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 12:20-26
20 Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;
21 these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22 Philip *came and *told Andrew; Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus.
23 And Jesus *answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his 1life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
26 “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone 1serves Me, the Father will honor him.
When some Greeks inquired about seeing Jesus at the Passover festival, Jesus’s response to Andrew and Philip suggested He has other things on His mind than meeting people as a celebrity. He came to die for them, not be their celebrity, and the hour had come. Only by giving His life would Jesus produce much fruit. Jesus said the same thing about His followers. If we love our lives in this world, we will lose the life we love. Everyone dies, and nothing we build in this momentary realm endures—at least materially as our possession. If we hate our lives in this world, we will keep them for eternal life. I believe Jesus referred to what we build in Heaven rather than on this earth, which is immaterial. If we are in Christ, we don’t live to build treasures on this earth. We live like Christ, living sacrifices, and we are promised to be where Jesus is forever.
If the Greeks really wanted to see Jesus, they would follow Him in this way rather than treat Him like a celebrity. The Father honors everyone, not Jews only, who follows Jesus. There’s much to be said, here, about our worldly political and religious divides, but I’ll save that for later. For now, I simply ask, are we serving Christ or seeking worldly gain? Are we building treasure in Heaven or in this momentary world? Is Jesus our celebrity or Lord?
Have a question about today’s devotional?
Alex Southern Baptist Chapel 
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