Order of Family Worship

Ours is loosely structured (we are in corporate worship 4 times a week plus Bible studies.

Ours always includes discussions of a passage and almost always involves singing. Just kinda depends on how its going, really.

 

Our little girl just turned two...but we sing a song (Jesus love the little children, etc) then I read from the scripture inviting my daughter to repeat certain words or phrases that I pray she can store in memory. They we pray.

Looking forward to more in-depth study later but right now this is what we do.

 

I commend you for wanting to do the best thing for you and your family.

When I was much younger I noticed some older men whom I saw as living the Christian life whose children were living the Christian life. So I asked them what they did. Over and over I was told the same thing. They expressed the importance of Deut 6:6-9. Of several I asked only one of them had a regular time each day of Bible reading, etc. with their family. I thought that strange but followed their advice. I am glad I did because now I see the results.

Deut. 6:6-9 "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

It is not so much what you do but how you live out your faith as genuine. Your children must see and experience a genuine faith in you. Some people are so legalistic about reading the Bible etc. that they fail to do anymore than just those things. In effect they curse God and condemn the world by their elitist attitude. My daughter has gone with my wife and me to visit people who are sick in the hospital before she could walk. Long before she knew why people were sick and anything about the hospital environment she has gone into ICU with me. The nurses knew who that little kid was and they never said anything. We always spoke of visitation as visiting people and not the location. When she got a little older she asked about all of the tubes and then I shared some about that with her. People liked it when the little girl visited them in the hospital. There was a time when she wanted to visit her friends on the way to where we were going and often we did. It gave us a door into that home. She has been with me when I shared my faith with others. She knows the people I meet with to help them grow. There have been many times when they have been at our home and they tell her to not do as they have done. She sees how I approach non-Christians. She sees how I treat our neighbors. She has seen when I have not had a very good attitude and my struggles but she has also seen how I dealt with that. We talk regularly about how she can share her faith with her friends and how to answer the questions she is asked. She is now in college and we have those same kind of discussions on the phone and by email.

We must cultivate a 24 hours per day obedient non-legalistic faith in Christ and that is done by having continual discussions when we are with our children. It is a team effort by both you and your wife. Many times I have pointed out how my wife is a great example of certain godly qualities in a woman. I also point out how my wife is an example to me as well. I have told my daughter many times about what I prayed for in a wife and how gave me more than I prayed for.

There are times when children will struggle just like we do and you must allow them to wrestle with God and not be disturbed but instead answer their questions from scripture, pray for them, and consider their struggle. That is the time when they realize that Christianity must become real to them and go beyond a religion of going to church but become real beyond just your faith.

You cannot possibly teach your children all of the Bible because all of you are growing at different levels. Some of the best discussions I have had are with my daughter at 11:00 PM or midnight on issues she has been thinking about or confronted with. We talk then even if I know I will be tired the next day.

Since she was in 6th grade she went to work with me during the summer and saw how I dealt with the workers. She also saw how I answered questions and challenges about my faith. While at work she learned to work and gain a proper attitude. The first time I told her that she was going with me she grumbled and told me that she was not going with me. I told her that she was going and needed to be ready to go at 6:15 AM. She was ready and on the way I told her that she was going each day and she could have a good or bad attitude but she was going. The first day she had a miserable day and one of the workers commented to her about her negative attitude. That made her angrier. Eventually she became an excellent worker with a great attitude. After a few weeks she was proud to show my wife the work she had done on the job.

When you get your children turned onto a lifetime of learning they will become independent of you and will learn more by reading and your discussions will change. It becomes exciting when you see your children surround themselves with godly older Christians.

A godly man once told me, "More is caught than will ever be taught." We communicated regularly until a few days before he died. I knew him from when he was 55 to 76. He regularly asked me about my Bible reading and what I was learning. Today there is an older man I communicate with who regularly who holds me accountable. Since I became a Christian at the age of 18 until now at the age of 55 there has always been an older man who has helped to hold me accountable and I can ask for advice. The older man I know now has had a great impact on me and how I communicate with my family. I feel good to see what has happened because I trusted his advice. I am a believer in Hebrews 13:7 "Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith."