Family Worship

Worshipping God together as a family is a practice that goes back millennia. t remains the primary means whereby children are trained up in the faith. It was essential to the reformers and can be traced all the way back to Deuteronomy 6:4-8. Sadly, not many modern Christian families engage in this practice. If you have never done family worship before, you should! It is relatively simple and doesn’t have to take long. Here is some basic information and resources to help you lead your family.

What is Family Worship?

Gathering together as a family daily (often at the dinner table) to worship God together. While prayer and Scripture are most important, Songs and theological education are highly recommended as part of family worship. Family worship may be just a few minutes (especially with littles) or longer if your kids are engaged, interested, and able. Family worship in our home lasts about 15 minutes.

What Is Involved?

We recommend keeping it simple. We usually include 3-4 elements:

1. Catechism: We teach or review a catechism question. The New City Catechism App is a free resource that is helpful for this. Catechism is important, because you are teaching doctrine to your children and yourself through in a memorizable question and answer format. (Note: New City Catechism App has related Scripture and commentary from scholars that you can use.)

2. Scripture: We read and teach the Bible. This may be a verse or a few verses read and taught by dad (or by mom if dad is away). Have the kids read. Ask questions of about the passage, and let your kids answer. Let the kids ask questions about the faith. Answer them with Scripture. Keep it simple, and keep your children involved. (Helpful Tip: If you feel stuck, read the commentary from New City Catechism’s App to explain the verse and catechism.)

   Optional Reading: If you have more time, reading from a secondary book is great! For smaller kids, you might read The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones, The Biggest Story Bible by Kevin DeYoung, or Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (use the modern English version if the original is difficult). Stories are powerful. Read good ones that lift up Christ and encourage your kids to live faithful like the heroes of Church history. You might do the reading at a different time. It should be fun.

3. Singing: We sing a doctrinally sound hymn or psalm. Jesus Loves Me and My God is So Big get sung right alongside Doxology, Nothing But the Blood, and Amazing Grace.

4. Prayer: We Pray together. Often, we pray for our lost friends and family and give thanks for God’s good gifts. We like to have a different child pray every time.

Note: As your children grow into teens, you should equip them at a deeper level with apologetics, theological knowledge, and practical wisdom for their stage of life. Often, this involves reading a more advanced book together, discussing pertinent topics one-on-one, and shepherding them though the struggles of adolescence. Don’t be afraid to reach out for suggested resources! Also, get your teen involved in teen gathering where we teach theology and apologetics!

Helpful Books

What if it doesn’t go well?

Don’t expect it to go perfect. Keep it short at first (maybe 10 minutes) and push through. Part of the goal is to teach your family how to gather in order. Little kids will struggle. That’s ok. You are teaching them. Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t go well at first. The work you put in now will pay in large dividends later as your children become accustomed to discussing God’s Word around the dinner table (or wherever you do family worship).

What if I don’t know much about the Bible?

That’s ok. Let the Word of God teach. If all you do is read it, God can work. However, this should drive you to study. Ask your house church leader to help you. Signup for Underground Seminary if you want to learn more. Just get started. You can’t go wrong being in the Word of God with your family.

What are some helpful resources?

Here are a few resources we use in Family Worship:

• The Bible (ESV): You need a Bible. The ESV isn’t the only good translation, but it is accurately translated and relatively easy to Read. The ESV Study Bible is a really helpful resource when you come to difficult passages.

• The New City Catechism: Based on the Westminster Confession of Faith, this series of questions and answers are a great way to teach doctrine to your kids. While we would align a little more with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, the Westminster gets it right on the essentials (you just might want to skip the question on baptizing babies).

• Faithful Hymns: One of our elders, Dan Beach put together a lyric sheet of trustworthy hymns. This is a great tool for leading your family in singing. Here is a link to download it.

• The Jesus Storybook Bible: While we wouldn’t recommend replacing Scripture reading with this biblical overview, it is a handy tool for explaining how every biblical account points to Christ.

• Pastors/Elders: We are literally commissioned by God to equip you to do this task (Ephesians 4:12). Don’t hesitate to talk to your house church leader/elder or to email us for some help.

Family worship doesn’t have to be perfect. Trust us; it won’t be perfect most of the time. However, it isn’t complicated. It is a simple practice of praying, reading Scripture, and singing together. Do it faithfully, and see how God proves Himself. The Word of God does not return void (Isaiah 55:11)!