Family Worship

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Growing up, we didn’t have family worship. We didn’t pray or read our Bibles at home. We didn’t really even talk about God, we just showed up to church for a few hours on Saturday and went home. To tell you the truth, I didn’t even know what family worship was until the end of high school and didn’t regularly experience it with another family until I was in grad school. I remember it well; I was going over to a friend’s house for dinner. Him and his wife had two small children and they invited me to stay for worship. I gladly said yes and they began to sing songs from their children’s Sabbath School classes, read a bible story, and prayed. As they sent the children to bed, I sat in awe. It was simple yet effective, fun yet meaningful, and the kids were learning about Jesus! This was the first of many family worships with them and each one was such a blessing. It was in those moments I realized the power of sitting down together to worship, learn, and grow, the power of family worship. From then on, I knew it was something families needed, but where to start? Below are some ideas that I pray spark your interest.

Here’s a few tips before getting started:

· Easy to Understand: make sure you read from a version of the Bible everyone can understand. The New Living Translation or New International Version are great places to start.

· Be Consistent: it doesn’t matter if it is morning, evening, at a meal or on the way to school, just choose and be consistent.

· Collaborate: have everybody get involved, it’s not a lecture, it’s a conversation.

· Keep it Simple: this doesn’t have to be complicated to be meaningful. Pull out one main lesson and focus on that.

· Have Fun: this is meant to be a blessing, not a burden; so, keep it light and enjoy it!

Ideas for Family Worship:

· Read a Chapter of the Bible (you can even read through a children’s Bible)

· Read a Devotional, Book, or Sabbath School Lesson

· Sing Songs

· Pray

· Act Out a Bible Story

· Create: draw, color, paint, do a craft, etc.

· Journal: keep a family journal of thanksgiving and prayer requests

· Play a Bible Game

· Write Letters to God (prayer journaling)

· Memorize Bible Verses Together

· Study a Topic: overcoming fear, how to be a good friend, etc.

These lists are not extensive but a great place to get started. So, this week, I’d like to challenge you to sit down and begin having family worship and watch how God works in your family. Take a deep breath, say a prayer, and jump in, you won’t regret it!