Three Essentials for Family Worship

Exhortation | Lord's Day—May 25, AD 2025

If you’ve been here or in confessionally Reformed circles for long enough, you have heard that you should be engaged in what is commonly called “family worship.” As the Westminster Confession of Faith states, “God is to be worshiped everywhere, in spirit and truth; in private families daily and in secret each one by himself” (WCF 21.6).

But while many of you have heard of family worship, I understand that some fathers have found the practice difficult to regularly maintain. One common reason for this is that you are trying to accomplish too much at once – you jumped into the deep end when your kids were still playing in the kiddie pool.

So in an effort to help you keep family worship simple, here are three basic essentials for you to begin with and then build from, according to your own family’s needs and personality.

First, read Scripture. When your children are little, a short passage might be preferable to a whole chapter. If you haven’t been reading together, start with one of the Gospels, explain and point things out, and ask your children simple but engaging questions.

Second, pray together. Begin with adoration and thanksgiving, teaching your children that God is good. And then bring to Him specific needs in your family and lift up the requests of those in your lives – pray for grandma’s healing or for missionaries on the field. While dad should lead in prayer, it is great for each child to take a turn.

And third, sing psalms and hymns joyfully. Choose one or two favorites from church or take the time to learn a new one. Psalm 22 says that God is enthroned on the praises of His people, so establish His throne at the center of your home with singing.

Now I know that some fathers here this morning already know what you ought to do, but feel embarrassed for having largely neglected your duty. If that is you this morning – it’s not too late to start again. Do not let shame discourage you from obedience. When your children are little, those three simple elements – Word, prayer, and song – do not need to take longer than ten minutes. And when you do it with joy and excitement, when you make it a “get to” and not a “got to,” it’s the kind of thing that your whole family will begin to delight in—and the Lord as well.