me to Deuteronomy chapter 6. Deuteronomy chapter six. We're gonna have a topical survey tonight on the subject of family worship. The practice of family worship is certainly seen in the Bible.

However, there's no specific command that says you must worship as families at 6 p.m. every single night. The fact that you ought to do this is obvious. How you choose to do this is up to you, but it is something that is instrumental in the formation of our children. and our grandchildren. I want to read beginning in Deuteronomy chapter 6 at verse 1.

Now this is the commandment and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the Lord your God to keep all his statutes and his commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore here o Israel and be careful to observe it that it may be well with you and that you may multiply Greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey Here o Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one. I You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.

You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. So it shall be when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things which you did not fill, hewn out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant.

When you have eaten and are full, then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you. For the Lord your God is a jealous God among you, lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.

You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massa. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, His testimonies and His statutes, which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the Lord swore to your fathers, to cast out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken. when your son asks you in time to come, saying, What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you? Then you shall say to your son, We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

And the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. Then he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in, to give us the land of which he swore to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.

Amen. Well, let us ask God's blessing upon our time. Father, thank you for the written word and thank you for its profitability in our own hearts and lives. And God, I pray for us as parents and as grandparents that we would take seriously these things spoken in scripture concerning our responsibility toward children and grandchildren.

Give us wisdom, give us help, give us strength, give us that perseverance with reference to these things. And God, we pray in a special way for our little ones, that they would rise up and call you blessed, that they would believe that gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that they would know the Lord, they would fear the Lord, that they would walk in communion with you all their days. Be merciful to them. And to that end, we pray that you would grant us all the Holy Spirit now, and again, the forgiveness of sins that we may receive with thankful hearts, your word of truth.

And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Introduction

Well, as I said, this will be a topical survey. There's not one particular text that says, this is how you do family worship. And a lot of the things that I will say is by way of encouragement and suggestion. I cannot bind anybody's conscience where the Bible does not.

Remember last week, we looked at Proverbs 30 and the prohibition of verse 6. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. We cannot add to the Word of God. We simply survey what is, and then by God's grace, we seek to implement these things in our own home.

Again, by way of encouragement and suggestion and hopefully helpful things for us to consider as we move through Scripture. Now, I want to look first at the biblical warrant for family worship, and then secondly, the elements of family worship. And the Old Testament is going to, there's more in the Old Testament, one, because it's much larger than the New Testament, but two, what we find in the Old Testament is much of normal day-in and day-out life. You have that a bit in the book of Acts, but it's sort of a flyover, it's the history of the church in terms of the making of disciples and planting churches.

You certainly have day-to-day life in the gospel narrative, but the focus of that is, of course, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The bulk of the New Testament are epistles to churches or to men giving instructions. So there's a bit there we will look at, but first we want to survey the Old Testament data with reference to family worship.

Biblical Warrant for Family Worship

The first passage is Abraham in Genesis chapter 18. Genesis chapter 18. We looked at this recently in our Wednesday night Bible study. So we won't spend a whole lot of time here, but this whole section in chapters 18 and 19, we're dealing with the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.

And here in 1816, it says, Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation? and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him." Abraham is described as a friend of God. Later in Genesis chapter 20, he's referred to as a prophet of God. And as a result, God doesn't hide things from him.

God tells his friend, God tells the prophet, so that he knows what is going to happen. He rehearses in this soliloquy what he has already established by way of covenant or promise to Abraham. Notice in verse 18, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. That refers back to Genesis chapter 12, when God calls Abram out of Ur, the Chaldeans, he then goes to Haran, and then he comes into the promised land.

Notice what he says specifically in verse 19. He says, for I have known him in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him. So he commends Abraham for this reality that Abraham has instituted family religion. Abraham has commanded his children.

Abraham has, as well, commanded his servants. We see that they all submit to the right of circumcision, which indicates that Abraham had, in fact, catechized, taught, instructed his family, including his servants, on the ways of Jehovah. And these persons willingly subjected themselves to these particular rights. Here, specifically, He commanded His children and household to keep the way of Yahweh, to keep the way of God Almighty.

As well, He commanded them to do righteousness and justice. We're all very familiar with Micah 6, 8. It says, He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Well, the taproots of that is here in Genesis 18. and the instruction given by Abraham to his family, very specifically, to do righteousness and justice. This is replicated, Deuteronomy 10, Hosea chapter 12, Zechariah chapter 7, and then Matthew 23, 23. Jesus says, you tithe the mint and the anise and the cumin, but you neglect the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. Well, these are the sorts of things that Abraham instructed his children.

