5 Ways to Make Family Worship Better

I want to invite you to take out your Bibles and turn with me to Psalm 78. This morning we're going to be looking at a few verses in Psalm 78 and then we're going to move to Deuteronomy Chapter 6. So I would encourage you to have your Bibles open to Psalm 78 and then be prepared to move to Deuteronomy Chapter 6.

The title of today's message is Five Things That Make Family Worship Better. Five Things That Make Family Worship Better. On February the 1st, 2003, the crew of the space shuttle Columbia perished when their aircraft broke apart during re-entry over northern Texas.

This was a day of tremendous grief in our nation as many watched in horror at the unfolding events and moreover our hearts ached for the families that were left behind by the fallen astronauts. The captain of the shuttle was named Rick Husband and Rick was in fact a loving husband.

He was a father but more importantly Rick was a confessing Christian. He was a member of the Grace Community Church in Houston under Pastor Steve Do 'Onahue and the pastor said that the only time Rick wasn't in church and about the business of church he was was when he was about NASA business.

Rick made it his mission not only to be a great pilot but also to be a godly parent. The Columbia mission would take him away from his children for 18 days. So prior to his departure Rick made a video for his family.

In fact he made a series of videos. He made 18 videos. One for every day that he would be gone and in those videos that he left for his family he took the time every day to lead his family in family worship.

What is family worship? Family worship is when the family as a unit sets aside a time to worship God together and it's it looks different in every home. Some homes are very traditional and they try to make family worship a lot like church in that they gather everyone around and they seat everyone as if they were seated in church.

The father stands up and as it were leads like the pastor does in a worship service. Other homes are much more informal and they gather around maybe sitting around the Bible on the couch or maybe sitting around on the floor or around the dinner table.

There is no one way to do family worship but the focus and the reason for family worship is that it is a gathering together as a family around the Word of God. Family worship is based on one simple truth.

The family is a microcosm of the church. In fact Jonathan Edwards said that the family unit is like a little church. He said this in a sermon. He said every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church consecrated to Christ and wholly influenced and governed by his rules and family education and order are some of the chief means of grace.

If these fail all other means are likely to prove ineffectual. That was Edwards saying that. He was saying that every Christian family ought to be like a little church because this is one of the ways that God saves people.

This is one of the ways that God uses to bring about gracious growth in our lives and if we don't have the family worshiping then all the other attempts will probably prove ineffectual. Richard Baxter, a Puritan pastor said this in the 1600s.

He says you're not likely to see any general reformation till you procure family reformation. Some little religion may be here and there but while it is confined to single persons and is not promoted in families it will not prosper nor promise much future increase.

So what's Baxter saying? He's saying yes it's good that individuals get saved but to see genuine reform, to see genuine change then then it must not be just with individuals but there must be change within the family and I will agree with him by saying this.

What happens in the home has a genuine and true effect on what happens in the church. If our families are taught that worship is valuable when we're away from the gathered assembly they will see much more value in coming together and gathering but if we neglect worship when we are away from the gathered assembly then we really don't understand and won't really understand the value of the one time a week that we come together for worship.

As I wrote here we have 167 hours where we're not gathered together and if we're not worshiping in that 167 hours then beloved we're not really going to understand the value of the one hour that we come together on the Lord's Day.

In our text today we're going to see the psalmist talking about the value of parents teaching their children particularly the father in passing on the Word of God to the next generation. What we're going to see is the psalmist here is actually hearkening back to an event in Israel's history where prior to his death Moses in giving the what we call Deuteronomy or the second giving of the law to the next generation that was about to take the promised land Moses stands up and he gives them the command that parents ought to teach their children these things so they will not forget them.

So let us look now Psalm 78 verses 5 through 8. Speaking of God it says this He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel which he commanded our fathers to teach to 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 the word of the Lord. Now Psalm 78 is known as a historical psalm often we think of David as the one who wrote the Psalms but David did not write all of the Psalms in fact this one particularly tells us who wrote it.

