Household Worship - Part 3 - Scripture Reading

Scripture Reading as a Core Element of Household Worship

But alright, so we've been talking about household worship. We've been, first one was just on the necessity of it. The next one was on what should be the frequency of it. We're going to go through each of the three elements of household worship, okay, scripture reading, prayer, singing, those three things.

We're gonna go through each of those on their own today. I wanna talk about scripture reading. On one hand, maybe it's obvious why we would do this. There's a lot of, you know, it's always helpful to get tips on how to go about these sorts of things.

You know, maybe you do family worship in your, and you immediately think, oh yeah, I'd love to know more tips on scripture reading. Maybe your response is, well, isn't it obvious you just open up the Bible and you read it?

You would be surprised the number of things I encountered when I talked to people about family worship that they say that they do either in their scripture reading or in lieu of scripture reading. So I've learned that it should not just go presumed that everyone knows what to do with this part of family worship.

A lot of people don't realize that they're doing something that's way outside of what would have typically throughout history been considered part of family worship or what biblically ought to be part of family worship.

All right, so let's begin with Second London Baptist Confession, what it says about scripture reading. The reading of scriptures, preaching and hearing the word of God, et cetera. There's an ellipsis there.

All are all parts of religious worship of God to be performed in obedience to him. Okay, so this is describing what the different elements of worship are. This is after it has said that we are only to worship God in the ways that he has indicated.

This is one of the ways that he has indicated. Now, not only is it a way that he has indicated, but it is a way that is possible to worship him with your family. This is really what's going to determine what is appropriate for household worship.

It is, is this an element of worship? And then two, is it appropriate with your family? Okay, so you could say, all right, well, the Lord's Supper is an element of worship, but is this appropriate with your family?

No, because it represents the unity of the body of Christ, and this is not the picture of the body of Christ. Christ is instituted, which is the local church. So that would be an example of something that is proper worship, but it would not be appropriate for the family.

There are other things that might be appropriate for a family to do together, but not actually be worship. All right, people come up with all kinds of weird ways of worshiping. If you've ever seen those churches that have like a painter, you know, while the sermon is going, and they're artistically expressing things and worship to God or whatever.

So that would be something you could paint together as a family, but that would not be worship, right? Or I went to a church that had flag twirlers. You know, if you, yeah, don't do that as an element of worship to God, okay?

Did you bring up more? Okay, all right. Could you add more paper? Do you know where to find the paper? Okay, thanks. All right, second, I also wanted to read from, and I think I've got another quote from this later, the Directory of Family Worship.

I mentioned last week that the Westminster Assembly produced a number of documents. It was not just the confession. One of them is the Directory for Private Worship, also known as the Directory for Family Worship, which describes both secret worship and family worship.

Okay, so let's read part of this here. The ordinary duties comprehended under the exercise of piety, which should be in families when they are convened to that effect are these, and then the parts that I've skipped here are praying and singing.

It says, reading the scriptures with catechizing in a plain way, the understanding of the, sorry, my pronounce so blurry. Yeah, the understandings of the simpler may be the better enabled to profit under the public ordinances, and they made more capable to understand the scriptures when they are read altogether with godly conferences tending to the edification of all the members in the most holy faith, as also admonition and rebuke upon just reasons from those who have authority in the family.

Oh, mine's got notes on it. Oh, yeah, well, maybe brings hers out, it'll be fine. So let's see. Godly conferences, what do you think that means? You think that means going to G3 together as a family? Anybody know what conferences are?

What's that? It's synonymous to gathering, right? Yeah, I think it's talking particularly about conversation, like conversing with one another. Okay, if you're conferring with one another, you're talking to one another.

So it's not just that the scriptures are read, but that conversations are happening about the scripture. All right, so let's go ahead and walk through some questions one might have about family worship.

The Head of Household Should Lead Scripture Reading

Scripture reading.

