Beating the Same Drum

Without checking, I would say that there is not a subject that I have written about any more than family worship and the importance of dads leading out in this area. I have preached on this, taught this, and blogged on this, but I do not want to ever quit beating this drum. Below is a blog that inspired and encouraged me as I read it as it deals with the “Why?” of family worship. I hope it resonates within your heart as well:

http://www.raisinggodlychildren.org/2013/08/family-worship-why.html

Family Worship. Why?

Being in a healthy, Bible-teaching local church is important for Christian parenting. But is it enough?

Some time ago, I was in England and heard a report on BBC radio about a government study there indicating that, as a result of TV, technology, and the like, families rarely spend time together. The study observed that conversation between family members has "degenerated into an indistinguishable series of monosyllabic grunts." And what was the recommended solution to this dilemma? The government should teach a series of classes instructing families how to talk and play together. 

I have at least two responses to this report. First, things are really bad when the government believes that the family is in trouble. Second, God has a much better plan for family time together than classes taught by the government.

I had gone to England to speak at a conference. Around the table there one evening, I heard the story of a minister's family who had not acted as though God has a better plan until it was too late. The minister's widow told me that the greatest regret of her life was that her late husband had not begun leading their family in daily worship together until after he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Contrast that with a story sent to me by a friend describing what he and his four siblings said at their parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration. He wrote, 

All five of us children decided to express thanks to our father and mother for one thing without consulting each other. Remarkably, all five of us thanked our mother for her prayers and all five of us thanked our father for his leadership of . . . family worship. My brother said, "Dad, the oldest memory I have is of tears streaming over your face as you taught us from Pilgrim's Progress on Sunday evenings how the Holy Spirit leads believers. [When I was only] three, God used you in family worship to convict me that Christianity was real. No matter how far I went astray in later years, I could never seriously question the reality of Christianity and I want to thank you for that."[1] 

The latest figures I have seen from the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention report that 88% of churched youth in the US leave the church once they finish high school.[2] Researcher George Barna's statistics are only slightly better: "When [churchgoing teenagers were] asked to estimate the likelihood that they will continue to participate in church life once they are living on their own, levels dip precipitously, to only about one out of every three teens"[3] saying they expect to stay in church.  

One of the problems with these numbers is, unlike the siblings at the fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration, most of these young people have no lifelong, sweet memories of family worship. If they had them, such memories might prevent their departure from the faith in the first place. Or if they do walk away, the memories might be the means to return them to the faith later.

 The great British Baptist preacher of the 1800's, Charles Spurgeon, spoke to this issue, saying, 

Brethren, I wish it were more common, I wish it were universal, with all [Christians] to have family prayer. We sometimes hear of children of Christian parents who do not grow up in the fear of God, and we are asked how it is that they turn out so badly. In many, very many cases, I fear there is such a neglect of family worship that it's not probable that the children are at all impressed by any piety supposed to be possessed by their parents.[4]  

I am persuaded that so little family worship regularly exists in Christian homes, that even in most of our best churches, most of our best men do not lead their wives—and children if they have them—in family worship. Another recent survey by George Barna supports that claim. According to his research,

Eighty-five percent of parents with children under age 13 believe they have primary responsibility for teaching their children about religious beliefs and spiritual matters. However, a majority of parents don't spend any time during a typical week discussing religious matters or studying religious materials with their children. . . . Parents generally rely upon their church to do all of the religious training their children will receive.[5]

Having your family in a good, Bible-teaching local church is crucial to Christian parenting. But this is not enough for conveying to your children all you want to teach them about God and your beliefs. Moreover, it is unlikely that exposure to the church once or twice a week will impress your children enough with the greatness and glory of God that they will want to pursue Him once they leave home.

This is why family worship is so important. But even more importantly, God deserves to be worshiped daily in our homes by our families.

When Fear and Frustration Grips Us

I don’t know about you but there are times when either fear or frustration can be overwhelming in my life. As I thought through specific issues in my life as well as counseled with others as a friend and Pastor, I have discovered that everyone deals with these two issues in some way. There are times that they still get the best of me - in fact more times than I want to confess they seem to overwhelm me. As many times as I have faced these foes it seems like I would have learned how to consistently defeat them, but sadly I still fail miserably. However, I have learned a few things that help me greatly and in fact, have allowed me to achieve victory at times. They are simple to remember, but much harder to live out. I want to mention them to you in hopes that you can learn to apply them better and more quickly than I have.

• We Live In A Fallen World:  It seems like all creation is against us and, at times it is because we live in a world that is destroyed by sin. If I begin with this, I will understand that life is not going to be easy. I have a long quote by Spurgeon on my wall in front of me everyday in my study.  Part of it says: “Ministry is a matter which wears the brain, strains the heart and drains out the life of a man if he attends to it as he should…Any service, for God, if it be done at all should be hard work. If you want to be feather bed soldiers, go and enlist somewhere else, but Christ’s soldiers must fight and they will find the battle rough and stern.”  We are in a war and things aren’t always going to be okay. But we serve a Sovereign Lord who controls everything.

• I Must Preach To Me: I must give truth to myself. There are things that my head knows but my deceitful heart doesn’t want to believe. I must tell myself truth from the Word. I must talk to myself and give myself the Word of God when my soul least feels like hearing it. After all, the times I least want to hear it are the times that I most need it. There are times I must do like David and encourage myself in the Lord. The battle will be fought, won or lost in my heart: in the darkest hours my heart must have truth!

• I Will Run To Something: Where do I go for refuge? I will go somewhere. I will run to Christ or I will run to another god I have created in my own image. I am created to run somewhere for rest but the only true rest will come from Christ. My tendency is to first turn to friends, or diversions and that will always leave me wanting. I have learned that if I run to Him and find my rest there, there is joy, peace and rest that is indescribable.

I could list countless other things, but I have found that remembering these three will at least get me on the right path in the most difficult of days.