The Necessity of Family Worship

One of the most overlooked duties in the Christian life is that of Family Worship. Family worship, being the act of gathering all within your household together regularly for the worship of God, is not something the average Christian family does. This is unfortunate, given all the wonderful blessings that family worship bestows on those who practice it.

Besides the publick worship in congregations, mercifully established in this land in great purity, it is expedient and necessary that secret worship of each person alone, and private worship of families, be pressed and set up; that, with national reformation, the profession and power of godliness, both personal and domestick, be advanced.

Directory for Family Worship, Introduction, Paragraph 3.

Often, parents entrust the entirety of the spiritual development of their children to the church. There is a temptation to rely on pastors, sermons, and services to stir the love of God in children.

Certainly, these means are important. Covenant Children should be sitting under preaching, interacting with their pastors, and worshipping with the body of Christ. However, as we all know, our relationship with Christ and personal walk extends into every hour we live and every crevice we inhabit. So why shouldn’t we devote our hours and homes outside of the Church building to worship, especially with our families?

What is Family Worship?

According to the directory, family worship is a practice wherein the family (and all lodging in the home) gathers with the head of household, both morning and evening, to take part in specific spiritual disciplines corporately as a family. These spiritual disciplines are diverse, but they can be boiled down to three different practices: prayer, reading the word, and edifying talk.

In prayer, the directory instructs us towards a few different types of prayers: for the spirit of prayer, supplication, confession, repentance, thanksgiving, and the bride of Christ.
In the reading of the word, the directory instructs for the memorization of scripture. To write it on our hearts, but more than that, to even catechize our families according to the scriptures.
For the edification of the household, we are instructed that all members should encourage one another. We should strive together to contend for the faith and the faith that God has nestled within us. In that aim, primarily for the development of the children, heads of households are instructed to rebuke when necessary.

These exercises of faithfulness need to be done without interruption or delay. Just as we would arrange our days around our worship, we should plan our days according to worship. This has various implications for our actions, whether that be not staying out late, waking up earlier to conduct our morning and evening offices, or even turning down opportunities that we otherwise would enjoy because the spiritual development of our families must be put first.

The Dangers of Neglecting Family Worship

The dangers of neglecting the practice of worship with families are vast and innumerable. Perhaps the biggest consequence is that God is viewed higher in the assembly of the saints on the Lord’s Day than on any other day. God’s glory is just as important and supreme on any day of the week. If we live lives that explicitly or implicitly deny this in our words and actions, how does this show our children what it means to live for Christ?
Scriptures deal with many regular circumstances for Christians. Dealing with troublesome coworkers, being kind to others even when you don’t want to, and interacting with your boss are examples of a sea of principles established by biblical authors.
If scripture is so intimately concerned with the daily lives of adults, why wouldn’t we be intimately concerned with the daily Christlikeness of covenant children? What do we teach children about living for Christ when we place our admittedly lawful but ordinary activities above worship, even on weekdays?
Our daily, ordinary concern is Christlikeness. Everything we do should be done for the glory of God, some Sunday to Saturday.
To stress the importance, the directory prescribes church discipline for those who neglect family worship.

presbyteries and provincial synods enquire and make trial whether the said Directions be duly observed in their bounds; and to reprove or censure (according to the quality of the offence), such as shall be found to be reprovable or censurable therein. 

Westminster Directory for Family Worship, Introduction, Paragraph 1

The Blessings of Engaging in Family Worship

We’ve dwelled on the consequences and negatives, but what is the good that can come about when you engage in family worship? Primarily, it’s watching and participating in the spiritual growth of your household. Teaching, reproofing, and stirring up a love for God in the hearts and minds of those under your care is a deep and fulfilling reward for any person. Watching God use his ordinary means of grace to bring about beautiful works of sanctification, mental acuity, and personal piety in the lives of his children is a wonderful thing to watch and participate in.
The directory describes this as an ‘unspeakable benefit.’ It’s almost indescribable and unquantifiable, but it is real and experienceable.