week. To ensure that we do not take this for granted, either in our churches or in our homes, the Rev. Jeremiah Thomas of Centennial ARP Church is endorsing a Directory for Private and Family Worship for use in ARP churches. “This whole thing began when I failed an assignment and had to rewrite a paper


Bless the LORD at All Times W


By Heath Milford, Seminary Communications Manager


orship on the Lord’s Day with God’s people is a regular experience and ex- pression of devotion in the lives of Christians. But God’s presence with us, and our love for Him, extend beyond this day into the other six days of the


for one of my seminary classes,” Thomas recalls. As a seminary student, he had stum- bled upon the old Scottish Directory for Family Worship and set out to write a paper on why it was important for ARP churches to emphasize the use of this directory. “What I did not realize at the time was that, while the directory was part of our


Presbyterian history, it was no longer part of our denominational Standards. So, the premise of my paper was flawed from the beginning, and I had to start all over again.” That incident sent him on a journey to retrieve and revive this Presbyterian legacy,


which has inspired him and others to work on the development and promotion of a Directory of Private and Family Worship. Thomas describes how over a century ago such a directory—meant to guide indi-


viduals and families in their personal devotions—fell out of use among ARP churches to such an extent that it was no longer held as a separate Standard. Instead, it was subsumed under the Directory of Public Worship in a much abbreviated and less de- scriptive form. As a result of this change, “Without a Directory of Private and Family Worship, what should be stated explicitly in our Standards is now only done implic- itly,” Thomas says. “This holds similarities with our current Directory of Public Worship. In that docu-


ment we felt it important to lay out how God’s Word directs worship in public. Why should we not do the same for private and family worship? We are missing a key facet of the Christian life for church members, and there is a gaping hole for elders to fill as they seek to spiritually shepherd their flocks.” Speaking about what he calls “the Monday-through-Saturday conundrum,”


Thomas believes that promoting a Directory of Private and Public Worship will be a great aid to churches, families, and indi- viduals as they seek to honor the Lord in all aspects of their lives. “Most Chris- tians find it easy to join in corporate worship on Sundays, but many of those same people simply don’t know where to begin when Monday comes around,” he explains, and cites some examples. “How do both the pediatrician with


little available time during the week and the widow with an abundance of time devote themselves to the Lord? How does the busy family, with demanding jobs, various commitments, and numer- ous extracurricular activities, balance work, life, children, and dedication to God? What does that look like and how can Christians be guided in this?” Private and family worship includes familiar elements of worship such as


reading Scripture, prayer, and singing. But Thomas notes that such weekly de- votions and acts of worship will not look the same for everyone. “This Directory is descriptive, not


prescriptive. It is intended to be a form but not formal – regular but not rote. It demonstrates what day-to-day worship can look like in your life, wherever you find yourself, and guides you during your week,” he says. “Scripture tells us that God should


be worshipped at all times, everywhere, in Spirit and in truth. We can conclude from this that our Christian devotion should not start and stop on Sunday alone,” he continues. “The Preamble to our ARP Directory


of Public Worship sums up the mat- ter quite well, connecting our Sundays to the rest of the week, when it states: ‘public worship flows most beauti- fully when the people of God also meet with the Lord in private, as individuals or families.’” Urging ARP members to make the


most of all opportunities for worship, Thomas concludes, “I encourage all churches, ministers and elders, families and individuals, to make use of the re- sources our Presbyterian forefathers have passed down to us so that every- one may strive, as the Psalmist says, to ‘bless the LORD at all times.’”?


Jeremiah Thomas is the pastor of Centennial ARP Church in Colum- bia, S.C. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Erskine Seminary in 2015. Jeremiah and his wife Rebekah are knee-deep in opportunities for family worship! Mary Emmaline (6) is enjoying Marty Machowski’s The Ology, Isaac (4) is more of a David and Goliath man, and Carwynn (2) is singing “Pha- raoh, Pharaoh” as loud as he can (probably right this very moment).


Erskine Theological Seminary March/April 2022 13


Erskine Seminary


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