He didn't expect that they would just come upon these things, but rather he took the time to educate them. Now, as we've studied in the book of Genesis, Abraham was a man with a lot of responsibility. Abraham was a man who had a lot of business. He was a man that had a lot of irons in the fire.

And nevertheless, he found the time to instruct his children in these ways. It is simply unacceptable for men in our generation to say, I don't have the time to bring up my children in the training and admonition of the Lord. I don't have the time to do what God has commanded me to do. That is unacceptable.

As we move through these particular examples, when we get to the book of Joshua, for instance, I know as a matter of fact, that none of us are involved in conquering other peoples. I know that none of us are going into enemy territory and killing people and breaking things. That is precisely what Joshua's job was, and yet he's able to say, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. So in all of his busyness and all of his activity, in all of the ability or rather the task of dispossessing the land of the Canaanites, he nevertheless found the time to sit his children down and instruct them in the fear of God.

When we say things like, I'm too busy, that is never an acceptable response. If you are too busy, change things. Fix things. Rework things.

Do not neglect that which is most important. Now, your jobs are, in fact, important. Some of you have very important jobs. You're doing great things.

But you cannot neglect the great thing of rearing children. That is the most monumental task any of us will ever know, is to have children and to try to formulate them or form them to be decent, profitable human beings, trusting, hoping, and praying that God in His mercy and grace will save them, will grant them faith and repentance, that they may close with Christ. We can't ensure that, but we can do our job in presenting the material and the data to them. So if you ever think, I'm too busy for this, think about Abraham, think about Joshua.

Again, for I have known him in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him.

The Command in Deuteronomy 6

Turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 6. Deuteronomy chapter six, you see the emphasis there. You're not supposed to forget your kids. With reference to God's covenant with Israel, the children were spoken to, the children were included, the children were to be instructed, and they were to be formed and shaped according to the word of the living God.

You have the central confession of Israel's faith in verses four and five. It's called the Shema. Shema simply means hear or listen in Hebrew. And so that Shema says here, O Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord is one.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. And then notice the necessity to internalize this truth. Verse six. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.

You don't just put them on your fridge. You don't put them on your bumper sticker. Rather, you internalize them. This is the word of the living God.

This goes to the heart of man. This needs to be embraced. This needs to be received. This needs to be responded to and acted upon.

But notice as well, there was a necessity to instruct children. Verse 7, you shall teach them, not just teach them, but teach them diligently. This takes time, it takes effort, it takes energy, it takes creativity in terms of home schedules and all that sort of thing. You shall teach them diligently doesn't mean, and I'll warn everybody, not warn, but encourage you, don't read three-hour Puritan sermons to five-year-olds.

That's not smart. That's not what diligently means there. Okay, kids, sit down for three hours. We're gonna read Thomas Manton on 1 Peter 3.

No, that's probably not the way to go about it. They are kids. Diligent there doesn't mean, you know, work through all of Spurgeon's sermons on your kids each and every night. I mean, come on.

That's an extreme that diligently does not entail. But he says, you shall teach them diligently to your children. And then notice, you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. So you see, there is this need for diligence with reference to passing on this data concerning God's law to these children.

But as well, there are these times of instruction during formal, formal times. Look what it says. You shall teach them diligently to your children. That's a formal session where children are sat down and we as parents instruct them concerning the will and word of God.

But then there's these informal sessions as well, and that's what the text goes on to say. And you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. In other words, this ought to be the subject matter, not just for that particular time of the day when you have family worship, that formal time. But informally, when you're walking at the zoo and you see the giraffe, you are amazed at the glory of God and the way that he made the giraffe.

I mean, you bring all of creation to bear upon the children's consciences in terms of God's handiwork. See, those informal times go a long way in the formation of our children. We give them that raw data with reference to the formal times, but then these informal times as well. But it doesn't stop there in terms of the Word of God and its pervasive influence upon all of life.

Notice what verse 8 says. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gate. So there is an individual commitment to the truth, verse 8, and then a societal application of God's law in verse 9.

In other words, the Word of God is so important. The Word of God is absolutely crucial that it is our responsibility, our duty, and our command to pass that Word on to our young people in our own hearts, in our own lives, and then with reference to society. And then, of course, notice in verses 20 to 25. It says, when your son asks you in time to come saying, what is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you, then you shall say to your son, I don't know.

No, that's not what you say. You tell him the significance of the Exodus. In our new covenant era, you tell him the significance of the cross. You teach them the scriptures.