It was not David but it was written as a parable of Asaph and it recounts Israel's history of God's preservation and his purging with events taken from the writings of Moses and Joshua even going through to the life of King David and the emphasis of Psalm 78 is the need of the people of Israel to embrace the covenant that God has given to them faithfully with every new generation because every new generation needs to be reminded of the covenant that God has made.

Every new generation needs to be reminded of the promises of God. Every new generation needs to not forget that which God has done and that is the goal of this psalm to remind the people of God what God has done so that the fathers would teach their children what God has done.

Now our goal today is not to do an exhaustive study of Psalm 78. We certainly couldn't with the time that we have but what I want us to see in Psalm 78 verses 5 to 8 is the family's responsibility in teaching the things of God.

And then I want us to go back to Deuteronomy 6 and see that what the psalmist Asaph here is doing is he is actually reminding something that the people of Israel already knew all the way back from Deuteronomy where Moses had spoken almost these exact same words to the people of Israel.

The psalmist tells us that God had a gracious intention in giving his law. God wants his people to hope in him. That's what it says right here in verse 7 so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works he has done.

That is the intention of God in giving the law. That's the intention of God in having his his history written down. If you read through the Bible if you read through the history of the Old Testament it's not as if it were a history textbook with dates and figures and times and places.

No it's written as redemptive narrative. It's telling us about what God has done and the reason why he gave us the law. The reason why he gives us this history is because he wants us to remember what he has done so that we do not forget it.

But notice here in this verse verses 5 to 8. Notice who he tasks with teaching. Notice who he tasks with the passing on of this information. Notice he does not mention the clergy. Notice that he does not mention the priests.

Instead the responsibility of perpetuating the knowledge of God is laid at the feet of the fathers. Look again at verse 5 he established a testimony in Jacob he 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 so that as one father teaches his son as his son grows up he will teach his son.

And it's as if the first father had taught the one that was yet unborn the third generation that's not yet born this father is responsible for his son and the next father is responsible for his son. And on down the line the godly line is responsible within the family to teach the Word of God from generation to generation.

And the responsibility falls in this text to the father. Now I want to say for a moment every family is different. Every family is in a unique situation. I do think that there's a sense in which both parents have an important role in doing this for their children.

I know that in my home my wife's teaching of our children is absolutely indispensable. It is absolutely so valuable. And I think back to what Paul wrote to Timothy because Timothy had an unbelieving father at least from all that we can tell.

But he had a believing mother and he had a believing grandmother. And they taught him from his youth the Word of God. Now Psalm 78 as I said earlier I believe is reminding us of another moment in Israel's history.

So for a moment I want us to turn to Deuteronomy chapter 6 because I believe this is what it's pointing back to when he says here in Psalm 78 that he commanded our fathers to teach their children. When did that happen.

When did God command the fathers to teach their children. It was all the way. Back in Deuteronomy chapter 6. And go with me now to verse 4. Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 4 through 9 it begins with something called the Shema which is the prayer of Israel.

This was the prayer of faith. Hear O Israel the Lord thy God the Lord is one that was a prayer of faith among the people. And then it goes on to say you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your might.

That is a codification of the commandments that we are to love God. And then he says in verse 6. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children.

You shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as signs on your hand and you shall they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. This is the command of God that the people of God would love the Word of God so much that it would be a part of their daily life so much to so much so that it would be a part of their daily life that they would teach the words of God diligently to their children.

Notice what it says. It says teach them diligently. The them there is not referring to the children. The them is referring to the words of God. Teach them diligently to your children is what the text says.

The the it is saying teach the words that God has given to you to your children. You shall talk of them when you sit and when you walk when you lie and when you rise. What he's saying there simply is you shall do that everywhere whether you're sitting or whether you're walking whether you're lying or whether you're rising.

And you shall bind them and put them on your forehead and on your hand. And somebody says I don't understand that. Well this is a different time. People in the time that Moses is writing weren't able to have the Bible with them all the time.

