In our technological age it is easy to forget about spending quality time with our wives and children. Our temptation is to let social media; cell phones and television entertain our families’ and us. As Christian men we are commanded by God to lead our families biblically. Family worship is essential to obeying the command of God, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up on the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4 [NASB]).
During these troubled times of quarantine when many fathers are spending more time with their families due to COVID19 it is a perfect opportunity to establish the habit of family worship or devotions. Some ideas to help fathers in their role as spiritual leader are included below for your prayerful consideration.
- Choose a book of the bible to read together. It doesn’t need to be long, but reading a chapter or even just a few verses before or after a family meal should suffice. After you read, ask questions of your family to help them think about the passage and discuss key themes in the text. What did this text mean to the original audience? Does this passage point to Christ? What does this passage mean for us?
- Choose a verse of your passage for weekly memorization.
- Pray together asking a different family member to volunteer to pray as well. Remind them that prayer is not just asking God for things but thanking Him for blessings and asking for forgiveness of sins.
- Lastly, sing together. Try singing a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song.
Courtesy of corechristianity.com
For those uncomfortable with coming up with questions for family worship on your own we have included a list of resources to help facilitate your family worship.
- Family Worship Bible Guide, Edited by Dr. Joel R. Beeke, Dr. Michael Barrett, Dr. Jerry Bilkes, and Rev. Paul Smalley
- The Family Worship Book: A Resource Book for Family Devotions, by Terry Johnson, Christian Focus Publications
- Training Hearts, Teaching Minds, By Starr Meade
- Thoughts on Family Worship, by James W. Alexander, Soli Deo Gloria Publications
For more family worship guides and ideas go to Reformation Heritage Books: heritagebooks.org.