You teach them law and gospel. You pass on to them the data of God's holy word. The assumption is, is that at some point, the son is gonna ask, how did we get from point A to point B? And you as the father need to tell the son in theological language.

You need to tell the son how God delivered you from Egypt, brought you out of that bondage and gave us this land by a promise to Abraham. And we have received it and God has blessed us and we are thankful and grateful to him. You see, all of life is brought to bear with reference to the scripture.

The Practice of Joshua

Notice in the third place, the practice of Joshua in Joshua chapter 24. Joshua 24 is a covenant ratification ceremony at Shechem. And essentially what... Joshua is exhorting Israel on is how they're supposed to retain the land.

The book of Joshua is basically about entering into the land, then conquering the land or dispossessing the Canaanites, dividing up the land, and then the latter chapters deal with retaining, keeping, holding onto that land. And so this ratification ceremony, Joshua traces the history of Israel, how they got from point A to point B, and then he starts to make application and stipulation. And in verse 14, he says, now, therefore, fear the Lord, serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord.

That's legit, isn't it? That's consistent. This is equivalent to Romans chapter 12. You know, you're supposed to glorify God, you're supposed to present your bodies as a living sacrifice unto God.

Paul says this is your rational or reasonable service. In other words, if God has redeemed you through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, he then asks you to present your bodies as living sacrifices. And this is rational. This is reasonable.

This is legit. This is what you ought to respond with. And the same is the case here. He says, put away the false gods and serve Yahweh.

Verse 14. Now notice in verse 15. And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. whether the gods which your father served that were on the other sides of the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell." Now, we need to understand that Joshua's not actually giving them a choice. He's not actually saying, well, you know, that's an option.

You have option A and you have option B. I would like that you take option B, which is serve Yahweh, but you know those other options are available. No, he's laying down the gauntlet. He sounds like Elijah will sound on Mount Carmel.

How long will you falter between two opinions, or halt between two opinions? If Yahweh is God, then serve Him. If Baal is God, then serve Him. Joshua is essentially telling them, you need to fish or cut bait, with the obvious emphasis on fishing.

And then notice how he ends this particular exhortation. He says at the end, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Not just me, but me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Matthew Henry comments with reference to the busyness of Joshua.

He says, Joshua was a ruler, a judge in Israel, yet he did not make his necessary application to public affairs an excuse for the neglect of family religion. He didn't do that. Well, you know, honey, I was out cutting heads off all day. I just don't have the energy or the time or the wherewithal to catechize the little ones.

No, he didn't do that. Now, I realize all of us have seasons where we're busier than others. And I realize there's providential hindrance. I realize there's accidents.

I realize there's sickness. I realize there's a whole lot of things that can go wrong in a given day. But if the overarching trajectory of your life is that you're too busy to obey God at this most rudimentary level, then you've got problems and you need to repent. I say that as a brother, I say it with love, I say it with affection, and with a genuine desire to see our children be taught the will and word of God Most High.

This church is going to fold if the young people don't rise up, confess the Lord Jesus Christ, and do what they're supposed to do. We have a legacy and a heritage that we hopefully will pass on to our young people, that they have a good church where the gospel is preached, where the Lord God is loved and proclaimed, and where the people of God love each other. That's something we ought to be striving for and shooting for in our own experience. So Joshua was a busy man, but he found time to teach his family.

The Assumption in the Psalms

Fourthly, in terms of the Old Testament, we have the Assumption in the Psalms. The Assumption in the Psalms. You can turn to Psalm 20. I'm sorry, Psalm 22.

Psalm 22. Again, just a survey of some relevant passages dealing with family worship. Psalm 22, verses 30 and 31. This, of course, is the Psalm of the Cross.

First half of the psalm deals with Jesus on the cross. The latter half of the psalm deals with the exaltation of Jesus Christ after his resurrection, his ascension on high, his session at the right hand of the Father. And in verses 30 and 31, we read, a posterity shall serve him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation.

They will come and declare his righteousness to a people who will be born that he has done this. See, Israel accepted that in the faithful, obviously, the believers, the true religionists in Israel accepted that blessed responsibility to pass on information to their children. Turn to Psalm 78. Psalm 78 is another passage where it's assumed that the people of God are teaching their children the Word of God.

Psalm 78, verses 4 to 7. Psalm 78 verse 4, we will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord and his strength and his wonderful works that he has done. For he has established or he established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children. that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments, and may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God. See, the blessed privilege and task, and brethren, you know this as well as I do, there's nothing better than spending time with your kids in the Word and in prayer and in singing.