So they would take important scriptures. They would write them down and they would keep them in something called a phylactery which is something they would actually wear on their head. And it would remind them of the importance of the Word of God.

This was an important thing in their life because it reminded them of the centrality of where the Word of God should stand. But basically what he's saying when he says write them on the doorposts write them and put them and bind them as frontlets between your eyes.

When he's saying this basically what he's saying is he's saying make the Word of God a part of your everyday life. It should be with you wherever you go. And not only should it be with you in your iPhone.

Not only should it be with you in your church Bible that you carry around with you but it should be with you in your life because it should not only be written but it should be written on your heart. You should learn the Word of God love the Word of God know the Word of God.

That the Word of God be part of your everyday life. Moses commands that Israel be diligent in teaching the next generation the Word of God. Asaph many centuries later would reiterate this in Psalm 78.

Teach your children fathers teach your children the Word of God. So how does this apply to us today. How do we go back hundreds and thousands of years to when these texts were written and apply them to us right now in this moment as we as a church aren't even gathered together how can this apply to us.

Well these passages stand as a reminder of what our priority should be in our home. The Word of God must take center stage not just on Sunday not just on the Lord's Day not just for one hour a week when we gather together in this place.

But the Word of God should have priority in our life every single day. But what does that look like. Well as I said every home is different every family unit is structured a little differently as I look out and I think about our church.

Our church is different. We have families of all different kinds. We have some of you that live you're essentially you live alone. You're single. And you might be thinking well what's this sermon got to do with me.

Well not only is it encouraging you to worship on your own which you should be but also to find ways to gather with others. I know right now that's very difficult to do. But worship, worship in community and worship outside of the gathered worship when you gather together with other believers is a precious thing and something that we should not give up and something that we should not forget.

So today I want to talk about family worship based on everything that I've said so far because I do believe that the way that we live this principle out is in family worship. I believe the way that we live this principle out is by applying it to what we do in the home.

And again whether you're a single person or whether you are maybe just a couple maybe your children are grown and you're living. It's just you and and your spouse. Or maybe you have a lot of, you have a church in your house.

You've got a lot of children no matter the situation all of these things can be applied to make your family worship better. And that's and that's really what I've said. These are five things that can help make your family worship better.

Because if you're already doing family worship which I pray and hope that you are I just wanna help you make it better. But if you're not then these are five things that might can help you get started toward a direction of family worship.

So let's let's look now at the five things and I'll try to do these briefly. The five things are number one I believe family worship is best when number one it is worship. They say okay that's not very insightful.

You call it family worship. And now you're just saying the same thing. You're you're being redundant. Well I'm I'm not being redundant because I want you to understand that family worship is worshiping God.

It is not just some dry religious exercise. It's not just some rigorous discipleship program. It's an opportunity for you to meet with the triune God in your home with your family. It's an opportunity to worship.

You know what I hear people say all the time. I don't need to go to church to worship God. Well let me let me just address that real quick. We are called to assemble as believers. So if anyone says you don't need to go to church to worship God that that could be true.

But but but we we do need to gather as believers. So what they mean by that is we don't need to gather. That's not true. We do need to gather. The Bible says forsake not the gathering of yourselves together.

So it's not true that we don't need to gather. But I will say this a lot of people who say I can worship God anywhere don't. They don't worship God at all. So let me say this about family worship first and foremost it should be worship.

It should be a time where you are setting aside the things of the world. You're setting aside the things everything else. And you are going before your God to the throne of grace and you are bringing to him true and genuine worship.

Now what is worship? Worship means to ascribe worth to something. It means to give it all of its value. And that's what you're doing. You're proclaiming the worthiness of God when you come together for worship.

That's what we do when we come here on Sunday morning. That's what you should be doing in your homes worshipping as a family. Again you're proclaiming the worthiness of God. Worship is about adoration of God.

It's taking the time to say I love you God and I want to give this time to you specially. Yes I can worship you all day long. But this is a special time where my family and I are going to worship you.

