extinction of family worship. A burgeoning programmatic emphasis coupled - - days and a mid-week program for every age.
Reformed Recovery?
Those of you who may have been raised in a continental Reformed tradi- tion probably practiced some form of family worship, but even there it usually consisted of an after-dinner Bible reading, a short devotional of varying qual- ity that was provided monthly by the church, and a brief and often perfunc- tory prayer. In much of the rest of the church even that minimum was absent. Thankfully in some circles, as we see something of a Reformed renaissance, there is a movement to recover the practice of family worship. This is a natural progression as few habits underscore the doctrine of the covenant family as corporate worship of the Church and have become family-centric, home wor- ship practitioners in a strange patriarchy that does not resemble the practice of former centuries.
The Purpose of Family Worship:
In order to avoid the polar extremes, we do well to ask ourselves, what is the purpose of family worship? As you would expect, God’s Word is not silent on
- by which those promises will be kept is through the training of his family and and there are men and women who have come to faith without godly par- ents; however God works through means. And prime among those means is a godly household.
all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the meal. It is instead, a practice by parents of ensuring that the atmosphere of the family is one where every activity conducted, and every enquiry is answered, in the light of the Word of God.
The Content and Conduct of Family Worship: -
September/October 2023
never practiced this or have perhaps
First, scripture assumes that the father, the head of the family (Ephe- - ing the lead in this. That isn’t to say that mothers shouldn’t be catechis- ing their children at times when the father is at work, but the leadership should normally be from fathers. Of course, there are instances where this - thers who travel for work, or who are deployed with the military, all come to mind but whoever is the head of the house, or the acting head, should lead in these things. We have a family in our congregation where the father is a long-haul trucker but each eve- - pe and leads family worship. Couples without children do well to set aside this time for family worship as well. in your relationship.
Family worship does not have to
song should be the basic elements but commentary and catechism may also be incorporated. As we read the Bi- ble, or in younger years a good story Bible such as the Vos edition by Ban- ner of Truth, we train our children explain, to ensure that our children are engaged and not being trained to tune out. Read as much as is pos- sible, being attentive to the ages and attention span of our audience. This takes training. Begin small and work at teaching our children to sit for lon- ger and longer periods. If they can do - this than others but all of us can im- prove. The Word of God should not come across as boring!
I would encourage you to sing with your family. Again, age-appro- - tions with easy tunes are what you
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