Family Worship and Bible Study
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"We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next
generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power and the
wonders he has done." Psalm 78:4
"Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home
and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 11:19
We started doing family devotions together when our daughter was 20 months old; she is four years old now. Our little boy is with us now, too. He is one year old. We had tried many times before, but just didn't make it a priority and "didn't seem to have the time."
We usually do devotions before we eat supper. That time slot works out perfectly for us. Since we started we seem to have more time in the evening together as a family--not less!
Here are some of the reasons we do family devotions:
We want to help teach our children to have reverence for God.
It's good practice for our children to help them learn to sit still and be relatively quiet in church. (Our four year old sits still in church now, but our one year old certainly doesn't lol).
We believe it is the parents' duty (with much of the responsibilty on the father) to teach their children about God and the Bible. Ellen--and me, too!!--are learning the children's catechism. I hope that we will also start to learn many Bible verses.
Having devotions together sets a good example for our children.
Family devotions will help bring us closer to God and closer together as a family.
It's a wonderful family activity!
Here is what we do for family devotions:
Pray
Read a passage from the Bible
Song a couple songs
Pray again!
Real simple!! We'll add more as Ellen gets older. It's tough for her to sit still for long, but she's getting better at it.
Family Worship Resources on the Internet
Family Devotions and Religious Instruction by Rebecca Prewett.
As for My House, A Father's Profitable Guide for Family Worship
A Parent's Guide to Family Worship by Jay Younts.
Info on family worship from Covenant Family Fellowship.
Catechism
Small Children's Catechism by Chris Schlect
CATECHISM FOR YOUNG CHILDREN An Introduction to the Shorter Catechism
The Westminster Shorter Catechism with the Scripture Proofs
The Heidelberg Catechism
There are more catechisms and
confessions of faith listed at Calvin's Castle.
"He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." Isaiah 40:11