to a healthy baby girl this afternoon five pounds Mackenzie Elizabeth so we can praise God for that she and baby are at the Abbotsford hospital well as our call to worship this evening you can turn in your Bibles to psalm 145 psalm 145 beginning in verse wanna praise of david i will extolled my god o king and i will bless your name forever and ever every day i will bless you and i will praise your name forever and ever great is the Lord and greatly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable one generation shall praise your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts I will meditate on the glorious splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous works men shall speak of the might of your awesome acts and I will declare your greatness they shall utter the memory of your great goodness and shall sing of your righteousness the Lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and great and mercy the Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works all your work shall praise you O Lord and your Saints shall bless you they shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and talk of your power to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts and the glorious majesty of his Kingdom your kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and your Dominion endures throughout all generations the lord upholds all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down the eyes of all look expectantly to you and you give them their food in due season you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing the Lord is righteous in all his ways gracious in all his works the Lord is near to all who call upon him to all who call upon him in truth he will fulfill the desire of those who fear him he also will hear their and save them the Lord preserves all who love him but all the wicked he will destroy my mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord and all flesh shall bless His Holy Name forever and ever amen will one surmises that if David was asked what one word describes the living in the true God that word would probably be great we saw in our studies in second samuel that is how david begins his prayer he rehearses the greatness of god and certainly here in psalm 145 he does the very thing this very same thing it's good for us to keep in our minds as we worship our great God so please turn in your Trinity hymnals to number 293 number 293 will stand as we sing together he you amen well let us pray our blessed God and Holy Father as the psalmist rehearses in Psalm 145 you truly are great you are great in your mercy great in your kindness great in your goodness to your creatures and in a special way you are great in your kindness and goodness to your people to those whom you have redeemed by sovereign grace we acknowledge this and we praise you and we worship you we ask tonight that the Father Son and Holy Spirit would be glorified as we sing and as we pray and as we look to Holy Scripture we're certainly God you made this world and all things in it you govern all your creatures and all their actions and you are the God and father who has chosen a great multitude that no man can number to be redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ certainly all praise and adoration is due unto you are great and holy God and we would pray tonight that you would receive this as we come to the Father through the Sun by the power of your Holy Spirit and may we come in an acceptable manner and may we do so with reverence and with joy and with great thanksgiving for there is no higher privilege for a creature than to draw nigh to the Creator who has saved us by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone we consider these spiritual blessings God our hearts go out and praise but as well we thank you for these temporal blessings we thank you for answer to prayer with reference to Leah and little Mackenzie we ask that you would just bless them and Johnny to swatch over this family and may they take seriously the admonition by the apostle to bring this little one up in the training in the admonition of the Lord we thank you for this healthy birth and we long for one day when this little one will be born again by grace through faith in Christ we ask that you would look with favor upon others in our midst we think of gentian of Anna and we ask that you would watch over these ones as they continue with their little babies in the womb and we pray that you would give them health and strength for all of the babies and all of the little ones and all of the children and the young people are genuine desire god is that they would know Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior we know that this is a wicked world we know there are many things that will produce or promote temptations in their lives so we pray that in their youth they would remember their Creator they would respond by grace to the preaching of the gospel whether it be at home or whether it be in this church and we would ask that there would be a new generation that would praise your Holy Name that there would be a new generation that would continue to hold fast the truth as it is in Jesus that you would do great and glorious things in this world by your power and by your by your majesty we ask that you would look with favor upon all in our midst that are not well physically god we know that these are difficulties and we know that that that this is a trial for faith and we pray that you would increase faith in the hearts of those who do suffer on a daily basis and while they suffer physically we pray they'd be renewed in the inner man day by day they would draw closer to the Lord Jesus and would know that that nearness and that goodness that God affords to his people we asked for all of us God that we would tend to us in the inner man we all come with many trials many burdens many sorrows many challenges we would ask that your word would be that balm of gilead that you would tend to our souls and that you would help us even use these Lord's Day Services use the corporate worship service as the place where you meet with your people in this new covenant setting we would ask that Lord God you would continue to conform us unto the image of your beloved son send us from this place that we may enter into this new week with a desire to shine as lights and this crooked and perverse generation and give us boldness and courage to hold forth the word of truth we ask our father that you would bless the preaching of the gospel in other churches here in chilliwack we thank you that we're not alone here we thank you that there are other men committed to the truth we pray that you would bless these brothers as they proclaim your word and bless these churches and may they be places where sinners can go and hear the gospel and be saved we ask they would look with favor upon missionary enterprise we praise you that the word of God goes forth throughout the earth and that Jesus Christ will have dominion from sea to sea and that the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea father the