Editor's Note: This article is the final installment in a multi-part series on family worship. We'd recommend reading Part I, II, III, IV, V, and VI before continuing.

5 min read

In an age of distraction, broken families, and spiritual decline, I hope this series has provided you with a vision for what we have been calling family worship: its definition, biblical foundations, and historical roots. In the last few articles, we have examined the various elements that comprise family worship, and we have explored some practical wisdom regarding frequency, duration, and location. Seasons change, as do schedules, so be flexible…even being prepared to do family worship in the car on the way home late at night! I trust following these counsels will eliminate some of what I want to look at briefly now, namely, the things that hinder family worship in the home.

No Example

Growing up, family worship was not practiced in my home, so when I became a husband and father, I never even thought about leading my family in worship. It wasn’t until I was 29 that this changed. My wife and I had just moved to attend seminary, and in God’s providence, we bought a home with the intention of renting it to fellow seminary students to bless them with cheaper rent and help cover some of our costs as well. Over three and a half years, we had four families take residence in our home, but it was the first family that changed the direction of our lives. I still clearly remember being upstairs when I heard singing. I was confused as to what was happening. I snuck down the stairs and slowly tried to peek into the room without disrupting what was happening. What I saw I had never seen before. There, sitting on the couch, were our housemates with their two young children, hymn books in hand, and they were singing. To be honest, that is all I remember them doing, almost ten years later. I was intrigued, and it was pressed upon my heart: I want to do this, too! The truth is, I should have started family worship once I became a husband  (I assumed it was what you did with children), so when our first child was born, we began. By the grace of God, all we needed was to see it in action! 

Paul tells the Philippians church, “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Phil 4:9). Paul sets an example and calls them to follow. We have had the joy of welcoming many into our home since, with the hope and desire that our guests will stay for family worship and that we may be an example in the lives of others, as our friends had been to us.

Sometimes, we just need to see it done.

No Teaching

We live in a church culture in which family worship has been largely forgotten. One of the critical missing pieces is that pastors do not teach and call their people to this practice, largely because they also have not seen an example or been taught it! But, if you are a pastor who has read these articles, you can no longer say, “I had no clue!” If that is you, I urge you, first and foremost, to practice family worship in your own home, whatever your situation. You cannot impart what you do not possess. Secondly, don’t think you have to become an expert before teaching others! Understand the biblical teaching and historical roots and pass them on! Show hospitality and invite brothers and sisters over! 

What if you are a family that practices family worship, but you are in a church with pastors who don’t emphasize this? Start by praying, even making it a prayer request during family worship! Intentionally invite other families over for a meal and then invite them into your family worship. Prayerfully consider talking with your pastor and giving him one of the recommended books in the footnotes. Don’t underestimate the difference you can make with those around you! Let it not be said that they didn’t know because they didn’t hear or see!

No Time

Despite all that has been said, finding time is still a struggle even if you strive to be brief. In a culture driven by demanding industries and shift work, finding a consistent time can feel impossible. But we all have time for what is most important to us, and it shows in the things we sacrifice to do what we most love and value. For the Christian, the greatest commandment is to love God and others. Not allocating time to worship God in the home means that love for something else has taken priority. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with athletics, academics, and the arts, there is something wrong when those temporal activities have greater value than the eternal kingdom. Brother or sister, this world is passing away along with its desires, but the one who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:17). This calls for wisdom, but it also calls for repentance where disordered loves are revealed in disordered lives. I have been convicted by a quote from the great Methodist leader John Wesley. He said, 

“Surely, if you love or fear God yourself, this will be your first consideration: ‘In what business will your son be most likely to love and serve God? In what employment will he have the greatest advantage for laying up treasure in heaven?’ I have been shocked above measure in observing how little this is attended to, even by pious parents! Even these consider only how he may get most money; not how he may get most holiness!...Upon this motive they fix him in a business which will necessarily expose him to such temptations as will leave him not a probability, if a possibility, of serving God. O savage parents! Unnatural, diabolical, cruelty – if you believe there is another world.”[1]

Remember, he wrote this over 200 years ago! If you have prioritized other things over eternal things, today is the day to confess to the Lord and take steps, however difficult, to honour the Lord in your home. 

Conclusion

Whether the roadblock is a lack of examples, teaching, or time, the call remains. One day, we will stand before God and give an account for the precious souls we were given to steward. The argument I made at the start of this series was simple: if we want to see true change in Alberta, it must begin in the home. The strength of our society is directly related to the health of the families that make it up. Alberta needs homes that worship Christ—may it start with yours and mine. And praise Jesus, that when we fail, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 - Quoted in Family Ministry Field Guide by Timothy Paul Jones, p.103.