What?
What is family worship? The idea of ‘family worship’ is that of gathering together as a family in order to learn of God, worship God, and pray to God.
“Happy is that family where the worship of God is constantly and conscientiously maintained.” (John Newton)
Why?
This call to worship the Lord as a family is rooted in both Old and New Testament Scripture. It is one of the foundational elements of a strong Christian family that is tied to the parents responsibility to train their children in the ways of the Lord:
Deut. 6:4-7- “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
Eph. 6:4- “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
Fathers, especially, are called to take the lead in this area of spiritual leadership within the home! The father as the head of the household bears the greatest responsibility for the spiritual state of his family. Part of their responsibility is to lead their families in the worship of God.
Part of that involves faithfully bringing your family to church where the Bible is taught! But it also extends into the home and involves finding time to gather the family and worship God. Family worship is not a complicated thing. It is something that every family is capable of doing if they are willing to prioritize it.
How?
There are really three minimum ingredients to family worship:
Read the Bible! Sing to the Lord! Pray!
“They that pray in the family do well; they that pray and read the Scriptures do better; but they that pray, and read, and sing do best of all.” (Henry)
Here are some practical tips with family worship:
-Keep is Brief! Family worship is not a good time to practice an hour-long sermon on your kids! There is no set time and there is no reason to drag it out beyond what it necessary. Considering the ages of your children will help you determine the length of family worship.
-Keep is Consistent! This will likely be the most difficult part of family worship. It is easy to put this on the back-burner of your life and neglect it. Isn’t it true that we all make time for what is important to us? If working out is important to you, you are going to find a way to do it. If hunting is important to you, you are going to make sure it fits into your schedule. It is the same thing with family worship! If family worship is important to you, you are not going to let other things crowd it out. You are going to put it on the schedule and make it a habit!
-Keep it Focused! Keep the main thing the main thing! Put away phones; take out headphones; turn off the TV/radio; keep the focus on God’s Word. Make sure all are participating. Don’t allow your children to skip family worship or be distracted with other things. Family worship is actually a great opportunity to train little ones in how to participate and worship in the church service!
With Father’s Day approaching, let me challenge fathers and husbands to take charge in this area of your home life! If you haven’t been leading your family in worship, repent and begin today! Let me challenge wives and children to encourage your husband or father in his desire to lead his family spiritually!
~Pastor Aaron Francis
