Family Worship

Family Worship. Family Devotions. These words bring up many emotions in husband and fathers. Some feel shame from failure. Some feel fear of ridicule or that they won’t “do it right.” Some have tried and are leery of starting up again because it reminds them they stopped before. For some, it might just be feeling overwhelmed at trying to fit one more thing into a busy life. One husband confided in me that he was afraid his wife would criticize his efforts and it wasn’t worth it. Whatever the thoughts, many men shudder at the idea. However, I can still vividly remember many evenings as a boy sitting around the table as a family reading God’s Word and praying together. It formed so many aspects of my spiritual walk. I shudder at the idea of what I would be like if that never happened! We can’t let these fears stop us from our God-given role as husbands and dads.

Today I want to share a tool with you that just might help! Men, we know we are called to spiritually lead or “pastor” our homes, don’t we? But it can be hard to find tools that help us make this happen. This year a short book came out called Family Worship by Donald S. Whitney. I would encourage every one of you to take an hour and read it. It really is that encouraging, helpful, and doable.

Whitney starts by outlining a biblical case for leading our homes in family worship and tracing examples of such leadership through church history. It can be so tempting to leave the spiritual development of our children up to the church or a club like Awana. These are great and help, but God has designed the home and specifically dad to lead the way in this teaching. The church simply doesn’t have the time or access you do as a parent. I love how he puts it when he says, “Moreover, it is unlikely that exposure to the church once or twice a week will impress your children enough with the greatness and glory of God that they will want to pursue him once they leave your home.” I have seen that to be true through many years of ministry. The home is the best place to teach and model a dynamic relationship with God!

He goes on to trace family worship throughout the Bible. We see in Deut. 6:4-7 the commands for parents to teach their children God’s ways as they go through every part of life. Family worship is an intentional and consistent way to help accomplish this. “The best time for parents to teach the things of God to their children on a consistent basis when all their children are present would be during a time of family worship.” In Joshua we see a commitment to the spiritual health of his family when he says, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh 24:15) The Psalmist in Psalm 78 says, “which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children.” In Eph. 5, Paul instructs husbands to love their wives and be a model of Christ and the church by spiritually leading them. Then in 6:4 he brings children into it by saying, “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” God’s Word sets the bar, and men, we can do this!

For me, chapters 3-5 were very helpful as they gave a doable way to accomplish family worship and helped answer some of the common questions about it. I’ll give you the three syllables to remember, but still read the book! Read, Pray, Sing. That’s it! Read a section of the Bible with your family, sing a worship song or two with them, and pray with them. Yes, be ok with answering questions and talking through each item, but you don’t have to prepare a 45 minutes sermon or have PowerPoint ready. Read, Pray, and Sing. We can do this! Matthew Henry said, “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.” He gives some other ideas if you want to add other things in, but urges us to focus on those three words. We are also reminded to be brief (yes, 5 to 10 minutes), regular, and flexible. I came away not feeling guilt for the nights my family doesn’t get to it, but motivated to keep trying and fitting it in.

So what do you say men? Let’s pursue this. Get a copy of the book and read it, then let’s make this happen together. If you don’t know where to pick up a copy, let me know and we’ll get some at Village. If you aren’t doing any family worship, start by targeting one or two times a week. If you already do several times a week, target one more night a week. Let’s lead our wives and pour a passion for God into our children. Let us know how it goes!

I’ll end with some of Whitney’s questions for us to consider.

• What better way to speak the gospel into your children’s lives every day?
• What better way to provide a regular time for your children to learn the things of God from you?
• What better way to provide your children with an ongoing opportunity to ask about the things of God in a comfortable context?
• What better way for you to transmit your core beliefs to your children?
• What better way for your children to see the ongoing, positive spiritual example of their parents in real life?
• What better way to provide workable, reproducible examples to your children of how to have a distinctively Christian home when they start a home of their own?
• What better way for getting your family together on a daily basis?