This isn't the drudgery or the hardship of the Christian, oh, I've got to read the Bible to my kids. That's a bad attitude, if I may suggest. I've got to spend this time teaching my kids the best things in the world. Nobody says that, I hope.

Brethren, this is a blessed, blessed privilege that we have. Notice in Psalm 145, we sang this at the very outset of worship, but Psalm 145 emphasizes or highlights this reality as well. Psalm 145, verse four, one generation shall praise your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. So we see the purpose for Abraham, Genesis 18, the command for Israel, Deuteronomy 6, the practice of Joshua, Joshua 24, the assumption of the Psalms, and there are others to be sure.

The Emphasis in Proverbs

Fifth, the emphasis in the Proverbs. We won't spend a lot of time here because we've spent some time going through Proverbs. And what's one of the techniques that Solomon employs on many, many occasions? My son, my son, my son, my son, my son.

He's instructing his sons in the way of God. He's instructing his sons concerning the things of the Lord. He's instructing his sons with reference to life in God's world. He's giving them those principles.

He's giving them those nuggets of wisdom. He's giving them those things because it's his responsibility, and as well, it is his blessed privilege.

Negative Examples: Eli and Samuel

Now, I want to consider finally, before we move to the New Testament, one negative example, and one example that may be negative, but we're just not sure. That negative example is Eli in 1 Samuel chapter 2. You can turn there. 1 Samuel chapter 2. In other words, as you read your Bible, follow Joshua.

Don't follow Eli. Eli's not sort of the paradigm of... He didn't get the Father of the Year Cup. That's for sure.

Or if he did, he shouldn't have. 1 Samuel 2-3. Notice the sinful actions of Eli's sons. Verses 13-17 in 1 Samuel 2. 1 Samuel 2-13. And the priest's custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged flesh hook in his hand while the meat was boiling.

Then he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. And the priest would take for himself all that the flesh hook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Also, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.

But if the man, or if the man said to him, they should really burn the fat first, then you may take as much as your heart desires. He would then answer him, no, but you must give it now. And if not, I will take it by force. Therefore, the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.

It's terrible, right? These are priests in the house of God. They're to facilitate the sacrificial system, and yet what they're concerned with is their share. What they're concerned with is extorting the worshiper, extorting the people of God, and threatening them.

That's really not the qualities of a priesthood that one should grieve. And then notice, they lay with women, according to verse 22. Now Eli was very old, and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Again, these are just wretched specimens of human beings.

They're bad dudes. The source of this is in verse 12. Notice, the sons of Eli were corrupt. They did not know the Lord.

Now, Eli cannot make his sons know the Lord savingly, but the fact that they engaged in these particular practices would indicate that he didn't give them that bare-bones information that they desperately needed. And that is validated by God's revelation later to Samuel in 1 Samuel 3. Notice what God says to Samuel. In verse 13, he says, for I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity, which he knows because his sons made themselves vile and he did not restrain them.

And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever or ever or forever. So you see, Eli was negligent. Eli was ignorant. Eli was wretched in the way that he went about parenting his children.

Now turn over to 1 Samuel chapter 8. 1 Samuel chapter 8, verses 1 to 3. 1 Samuel 8 verse 1, Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba, but his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.

Steve this morning referred to that instance where Israel craves a king like the nations around them. That's chapter 8. They saw the oppressiveness of Samuel's sons. They saw the wretchedness of Samuel's sons.

And that evoked from them this desire to be like the nations around them. But in this instance, we don't know whether it was his negligence. We see where God says specifically to Samuel concerning Eli that he did not restrain them. We don't know about Samuel.

There are instances and seasons and times where parents do their best, but parents are not sovereign. Parents do not have the ability to change the heart. Parents do not have the ability to make their children a certain way. Turn to Deuteronomy 21.

And I'm going somewhere with this point. Deuteronomy 21, verse 18, if a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, these parents did their job. They have chastened him. There are instances and there are seasons and there are times when parents do their job.

Now, no parent does their job perfectly. We understand that, right? That's why Jesus came into this world, sinners to save. He died for our bad parenting.