Yeah, go for it. And you're bringing this up because you're saying that the notion of conversing with one another can be disruptive. Yeah, I think there's a lot of pride going on in that picture. Yeah, he can't get along with people, I don't know.

Yeah, I know the dynamic he's talking about. I know that when I've gone to Bible studies that are not Reformed Baptist Bible studies, I've got a lot of opinions on things, and I'm careful with what I do, but I have a higher obligation to the unity of the spirit than I do to, yeah, I don't think that he is, I don't think that's the right approach is to avoid all contact with others because of that.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, there's a way to speak the truth and love, and I think some people really struggle with that, right? Is they tend to think of the truth as being contrary to love. Now, certainly not all the truth is needed at every moment, but yeah, anyway, there is a way of speaking that is brotherly and not obnoxious that can be done.

Now, yeah, I would, applying this to family worship, yeah, I think that'd be a problem if one of the household members like, you know what, I just know too much. I don't want to come here from dad. I have too many obnoxious things to say, so I'm just gonna stay out of this.

That would be a problem. All right, let's keep moving on here.

Who should read?

The head of household, the head of household. Acts 10 .2 says that Caesarea, there's a man named Cornelius, a centurion, of what was known as the Italian cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people and prayed continually to God.

All right, so, all right, that's verses one and two. I should say verses one and two. So we have here this picture of Cornelius worshiping God with his household. We're given the impression that he is leading his household in this prayer, and then we also have a few verses that talk about the duty of fathers being particularly to pass on the word of God to their children.

Now, this is true of mothers as well, but it is particularly given to fathers. Ephesians 6 .4, fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

And then Psalm 78, I wanna read more of that with you, so please open up to Psalm 78. All right, Psalm 78. Let us read verses one through eight. Give ear, my people, to my teaching. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might and the wonders that he has done.

He has established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments, and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

This is particularly the duty of fathers to pass on the word from generation to generation. There are a lot of times where families will opt out of the father being the main reader. Maybe he's less educated and so doesn't feel as fit for it.

Maybe he has a strong accent, and isn't embarrassed to read in front of his children. Maybe he'll do the teaching, but then not the reading, or maybe he'll do the reading, but then not the teaching, because he doesn't feel equipped for it.

But he should recognize that this is particularly his responsibility that he should be doing, and so it's not really so much of a matter of ability as it is responsibility. I think we need to not think primarily in terms of ability, but in terms of responsibility.

Now if it's the case that the head of household is not a believer, obviously they would not be fit at all for the job, in which case someone else ought to do it. The directory of family worship, which I've quoted here, speaks of in that situation where the head of household is not fit for the task, that they should meet with the elders to decide who in the household is best.

So I found that interesting, too. This was not considered just an individual family problem to figure out, but something that the family had an obligation to the church to be performing rightly, since we're all agreeing as a church to upholding good religion in our homes, yes.

Yeah, that's a good question. The directory of family worship says some really interesting things about that, things that I am not sure how well they apply to the typical variety of situations that exist today, like the one you just described, where someone has never done it before, and you're kind of providing an example.

The directory of family worship says that if there is someone visiting your home, even if they are more equipped to explain the scriptures, they should not be the one to do it. They should not intrude in this way.

Actually, it's pretty interesting how it's phrased. I might as well just read it to you all. Looks like I'm gonna have to, directory, pull that up. Let no, there are several paragraphs that talk about this, but this one in particular seems relevant.

Let no idler who hath no particular calling or vagrant person under pretense of calling be suffered to perform worship in families to or for the same, seeing persons tainted with errors or aiming at division, may be ready after that manner to creep into houses and to leave captives silly and unstable souls.

So this is describing someone who would like kind of sell their services or like pitch themselves, say, you need me in your family to, I don't know if that was like a common thing back then or what. Let me, yes, it is.

Yeah, there's one that sounds, that's more relevant to what you're describing too. Let's see. Yeah, there's a part, I'm trying to find it, but there's a part that even suggests that like the minister, like even if the minister is there, that it would be still best for the man of the family to lead the family in worship.

