fAMILY wORSHIP

Family worship is the intentional participation of your family to pray together, sing together, and read, meditate, and discuss Scripture together.

In Family Worship:

We develop the habit of subjecting ourselves and
the entirety of our family to God and His word.
We proclaim God as worthy to be praised and exalt Him for His works.
We systematically teach ourselves and our family the great truths of God’s Word.
We point ourselves and our family directly at the Gospel and biblical reality.

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"My brethren, is there an altar in your hearts erected to the only living and true God? Are you the temple of God and does God’s Spirit dwell within you? So long as there is no altar erected to God in your souls, there can be none in your houses. "

- Jean Merle d'Aubigne

"Every christian family ought to be as it were a little church"

- Jonathan Edwards

regarding family worship
"Here the reformation must begin"

- Matthew Henry

Prayer - 1-2 Minutes

Acts 2:42-47

Prayer is a privilege best enjoyed together. As one leads in prayer, the rest of the members of the household should serve as echoes, voicing the same petitions to God.

Worship - 3 minutes

Nehemiah 9

While this stands as a more optional component of family worship, singing one short song or hymn directs our gaze to the Eternal God.

Scripture - 5 Minutes

Deuteronomy 6:6-7

God’s Word should be read aloud together. God promises that His Word will never return void (Is. 55:11), and we should cherish and stand upon that promise together.

discussion - 10 Minutes

Mark 4:33-32

Studying God’s Word is similar to cooking a stew in a slow cooker. While it is nutritious and valuable at all times, the more it ruminates the better it becomes. When we discuss God’s Word as a family and dwell on its meaning, it has a compounding effect (Ps. 119; Jas. 1:22-25).

9 Principles for Family Worship:
Note: These principles are not Law or Scripture. They are intended to help guide you to steward your responsibility well. All of these principles are based in Scripture.

Teach according to ability and age. God does not expect you to teach at the same level as a pastor with a doctorate, but He still requires you to teach according to what He has gifted you with. At the same time, do not expect your 2nd grader to understand biblical truths that high schoolers have a hard time comprehending (Neh. 8:2).
Pray knowing that you are teaching your children to pray, devoid of pride.
Sing with vigor and thankfulness at all times (1 Thess. 5:16-18).
Consistency will win out. Striving to do family worship more often than not, 3-4 times/week is the goal (Dt. 6:7).
Know that it will be weird in the beginning. If you are just beginning family worship, you and your family will find it extremely hard and weird. In the same way that starting a new job is weird, so is family worship until it becomes a cornerstone in the life of your household.
It is a marathon, not a sprint. You cannot teach your household the entire Bible in one evening. Rather, 10 minutes several times a week over the course of 18 years has a compounding effect.
Point your family to God. He is the central theme of our worship in whatever context it takes place, especially within the household (Ps. 150).
Family Worship is a spiritual matter and cannot be accomplished without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Depend on Him (Eph. 6:12).
Do Family Worship verse-by-verse through books of the Bible. God’s Word is sufficient, and we are not. Often, we are tempted to teach our soapboxes or based on our feelings while neglecting harder parts of Scripture. Your family needs the whole counsel of God’s Word (Is. 40:8)!

Resources to help your family

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fAMILY wORSHIP

"My brethren, is there an altar in your hearts erected to the only living and true God? Are you the temple of God and does God’s Spirit dwell within you? So long as there is no altar erected to God in your souls, there can be none in your houses. "

"Every christian family ought to be as it were a little church"