He died for our sin in the domestic sphere or realm. But there are parents who have tried, parents who have chastened their children, parents that have brought the word to bear upon them, parents that have catechized, parents that have done all this, and yet their children go astray. Our job, as the standers by, is not to judge the parents. Well, you know those parents did a terrible job in raising those children and look how they turned out Wait a minute these people chase in their son They got to the end of the rope with him and they had to turn him over to the elders in the city And then ultimately he would be stoned to death because he was incorrigible Rebel he was an adult son and he was a glutton and he was a drunkard but the parents did chase in him and We need to be very cautious, brethren, of looking at a child who has gone astray and immediately concluding that his parents were lazy, his parents were negligent, or his parents didn't do their job.

That is not our call. The story of the prodigal son. Who's the father of that boy that goes astray? It's God Almighty, is it not?

Yes, everybody with me? The boy wants the share of his father's inheritance. He goes out and he squanders it. He goes out and he wastes it.

Do you think the townspeople said, oh, that father was terrible. Look at how his son turned out. Probably. But in the story of the prodigal son, the father is, of course, God.

You see, we have to be careful about slinging these accusations where it is none of our business in the first place. But secondly, we don't know. We don't know what people are doing in their homes. We don't know that they're not catechizing.

They're not instructing. They're not teaching. They're not schlepping their children to church. We have to be very careful.

So with reference to Samuel, we're not sure. His son's turned out terribly, but we don't know what sort of restraint he sought to exercise on that. So those are some Old Testament passages.

New Testament Commands and Examples

Turn with me to the New Testament. We have two commands by the Apostle Paul, and we have two illustrations in the life of Timothy. In Ephesians chapter six, verse four, you fathers do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. And then in Colossians 3, 21, fathers do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

So in both instances, fathers and mothers, it's not a case where mothers can provoke their children to wrath, mothers can be terrorists. No, no, no, no, not at all. But he's addressing the father as the head of the household. But he says to them, do not provoke them to wrath.

Do not break their spirits. Do not exasperate them. Do not drive the wind out of their sails. See, it's not just a matter of didactic instruction.

There's supposed to be this context of love, this context of affection. This context of delighting in your children and your children delighting in you. That's what every creature should aspire to. Every one of us who are parents or grandparents should want.

We want our children to love us and we want to love them. That's good. So Paul's prohibition is don't provoke them to wrath. Don't exasperate them.

Don't lay things upon them that they simply cannot bear. And certainly don't let them get away with murder either. You've got to be disciplinarian, but you don't want to break their spirit. You want to drive out the sin, but you don't want to drive out their humanity.

But then by way of a positive exhortation, he tells them in verse 4, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Now, you can freely teach your children, you know, to be auto mechanics. You can teach them how to be electricians. You can teach them to be plumbers.

All that stuff is great. And I highly suggest that we prepare sons and daughters for life in this world. But it's the training and admonition of the Lord. It's teaching them the fear of God.

It's teaching them about Yahweh. It's being like Abraham. It's like being like Joshua. It's like being like Solomon in the book of Proverbs.

You see, there is this emphasis with reference to this fear that Paul indicates. Bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. The word training emphasizes action. So by way of example, we ought to set good examples for our children.

And admonition emphasizes words. In other words, we're supposed to give them verbal instruction. We're supposed to give them the content of the gospel. We mentioned this morning in our confession study, we cannot preach the gospel by our actions.

We cannot preach the gospel by our virtue. We have to preach the gospel in propositional form. We have to tell them that Jesus lived, Jesus died, Jesus was raised, and all who believe on Jesus will be saved. That is crucial.

We can't demonstrate those things in our virtuous life, and we can't demonstrate them by way of example. So while example is absolutely crucial, words are absolutely crucial as well. And you might say, well, I'm not really bright myself with reference to these things. If you can say Jesus lived, Jesus died, Jesus was raised, believe on Jesus, you have successfully explained the gospel.

This ain't rocket science, brethren. It's not something that requires a PhD or a Bible school certificate. It just requires basic familiarity with the fundamentals of the faith. I mean, a three-year-old doesn't ask, well, how does the Trinity function the way the Bible says?

Explain how there's one substance and three... Three-year-olds don't do that, thankfully. Thirteen-year-olds might, so you better get smarter as they grow up, right? You better learn more to stay ahead of the game.

But the bottom line is that Paul says we need to bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Two examples in the life of Timothy. Notice in 2 Timothy 1. 2 Timothy 1, verse 3. I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you. which dwelt first in your grandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice, and am I am persuaded is in you also." You see, his grandmother and his mother taught him the scriptures.

And if we miss it there, we better get it when we get to 2 Timothy 3, 15. And that from childhood, you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Praise God Almighty that Timothy's parents took seriously the responsibility to teach and instruct him in the things of God. Remember that scene in the book of Acts when Paul first meets Timothy.

