Thank you for this word of encouragement. My wife and I have been empty-nesters for quite some time. Our daily family worship used to consist of singing a hymn from the Scottish Psalter, reading a paragraph from the 1689 London Baptist Confession, reciting a few portions of Spurgeon’s A Puritan Catechism and then reading the Family portions from M’Cheyne’s Bible Reading Schedule; and encouraging all to read the Secret portions in the morning. There were some days when I felt exactly like that— “This is God’s eternal truth!” and yet we’re sometimes tired, unenthused, etc. The Family Worship Companion is a wonderful supplement for us now— a refreshment, indeed, for our souls. Again, I appreciate your labor of love, pastor. Our hearts and prayers are with you and your continued service to our precious Lord Jesus.
Armen, I’m probably not offering anything that you’re not already doing, or not already encouraging your congregation to do. Your monthly encouragement to dads is so very helpful and important. We, as dads, know we’re supposed to be consistent in our approach to family worship, but there are times when we might miss a day, or not be able to fulfill the day’s “requirements” because a midweek service, and fellowship following, went longer than usual. When we’d get home, we’d pray together to close the day, encourage the children to read their secret portions in the morning, and then make up the chapters over the next couple of days. The M’Cheyne introduction was helpful and encouraging for us, which we read together at the beginning of each year— reminding us of the hazard of formality, the tendency toward self-righteousness, the pitfall of careless reading, or the danger of drudgery that robs our joy. We encouraged participation from all in each aspect of our worship. We’d take turns in choosing the psalms from the Psalter so everyone could choose their favorite (with my wife and I taking note of which ones were sung a little bit more often than others, and then selecting less sung psalms ourselves to maintain variety). I’d sometimes ask why they liked a particular psalm from the Psalter and get various answers as they grew; and sometimes we’d read the Psalter when we got to the time of year when we read the Psalms, to stimulate discussion therein. We also took turns praying. Opening prayers rotated among mom and the children and I’d typically close in prayer; and early on, with our youngest, we still encouraged her prayers knowing that, like Job, I was offering daily intercessions for all the children. For the reading of Scripture, we took turns as well. For the children who could not yet read, one of the next older siblings who could read would help the younger open to their Bible. For early readers, even being able to read one verse was a joyful victory. We made the Scripture reading, prayer, and singing of psalms the greater priority. The reciting of the Catechism and reading paragraphs from the Confession of Faith were lesser priorities. Sometimes a question would arise in a Scripture text, and we would spend whatever time we needed considering that. If we couldn’t get through our scheduled Family portions, we would just rather catch up the next day. I know what we have done over the years may not be for everyone. We lived in some remote places on the mission field where it was a little easier, with no television or Internet. Again, thank you for your labor of love.
This is helpful, Jon. I, too, have those evenings where things do not go according to the schedule. E.g. last evening I received phone call just before dinner that lasted 90 minutes and meant that I ate dinner alone. That sort of thing happens with some regularity and you just have to roll with it.
Thank you for this word of encouragement. My wife and I have been empty-nesters for quite some time. Our daily family worship used to consist of singing a hymn from the Scottish Psalter, reading a paragraph from the 1689 London Baptist Confession, reciting a few portions of Spurgeon’s A Puritan Catechism and then reading the Family portions from M’Cheyne’s Bible Reading Schedule; and encouraging all to read the Secret portions in the morning. There were some days when I felt exactly like that— “This is God’s eternal truth!” and yet we’re sometimes tired, unenthused, etc. The Family Worship Companion is a wonderful supplement for us now— a refreshment, indeed, for our souls. Again, I appreciate your labor of love, pastor. Our hearts and prayers are with you and your continued service to our precious Lord Jesus.
Jon, your discipline to do all of that daily is inspiring, and no doubt enriches your marriage as well.
What advice would you give to those with several children (ages of 0-12)?
Armen, I’m probably not offering anything that you’re not already doing, or not already encouraging your congregation to do. Your monthly encouragement to dads is so very helpful and important. We, as dads, know we’re supposed to be consistent in our approach to family worship, but there are times when we might miss a day, or not be able to fulfill the day’s “requirements” because a midweek service, and fellowship following, went longer than usual. When we’d get home, we’d pray together to close the day, encourage the children to read their secret portions in the morning, and then make up the chapters over the next couple of days. The M’Cheyne introduction was helpful and encouraging for us, which we read together at the beginning of each year— reminding us of the hazard of formality, the tendency toward self-righteousness, the pitfall of careless reading, or the danger of drudgery that robs our joy. We encouraged participation from all in each aspect of our worship. We’d take turns in choosing the psalms from the Psalter so everyone could choose their favorite (with my wife and I taking note of which ones were sung a little bit more often than others, and then selecting less sung psalms ourselves to maintain variety). I’d sometimes ask why they liked a particular psalm from the Psalter and get various answers as they grew; and sometimes we’d read the Psalter when we got to the time of year when we read the Psalms, to stimulate discussion therein. We also took turns praying. Opening prayers rotated among mom and the children and I’d typically close in prayer; and early on, with our youngest, we still encouraged her prayers knowing that, like Job, I was offering daily intercessions for all the children. For the reading of Scripture, we took turns as well. For the children who could not yet read, one of the next older siblings who could read would help the younger open to their Bible. For early readers, even being able to read one verse was a joyful victory. We made the Scripture reading, prayer, and singing of psalms the greater priority. The reciting of the Catechism and reading paragraphs from the Confession of Faith were lesser priorities. Sometimes a question would arise in a Scripture text, and we would spend whatever time we needed considering that. If we couldn’t get through our scheduled Family portions, we would just rather catch up the next day. I know what we have done over the years may not be for everyone. We lived in some remote places on the mission field where it was a little easier, with no television or Internet. Again, thank you for your labor of love.
This is helpful, Jon. I, too, have those evenings where things do not go according to the schedule. E.g. last evening I received phone call just before dinner that lasted 90 minutes and meant that I ate dinner alone. That sort of thing happens with some regularity and you just have to roll with it.