Yes, right, right, yeah. Yeah, exactly, right. So I'm saying that this is, yeah, I think that this is addressing a different variety of situations than the one we're typically exposed to. So I don't think they are imagining the exact situation that you're thinking about.

They're thinking about one where someone feels intimidated because they're someone who purportedly, has more skill with the word. And so they're inclined to give it over to him as opposed to doing what they usually do themselves.

But so yeah, in your situation that might be, that seems acceptable, but yeah, obviously there should be a sense of responsibility on the man of the household to do that. Yeah, right, yeah, yes. Okay, so we were talking about, yeah, who should read?

Okay, any other questions about who? All right, let's talk about what should be read. All scripture may be read, 2 Timothy 3, 16 through 17. All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Okay, so all scripture is profitable for the man of God. This includes for family worship. A lot of people will feel like there are a lot of scripture that's not appropriate for their family, might come across Ezekiel 23 and about halfway through, you're like, I'm not sure I should be reading this to the kids.

No, you can read it to the kids. They would hear it if they came here and worshiped with the whole church, so they should hear it in your home too. And Ezekiel 23 has a lot of lewd imagery describing the adultery of Israel.

And so a great opportunity to talk to your kids about sex. You know, a lot of kids grow up in homes where the parents feel like it's not their responsibility and they should avoid it at all costs, which is, yeah, that's not good.

I remember one time in college, I met an Indian who had just moved over here from India, and he was describing this was very common in India that parents would not explain this to the children. And he learned about sex from pornography.

And he thought that that was great, that you don't have to talk to your parents anymore. It doesn't have to be this awkward thing with them. You could just learn online. Like, isn't it great how the world has advanced so that you don't have to have these awkward conversations.

With your parents.

You can just learn about sex online. It's like, this is the worst thing that I have ever heard. This is just absolutely abysmal. But if you're talking about these things, if you are reading through the scriptures, these things are going to come up naturally.

They should come up.

It's a great opportunity so that you're not accidentally even negligent of things that you should be talking to your kids about. All scripture ought to be read. So not just may be read, but ought to be read.

Acts 20, 26 through 27. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Paul describes himself as innocent of the blood of the Ephesians because he has preached to them the whole counsel of God.

There was nothing that he was avoiding talking about. Right, as you go through the word, there should be no avoiding of anything, right? You should be eager to explain the whole counsel, everything that you know you should want to pass on.

Now consider a few ways that people do this differently where they ought not. One that is really common is children's Bibles, right? That's not scripture, right? You have a children's Bible where it has a little paragraph summarizing, you know, Jonah and the big fish or whatever, right?

This is not, that's not scripture. And so you're not reading scripture to your children and then you're not reading scripture to your wife. And if you're thinking of household worship as being something that is just for children, like a lot of people don't even practice it until they have kids.

Now that's the case for me, but it was because I didn't even understand. I didn't even know what it was really. You know, I grew up having some kind of family devotions, but they were rare and it was not a, it was not like understood as a thing that was a duty.

But a lot of people think that it's something that is particularly for the children. And so they're not even thinking about their own wives when they lead the house in worship. And so that's part of what leads to, you know, using something like a children's Bible.

But then secondly, a lot of people aren't thinking about what a typical family ought to look like and how as their own family grows, Lord willing, that would be pretty inappropriate. You know, if you've got a kid who's a teenager and also a young kid, you don't just teach at the level of the young kid because then you're not just bypassing wife, but you're also bypassing the older children.

So wanting to make it plain to everyone in the setting, you know, what does it say? Catechizing in a plain way that the understandings of the simpler may be better enabled to profit under the public ordinances.

That is something that can happen even though you are reading what is truly scripture.

Okay.

Also, yeah, I know some people end up reading things that are just not even a children's Bible, just something else, you know, like a biography of a martyr or something like that, right? So this is not, it's not just some religious thing, right?