prophets spoke of such glowing days and the scripture sets forth such blessed promises and we pray that your word would run swiftly and be glorified and that you would turn a multitude of people unto yourself god cause your face to shine upon the peoples let the nation's be glad and may the way of god most high be published throughout the earth we pray for the persecuted church for those suffering those in lands that are ruled by men that are wicked we ask God that you would have mercy upon your suffering Saints we ask that those who are imprisoned or those who have been dispossessed from their homes would continue to know the nearness of God as they're good and may they constantly and earnestly stay faithful to the very end and may you uphold each and every one we ask our Father that you would look with favor as well upon the situation and fort mcmurray we pray for those who have been dispossessed from their homes we pray for just a change of events there and God that you would use these calamities and use these trials to show men the futility of their own ways and to show them the nearness of eternity and may they call upon the Lord God most high through Jesus Christ our Savior and our Father continue with us now do forgive us for all of our sins certainly as we enter into the presence of the thrice holy God we see our own waywardness and we see the fact that we do not we do not obey your laws we ought so we confess our sins and our transgressions and our iniquities we plead the blood in the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ asking that you would wash us that you would purify us we know God as John tells us you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness help us to lay hold on such promises help us to believe these things for certainly at times Lord God it seems too good to be true that you take our sins and that you blot them out that you cast them into the depths of the sea father help us to seize these promises and help us to realize these promises and help us to know and enjoy that peace that we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and it's in his Most Blessed name that we pray amen well please turn with me in your Trinity hymnals again to him number 27 him 27 will stand as we sing you you you can turn in your Bibles to Ezekiel the Prophet chapter 14 for our scripture reading Ezekiel chapter 14 the larger context chapters 12 to 24 the explanation as to why the nation is being judged by God beginning in chapter 14 at verse 1 now some of the elders of Israel came to me and SAT before me and the word of the Lord came to me saying son of man these men have set up their idols in their hearts and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity should I let myself be inquired of at all by them therefore speak to them and say to them thus says the Lord God every one of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity and then comes to the Prophet I the LORD will answer him who comes according to the multitude of his idols that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart because they are all estranged from me by their idols therefore say to the house of Israel thus says the Lord God repent turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your abominations for any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who dwell in Israel who separates himself from me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity then comes to the Lord will answer him by my I will I the LORD rather will answer him by myself I'm sorry then comes to the Prophet to inquire of him concerning me i the lord will answer him by myself i will set my face against that man and make him a sign in a proverb and I will cut him off from the midst of my people then you shall know that I am the Lord and if the Prophet is induced to speak anything I the LORD have induced that prophet and i will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel and they shall bear their iniquity the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired that the house of Israel may no longer stray from me nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions but that they may be my people and I may be their God says the Lord God the word of the Lord came again to me saying son of man when Al and sins against me by persistent unfaithfulness I will stretch out my hand against it I will cut off its supply of bread send famine on it and cut off man and beast from it even if these three men Noah Daniel and jobe were in it they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness says the Lord God if I caused wild beasts to pass through the land and they empty it and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts even though these three men were in it as I live says the Lord God they would delete deliver neither sons nor daughters only they would be delivered in the land would be desolate or if I bring a sword on that land and say sword go through the land and I cut off man and beast from it even though these three men were in it as I live says the Lord God they would deliver neither sons nor daughters but only they themselves would be delivered or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my fury on it in blood and cut off from it man and beast even though Noah Daniel and jobe were in it as I live says the Lord God they would deliver neither Sun nor daughter they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness for thus says the Lord God how much more it shall be when i send my for severe judgments on jerusalem the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence to cut off man and beast from it yet behold there shall be left in it a remnant who will be brought out both sons and daughters surely they will come out to you and you will see their ways in their doings then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem all that I have brought upon it and they will comfort you when you see their ways and their doings and you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it says the Lord God Amen will let us pray our Father we see the gross pneus of idolatry conducted before the Living God your first word says we shall have no other gods before you or besides you lord help us to take heed to such a passage as this and to take heed the first John five where he tells us to be or to keep ourselves from idols may we never conclude or may we never think that these things will never happen to us help us God to take heed lest we fall and fill us with your Holy Spirit and give us that love for Christ and give us that devotion to Kingdom principle to seek first your kingdom in your righteousness knowing other things will be added to us grant us help & faithfulness and grant us grace and sustain us for the long haul and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well you can take your Trinity Salter and turn to Psalm number 128 Psalm 128 again will stand as we sing together we can turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 6 Deuteronomy chapter 6 our message tonight is more topical in nature it's called the practice of Family