We hope this simple guide to family worship - updated weekly - will lead your family to engage in this life changing practice.
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
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PSALM OF THE MONTH
Family Worship Guide week of June 29, 2008
Question: What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell?
Answer: All mankind by their fall lost communion with, God under His wrath and curse, and so made liable to all miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever.
Opening Prayer: “We often feel the lost communion with God because we are frail, weak and sinful. Help us to understand everyday why we need a Savior. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Hymns/Songs: “Alas and Did My Savior Bleed”; “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”.
Bible Verses: Genesis 3:8,10, 24; Matthew 25: 41-45; Romans 6:23; Galatians 3:10; Ephesians 2:2-3.
Related Questions:
(1) What happened to mankind because of the fall? They lost communion with God, are under God’s wrath and curse, endure the miseries of this life, and are subject to death and the pains of hell forever. As Christians we have the grace to avoid (or greatly lessen) four of these. However, all men are appointed to die and then the judgment.
(2) We see Adam and Eve losing their fellowship with God immediately after eating the forbidden fruit. How do you feel and act after you sin? Like Adam we often try to hide from God and blame others. We find that this doesn’t work (fellowship with God is not restored). Unless we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness we remain miserable (I John 1:9).
(3) What are the daily consequences of sin in a believer’s life? We are often out of fellowship with Christ and each other. Thankfully we are not under God’s wrath and curse because He loves those who love Him (John 10). The miseries in this life (alienation, confusion, lack of peace and other consequences of sin) can be dealt with by the means of grace given to us in Scripture (confession, forgiveness, communion, baptism) (I John 1:7-9). Happily, even death’s curse is at last removed when Christ comes again (Matthew 25:41-45).
(4) Rephrased Question: Describe the miserable condition into which all mankind fell because of Adam’s sin. The fall caused man to lose his relationship with God; brought him under God’s righteous anger; and subjected him to the penalty sin deserves, which is death, the unhappiness in this life; and the pains of hell forever.
Bible Lesson: “Put God’s Armor On NOW!” (Ephesians 6:14-18)
(1) Because we struggle with the miseries of this life, we are like soldiers in a battle. This struggle with sin and against the devil is a cosmic and real battle. We are therefore soldiers in God’s army.
(2) According to Ephesians 6:14-18, what are the things we do as soldiers in God’s army? We stand firm with the belt of truth buckled about our waist and the readiness of our feet fitted with the Gospel of peace. The breastplate of righteousness must also be in place. In addition, we take up the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God). All of this must be done with prayer.
Closing Prayer: “Heavenly Father, we realize that there is a real spiritual battle going on around and in us. Lord, make us ready for the battle by our recognition of the situation and our preparation for it by being soldiers in Your army. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
GOD'S WORD AND FAMILY WORSHIP
"These words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons ... ." (Deut. 6:6-7a; Eph. 5:25, 26; 6:4)
"God is to be worshipped everywhere, in spirit and truth, as, in private families daily, and in secret, each one by himself; so, more solemnly in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly or willfully to be neglected or forsaken, when God, by His Word or providence, calleth thereunto" (Westminster Confession of Faith: XXI. 6).
The Joy and Duty of Family Worship
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God commands family worship. The Christian father leading his family in biblical instruction and prayer in the home is a non-negotiable. And like all of God’s commandments, there is great joy and delight in obeying them. Family worship is both a joy and a duty for the Christian family.
We have evidence of family worship dating back to the time of Abraham. For in Genesis 18:19 God says, “For I have chosen him [Abraham], so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” Furthermore, in Exodus we learn that God required fathers to teach their children the meaning of the Passover (12:23-27). Again in Deuteronomy, prior to the people of Israel entering the Promised Land of Canaan, we see family worship commanded when Moses reminds the people of their covenant responsibility before God to “diligently” teach their children the Scriptures. He states the familiar words, “Hear O Israel! The LORD is 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. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons 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 up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead."
Throughout the centuries we can find much evidence of God’s people taking seriously the biblical mandate of family worship. Our own confession takes for granted the practice of family worship by stating that:
“God is to be worshipped everywhere, in spirit and truth, as, in private families daily, and in secret, each one by himself; so, more solemnly in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly or willfully to be neglected or forsaken, when God, by His Word or providence, calleth thereunto” (WCF (1647): XXI. 6).
Notice the threefold approach to worship: Family, private, and public. Unfortunately, it is family worship that is most neglected in present day evangelicalism (Though it must be said: private and public worship are also slowly becoming ‘unnecessary burdens’ to many who just want the casual, entertaining, and convenient approach to the faith … an approach unfamiliar to biblical Christianity).
The consequences of family worship, I believe, aside from bringing glory to God, are godlier fathers, mothers, children, families, churches, communities, and nations. For there is something undeniably powerful about parents reading and teaching the Scriptures to their children while on a daily basis modeling lives of dependence upon God through Christ. Just think of the spiritual impact we can have if day after day, for eighteen years, our children hear and read God’s Word and see it lived out before them. I think sometimes we mix up our children (and entire families) by telling them that God and His Word are of utter and primary importance in our lives when we only speak of Him or worship Him one hour, or so, a week. By Rev. Jon Payne Grace Church (PCA)
