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.
John 10:1-6
1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
2 “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.
3 “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5 “A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.
Still speaking to the Jews, Jesus provided a metaphor to describe His relationship with His people. Anyone who enters by any means other than the gate is a thief and robber. True sheep enter by the gate and follow their shepherd.
They did not understand what message Jesus was conveying. In the coming verses, Jesus will claim to be the gate and the shepherd. In these first six verses, we see a warning. There are many people who try to get into the kingdom of Heaven by all sorts of means. Further, and more in tune with Jesus’s metaphor, there have been many people who seek to be shepherds of God’s people. This metaphor isn’t about false sheep as much as it is about false shepherds. John placed this metaphor directly after Jesus calls the religious leaders of Israel blind.
The insinuation is clear. The religious leaders have taken it upon themselves to shepherd God’s people. But, there is only one shepherd. His name is Jesus. His sheep hear His voice and flee from imposters.
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Alex Southern Baptist Chapel 
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