Worship it sort of goes hand in hand with what we looked at last week in the Proverbs concerning the Christian mother I thought this would be a good time to cause us to reflect a fresh on the fact that God sanctions God blesses God promotes the worship of people in families so I want to read Deuteronomy 6 verses 1 to 9 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 hear 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 father's has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey hear 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 with all your strength and these words which I command you two days she'll 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 amen let us pray father we thank you again for the written word and we pray again for the Ministry of the Holy Spirit that he would guide us and lead us and direct us into all truth we pray that as families as man as women who have children that we would take seriously the pattern we see established so clearly in Scripture we would be given to the worship of the Living God just one day out of the seven but each and every day we would seek to foster and in our young ones the necessity to look to the Lord Jesus Christ God we pray that as we survey these biblical texts even if we don't have children our hearts would be fed we would be strengthened we would be nourished that God as we come to Scripture we would taste and see that indeed the Lord is good and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well I suggest that we get right to it as there are several texts I want to look first at the biblical warrant for family worship and then secondly the elements of family worship so you can turn to Genesis chapter 18 in the first place with reference to the biblical warrant for family worship concerning the Old Testament I have five points first the purpose for Abraham secondly the command for Israel thirdly the practice of Joshua fourth the assumption in the Psalms and fifth the emphasis in the Proverbs those are the five things I want us to to understand as we move through the Old Testament then as we come to the new will see the command by Paul in the example of Timothy but note first in the in Genesis chapter 18 it is God's dealings with Abraham and note specifically what we find with reference to God's dealings with Abraham it is just before the judgment of God upon Sodom and Gomorrah and we see in verse 16 then the men rose from there and looked towards 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 now notice the coven ental purpose of God for Abraham 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 rehearses what God's already said to Abraham in Genesis 12 Genesis 15 and again in Genesis 17 it would be an Abraham that all the nations all the families of the earth would be blessed ultimately that is connected to Abraham's seed who is the Lord Jesus Christ according to Galatians 3 16 now note God's intimate love and a knowledge and love for Abraham 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 now oftentimes I think we come to this passage and probably I've even preached it this way that Abraham was already doing this well Abraham may have been doing this but this is God's purpose for Abraham in the covenant community for I have known him in order that he may do this what must Abraham do that Abraham may command his children and his household after him in other words Abraham as a father as a householder has a particular responsibility biblical religion was to be propagated in the home in the family certainly in the synagogue certainly in the tabernacle certainly in the temple those were absolutely requisite within Old Covenant Israel and note specifically what Abraham was to command his children first that they keep the way of Yahweh they keep the way of Yahweh what God commands what God says what God expresses in his word is what you children are supposed to do so when Abraham would gather his children when Abraham would gather us household Abraham would instruct them concerning the way of God he would instruct them concerning God the Creator God the governor God the Redeemer not the one who called Abraham out of ur of the Chaldeans a Chaldeans and this is what he was the emphasis of his teaching but as well secondly and then to do righteousness and justice that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him if you think in terms of this text it probably resonates with another text I think all of us know Micah 6 verse 8 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 there's a long heritage before Micah ever ever mentions this in Micah 6 we see it all the way here in Genesis chapter 18 codified in Deuteronomy chapter 10 and verse 12 as well in Hosea 12 Zechariah 7 and I think this is probably what Jesus has in mind when he says to the to the scribes and season Matthew 23 23 you tie the mint in the anise and the cumin but you neglect the weightier matters of the law justice mercy and faith the Lord God's message has always been the same and this is precisely what Abraham was to teach his children he was to command them not suggest not allow them to make their own decisions not allow them to go back to her not allow them to engage in the idolatry of Canaanites but no he was to command them brethren there is nothing godly or nothing wise or nothing holy in allowing independence in your children I'm not suggesting that we take a rubber hose and a bright light and we brainwash them into our way of thinking but we are admonished to bring them up in the training in the admonition of the Lord we're not to suggest this or recommend this is a better way of life Abraham was to command his children and his household after him that they keep the way of Yahweh children household keep the way of Yahweh and to do righteousness and justice that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him Deuteronomy 6 we just read it we can go back there this is instruction given to Israel the Shema of Deuteronomy 64 that's the Hebrew word for here or for listen if you ever see that shema it's a reference to Deuteronomy 64 hear o Israel this was Israel central confession of faith the monotheism the unity the singularity of the living and the true God the Lord our God the Lord is one now based on that central confession it ought to affect the way that you live we don't just say the Lord our God the Lord is one we don't just confess his being we don't just confess who he is but we live in light of that confession and that's what's drawn out for Israel in verses 5 to 9 notice you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength that is legit that is rational that is logical that follows when the Lord God has redeemed us when the Lord God has brought us to himself when the Lord God has shown himself to us in such amazing and glorious ways than natural response of the redeemed heart is to love him to adore him to prise him to worship Him to say with the bride concerning the bridegroom you are altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 this is necessary on the from the hearts of God's people now notice