So number one it's best when it's worship. It's not just a devotional. It's not just a Bible study. This is your family's worship. Number two family worship is best when it's planned. Some people say ah the best worship is spontaneous worship.

And there is a place for spontaneous worship. But let me tell you this if you are trying to lead your family a plan and guiding them to the throne of grace is very valuable when we gather for a church service.

When we gather to worship as a church we have a plan but we give it to you. When you come in you have a bulletin. It's right there it's written out. This is what we're going to do. Why do we do that. Because the Bible says we are to do things decently and in order.

God is not worshiped in chaos. God is worshiped in orderly community and your family is the smallest social structure in the world. And you are worshiping as a family. I encourage you don't make it rigid but please make it structured.

Have a plan now what what how do you make a plan. Let me give you three thoughts on that very quickly. How to make a plan. Number one there there are three elements in worship that I think are essential.

The first is the Word of God. That's the primary element. So reading and explaining the Word of God is essential. Number two prayer is essential. You should be praying with your family. And the last one is song.

Christians are singing people we are. We are a people who are made to sing and God calls us to sing and we are called to praise the Lord with our voices. Make a joyful noise. You say well it's a little weird to sing in my house with my kids.

Let me tell you your kids won't think it's as weird as you are. Maybe your older teenagers might buck a little bit but I want to encourage you there are so many tools out there right now that can help you make a plan for your family worship.

There's there's so much good worship music available on YouTube that you can go and you can pull up and you can listen to as a family. There are so many good sermons and and lessons on YouTube and and sermon audio.

You can go and find things and listen to them. I want to also recommend to you a book I brought it with me today. This is called truth and grace memory book and this is the first one. This is edited by pastor Tom Askell who is a friend.

He's the head of Founders Ministries. And in this book we use this for our family's worship. In this book it has a simple catechism for boys and girls which I think is very valuable and I'll explain why in a few minutes.

It also has words to hymns that you can teach your children. It has memory verses that you can teach. This book is chock full of good information and it is available and I would encourage you maybe not this book but I would encourage you to get something like this to help make a plan for worship.

Family worship number three. So we've already seen worship is best when it's family worship is best when it's worshipful. Family worship is best when it's planned. Number three. Family worship is best when it is regular.

What I mean it's best when it's part of every day or at least multiple times per week. And I know that you live a life that's very limited on time because we all do. We all live very busy lives right now but we are generally able to make time for that which is important to us.

If you eat together as a family that's the perfect time for family worship. After the meal has concluded before everyone gets together to help clean up the table. Set your table wears aside. Set your set your silverware and your plates aside and pull out your Bible.

Get a hymnal and have it in your house and have your Bible and your hymnal together. Read through a song. Sing a song read the scriptures and pray again. This comes back to planning. Have your book there.

Don't have to go get it have it there ready. Make it part of your regular daily plan. So number four we've already said family worship is best when it's worshipful when it's planned. When it's regular.

Number four it's best when it's joyful. Family worship should not be a time of drudgery. It should be a time that everyone looks forward to. And parents this begins with you. I want to say this I'm gonna say this right to your heart.

Look at me parents right now understand this. If you have no joy in picking up your Bible and reading it then your children will have no joy in listening to you read it. If you have no joy in picking up your Bible and reading it they will have no joy in listening to you read it.

And this again when I talk about joyful this is this is. This is a time where singing can be a wonderful tool especially if you have small children and you can teach them songs that they know. One of the great things about our family worship and we are not an example we are not perfect and we're not in any way setting ourselves up as the standard.

But one of the great things that does happen in our house is each of the kids have learned a song that they love. And so when we get together for family worship and I say do you want to sing. JJ will say amazing grace amazing grace because that's a song he knows.

And Hope has learned several other songs and she's able to ask for the song that she wants to sing because she's learned them and she's memorized them. And again I would I would just encourage you to to sing and choose songs that are easy to learn so that the children will want to sing them.

