Introduction
Husbands… Fathers… Men… if God has blessed you with a family, then He has also called you to lead them in the ways of the Lord. Generally speaking, you and your wife have around 18 years to sow into the life of your child or children and to set a godly example before them in your home. We MUST redeem this time! One of the greatest responsibilities we (Christian men) have been given is to lead our families in the worship of our God. When God gave Israel His law, He said unto them,
“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 11:18–19 ESV).
We often desire and pray that God would put people in our path so that we could give witness to all God’s great works, of His mercy and love, His righteousness and justice, His grace in salvation. Let us not neglect to bear witness to those He’s put most closely to us: our wife and our children. The Psalter says,
“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;” (Psalm 78:5-7 ESV).
A Christian father and husband has no greater desire than that his family would do just what is promised here in God’s word: that they would set their hope in God,… not forget the works of God,… and would keep His commandments. Then let it not be said of you or I that we did not teach our children of the wonderful works of God. Consider these strong words by the late-16th Century Puritan minister, William Perkins:
“Where [Scripture readings, exhortations, and prayers to God] are not used, but either for the most part or altogether neglected, a man may term those families no better than companies of profane and graceless atheists, who as they deny God in their hearts, so they are known by this note, that ‘they do not call upon the name of the Lord.’ (Ps. 14:4) Yea, such families are filthy compared to a herd of swine, which are always feeding upon the mast with greediness, but never look up to the hand that beats it down nor to the tree from whence it falls.”
The following is not meant to be an exhaustive outline for each day's “15 Minutes with Jesus”. (That’s what our family calls our family worship time.) Rather, it is a simple guide that a dear brother in the Lord, Bro. Brett Anthony Baggett, laid out for me when I asked for help in leading my family in home worship. I’ve long had the desire to lead my family in the consistent, effective study of Scripture, prayer, etc. but I lacked a solid long-term plan. Before, it was always somewhat disorganized, irregular, and felt more like a chore than worship to my wife, our kids, and to me as well. With the encouragement and helpful tips from Bro. Baggett, our worship time has been completely transformed. Thanks be to God! In just a few weeks, my wife and I have already seen much fruit from structured, consistent, focused time in Word and prayer within ourselves and our children.
I pray you and your family will benefit from this simple guide, and that you fathers and husbands would be encouraged and motivated to lead your family in the worship of God.
Outline
Prayer
The father will pray aloud for the family, for forgiveness of sins committed, for sanctification and holiness to be wrought in each member, and for the fruit of the Spirit to be produced in us.
Pray for the Church, the sick, for God to raise up faithful pastors and laborers to be sent out into the harvest, and the advance of Christ’s Kingdom in and around us.
Pray for our country, our leaders, and the world, that God’s will will be done and that the Church would be a light in all darkness.
* A helpful guide to prayer is the ACTS prayer
Adoration: start with worship for God’s goodness and greatness
Confession: acknowledge your sins before God and seek forgiveness in Christ’s name
Thanksgiving: offer thanks and praise to God for His provision, protection, and work in the lives of your family
Supplication: make your needs known unto God trusting that He hears the prayers of His people
Hymn Singing
The family will sing a psalm, hymn, or worship song together. Finding songs that teach orthodox Christian doctrines is crucial. Good beats are nice but biblically faithful lyrics are more to be desired.
Singing the same hymn each night for a week’s worth of worship time will increase your and your family’s ability to memorize and learn the lyrics (which is another reason why you want to ensure the songs you all are singing are biblically faithful).
We use YouTube to assist with the lyrics and music. I created a playlist which will eventually have at least 52 good hymns or songs (for 52 weeks in a year). If you have an instrument you would like to use and print off lyrics instead, by all means, have at it!
* Memorizing the lyrics at home will enable the family to sing more freely from the heart to God, especially in the assembly of the saints of the Lord’s Day.
Scripture Reading and Exposition
Each family member has their own copy of the Word and opened to the passage that will be read and explained. The father will read the passage aloud for the family and do his best to explain it.
You do not have to go super deep (and shouldn’t try to). Shoot for around 10-20 verses each session— however many verses that cover the main idea from that section of Scripture. Let your family be soaked in the Scriptures; that’s the key here.
In the Old Testament, if possible, show how it’s relevant or pointing to Christ.