in verse 6 the emphasis on an internalized religion you see you can't say the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus condemns in Matthew 23 are simply living according to the Old Testament know the Old Testament never in joined upon the people an external ism or a formalism or a ritualism it never said just go through the motions and everything will be all right no it's always internalized it's always from the heart you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength now notice in verse 6 and these words which I command you today shall be in your heart it ought to take root the Word of God ought to find its place in the hearts of the redeemed if we do not have a hunger for the word if there is no receptivity to the word then we need to question whether that central confession of faith is legitimately and really ours the people of God have a hunger for the word of God in fact Jesus pronounces beatitude on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness that is a disposition of the Redeem now it may vary in persons from degree 2 degree it may vary based on what's called progressive sanctification hopefully you grow more in your desire for the word of truth as your along the way but when you are a believer in Jesus Christ you want God's work now notice they were to propagate this truth the primary emphasis in verse 7 is upon their children you need to teach your children you shall teach them diligently not haphazardly not in consistently not when you feel like it but you teach them diligently you need to understand Israel living in this particular setting moving from the plains of Moab into the land of Canaan what's going to happen when they move into the land of Canaan not going to dispossess the land of the Canaanites they're not going to destroy every altar to bail they're not going to throw down every Astra Paul they're not going to destroy those things that are associated with false religion if you don't inoculate your children if you don't instruct your children if you don't diligently set before them Yahweh and his way then they will fall prey they will be saying praise bail from whom all blessings flow when they go with their neighbor Canaanite pagans to the bail worship service you can't let that happen you need to diligently teach that he then speaks concerning formal times of instruction and informal times you shall diligently Tia to teach them diligently to your children I take that as a reference to formal times of instruction you ought to set apart what the Puritans call the family altar and use that needs to instruct them concerning the ways of Yahweh like Abraham did before teach them about justice teach them about righteousness teach them the things of god most high but there ought to be an informal nasty or teaching as well and that's what verse 7 goes on you shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house when you're at the dinner table when you're eating your porridge when you're eating your steak or I don't know how many of us are eating steak at night but we ought to be talking about the things of God teaching and Stocking and helping them to understand what God's Word is all about but notice not only when you sit in your house when you walk by the way you go to the zoo and you look at the giraffe that's a good time to tell your children about the the amazingness of God I mean I would have never designed a giraffe certainly I would have never designed a platypus I don't know that I could have conceived of a monkey all of that be the speaks of the glory and the majesty and the excellence of God there is in formal instruction concerning your children and when you lie down when you put them to bed at night you kiss them on their foreheads point that to the way of Yahweh and then when you rise up as well so you get the gist you see what's supposed to happen central confession of faith individual responds with love internalize it in your heart and teach it to your kids this is a no-brainer this is what the people of God do I reference this morning John Jasper he got converted what did he do a witness to people that he was working with I think that happens to God's people they get saved and they start to talk to people about Jesus well if they get saved and they have children guess what they're going to do they're going to talk to their children about the Lord Jesus Christ about the law of God about the gospel of free and sovereign grace notice verse 8 in light of what we studied this morning this was one of those texts that went in the phylacteries this is the proof text for those file actors you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes that's why they wore it on the forehead and wrote ward on the forearm and it was to tax from Deuteronomy and to text from Exodus and again what's the emphasis so everybody will see your file actory and think you're a godly man or woman no so that you keep a law of dawn right before your eyes you keep the law of God right near your hand you don't make a move you don't have a thought you don't engage in action without first rehearsing though the word of god most high and then note the societal application verse 9 you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates what were the gates with reference to Old Testament cities they were the place where politics was conducted they were it was the place where commerce was engaged and the gates were to be marked with the law of God most high so you see with Abraham you see the Confed monition or rather the command for Israel now note thirdly the practice of Joshua Joshua 2415 Joshua 2415 this is a covenant renewal ceremony at Shechem and Joshua rehearses where they had been here II hearses the grace of God to them he rehearses the ways of God among them and the power of God displayed toward them he then calls for practical application he doesn't just rehearse history talk about grace demonstration of power and then say okay let's go home now no he brings it to bear upon his hearers notice in verse 14 now therefore you see that's what the Bible is all about that differentiates preaching and teaching there's a there for with bridgie there is a hopeful movement of the will in preaching it's not just information Joshua's not just concerned to fill their head with understanding but he wants to move their affections to the God who has redeemed them notice in verse 14 now therefore fear Yahweh 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 Yahweh and then he lays down this challenge verse 15 and if it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve whether the gods which your father served that we're on the other side of the river or the gods of the amorite sand whose land you dwell I think this is a reductio ad absurdum I don't think Joshua is actually saying yeah those are options go ahead and pursue those he is showing the futility of these false gods he is showing the nothingness of these false gods the people know what they have heard the people understand who Yahweh is they're not actually thinking they get to decide for you know these foreign