Paul hears about Timothy, meets Timothy, and wants to take Timothy with him. I've always been amazed by that. If the apostle Paul wants you on his team, you're doing pretty well. If a man of the caliber of Paul the Apostle says, I want Timothy, then Timothy has been reared well, God's grace is obvious in his life, and Timothy is indeed walking with the Lord.

So those are some lines of evidence for the biblical warrant for family worship.

Elements of Family Worship

Now, in terms of the elements of family worship, I would suggest in the first place,

Commitment to Public Worship

there ought to be a commitment to public worship. There ought to be a commitment to public worship. I'm going to argue in a moment, or at least encourage in a moment, that at home you should read, you should pray, you should sing. It doesn't have to contain all those elements to be sure, but there ought to be a commitment to public worship.

Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. There is an emphasis in scripture on corporate worship, and one of the best gifts we can give to our children is to teach them how important church is. You say, well, that sounds self-serving coming from a pastor who, you know, has a vested interest in this. No, it's biblical.

It's what scripture says. Hebrews chapter 10 mandates we're not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together as is the custom of some. This is not an invention by, you know, cravenly, wicked, sinful, greedy pastors that just want to have, you know, people in their churches. This is an emphasis from beginning to end in God's holy word.

He is assembling a vast multitude of sinners from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation to be what when we get into heaven? The church triumphant. It is all those peoples before the throne of God confessing that salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb who sits upon the throne. There needs to be that commitment to family worship that we demonstrate to our children.

We ought to appreciate the centrality of the church in God's redemptive plan. Can people be saved on their own reading their Bibles? Yes. But does God emphasize the place of the church in the maturation process of His people?

Absolutely, positively, He does. He speaks concerning the dignity of the church. If Jesus shed His blood for her, certainly we can show up consistently, certainly we can show up regularly. Doesn't Paul tell those Ephesian elders in Acts 20, shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood?

If the blood of Christ was the means by which the people of God are purchased, doesn't that highlight the intrinsic dignity and worth of those people? Not because of them, but because of what Christ has done. The church is a dignified organization because of her master. 1 Timothy chapter 3 underscores there the dignity of the church. 1 Timothy 3, 14, these things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself.

Notice how he described the church in the house of God. OK, kids, we're going to serve the Lord, but we're not going to go to his house. I'm going to teach you the ways of Yahweh, but we're not going to go to his house. Wouldn't that be an odd thing?

Why wouldn't we go to his house, dad? Why wouldn't we go to his house, mom? Well, because there's a bunch of hypocrites there. Exactly.

That's precisely where they need to be, because hypocrites need forgiveness. Hypocrites need salvation, if they're total hypocrites. Hypocrites need to go to the hospital or go to the church the way that a sick person needs to go to the hospital. That's never a good argument to not go to church.

Well, all the hypocrites are there. And I think we have a fundamentally misconception about Hippocrates. If somebody is bemoaning and lamenting their sin in private before God, they're not a hypocrite. They're confessing their transgression before God.

Just because you're a sinner doesn't necessarily mean you're a hypocrite. I'm not saying being a sinner is OK. That's not what I'm suggesting. But there are people that sin, and they confess it.

They forsake it. They may stumble again, but by God's grace, they get back up. That's not a hypocrite. That's a sick person that needs the continual medicine of the doctor.

We wouldn't say, oh, you terrible wretch. No, we'd say, good on you that you're applying or you're appealing to the doctor. But notice how he describes it. It's the house of God, the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

If we want to instill in our children a love for God's truth, we need to instill in them a love for God's word and church. Just because there's bad things that happen in the church doesn't mean the church is bad. That's a logical fallacy too, right? Just because some fool takes a gun and goes into a shopping mall and shoots a bunch of people doesn't mean there's a problem with guns.

It means there's a problem with that fool. Just because fools mess up in the church doesn't mean we get rid of church. How did we get to this point of such irrationality? Oh, this guy sinned in the church, never go to church.

What? How does that follow? It doesn't follow, and yet this has found its way into the hearts of multitudes. My point is, is that if you as a husband or as a father or mother want to instill in your children something, instill in them a respect for God's church.

We have in Second London Confession 22.6, God is to be worshipped everywhere, in spirit and in truth, as in private families daily, and in secret, each one by himself, so more solemnly in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly nor willfully to be neglected or forsaken, when God, by his word or providence, calleth thereto. Terry Johnson says, simply, the first and primary key to your family's spiritual health is a commitment to the weekly public worship services of the church. And I think that we just immediately say, oh, family worship. Okay, we're going to read, we're going to pray, we have this.

