2 Timothy 3:15 ESV
And how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
I pray gentlemen 16 years and up in our congregation are looking forward to the class on Masculine Spiritual Leadership beginning on Wednesday, September 23 at 6pm. This will start the week after we end The Pilgrim’s Progress Study. As I shared with you last month, please invite friends or classmates for this four-week journey into the scriptural duties men are called to participate in by our gracious God.
But wait! There’s more!
After that class, we will have an opportunity to explore how to conduct family worship at home. I cannot express how valuable a means of grace this discipline is for any saint – particularly our children. Many individuals and families who have put this into practice have grown immeasurably in their faith and relationship with the Lord. Today, we are of the impression that a successful church is one that offers a veritable smorgasbord of spiritual delights to its parishioners: mission trips, Sunday School classes from pre-K to 90+ years of age, community projects, meditation practice, a gym with basketball or volleyball teams, music opportunities, and the list goes on. These are great, don’t get me wrong! Yet, when you dig back a bit in history when Christ’s church had a massive impact in its communities, it wasn’t a function of the variety of activities the church provided which touched people. It was observing the astonishing transformational change of family groups as they committed themselves to the daily worship of their Savior. God joyously ruled their daily existence through scripture reading and reflection, song, and of course, prayer. This is above and beyond what we do on Sunday. A consistent immersion in the word of God, learning doctrine through beloved hymns, and seeing faithful parents on their knees in prayer affects children profoundly. Did I mention a little catechesis thrown in for good measure? All no more than 20 minutes a day. Our efforts in this area produce competent and zealous soldiers of the cross! Ironically, this is nothing more than the vows we make when we baptize our kids.
I use The Family Worship Book, by Rev. Terry L. Johnson (PCA), as the basis for what we’ll learn. If you are interested in being part of the fun, you can find this title quite easily on Amazon or Christianbooks.com. Really, his book is simply an overview of topics you will cover during your “family pew time.” You get to put it together in a manner that works best for you. There are no hard and fast rules to rigidly follow. Rev. Johnson’s book is a wonderful compilation of resources too. In it, he includes a suggested order of going through the bible (front to back – imagine that), the Engles Catechism, The Westminster Shorter Catechism, 50 great passages from the bible to memorize, guides to prayer, the directory for family worship from the early Church of Scotland, hymn lyrics and the psalter, etc. Quite the complete guide to have on hand for the individual or family alike!
Usually, we make this a three or four-week course, depending on questions and how fast we get through the material. By the time we finish, we’ll just be skirting Thanksgiving then we will take a break through Christmas and start something fresh in the New Year! Grab the book and come join us!
In His love,
Pastor John