gods know he is simply going to show them the supremacy of God the the majesty of God and the futility of doing anything but serving God and then at the end of verse 15 OD says but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord and in a real practical application Joshua was a busy man wasn't he what was Joshua's job Joshua led troops into Canaan to kill people and to break things Joshua was charged with taking Israel indicated in order to dispossess the land of the Canaanites Joshua was busy you see you have no right or prerogative as a husband as a father or as a mother to say well you know I'm just too busy to fit family worship it I'm just too busy to break open the scriptures with my little ones I'm just too busy to catechize that Joshua was a busy man Matthew Henry says joshua was a ruler a judge in Israel yet he did not make his necessary application to public affairs and excuse for the neglect of family religion you see brethren when something is important we will fit it in when the souls of our children are at stake and I'm not trying to guilt manipulate you here but I want you to consider the weightiness of the matter when the souls of our children are at stake we ought to carve out time we ought to be able to afford 10 or 15 or 20 minutes i will later say that if you're doing two and a half hour Puritan sermons with your three-year-old you're probably overdoing it but certainly you can do 10 or 15 minutes you can read some passages of scripture to them and give a simple explanation to them and sing some basic songs concerning the glory of God in the majesty of Jesus that won't take you two and a half hours you don't have to get on out and read his you know auntie sasanian writings in chapter 12 and make your three-year-old rehi rehearse how Biddle was wrong no no you don't do that but brethren you cannot say you're too busy I'm just too busy you know many times we say that now that's not to minimize that you're actually busy but it may be the case that you need to look at your calendar and you need to look at your day-timer and you need to say well teaching my children the way of salvation ought to be one of those chief priorities so I'm going to work it in there i am going to fit it in now notice fourthly the assumption in the Psalms several passages in the Psalms we sang one or rather we read one at the outset of worship in Psalm 145 we'll look at in a moment but song 20 to 30 i referred to this last week note this is an assumption these are not commands it is assumed in the psalter that israel is taking up this task it is assumed in the songbook of Israel that the people of God are engaged in this activity of instructing their children for it was commanded in Deuteronomy 6 the Shema the response in terms of the individual the necessity to internalize it in one's heart and the necessity to teach the children diligently to instruct them they had the example of Joshua making that glorious declaration as for me and my house we will serve Yahweh that ought to be all of our testimony in Psalm 22 30 because of what had gone before they're able to say the psalmist is able to say 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 brethren when a baby is born in our church and we pray Lord God blessed the baby we thank you that the baby's been born healthy and strong and we pray that one day that baby will be born again I think there's a latent assumption that the parents are going to take seriously the admonition of the Apostle to bring those children up in the training and admonition of the Lord to bring them to the house of God so they sit under the preaching of God's Word we don't pray this just because there's a book out there that says pastors ought to pray that way we pray that with a heartfelt desire to see our little ones right with God to see these children and young people inoculated from the temptations of this world I was walking this morning and thinking about this and I had a lot of struggles as a young man with temptation I didn't have the internet in my pocket there are some difficulties facing our young people today and if we do not teach them the way of Yahweh do not think that the way of Satan isn't going to intrude upon them the psalter assumes that the faithful in Israel are going to be instructing their children Psalm 78 versus 427 Psalm 78 versus 427 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 is done for he established to testimony and Jacob an 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 it's hard to write and whose spirit was not faithful to God you see the emphasis the one generation passes the baton of truth to the next generation and as I said we read that at the outset in Psalm 145 verse 41 generation shall pressure works to another and shall declare your mighty acts David assumes that the people of God will take seriously the Mandate of God in Deuteronomy 6 7 and they will diligently teach these statutes these Commandments these ordinances these laws to their children and they won't just do so informal state at times but they'll do so around the table they'll do so when they walk in the zoo they'll do so when they lay them down at night they'll do so when they rise up in the morning you see the heart that is devoted to God wants to present that truth of God to other needy sinners and then finally the emphasis and the proverbs we won't spend a lot of time there but every time Solomon says my son what is Solomon doing every time he says my son in 1 i'm sorry in 2 13 14 15 16 1 and 7 1 he is teaching his children the ways of yahweh he is teaching his children the truth of god he is teaching them not only about the way of yahweh but as well to do righteousness and justice he is training them to be decent normal human beings that are contributors to society much of the Proverbs help in terms of rounding out the the religious instruction of young people so that's the Old Testament again a flyby we could spend more time but we will move on note the New Testament you can turn to Ephesians the command of Paul Ephesians chapter 6 specifically in verse 4 and you fathers do not provoke your children to wrath do not provoke your children to wrath but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord that's what Paul says that fathers are supposed to do bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord if we're thinking biblically which I hope that we should we go back to Deuteronomy 6 we might infer or conclude that Paul means we ought to diligently teach that there ought to be formal times of instruction where we sit there and sit them down and and speak to them the truth concerning Jesus we catechized them we we sing with them we teach them the truth as it is in Jesus and then there are these informal times as well we bring them up and the training and the admonition of the Lord similarly in Colossians chapter 3 Colossians 3 gives us the negative of the prohibition again do not provoke your children lest they become discouraged I think a provocation of children to allow them to express themselves to allow them to pursue independent thought to allow