What is family worship? (Click the arrow to the left)
As Christians, particularly Christian men, we are responsible to lead our households with strength and resolve in the ways of Christ. Leading our families in devotions and family worship is one way to lead our families, raising our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, Jesus Christ (cf. Deuteronomy 6:7; Ephesians 6:4).
In my house, we do morning and evenings. In the morning after we eat breakfast together, we all have our quiet times. We read our Bibles seperately and journal what we see. In the evenings before bed, we talk about what we saw in our morning Bible reading, I share my insight from my own devotional time, we ask questions from the New City Catechism, we sing a couple worship songs together, and then we pray as a family. Family worship doesn’t have to look like this. It may look different for every household, but I want to invite you to join me in leading our families well. Every weekday on this blog, I want to provide a guide for fathers to lead their families in some form of family worship. If your household doesn’t have a father, I believe the responsibility falls to the mother. Design a routine that works for your family, but be intentional about leading in the only way that matters instead of getting too caught up with the affairs of this world. Every Christian man is the pastor of his home. I believe the most important thing we can do for our children is (1) lead them in the home and (2) be faithful to the church as a family. As the family goes, so goes the nation. Our job as pastors to our family matters.
Jeremiah 23:1-8
1 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares the Lord.
2 Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord.
3 “Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.
4 “I will also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
5 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous bBranch;
And He will reign as king and act wisely
And do justice and righteousness in the land.
6 “In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell securely;
And this is His name by which He will be called,
‘The Lord our righteousness.’
7 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when they will no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’
8 but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.”
Jeremiah prophesied during the Babylonian exile, 600 years before Jesus was born. In this particular part of his prophecy, God blames Babylon for being a bad shepherd of His people, the remnant of Israel that would return to Judea. God would therefore attend to Babylon, leading to the return of a remnant to the land where they would become prosperous.
Notice, Jeremiah predicts that the land would not belong to Israel. Another shepherd would be provided by God to shepherd His people—the Jews. Cyrus, the Persian king, liberated the Jews from Babylon. The Jews returned to their land and build the Second Temple.
In conjunction, a messiah king was promised, a descendent of David who would save the Jews. What will He save the Jews from if they would already be free from Babylon because of Persia? Judging by the identification of this messiah as, “the Lord is our Righteousness,” here, it must be salvation from unrighteousness, or sin.
This messiah did not come under Cyrus, but this prophecy didn’t claim He would. Another shepherd came after Persia. The branch of David, Jesus, would be born in Bethlehem under the rule of the Roman Empire to save the Jews from their sins. This series of events would be impossible to guess 600 years before it happened, especially by someone who was still under the hand of Babylon. That is, impossible unless God chose to provide this knowledge so people would believe when He came..
Today’s question from the New City Catechism:
Q- What do justification and sanctification mean?
A- Justification means our declared righteousness before God. Sanctification means our gradual, growing righteousness.
1 Peter 1:1-2 says,
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
Have a question about today’s devotional?
Your message has been sent
Alex Southern Baptist Chapel 
Leave a comment