Family Worship Doesn’t Need to Be Complicated
Family discipleship is essential, but that doesn’t mean that it needs to be complicated.
Just do it. In his book on family worship, Donald Whitney cites a Barna study that showed that over 80% of parents believe that spiritual-training is primarily their responsibility. But the same study showed that a minority of those parents have intentional spiritual conversations with their kids during the week.
Well, it doesn't ahve to be complicated. You don’t need to write a lesson or invent an activity. All you need to do is: Read, pray, sing… and keep it short. That is a summary of what Donald Whitney prescribes in Family Worship.
You can just open up the Bible, read a few verses, pray that you would live it out, and be done. (It’s even better if you add a song.) And our church is about to launch a study of the New City Catechism which is a wonderful tool for theologically-rich family worship.
In our house with young kids, we use this tool every day at breakfast. It takes the planning out of it. And it is good because it’s an easy-to-understand translation of the Bible. We use this at bed time.
When our kids get just a little older, we plan to incorporate The Family Worship Bible Guide. This is perfect for parents to use with older elementary, teens, and adults. It usually has two practical discussion-prompts for every chapter of the Bible. So if you are reading anywhere in Scripture, you can use it. I have found it helpful in many settings and think that it is a powerful tool for family discipleship or leading any kind of devotional study.
During the preK years, we used My First Hands on Bible and the Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible often.
For singing, Slugs and Bugs Sing the Bible and Seeds Kids Worship are great for memorizing Scripture. The New City Catechism songs are good too! And of course, you can sing classics (Amazing Grace) or modern songs (This Is Amazing Grace) if those are a better fit.
Don’t worry about sounding good. Don’t make it awkward. Our family uses singing to have fun and to memorize Scripture. We don't often sing with a recording. We just keep it simple. And the songs that we sing come up at other times just because songs get stuck in our heads.
If you are comfortable praying out-loud, you don’t need any help here. But if you are not, you can always pray the Lord’s Prayer or other prayers in the Bible. There is nothing wrong with that! And you can even sing your prayers as a family to hit two birds with one stone if you’d like.
Of course, you will need to customize to structure things in a way that is best for your family. And that can take time to get in a groove. Our family has tried lots of good things that just weren’t the best fit for us. So we tried something else until we got a routine that was good. And, we will keep adjusting as our kids grow. You won’t arrive at a perfect plan, but you will get more and more comfortable. And you will be investing in your family.
Just do it. In his book on family worship, Donald Whitney cites a Barna study that showed that over 80% of parents believe that spiritual-training is primarily their responsibility. But the same study showed that a minority of those parents have intentional spiritual conversations with their kids during the week.
Well, it doesn't ahve to be complicated. You don’t need to write a lesson or invent an activity. All you need to do is: Read, pray, sing… and keep it short. That is a summary of what Donald Whitney prescribes in Family Worship.
You can just open up the Bible, read a few verses, pray that you would live it out, and be done. (It’s even better if you add a song.) And our church is about to launch a study of the New City Catechism which is a wonderful tool for theologically-rich family worship.
In our house with young kids, we use this tool every day at breakfast. It takes the planning out of it. And it is good because it’s an easy-to-understand translation of the Bible. We use this at bed time.
When our kids get just a little older, we plan to incorporate The Family Worship Bible Guide. This is perfect for parents to use with older elementary, teens, and adults. It usually has two practical discussion-prompts for every chapter of the Bible. So if you are reading anywhere in Scripture, you can use it. I have found it helpful in many settings and think that it is a powerful tool for family discipleship or leading any kind of devotional study.
During the preK years, we used My First Hands on Bible and the Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible often.
For singing, Slugs and Bugs Sing the Bible and Seeds Kids Worship are great for memorizing Scripture. The New City Catechism songs are good too! And of course, you can sing classics (Amazing Grace) or modern songs (This Is Amazing Grace) if those are a better fit.
Don’t worry about sounding good. Don’t make it awkward. Our family uses singing to have fun and to memorize Scripture. We don't often sing with a recording. We just keep it simple. And the songs that we sing come up at other times just because songs get stuck in our heads.
If you are comfortable praying out-loud, you don’t need any help here. But if you are not, you can always pray the Lord’s Prayer or other prayers in the Bible. There is nothing wrong with that! And you can even sing your prayers as a family to hit two birds with one stone if you’d like.
Of course, you will need to customize to structure things in a way that is best for your family. And that can take time to get in a groove. Our family has tried lots of good things that just weren’t the best fit for us. So we tried something else until we got a routine that was good. And, we will keep adjusting as our kids grow. You won’t arrive at a perfect plan, but you will get more and more comfortable. And you will be investing in your family.
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