This is worship. And so you should only be doing that which is appropriate for worship, which includes reading scripture and not reading other things in lieu of scripture. Yeah, so I have, okay. Yeah, not in lieu of scripture.

Now, it's something that, you know, you might do around the same time, like before or after, and I've done that. I've read through both the first and the second pilgrim's progress with my kids after family worship, but not as part of family worship as though it were the religious exercise given by God.

All right.

The Whole Counsel of God and the Need for Explanation

Okay, scriptures should be read well. You know, you should think about it as something that you can improve in, that you can, you know, have better emphasis on the things that should be emphasized, et cetera.

Think about that as something that you can improve in. Secondly, yeah, as far as the, what is the order of scripture you can go through, there's all kinds of ways that you can do this. There's no one right answer, but I would recommend following some kind of plan that would end up reading all of scripture to your children and not avoiding anything.

You know, if you just read through the gospels and then cycle and just did the gospels, that would be unnecessarily avoiding other passages. If you only did the Proverbs, I think there are some families that do this where they just read a proverb each day and that's it.

You would be avoiding things. So try to pick some pattern that is going to go through all of scripture. It's, yeah, it's appropriate to pull up a special passage if something special is needed that day, but in general, I would recommend some kind of schedule that's going to cover everything.

If you read older literature on family worship, it almost always gives the same recommendation of a chapter of the New Testament in the morning and a chapter of the Old Testament in the evening. This is not what I do, primarily because I often have guests in my home, and so I have, I split up what I'm reading based on whether or not guests are present and which guests, and so I've got, so I'm like kind of reading through three or four things at any given time, depending on who is present.

But that is a good recommendation, and that will get you to about two and a half years for a read through of scripture if you're doing a chapter of the New Testament in the morning and a chapter of the Old Testament in the evening.

Okay, any questions about that, about what should be read? I would also say don't let that keep you from being regular, right? If in the pathway to regularity, you're building up the muscle to do it each day, it's okay to pick shorter passages.

When I end up, when my household is not completely in order in the morning and we don't have as much time, I will just go through a few proverbs, explain them, and then sing the Gloria Patri or the doxology after praying, right?

So there are, yeah, there are ways of shortening it if that is needed to make sure that it actually happens. It actually happening is way more important than you having a whole chapter. I mean, the chapters are arbitrary anyway, right?

Like they weren't, like when Matthew wrote the book of Matthew, he did not say chapter one, et cetera. Okay, some of the chapter divisions are pretty wonky too. They don't make sense. Okay, any questions?

Questions?

All right, next page, explanation slash catechesis. Catechesis just being a word for instructing. That doesn't necessarily mean using a catechism. And I would say that if you are going to use a formal catechism, I keep it at the edges, right?

So like what I mean is either after or before. You know, I usually go through the catechism question before we read the scripture so it's not formally part of worship just like we do here, right? We do it before the announcements so it's not formally part of worship.

So the scriptures are what are formally part of worship. But it's definitely appropriate to bring up catechism questions as they arrive from the reading of scripture. But anyway, that's formal catechism.

What I'm talking about here is just the notion of teaching. Okay, scripture reading in church is given particularly to the elders. I don't know if you've ever considered this before. 1 Timothy 4 .13 says, until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, to the exhortation, to teaching.

Why is it that this is particularly a responsibility of the elders if it is just reading? There's a lot of churches that for the scripture reading, they will have every single person in the church volunteer.

I know that in Tim Keller's church, they would often have a woman come up and read the scriptures because this was not considered, because it was considered free of any kind of teaching, right? And so at that point, well, she's just reading the word of God.

There's no teaching or exercise of authority, et cetera. Well, the picture you see here is that this is particularly the task of elders. Why the elders? Because it is supposed to be paired with teaching.