Yeah, but you've got to set a pattern and set forth the context and show how important it is to come to church.

Sanctification of the Lord's Day

Secondly, there ought to be this appreciation of and an attempt at the sanctification of the Lord's day. See, that touches on family worship. That touches on the ethos, the atmosphere in one's home. The biblical theology of the Sabbath is set forth in many places.

Genesis chapter 2 is where it begins. We see it all throughout scripture. We see the change of the day in the New Testament. We don't have the time, unless you all want to go for it.

We can go till about 8, and I can give you the biblical theology of Sabbath. I'm not getting a great big. boost of confidence that I should do that, so I won't. But I'm sure you can find stuff on the internet from our church with reference to the Sabbath. But there is a biblical theology of it, and then there's the blessing of it.

Francis Turreton made this observation. He said, experience teaches too well that license and the negligence of sacred things grows more and more where a proper regard is not shown for the Lord's day. Now you might go, well, that sounds like legalism. It's an amazing thing.

Whenever we talk about actually doing what God says, we're legalists. That's not legalism. That's not legalism. Legalism is a bad thing.

But wanting to obey God, that's not legalism. It's a good thing. Voss, in his biblical theology, makes this observation. He says, the Sabbath, quote, has faithfully accompanied the people of God on their march through the ages.

I like that. That's a very excellent endorsement of this. So we ought to have, first, a commitment to public worship, second, a sanctification of the Lord's Day, and then

The Family Altar: Scripture, Song, Prayer

thirdly, what the Puritans would call the use of a family altar. Again, it doesn't have to be four hours. If it is, I would highly encourage you to change your life. You actually need to go to work, and you need to work harder.

You need to give more hours to your employer if you're reading long Puritan sermons to your kids. So that's the corrective to what I said earlier. But reading scripture, law gospel, teach them what God's commandments are. Teach them how to use those commandments, and teach them that in light of the brokenness of the commandments or the broken commandment on the part of the children, how they need Christ.

We need to be familiar with those two main emphases in scripture, law and gospel. We need to teach those things repetitively to our children. They need to understand what the cross is all about. They need to understand what the active obedience of Jesus is and the passive obedience of Jesus is.

They may not get it all at once, but you take time to explain to them how what Christ brought out on the cross and in His life satisfied for everything we need in terms of sinfulness. We need to make sure that the Scriptures are central. You are certainly free to sing. I think everybody got a free hymn book not too long ago, right? got rid of the old and we brought in the new and hopefully all of you took those home because that's a great thing too.

I'm not again saying thou must sing two hymns, have a psalm written. No, I'm not saying that. But it's a great way to teach your kids hymns. It's a great way to get doctrine in them and it's just a great thing to sing hymns.

The other day I was in there singing away and Mike and his sons knocked on the door. Oh man, they probably thought this was, you know, a nutcase sitting in there just singing away. You know, I go through this new hymn book. I'm sure it takes me longer to figure out the hymns.

But you start looking at them and you just want to sing. It's a good thing, right? It's not a bad thing. How dare you sing hymns and psalms?

That's good. Kids like that too. You can do that. That's a great thing.

As well, prayer. You know, there's people out there that say, well, we shouldn't encourage children to pray because they might be unbelievers. It's intriguing. Simon Magus.

What does Peter tell him? Pray. Pray. I've heard that argument many times in my life over the years, and I've always been just blown away by it.

Why wouldn't I teach my child to pray? Why wouldn't I teach my child to call upon the name of the Lord God Most High? Why wouldn't I teach my child to ask for forgiveness of sins or to teach my child to ask for help and assistance by God to do the things that he's supposed to do? Prayer ought to be a vital place in family worship.

It's a great time to pray for the church. It's a great time to pray for the needs of the people in the church. It's a great time to pray for the missionary enterprise. It's a great time to pray for the various things that are happening throughout the world.

It's a great time for family to come together and to worship the true and living God together.

Application and Conclusion

Well, in conclusion, we ought to recognize the importance of family worship. Charles Bridges says on Proverbs 13, 22, that's where a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. Bridges says, if there is no earthly substance to leave, yet a church in the house, a family altar, the record of holy example and instruction, and above all, a store of believing prayer laid up for accomplishment, when we shall be silent in the grave, will be an inheritance to our children of inestimable value. Great, great observation.