them to be their own man or woman now they're five you have a duty and a responsibility before God most high to seek by the grace of God to shape them in the truth of God and then I mentioned the example of Timothy second Timothy chapter 1 second Timothy chapter 1 what was Timothy doing as a child he was being taught truth by a godly mother and a grandmother second Timothy 13 I thank God whom I served with a pure conscience as my forefathers did you see Paul speaks of forefathers there he doesn't say those guys who went before us that did the right things now we can use titles as long as we don't abuse titles if you weren't here this morning you don't know what I'm talking about but if you were here you do know what I'm talking about 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 I am persuaded as in you also he says that that faith was present in his mother and in his God a grandmother now notice in 2nd Timothy 3 15 second Timothy 3 15 that faith wasn't just present in Louis and Eunice it wasn't just internalized in their heart with reference to Louis and Eunice but they also taught Timothy 2nd 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 so it implies it infers that everywhere argues for the reality that this grandmother and this mother tutored their child in the things of God they taught him the truth so that's the biblical warrant let's move on secondly to the elements of family worship the elements of family worship now there's a whole host of books out there one I can highly recommend by Terry Johnson it is called the family worship book and after a few introductory pages on wife family should worship he then has the an order of service for family worship I mean the call to worship the whole spiel if you're so inclined he has in there the Westminster Shorter Catechism he has the children's version he has a bible reading plan he has psalms in the Psalms of David and the mead and meter he has Psalms like we have in our Trinity Salter is very helpful resource a few fathers are you know in between things at this particular time may i suggest Harry Johnson the family worship book published by Christian focus publications very helpful very nice very well put together for that purpose but the first thing that I want us to consider with reference to the elements of family worship is the commitment to public worship you probably thought I was going to say okay after dinner have all the kids sit on the couch and get your Bible out and get your song song song book out and sing and pray and read we're going to deal with that in a moment but you know what's the first and most important thing is a commitment to public worship it's to bring them to church to teach them the centrality of the church in God's redemptive plan Psalm 87 to God loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob David Clarkson preached a sermon called public worship to be preferred before private this flies contrary to the spirit of our age where we think you know it's all about me it's all about my experience it's all about what I do with my little ones God says bring your little ones to church God says to teach them and to train them to come to church you ought to highlight the importance of the church with your children and the church's public worship services that is the first order of business Johnson says simply the first and primary key to your family spiritual health is a commitment to the weekly public worship services of the church get that family worship every night but if you do not regard the church if you do not bring them to that place where the the sacraments are administered where the Word of God is proclaimed and where the the people of God gather in obedience to their Lord your undoing with your practice what you are preaching up from Monday to Saturday night the Church of Christ is central in God's redemptive plan acts 20 28 when the Apostle Paul is charging the elders from the office of the Ephesian elders he says that they are to take heed to themselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit had made them overseers he says they need the Shepherd the Church of God which he purchased with his own blood yes he purchased individual centers but he purchased the church the corporate people of God is something that the church today needs to appreciate a fresh public worship to be preferred before private by David Clarkson Psalm 87 how do you make heads or tails out of that reality the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob doesn't mean he hates the families of Israel it means he loves it when they gather together in the courts of church and they praise and they worship and they honor Westminster Shorter Catechism asks what are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption are his ordinances especially the word sacraments and prayer all which are made of factual to the elect for salvation now there's throughout history the church has gotten a bum rap and in our day the same is true out of the church that's full of hypocrites the church is bad the church key you know it's all about religion it's all about pastors wanting money you know what I don't doubt that that's out there but an abuse of something doesn't argue against the proper use of it and the proper use of the church is that covenant keep people of God coming together on the Lord's Day to praise into worship and to honor and to glorify Him such that the preaching of the gospel goes forth and hopefully our little ones will hear that gospel and by God's Spirit will be born again born anew and they will believe the gospel so please focus upon Center your lives upon the public worship of God's people secondly now they go to the couch now you get the hymn book out now you categorize them know the sanctification of the Lord's Day the sanctification of the Lord's Day that ought to be paramount as well God's provided the means for us to develop religiously in formal settings our children and one of those particular means is a high view of God's day we don't have time to sketch a biblical theology of the Sabbath that has been done here many many times chapter 22 in our confession of faith outlines a biblical theology of the Sabbath we could start at Genesis chapter chapter to the creation account Genesis chapter 4 when Cain and Abel at the end of days probably the Sabbath day bring their sacrifices to present unto God we could go to Exodus the thundering of Sinai what's that fourth word remember the Sabbath same thing in Deuteronomy chapter 5 we'd stop at Isaiah 58 to see that blessed promise of God that if we seize from our own ways we stop thinking our own thoughts on God's holy day then he will exalt us and he will bless us and he will give us the desires of our hearts in terms of the spiritual realities we would move on to the New Testament and see that Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath to see that Jesus says that the man wasn't made for the Sabbath but the Sabbath was made for the man it's a good thing to bless a thing it's a gift given by God we'd stop at Acts chapter 20 and see that that day has