Tag Archives: family worship

What I’ve missed while not gathering with my local church (Part 1)

What I’ve missed while not gathering with my local church (Part 1)

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series What's missing in virtual church You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Throughout my life, I have very rarely missed church services. Because of our governor’s “Stay-at-Home” order, this season has been one of the most prolonged periods I have ever spent without attending local church services. Here’s my hot take on the situation: not being in church really stinks. For several reasons, our church has opted… Continue Reading

Use this time to develop healthy family worship habits

Use this time to develop healthy family worship habits

If you’re like most people right now, you’re finding yourself at home a whole more these days! There are certainly lots of challenges involved with this time, but more time at home with family can create many blessings as well. Don’t waste this time! One of the great blessings you can enjoy while your family… Continue Reading

Home Worship Resources During COVID-19

Home Worship Resources During COVID-19

Last week I briefly highlighted how a church can at least approximate worship “together” while we’re prevented from being together physically, and I definitely echo David de Bruyn’s comments here about taking care to make sure that we’re not cheapening corporate worship through the technological means we use during this time. To be clear, neither… Continue Reading

How a church can worship “together” during COVID-19

How a church can worship “together” during COVID-19

It may be tempting to think that we are living in unprecedented times until we remember that Christians have faced persecution and plagues throughout history. This is not the first time Christians have been forced to gather in small groups, nor will it be the last. However, what we are facing as a result of… Continue Reading

Start the New Year with Our Bible Narratives Reading Plan

Start the New Year with Our Bible Narratives Reading Plan

Stories shape us. When we read a story, we enter a world that the author has created and thus become shaped by that world. Experiencing the world of the story forms our imaginations of reality, our perceptions and affections, and even our worldview and beliefs. The same is true—perhaps even more so—with the stories of… Continue Reading

A plea for singing hymns in family worship

A plea for singing hymns in family worship

It’s no secret that people sing much less than they used to. Generally, as a culture, we listen to a lot of music, but make very little. We leave music making to professionals. And this is to our loss as a society. In Wiser than Despair, Quentin Faulkner asks us to “Consider … the disappearance of community singing (whether… Continue Reading

5 Day Bible Stories Reading Plan and Catechism

5 Day Bible Stories Reading Plan and Catechism

Last year I created a 5 Day Bible Narratives Reading Plan that each member of our family used (except the one year old!) through 2017. You can read more about the structure of the plan here. We really enjoyed using it, and we plan to use it again in 2018. For those who would like… Continue Reading

Order your Christmas Family Devotional Now!

Order your Christmas Family Devotional Now!

A few years ago we published a new daily devotional for the Christmas season by Pastor Taigen Joos that has been very well-received. This devotional is perfect for both families and individuals to use as they prepare to worship Christ during the Christmas season. Each daily reading is a rich, yet brief meditation on an event or characteristic… Continue Reading

Basic order for Family Worship

Basic order for Family Worship

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Tools for Family Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

My wife and I started family worship when our first child was very young, and I’m so glad we did. We started by calling it “Bible time” (a term we still often use), we’ve had periods of inconsistency, and our methods have varied, but the discipline of gathering together each evening for Bible reading, singing,… Continue Reading

Recommended Bibles for Children and Families

Recommended Bibles for Children and Families

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Tools for Family Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

The new year brings renewed commitments, and hopefully one of your renewed commitments is dedicated time for family worship. I cannot stress the importance of gathering together as a family to read Scripture, sing, pray, and other profitable spiritual endeavors. Parents are sometimes at a loss as to what are the best resources to use… Continue Reading

Notes from sessions at the Wilds Music Conference

Notes from sessions at the Wilds Music Conference

This past week I spoke at the Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center Music Conference. I was the keynote speaker for the pre-conference on Monday, I presented one general session, and I taught three workshops. Several people, both at the Wilds Music Conference and online, have asked for copies of my notes from sessions I… Continue Reading

Handled with reverence and care

Handled with reverence and care

I appreciate Joel Beeke, the pastor of the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Grand Rapids and the President and Professor of Systematic Theology and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, for his ability to combine sound theology with warm devotion, while not undermining the former or distorting the shape of the latter. If you have… Continue Reading

Train Your Child's Heart Before His Head

Train Your Child's Heart Before His Head

Children learn to worship God primarily through participating in rightly ordered worship. Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Any concerned, Christian parent is committed to training his or her child to be obedient to the Lord and His Word. From… Continue Reading

How Can We Teach Our Children To Worship?

How Can We Teach Our Children To Worship?

The only way children learn to worship God rightly is by observing right worship. Could it be that worship is such a mess today because previous generations did not expect their children to worship with their parents? I plan to consider this topic more in the coming days. Continue Reading