Highlight biblical themes that show up in the passage.
What does this passage tell us about the nature and character of God? Of man? Of the Church?
Answer questions your family may have if you are able to do so.
Do your best to give a faithful, God-honoring interpretation of it, and God will bless you and your family with the understanding.
Pick a book of the Bible to start in. You can start in Genesis, work through it, and then start through a New Testament book if you wish. Or you can start with one of the gospels and later work backwards. Either is fine. Study through a whole book, passage by passage, until you finish it, then move to the next.
*You do not have to cover every single passage in every book or go straight from Genesis to Revelation. Try to hit enough of the book, however, that you glean the major themes and message of it. Do not try to go over Leviticus the first month! Romans, the Gospels, Genesis, the Epistles, the Psalms and Proverbs… these are all great places to start. Then, work from there.
Catechism Questions and Answers
Catechisms are an older form of training young people and uneducated folks. Unfortunately, Christians have let this practice fade a bit in recent decades, but they are a great way to work your family through theological topics in a clear, easy to understand, and organized way.
Which Catechism that will fit best for your family will likely be decided based on the Christian denomination you are a part of. That being said, you will find that all of these are filled with Christian beliefs that all of us share despite some of our particular disagreements. Here are a few examples below. Each of these are wonderful helps and would benefit your family in study.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism— based on the Westminster Confession of Faith, the statement of faith for the Presbyterian Church and many Reformed, Protestant churches.
The Baptist Catechism— based on the London Baptist Confession of Faith. Utilized by many Baptist denominations.
The Heidelberg Catechism— separated into 52 Lord’s Day sections. Covers various topics such as The Apostles Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and others.
To name a couple of others, check out The Baptist Catechism for Boys and Girls and The New City Catechism.
*Another option for this time period would be to work through the statement of faith that your church ascribes to. For instance, the Baptist Faith and Message. Take a paragraph or a section at a time, and work through it discussing the issues and referencing the proof-passages at the bottom.
Benediction
A benediction works like a prayer to finish the session.
The family will recite the Lord’s Prayer or a Psalm together. Psalm 23, 1, 2, 107, any shorter Psalms really.
Again, you can use a different one each night, but it might be beneficial for your family to use the same one each night for a week at a time to help with memorization and learning.
* Rotate who leads the benediction each night to encourage participation and excitement for the Word of God.
Final Thoughts
This should take you all around 15-20 mins. Any shorter would make it hard to cover anything in any meaningful way; much longer and the kids will begin losing focus. Keep in mind, this ministry is a marathon not a sprint. Be faithful, and over time your family will reap the benefits.
You will find that at first, the kids especially will be distracted, ask a lot of random questions, start playing mid way through the lesson, etc. Do not grow discouraged or impatient with them. We’ve been doing this about 3 weeks now and just the past 6 or 7 days have we all really settled down and had what we envisioned in the beginning. But now the kids pay attention, follow along, and are already showing signs of understanding the material and making connections between past and present lessons. Give yourself a little slack at first as well, especially if you haven’t been doing anything like this until now. You will get better and better as you go along. You can do this Men!
The singing was a little awkward at first, but DO NOT REMOVE IT. Over time, it has become one of the most special parts of our time.
Encourage your wives be present and participate! First, it will benefit her, too. Second, the kids will see that it's important enough for mom to stop everything else she’s got going on (which is generally A LOT) to worship God. That’s a great lesson to teach our children!
Remember, this outline is not cut in stone. We’ve adjusted it over time to the order that makes it flow better for us. Do the same. The important part is to be consistent, sincere, and patient. The fruit will come if we are faithful stewards.
Finally, do not be know-it-alls with your family. You will come to passages that are hard to understand that you may not have a full-grasp of. And your kids will certainly raise tough questions from time to time. Have some humility as you lead your family. It’s okay to say “I don’t know” or “Let me do some studying on that and I’ll get back to you.” That’s much better than giving an ill-informed answer because you do not want to admit that you do not know something could cause your family to develop thoughts and ideas that will hinder them in their own biblical studies and interpretations later on. The principle of “first impressions” applies here. Do not accidentally teach your kids heresy!
May the Lord bless you men as you lead your family in worship.
Soli Deo Gloria
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