Our Morning Routine:
7:45-or 8:00 A.M. Breakfast
Eat breakfast with the family at one table while listening to lyrically sound worship music.
8:00-8:15 A.M. Family Worship
As breakfast ends, I choose one of the options below. The entire time of family worship takes about 15-20 minutes.
- Bible Reading
Pick a book of the Bible and read through it. I will usually read about half of a chapter, and then discuss it. A good Study Bible is a valuable tool personal and family Bible study. I recommend the ESV Study Bible or the Reformation Study Bible.
- Sermon Review
On this day, we go over the Sunday sermon together. This encourages everyone to pay attention, and perhaps to even take notes. Odds are, your pastor might send you his notes, if asked.
- Catechism
A catechism is a method of education that involves learning in a question and answer format. It was teaching that was used by the reformers to get sound theology to the masses.
Martin Luther spent many mornings teaching his children and the neighborhood kids the Bible, but soon realized that if he wanted to reach more families, then he needed to equip the parents all across Germany. This he did by writing a catechism.
In our home, we spent about three years learning and memorizing a catechism that has 140 questions. We would do this by learning a new one question and answer set each week or so, reviewing the prior questions and answers, and sometimes reading ahead to make them familiar with the upcoming information. Feel free to stop and elaborate on a question, to make sure that they are understanding what they are memorizing.
- Scripture Memory
Each week, we work on memorizing one new scripture. I choose a passage, read it, and teach on it for a moment. We then take turns trying to say the verse from memory. We also use this time take turns going over our list of previously memorized verses. You may also want to use this time to memorize the books of the Bible, the Ten Commandments, The Lord’s Prayer, and the Apostle’s Creed.
- Church History
There are lots of lessons that need to be learned from the Christians that came before us. Unfortunately, such information is not regularly taught accept on the seminary level. Depending on the ages of your family members, you may want to spend a few minutes reading from a Church History book designed for kids or summarize an event or great Christian of the past from a church history book.
- Christian Theology
I highly recommend a systematic theology book in every Christian home. Such books are wonderful resources which will give you lots of theological points of interest to cover with your family.
- Bible Art
Many times, sometimes even for months on end, the kids will be assigned the task of drawing a visual aid to help them with the Bible lesson that day. Creating these visual aids is another way for the lesson to be repeated in their mind. When I come home in the afternoon, the kids are excited to show me their art.
8:15-8:20 A.M. Prayer Time
I pray, you pray, we all pray. You are teaching your children how to pray, so don’t expect too much at first. Eventually, let them contribute in small ways and let it grow from there. Have them think of something to thank God for or someone to pray to God about. Sometimes we like to end by allowing everyone to contribute a sentence or two of prayer.
Basics of Family Worship
When: Choose a time that is most conducive with your family. For some, this is in the morning. However, if that time is too hectic, then maybe after supper could be a good alternative.
Question: Should we do this every day?
Answer: Our general rule that we operate by is that we may miss one day now and then, but we strive never to miss two in a row.
Summary:
As a parent, you have a million things on your plate to accomplish. But I want to encourage you to move this one to a daily top priority. Don’t get overwhelmed by the task. Most importantly just start. Anything is better than nothing. Before you know it, family worship will become an as normal part of your family’s day as eating breakfast.
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2 Examples of Family Worship
2 Examples of Family Worship
An Example from Israel
The Biblical command for Christian education in the home was commanded by God.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6: 4-9).
This was the generation of Israelites that witnessed amazing signs, miracles, and wonders. Many of the younger Israelites not only witnessed the supernatural signs, but were allowed to enter the Promised Land, as well. However, if we read a little further into the book of Judges, we see that when that generation was gone, so was anything godly.
And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress (Judges 2:8-15).
Wow, in just one generation the people had reverted back to paganism! Verse ten says that “they did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.”
Even though the parents had known God and seen Him do miraculous deeds to save them, they failed to pass this information down to their children. They did not “teach them diligently” nor make God a priority in their homes.
God had told them to talk of His commands when they talk, sit, walk, or lie down. God’s word was supposed to be a guide ever before their eyes. Their homes were to be a place that His commands were emphasized and taught, but the parents did not obey.
But that’s ok they had the tabernacle right? This was the role of the priest right? No!
God knew what He was doing when He assigned the spiritual oversight of the children to the parents. It was their duty, and still is a parent’s duty to make God’s Word a priority in our homes.
If we neglect this command of God, it is easy to see what we can expect of our children.
All it takes is just one generation and a whole nation had turned to paganism! Can this happen again? Of course it can. This is why we must reclaim family worship and catechism. The home is where God should be taught daily.
As Ligon Duncan writes, “The family is God’s divinely appointed ‘small-group’ discipleship program. The family is the first place that God appointed for teaching and learning about God and godliness. Children are to be instructed, guided in the way of life, and disciplined both directively and correctively.”1
He later writes:
“Children growing up with the daily experience of seeing their parents humbled in worship, focusing on spiritual things, submitting to the authority of the word, catechizing and otherwise instructing their children will not easily turn from Christ. Our children should grow up with the voices of their fathers pleading for their souls in prayer ringing in their ears, leading to their salvation, or else haunting them for the rest of their lives.”2
A Good New Testament Example
Hopefully, we will be like the mother and grandmother of Timothy.
Paul told him “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (2 Timothy 1:5).
Timothy had a mother and a grandmother who took his training seriously, and the result was an outstanding young man who served the Lord.
If our desire is to raise boys and girls into men and women of God we must realize that the training ground is in the home. May we not neglect God’s word and His command to teach it to our families.
References
Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship: Celebrating the Legacy of James Montgomery Boice (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Pub., 2003), 320.
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