Simple Ideas for Cultivating Family Worship

One of my daily prayers for my three kids is that God would capture and captivate their hearts. As they grow in faith, I want them to be so overwhelmed by God’s torrential grace that they respond with lives of torrential praise.

I’m guessing that I’m not the only parent who is praying this for his kids. As Christ-followers, all of us want to see our kids not only choose to follow Christ, but develop a heart of worship that is evident in every area of their lives.

Simple Ideas for Cultivating Family Worship

How can we as parents cultivate this heart of worship in our kids?

Worship is “Living Sacrifice”

One of my favorite definitions of worship is given by Paul in Romans 12:1. “I urge you, brothers and sisters,” he writes, “In view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.” In Paul’s view, worship means living as a sacrifice.

So what does it mean to be a “living sacrifice?” Here’s a quick definition:

• A “living sacrifice” has devoted his or her life entirely to displaying the glory of God.
• A “living sacrifice” displays the glory of God by daily embodying Christ to others.
• A “living sacrifice” embodies Christ by daily choosing selflessness over self-centeredness.

Transforming the Mind

If this sounds counter-cultural – it is! Sometimes it’s even counter to our church culture. Paul knew this as well, and so he continued in verse 2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” How can we put this transformation into practice in our families? How can we renew our minds?

When I was a teenager, I remember my mom using this analogy: there are two wolves fighting inside of all of us, she said. These wolves are our desires, and they are fighting for control of our hearts and minds. The first is the desire to follow God, to serve others, to choose sacrifice and selflessness. The second is the desire to follow “the pattern of this world,” to serve ourselves, to choose self-centeredness.

“Which wolf wins?” she asked, pausing for just a moment. “The one you feed the most.”

Feeding the Wolf

This analogy may help us understand why we don’t see a “living sacrifice” heart of worship in our kids. They are fed a steady diet of self-centeredness by the world in which they live. It’s not just television, music and movies, which are easy targets. It’s an entire culture in which individual satisfaction and happiness are the highest moral imperative. (And if we’re honest, we parents don’t always show our kids the type of “living sacrifice” we hope they will embody.) Is it any wonder, then, when we see our kids choose self-centeredness? That wolf is being fed daily and growing stronger by the minute.

So what is the answer? For some parents the answer is withdrawal. Certainly there are appropriate measures we should take to monitor the input our kids receive. But if we’re not careful, withdrawal can be its own form of self-centeredness, removing us from contact with the world we were meant to reach, and keeping us from the hard work of building a foundation for our kids that will stand strong amid the stormy world around them.

Withdrawal is not the answer. If we want to cultivate a heart of worship in our kids, we have to feed the right wolf. We have to give our kids the type of input that will drown out the self-centered symphony playing everywhere they look. We have to give them a vision of a Savior who can make “the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”

And family worship is a great place to start.

Family Worship

If you’re serious about wanting to “feed the right wolf,” start by instituting a daily or weekly time of family worship in your home. My wife Jess and I are the creators of the Doorpost Songs Family Worship Series. The core of our ministry is helping parents answer the question, “How can I get started with family worship?”

Doorpost Songs are based entirely on Scripture and are great for both kids and parents.

And for every album we’ve also created a Family Worship Kit with simple, 15-minute templates for times of family worship and discipleship that you can use in your own home.

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Our most recent album, Doorpost Songs: Unto Us is a Christmas album. All the songs are familiar Scriptures that tell the incredible story of Christ’s birth. The accompanying Family Worship Kit includes a five-week Advent Family Worship Kit, guiding your family through the four weeks of Advent all the way to Christmas Day. If you’ve never had regular family worship in your home, Advent is the perfect place to begin!

These Family Worship Kits are available individually or via our yearly Family Worship Subscription that gives your family access to every song and every Family Worship Kit all at once! You can find out more on our website.

But remember that family worship is only a starting place. Think about ways that you can serve together, perhaps by working at your local homeless shelter or going on a mission trip. Examine and care for your own heart to be sure that you are daily displaying the type of “living sacrifice” heart of worship that you want to see in your kids. (If you’re looking for a checklist, you might start with Paul’s hefty list that follows in Romans 12:9-21.)

And remember that you’re not alone. The Holy Spirit is your helper, and ultimately only the Holy Spirit can transform a heart and renew a mind.

The hearts of our kids hunger for spiritual food – whether they know it or not. If you want your kids to have a heart of worship, then you have to give them the right “food,” and family worship is a great meal to start with.

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If you’re looking for more resources on family worship, here are a few ideas:

• Donald S. Whitney’s excellent book, Family Worship
Radical’s Simple Guide to Family Worship from the Church at Brook Hills
Leading Family Worship, a video with accompanying notes from Desiring God
The What, When and How of Family Worship, a great blog post from the Gospel Coalition.

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About David Ray

David Ray is a worship leader, artist and songwriter from Houston, Texas. He and his wife, Jess, are the creators of Doorpost Songs Family Worship, a series of songs and resources designed to help parents take up the mantle of spiritual leadership in their homes. He is father to three rambunctious kids and loves getting to serve churches and families across the nation. Find music, videos, Family Worship Kits and more at doorpostsongs.com.

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