Scripture reading is not supposed to be bare. You can, and I was trying to do this. It's not as common as I thought it would be, but, or I'm having trouble finding more instances of it. But a lot of the Puritans, and including the American Puritans, not just the, like New England Puritans, not just the English Puritans, would refer to readings of scripture that did not include explanations as dumb readings of scripture.

Dumb meaning like, you know, deaf and dumb, right? So one who does not speak, like a reading of scripture that is, that does not speak to people. This is not, and it ought not to be how scripture is read.

Scripture should not be a dumb reading. Biblical examples that we have, especially Nehemiah 8 .8. This is kind of a classic text on it. They read from the book of the law of God and making it clear and giving meaning so that people understood what was being read, right?

It's important that people understand what is being read. Scripture reading should come with an explanation. It is not like you have in a lot of religions where it's a magical incantation that has meaning apart from understanding.

Okay, it's not like the Latin mass where they say the thing and then, you know, the bread and the wine magically transform into the Eucharist and these incantations actually accomplish something apart from any understanding, right?

It's not like that. The word of God is meant to be understood. Teaching that is not understood is not edifying, and you can read all through 1 Corinthians 14. I'll just, sorry, let me use this one that I can see.

Do you all have handouts? Yeah, okay, thanks. All right, 1 Corinthians 14, nine. So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air.

Now, 1 Corinthians 14 explains at length the problem of praying in a way that others cannot understand. Now, it's talking about the gift of tongues, but this applies to, well, this teaching at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 14 shapes the rest of the teaching at the end of 1 Corinthians 14, which is about how worship ought to be done in an edifying way.

So this is a principle that applies to all parts of worship. A lot of people read it real narrowly as, oh, don't speak in tongues in church. Thing is, the gift of tongues does not exist anymore. Even those people who claim it does are not even doing the same thing that it's supposed to be.

It's supposed to be other languages, like real languages that are understood. Anyway, my point here is that this principle applies to everything. If you pray in a way that is not understood, it is not helpful prayer around other people.

If you teach in a way that is not understood, it is not helpful teaching around other people. If you sing in a way that is not understood, if we decide, oh, we're gonna sing a Latin song today, that would not be appropriate.

You'll see that in a Roman Catholic church or something. It's not just that we don't appreciate the aesthetics of singing in Latin. It is that it is not edifying. It is, and worship is supposed to be edifying according to 1 Corinthians 14.

Now, if we all knew Latin, then sure, we could do that. But I don't know Latin. 1 Corinthians 14, 26. What then, brothers, when you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.

Let all things be done for building up. All things must be done for building up. If it is not done for building up, it is not done properly. And so this is true with the reading of Scripture. The reading of Scripture ought to be paired with explanation.

You really ought not just to read the Scripture with no explanation. Now, that does imply something for the one who is to be reading the Scripture, that he should be versed in it well enough to be able to make some comments on it, to instruct his family to some degree in it.

No one's going to be an expert on every verse in the Bible and every conundrum that arrives, but at the same time, you can be familiar enough with Scripture to lead your family in what it says. So some good ways of doing this are to ask questions of your family to make sure they're understanding.

I like to ask vocabulary questions of the littler kids just to make sure they understand what basic words in the Bible mean. You know, Tim had mentioned a few weeks ago that he'll have his kids tell them beforehand to try to find one thing that they learn from the passage and to share that with everyone else at the end.

That's a good way of getting people just actively paying attention to what's being said. Any questions on explaining or teaching? We are going to talk more about preaching, which is like making applications from it.

Yes.

I feel good about it?

Yeah.

Yeah, right.

Yeah, no, 1 Corinthians 14 is really clear. It has to do with the mind, right? And this is very different than a lot of religions, right? A lot of religions are not concerned, or maybe they're like secondarily concerned with the mind,.

Right?

There's all kinds of ceremony and stuff that's having an effect apart from the mind. If you've never considered the real, not uniqueness, there are other things that are more unique in Christianity. You know, it really is the only one,.

But there are few religions.

That are so concerned with the mind as Christianity is.

