How to use the Family Worship Guide
Each day of the Family Worship Guide (each week in the quarterly print version) is broken down into four elements: Read, Pray, Sing, and Memorize. In each of these sections, we have provided suggested readings and discussion questions, topics for prayer, a song, and scripture memory verses and two question-and-answer sets from the “Catechism for Boys and Girls.”
Read
On Sunday of each week, your family will read the passage your pastor based this week’s sermon on. For the remainder of the week, you’ll read a couple of passages from the Old Testament history books, a psalm, a proverb, a passage from one of the gospels, and then a passage from an epistle.
In addition to the family reading passages, we have provided a schedule for your personal use that will allow you to read through the entire Bible in one year.
As you meditate on or discuss these scripture passages with your family, seek to answer these questions: What does this passage say about God? What does this passage say about me? What does this passage say about the relationship between God and me?
Pray
We have provided the ACTS model of prayer for the Family Worship Guide, with specific suggestions for use during the Supplication portion of the prayer.
Sing
Singing is an important part of worship. We’ve listed a song from The Worship Hymnal as a suggestion. If you have another hymnal, or other CDs or worship videos you can use, feel free to do so. Just make sure the songs you’re singing are theologically and doctrinally rich. Because not everyone is as “musically gifted” as others, for the online version of the Family Worship Guide, we have linked the song to LifeWayWorship.com, where you can hear a brief audio clip and/or purchase the track for the song so you and your family can use to sing along with.
Memorize
The fourth element of the Family Worship Guide approach to family worship is memorization. We recommend memorizing at least one scripture verse and two catechism question-and-answer sets per week. Parents, while your children will likely memorize much faster than you will, with a little effort, this part of family worship will be easier than you think and will reap long-term benefits.
And don’t think that the only time you can work on memorization is when you’re all gathered together for family worship. Surprise your children every now and then by asking them to recite the week’s memory verse. Or, you can be even more sneaky and ask them to recite last week’s verse. Or the verse from three week’s ago. Always be reviewing the material from previous weeks so that by the end of the first few months, you’re really starting to build a good mental library of scripture passages and doctrinal truths.
