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Common Barriers to Family Worship from Crossway on Vimeo.
God Will Bless His Word
The most common barriers to family worship are not fully understanding the why. Why am I doing this? Another is not planning properly so that it takes place at all different times of the day, every day of the week. Another is excessive expectations and perfectionism. Lastly, the attitude with which we approach it can be pessimism.
So how do we overcome these barriers? First of all with God’s promise to get the why up in our consciousness. We’re doing this because God promises to bless his word. To help with the problem of planning, commit to family worship at regular bedtimes or mealtimes. It’s for the best if we can try and find a time in the day or an activity in the day like eating, where we can slot it in regularly—rather than trying to remember to do it when you can.
Ideally, all the family is there, but sometimes they wouldn’t be. So, try and find that time where the maximum number can be there. Especially when teens come along, they’re all over the place for different school and sports things. Try and plan for the best of the whole family.
Then, be pragmatic. I mean that in a good sense. A holy pragmatism means just adjusting your expectations. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress. Sometimes it will go badly, but it doesn’t matter. Do it the next day.
Then, to overcome the pessimism, just cultivate positivity about it. Gather the family and say, Let’s go explore the Bible, kids! or, Let’s go and meet with Jesus! Let’s go and worship God. Also, involve the kids in the family worship. Ask them to read a verse or repeat one after you, ask them a question, ask if they’ve got questions. Just make it a lively, energetic, positive experience. There are barriers, but God has provided many helps to get over the barriers: his promise, planning, pragmatism, and positivity.
This is a guest article by David Murray author of Exploring the Bible Together: A 52-Week Family Worship Plan. This post originally appeared on crossway.org; used with permission.
Dr. David Murray is the author of The Happy Christian, Jesus On Every Page, and Christians Get Depressed Too. Married with five children, he is Professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology at Puritan Reformed Seminary and Pastor of Grand Rapids Free Reformed Church.