Preaching, Rebuke, and the Law-Gospel Shape of Scripture

All right.

Preaching. So rebuke or exhortation. Teaching in the Bible is distinguished from preaching. 1 Timothy 5 .17, let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

2 Timothy 4 .2 says, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. Okay, so you see there a distinction too. You preach with teaching.

Okay, preaching is something that is defined here as reproving, rebuking, exhorting, and you do that with teaching. Okay, so the word of God ought to be applied as well. It's not just that it is explained with the bare meaning of it is, it ought to be applied.

And this is partly why you would have heads of household do this because it is particularly them that have the moral standing, or not moral standing, but the responsibility, the charge to lead the rest of the family in what is right and to command them in what is right.

If you think of this just as a task in explaining, and let's say you had some prodigy teenager who really knew the Bible better than his parents who had not applied themselves that well, you might think, okay, well, it's appropriate for this one to lead the family because he understands more.

But he does not have the standing to preach, right, to rebuke and exhort, and so by preaching, I'm not talking about, you know, like long tirades or anything like that. I just mean to apply this to people's lives.

It's like, this is talking about, you know, jealousy. Now, it's very common in our own home where children will be jealous of one another in the toys. Like, the Bible is talking against that right here.

This applies to us in these ways. This applies to you in this way.

When you stole this toy from your sister, you don't need to call out each individual to embarrass them. Sometimes that's appropriate.

Okay.

Fathers who fail to rebuke their households bring calamity on them, on their whole household. 1 Samuel 3, 13, and I declared to him that I am about to punish his house forever for the iniquity that he knew because his sons were blaspheming God and he did not restrain them.

This is talking about Eli, right? Eli's children were misbehaving in multiple ways, right? They were also priests and they were not handling the sacrifices correctly. They were following their own passions.

Eli does not rebuke his family, his sons, and so they, and so that judgment is brought on them and Eli's line ceases to continue. So this is a duty of fathers to instruct their family in the way that is right.

And they are to do so from the authority of scripture, from the words of scripture, and where more appropriate would that be than in family worship. I wanna read this section from the Directory of Family Worship because it's pretty well written.

So in every family where there is any that can read, the holy scriptures should be read ordinarily to the family and it's commendable that thereafter they confer. Okay, remember, have conference, right?

Not going to G3, it's talking about talking together. And by way of conference, make some good use of what has been read and heard. Use is a common Puritan term for application. Okay, if they talk about the uses of scripture, they're talking about the application, the practical applications of scripture.

Use may be made thereof to make all the families circumspect and watchful against the same. Or if any judgment be threatened or mentioned to have been inflicted in that portion of scripture, which is read, use may be made to make all the family fear, lest the same or a worse judgment befall them, unless they beware of the sin that procured it.

And finally, if any duty be required or comfort held forth in a promise, use may be made to stir up themselves, to employ Christ for strength, to enable them for doing the commanded duty and to apply the offered comfort.

Okay.

All right, so you hear that word use over and over. Practical application is supposed to be made. There's supposed to be exhortation and rebuke as necessary from the word of God. Any questions about that?

Yes.

Basically what? You mean as opposed to rebuking them by just verbally? I'm just trying to make the connection to what we're talking about here. Yeah, I mean, how old is this kid?

Yeah.

So that's the thing is you are not obligated to have every person under your household. You know, if it is totally appropriate to kick someone out of your household as needed, if they are not submitting to your authority as the head of the household, then they should go.

And I think more people ought to employ that kind of authority. A lot of heads of households typically don't think of themselves as having authority. They feel like they have to provide everything for these people without any kind of obligation back to them.

That's not really how this works. There is a, yeah, that goes back to Tim's sermon on the sin of enabling, right? A lot of people, a lot of heads of household do not think of this as a thing that they can actually do, you know, remove their protection from someone.

And they really ought to at certain points. Now, how did it get there? Was there not tons of sin along the way that in the leadership of the head of household that led to this point?