Lastly number five five things as I said family worship is best when it's worshipful. Family worship is best when it's planned. It's best when it's regular. It's best when it's joyful. Number five family worship is best when it is pure.

What I mean when Moses commanded the people to teach them diligently them is the words of God. When you teach your children the words of God it is incumbent upon you to be accurate in what you teach that your doctrine would be pure.

You might say well I'm not equipped for that. I'm not equipped to teach. I don't understand enough to be able to teach. This is why I said tools are are important. Because you may need help. You may be at a point in your spiritual life where you're still young and you're still needing to grow and you still need to learn.

This is where a good catechism book can be very helpful to you. A good commentary can be very helpful to you. A good study Bible can be very helpful to you. But I'm gonna give you this. I'm gonna tell you next week regardless of what happens whether we gather for worship or whether we don't.

Whatever happens next week my sermon is going to be how to study the Bible on your own. I'm going to teach a very special sermon that goes along with this message to help you better equip yourself to study the Bible with your family and in your own devotional time I'm gonna teach you some very solid and simple principles for studying the Word of God on your own.

So I would encourage you not only to pay attention today but to be with us next week as well as we look at that very important subject. But again let me just say this. I'm not telling you to be afraid.

Don't be afraid to teach your children the Word of God. Don't be afraid to let them ask questions. And don't be afraid to say I don't know. If you don't know the answer but know this. We should try as best as we can to ensure that what we teach our children is accurate to the Word of God.

The best way to do that is that we ourselves are studying the Word of God to know what it says. One last thing I said there were five things but this one doesn't really go along with the list. This one is just something that we all need to remember.

Family worship. And all worship should be Christ-focused and gospel-centered. Ask yourself when you're worshiping with your family where is Christ in this. When you're reading the scripture where's the gospel in this passage.

Because let me tell you something church. If there is no Christ in our worship it is not Christian worship. If there is no Christ in our worship it's not Christian worship. Tell your family of the Christ.

Tell your family of his cross. Tell your family of his forgiveness. Forget not to remind them of what he has done to save them. Forget not to tell them that he has called them to repent of their sins and believe in him and urge them if they have not to turn from this world and turn to Christ beloved.

The greatest evangelist in your home is the parents. I decided to preach this message now because I know many of our lives are very different now than they were just a few weeks ago because of the coronavirus.

Many of you are working from home and some may not even be working at all. As a church we've chosen not to gather today and we do not know when we're going to be back together again. This is a time when many of you will be spending more time with your families than you have in years.

What better time than now to begin a regular practice of family worship. This is a time to learn to value worshiping at home. And when we get to come back together our corporate worship will be better than it ever has been because it will be an outgrowth of what you are doing in your home every day.

When Rick husband left his family the videos of him leading family worship when he flew off into the heavens on that space shuttle not knowing that he wouldn't return. He left his family those videos leading family worship.

And when he did that he left them more than his voice and his image he left them the legacy of a commitment to family worship. Imagine the legacy that you could be creating in your family as you demonstrate the importance of worshiping God as a family.

Family Worship as a Little Church

Let us pray our Father and our God. We are thankful also thankful for this opportunity to have worshiped you together even though we're not together. And Lord we know that this is this pales in comparison and should not even be compared to the actual gathering.

But I pray Lord that the words that have been spoken today would be an encouragement to our church that they would be encouraged to worship you in their home with their families. And while we cannot gather as a church they can be as it were a little church worshiping together around the Word of God.

I pray for fathers today Lord that you would be with them to lead their family. I pray for the mothers that they would be supportive and encouraging and lead their children. I pray that the children would be obedient to their parents for for families that don't have children Lord that they would worship together as as a spouse and a couple Lord.

And for the person who lives alone I pray that they would understand that they are not alone in spirit for Lord. We as a church love them and are supporting them in prayer. And we pray Lord that when we come back together that they would have worshiped by themselves as preparation for worshiping in the congregation and Lord.

I look forward to that day. I look forward to the day when we can again gather as a church and worship you in spirit and in truth Lord thank you in Jesus name Amen.