been changed to sunday in the Old Covenant terms of positive law it was it was observed on the Saturday but in the New Covenant in terms of positive law we see it as observed on Sunday acts 20 verse 7 1st Corinthians 16 Paul tells the people of God on that first day of the week put in their offerings verse 2 and then revelation 110 John is in the spirit went on the Lord's Day on Sunday there's a theology of Sabbath that runs from the beginning to the very end Sabbath is far more important than a lot of us realize Sabbath with reference to God is most important it speaks of his enthronement it speaks of his rule it speaks of his kingdom and it speaks concerning that day when we will enter into that each channel Sabbath rest with our God the blessing of the Sabbath turreted makes this comment he says experience teaches too well that license and the negligence of sacred things grows more and more we're a proper regard is not shown for the Lord's Day let me just read that again experience teaches too well that license and the negligence of sacred things grows more and more we're a proper regard is not shown for the Lord's Day brethren in many respects God has structured saw stuff in a very simple way you know we can not have a seminar tonight okay here's 15 ways to get your kid kids holy know God's taken care of it take them to church and observe his day cease from all your other activities show them the priorities involved in terms of God's kingdom and that will go a long way to reinforcing the religious instruction you give them throughout the week voss I love this statement is biblical theology concerning the Sabbath he says the Sabbath has faithfully accompanied the people of God on their march through the ages that's beautiful the Sabbath has always been there for God's people as a respite as a as a rest as a day of sanctification a day of blessing a day where we get to come to the house of God and we get to worship Him I think that that that idea of the Puritan Sabbath where you know you just SAT your kids down for hours on end and wrote Lee went through thing that's not the view of the Sabbath we ought to have I was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the Lord the Sabbath day means the day of worship with the people of God and I think that if we inculcate that in our homes and we pass that along to our children that will be invaluable if your children rise up obviously converted by the grace of God in Jesus Christ but they're faithful churchmen they actually show up when the church doors are open and they honor the Sabbath day what could be better I mean I'd much prefer that than my kids you know hitting home runs or making loads of money or you know inventing whatever new cures there might be formalities out there they have a high view of Jesus Church and a high regard for Jesus day then they were thinking Jesus thoughts after him if Christ loves the church and he does and Christ has sanctified the day and he has then to teach them these fundamental principles is certainly a priority for the people of God now thirdly the use of the family altar sit them down on the couch you can sing hymns with them sing psalms with that brethren the singing of Psalms is something we ought to do in order to learn the Psalms it's a great way to hide God's Word in our heart it's a great way when we consider that we are singing to God God's Word it's good to sing the hymns as well good doctrinally sound AMM's we don't want to sing jesus is my boyfriend songs and you know sort of do these sways in the living room and teach them to be effeminate and and and and not able to sustain any kinds of thought with reference to singing the Brethren teach the kids to sing I'm sure my kids still remember some of the songs that we sang you know is the old standbys number three second tune we'd rattle that right off psalm 121 27 in the I'm sorry 134 in the Trinity Salter these are good things to instill in your young people and in your children as well secondly the place of prayer and intercession you know what one of your problems are little ones I'm not going to yell at you scream at you but you think about yourselves a lot and in this you're very much like your parents I think this is a fundamental trait that each and every one of us have we have a narcissistic tendencies or is a self love about us now there's a biblical self-love we don't ingest poison we don't lick our fingers and put them into electrical sockets we don't try to work on you know electrical panels without the proper training or wood or rubber or something to to not get us at I mean there's a self love that is righteous and good there's a self love that isn't and that self-love is off oftentimes occupied with self what does intercession do it gets the kids minds off of self at least for a time and puts them on to the sick people in church puts them on to the pregnant ladies in the church puts them on to the villages being ravaged by Islam in other countries puts their minds on the missionary enterprise puts their minds on other things teach them to intercede teach them intercession they ought to hear fathers and mothers praying not simply for God's blessing upon themselves and their children but upon their brethren and their children upon the church that they go to upon their place of employment sand that God would be pleased to save sinners intercession is something we ought to teach something we ought to imbibe certainly thirdly the centrality of scripture family worship ought to be rooted in God's Word we ought to teach them again if you are you know reading David Clarkson sermon to them and their three you are overdoing it but certainly you can take Jesus and Bartimaeus and read that and explain that to them so that they understand you can take the story of Jesus in Zacchaeus I mean what kid doesn't want to hear about Zacchaeus what child would be put off by the story of Zack he is and if your father a mother is able to speak it and tell it with some some joy and happiness he was a little fella d ran up the tree and Jesus saw in there okay what happened next we've lost that the Bible is exciting the Bible is thrilling the Bible is joyful it is it is something that we ought to to yearn to read and to teach our children the Old Testament stories grab them by the hands and take them to the valley of a lot where David faces Goliath who would not be thrilled by that story take your sons two touches o young men love judges don't they they love Eva they love Samson they love Gideon give them those things so that they can love that I'm take your daughters there to take them to Jael take them to to Samson take them to Gideon brethren the point is it is the scriptures that we need to instill in our little ones that is the means by which God brings forth sinners James 118 of his own will by the word of truth he brought us forth you know one of the first practical arguments for family worship is evangelism if you are tracking with Scripture and you understand the doctrine of depravity and you understand the reality that Adam is a federal head and you understand that your