Family Worship

Joel and I went to a worship service tonight at our church focused on the concept of family worship in the home and what that looks like. It was SOOO good and very encouraging. Although, we pray together as a family at the dinner table, and I sing about Jesus and talk about Him to Carter, we haven't yet established an actual family worship routine. So it was great to get some guidelines and suggestions from our pastor who has raised five children.

(Side Note: If you ask Carter, "Carter, who loves you?" About 50% of the time, he will say, "JeJu" for Jesus. Precious! I pray he grows to believe it!)

I can remember as a child having family devotions at breakfast before school and especially during Advent season. I treasure those times where my parents took the initiative to plant the seeds of worship in my heart. Joel's parents also had a time of family worship after dinner each night, and I know he is so grateful for the foundation his parents laid for him. We want to do the same for our children.

When Carter was baptized last winter, Joel and I took this vow before God:

"Do you now unreservedly dedicate your child to God, and promise, in humble reliance upon divine grace, that you will endeavor to set before him a godly example, that you will pray with and for him, that you will teach him the doctrines of our holy faith, and that you will strive, by all the manes of God's appointment, to bring him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?"

Overwhelming vow, huh? Yes, I agree. What a huge task to undertake (thankfully not without grace!). Our pastor said tonight that our children are to be reared for ONE purpose...not to be successful or moral or educated or good citizens, but our children are to be reared to be a worshipper of God. If we fail in this, then we fail in everything. It's our sole purpose as parents.

A couple of verses that were pointed out tonight were Deuteronomy 6:4-9 which says, " Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Also, Joshua 24:15 which says, "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

All this to say that I feel very convicted and very passionate about teaching my children about God and how to worship Him. Even though Carter is only 16 months old, he understands so much more that we give him credit for. I heard a statistic that said a child's spiritual wiring is complete by the time they are three years old. Yikes! We are already halfway there! I want Carter to be wired to love God, so why not start now?

Our pastor suggested coming up with a plan as a family. He said to have your family worship in the same place, at the same time, with the same format, on the same days, and keep it short. With Carter, it may only be one minute :) In other words, keep it simple and predictable. Even if Carter doesn't cognitively understand the scriptures we're reading to him and what we are saying during our prayers (which he won't for a while), he will grow up seeing that we are bowing before God and His Word. And he will never remember a time when he didn't know about God and His saving grace.

Okay, I've rambled long enough. But I look forward to our family worship, seeing how God blesses us and teaches us, and making memories as a family that hopefully my children will treasure from their childhood just like I do. And hopefully by God's grace, my babies will grow up to love God and enjoy Him forever.