Secondly, with reference to the implementation of family worship, if you're not doing this, I would highly encourage you to do this. Feel the weight of those examples in the scripture and start. Just teach, just tell, just talk. Terry Johnson again.

It's a book called The Family Worship Book. He says, remember, there is nothing to getting started like actually getting started. That's profound, isn't it? It's like that with everything, right?

I've always been amazed, you know, I preach a sermon or, you know, you talk to people and you say, oh, you need to read your Bible. I haven't been reading my Bible. Then read it. Don't agonize.

Confess it. If it's sin, confess it to God and start. You don't have to wallow in self-pity for six months saying, well, I haven't been reading the Bible, I haven't been praying. Just do it.

Why does Nike know things better than Christians at times? Just do what you're supposed to do. But back to Johnson. Remember, there is nothing to getting started like actually getting started.

Doesn't sound helpful? We're making a point. Like everything else that is valuable but requires discipline and sacrifice, i.e. losing weight, stopping drinking, getting an education, staying married, attending worship services, it finally comes down to doing it. Start.

Do it. That's what he says, and I gotta give him a hearty amen on that one. If you are practicing family worship, then by God's grace, persevere. It does pay rich dividends.

It is a blessing. You may not always see it when they're little and you're in the trenches, but when your kids rise up and they confess saving faith in Jesus Christ and they're able to quote Westminster Shorter Catechism on what is justification, something they learned when they were little children, that's a blessing and an encouragement and something that we ought to be Longing for and then in terms of some practical benefits first It's a means by which we are able to obey God with reference to teaching our children formal times and informal times There ought to be formal times set seasons where we sit and worship with our kids Secondly, it's a means by which children are prepared to sit in the services of the church Say well, that's very pragmatic. Yeah, and it's a good thing and We ought not to have it be the case that a kid can't sit for an hour. I mean, we are running into that problem left and right, aren't we?

We have, you know, everybody's fidgety, not just kids anymore. You hear, oh, you guys have an hour-long sermon at your church? Too bad for you. Give us 20 minutes so we can get back to doing those things that we want to do.

That's the prevailing ideal out there today. Hour-long sermons are no longer the norm. It used to be two-hour sermons. I've got Puritan sermons in there and I read them.

I think, how in the world did people sit through these things? How did they sit through these hour-and-a-half sermons? Because they weren't so easily distracted by every shining thing. that appeared. There's phones, there's computers, there's TV, there's everything vying for the attention.

Sit them down, tell them to put everything away and to pay attention. That hopefully will prepare them so that on Sunday you tell them to put things down and sit and pay attention. As well, it's a means by which familial closeness is fostered. Again, there's nothing better, is there, than to worship God with your family?

I'm not preaching up here, I want you all to be miserable and unhappy and, you know, just have bad lives. No, this is how happiness is found. It's doing what God calls us to do. As well, it's a means by which a kingdom emphasis is maintained.

What are we told in Matthew chapter 6? Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Family worship is a means by which we orient children to that kingdom principle. And then as well, it's a means by which children hear the gospel for the salvation of their souls.

That is most crucial. They need that data, they need that set of facts, they need the truth concerning Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Well, hopefully you will be encouraged, and hopefully you will pursue this if you are not, and that by God's grace you'll keep doing it if you are, and that your children will ultimately benefit. They will call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. and they will happily be worshiping God for the rest of their lives.

Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the clarity of it on this subject, and I pray that You would encourage and strengthen all of our hearts, help us to persevere in these things, and help us to find great joy in these things. For God, it is a delight to see little children learning the Scriptures, to see little children understanding the truth as it is in Jesus. We ask that you would go with us now.

We pray for your blessing upon us in this coming week. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief time of meditation.

Scripture References

• Genesis 12; 18; 18:18; 18:19; 18-19; 20
• Deuteronomy 6; 6:1; 6:4-5; 6:6; 6:7; 6:8; 6:9; 6:20-25; 10; 21; 21:18
• Joshua 24; 24:14; 24:15
• 1 Samuel 2; 2:12; 2:13-17; 2:22; 3; 3:13; 8; 8:1-3
• Psalms 22; 22:30-31; 78; 78:4-7; 145; 145:4
• Proverbs 13:22; 30; 30:6
• Micah 6:8
• Hosea 12
• Zechariah 7
• Matthew 6; 6:33; 23:23
• Acts 20
• Romans 12
• Ephesians 6:4
• Colossians 3:21
• 1 Timothy 3; 3:14
• 2 Timothy 1; 1:3; 3:15
• Hebrews 10