children are not safe simply by virtue of the fact that they've been born into a Christian home evangelism ought to be paramount take them to our Lord's words take them to the to the passages of Scripture take them to the gospel records I mean they're not difficult you hear people all the time of the Bible's so hard there are some things that are difficult to understand Peter says that concerning Paul's writings doesn't he but not all of it I mean the story of e HUD is pretty easy to understand the story of David is pretty easy to understand the story of JL is pretty easy to understand I mean you can explain it you can lay it out there and you can draw out a few practical lessons we ought to fear God we ought to believe the gospel we ought to all those things brethren what better time then when you sit your little ones down and you teach them and then as well I would end with this observation the usefulness of creeds and confessions you know one of the aspects of that self-love ISM is that we think we're it's there's a whole church behind us 20 centuries worth of valuable resources of excellent things read to them the Nicene Creed read to them the Apostles Creed read to them the Caledonian Creed read to them the the Westminster Shorter Catechism they even have a child's version of it who made you God what else did God make all things why did God make you in all things for his own glory how can you glorify God by loving in and doing what He commands you see brethren it doesn't take a whole lot of effort and energy to learn these particular truths and as well when it comes to say the shorter catechism it teaches the children to think conceptually instead of pictorially I saw this it was a reference by moti r in teaching it was either motor or someone else that it made this observation that children brought up on a short on the shorter catechism for instance the one I like other than the paedo baptism that's why there's a Baptist version of it back there available to take all that stuff you can take is not they're so wow they filled the reformed baptist requirement they have a literature rack take it bring it home put it on your tables and read it use the Catechism there's a Spurgeon's Catechism again so Westminster Shorter but the kids that were taught we're learn learn to think in concept rather than in pictures and that's good kids taught early in their youth will be able if God indeed saves them to be able to rehearse those things 15 and 20 years later I've seen it with my own eyes sometimes your catechizing older children and you think well the little ones aren't ready yet and then one day lo and behold you happen to ask the little one and they rattle it off wow they're brighter bulbs than I had given them credit for they can soak in a whole lot more than we've ever even imagined do not be afraid to take the scripture and to take this doctrine and to bring it to bear upon them in conclusion first we ought to recognize the importance of family worship we ought to recognize that I hope and pray that this is not guilt manipulation you're not feeling that your conscience azhar bound I'm not suggesting two and a half hours with your three-year-olds I've got 15 part sermon on why you need to you know clean up after it no that's not it 15 20 minutes do it recognize the importance secondly implement it in your home if you have not then start I like what Terry Johnson says he says remember there is nothing to getting started like actually getting started we do this don't wait wow I heard this message on Family Worship that's something I need to do I'm going to go buy five books i'm gonna read terry johnson on fat just do it i see this with prayer oh my prayer life is sluggish I'm going to read aw pink on prayer I got a zany idea why don't you pray just do it maybe nike was right just do it he says we're making a poor he says doesn't sound helpful we're making a point like everything else that is valuable but requires discipline in soccer vice he says it finally comes down to doing it start do it if you already are then persevere be consistent be faithful look to these scriptures again get renewed get refreshed set up the or or you know keep this family altar intact and then finally the practical benefits again these are things that we ought just to consider first the means by which we are able to obey God with reference to teaching our children if Israel is charged to instruct them diligently then this is a means by which we can do this secondly you know what a real practical benefit of family worship is you teach them to sit for 15 or 20 minutes isn't that good in a day and age that is more pictorial more visual more image driven it's hard to capture the attention of young people it's harder to capture the attention of older people and you know 140 characters on Twitter is about the extent of our mental cognition we've got big problems you set them down for 15 or 20 minutes and teach them how to sit down for 15 to 20 minutes then you bring them to corporate worship and you tell them we're going to do that four times and you better not get out of line no you you train them it's a practical benefit involved thirdly it is a means by which and familial closeness is foster I mean isn't that good to spend time with your kids and the things that are most important isn't that a blessing to be able to hold your little one's hands and pray to the living and true God for them isn't it a blessing to foster that sort of intimacy with your children it is as well a means by which a kingdom emphasis is maintained we're told in Matthew 6 33 to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you this is a means by which we set that principle before our children why are we doing this because we love God we want to seek God we want to pray to God want to hear from God you know a little one's gonna say okay all right and then they're going to hopefully be brought up in that environment in that atmosphere and it's going to become a way of life and then finally and I've already alluded to this the means by which children will hear the gospel for the salvation of their souls evangelism open the scriptures and preach the gospel testify concerning God his law how they broke it and how Jesus came to live and to die and to rise again brethren seize the opportunity to instruct your little ones in the way of Christ will let us pray father we thank you for your word and we thank you for these things that you've given to us hopefully to use for your glory and for the benefit of our own souls and our own children I do pray for the children and for the young people here God may you indeed call them forth by your power by your spirit according to your word may they know the joy of the Lord is their strength and may you keep them and watch over them and bless them and may there be a generation to come who praises the Lord Almighty and generations to come who praise the Lord Almighty we ask that you would go with us now watch over us in this coming week and help us to honor and to glorify you and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed you
