In my first article in this brief series, I set forth the biblical and theological foundation for the practice of family worship, noting the great need for it in our day and the great blessing it ought to be in the ordinary life of Christian families. In the last article, I spent some extended time providing explanation and caveats as to what family worship is not. I ended with the encouragement that our children may not remember every word uttered or every lesson discussed in the living room, but hopefully they will be able to look back and see regular faithfulness in the home and that the regular practice of singing, praying, and reading the Bible together (and the evidence of a mother and father who love Christ and love them) has left a lasting impression on them.

Having established the theoretical/foundational and theological basis for what family worship is and is not, in my final article in this series I offer practical suggestions for implementing the habit and to recommend several excellent, helpful resources to that end.

A busy parent juggling diapers, tantrums, and dinner prep may wonder: How can we possibly fit this in? Fatigue, inconsistency, and feelings of inadequacy further complicate the picture. But neither the Scripture nor our Reformed confessions demand perfection but perseverance, trusting that God honors even faltering efforts.

As I noted in the first article, though I have been using the term “family worship,” the principles and the practicalities apply to all Christians. In other words, if you are a single person, these things include you. If you are a married couple without children, you still ought to worship the Lord together regularly. If you are a couple whose adult children have moved out of the house, likewise. It is right and good for all of us to seek the Lord devotionally and worshipfully throughout the rhythm of our weeks. So these matters are not just for parents with young children in the house, though much of the encouragement here will be directed to young families. But if you are single, engaged, newlyweds, or empty nesters, the principles of this series can still be applied to your situation for your personal devotions, or for what the Puritans called “private worship.”

For families with young children, the key is to adapt family worship to the realities of life and keep it simple, short, and sustainable.

Practical Suggestions for Busy Families with Small Children

Keep It Short and Simple

Young children thrive on brevity. Aim for even five to ten minutes rather than an extended session. Years ago, my wife and I were visiting another Christian family one evening. After the meal, the father led his family in worship, as was their custom. Our older children were about three and four at the time, and his were about five and six. There were a number of commendable aspects of that evening’s family worship: the Scripture reading, singing, and the time of prayer. But at one point, the dad brought out his Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible and proceeded to give a forty-five-minute discourse, combining readings from Henry with an explanation of the Scripture passage we had just read. Judging by the reactions, interactions, and evident attention spans of all the children present (not just mine), that struck me as a bit excessive, given their ages and capacities at that time.

My encouragement to younger families is to focus on one or two elements if you need to—Scripture and prayer or a song —rather than trying to replicate a full church service. Over time, as children grow and mature, your family may well be in a place where they can enjoy and benefit from long, sustained conversation prompted by Matthew Henry’s Commentary or J. C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts. Praise God if that is the case when such a season arrives! But I rather suspect it will be when children are around age thirteen or older, and not when they are four.

It is better to have simple, even imperfect worship than no worship at all. Indeed, our worship will never be perfect. That standard has already been attained by Christ. We are called, rather, to faithfulness.

Choose a Consistent Time

Find what time works best for your family and your family’s rhythm. Routine is a friend to both children and parents. Pick a time that fits your schedule—breakfast, dinner, or bedtime—and stick to it as much as possible. For busy families, tying family worship to an existing habit (like a meal) reduces the mental load of planning. In our house, the general pattern is bath, Bible, and bed. Supper, then bath, time in the living room for evening devotions, then it is time for bed.

Start with What You Know

Parents need not be theologians to lead family worship. Begin with familiar passages (such as Psalm 23 or the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6) or start reading through a book of the Bible together, such as Matthew, Luke, or John. If you do not understand something, admit it—“I don’t know, but we can look it up later or ask the pastor or elders,” or something like that. Such a response is perfectly fine.

Be Flexible but Committed

Life with small children is unpredictable. A sick toddler or a late workday might disrupt your routine, but do not abandon the practice. Shift it to another time or shorten it to a brief prayer. The goal is consistency over time, not flawless execution every day. Practice family worship in accordance with the realities of your family’s stage and demands.

In our family, for example, we do not do distinct family worship on Wednesdays because we are usually with our church family from the end of the business day until it is time for bed. With regular nine to five work schedules, our family and many other families from the congregation meet at the church building at 5:30 p.m. for supper. After that are children’s catechism classes and the adult prayer meeting. Afterward, folks usually stick around for a long time visiting and fellowshipping with one another outside while the children run around on the church playground. By the time the sun is setting, it is time to get everyone home for a quick bath and off to bed because it is a work/school night. We do not insist on or force an additional slot of family worship after we get home. And so after everyone has bathed, we pray together briefly, perhaps sing the Doxology, and say good night. We will pick up with family worship again on Thursday evening.

As noted, families can have longer, more extended discussions when their children are ten or fourteen than they probably can when their children are two or four. There is nothing wrong with that. Adapt and adjust as they grow.

When they are little, you might do a short reading, let them pick a song that they like to sing, pray for two or three things, and then head to bed. And it might take only five to ten minutes. That is fine.

When they are ten or twelve, you might read a bit more and incorporate some other observations from the Family Worship Bible Guide or some similar resource, have some discussion questions, pray for a bit longer, maybe sing two or three psalms or hymns, and family worship will last for twenty to thirty minutes. Great! Adapt and adjust accordingly.

Involve Everyone

Even young children can participate. Often, I will read a short passage, maybe read a few thoughts from the Family Worship Bible Guide, and then I will ask the kids what we should pray about: family members, some of our church missionaries, some of the prayer requests we have heard about in church recently. I will ask them what they want to sing, taking turns choosing, and we sing together. Sometimes I ask the older siblings to read the Scripture passage for us. All of this fosters ownership and keeps them engaged. (It is not just Dad monologuing; it involves all of us.)

Model Joy and Reverence

Children mirror their parents’ attitudes. Approach family worship with enthusiasm and a sense of awe. Avoid turning it into a lecture or a chore; let it be a natural expression of your faith.

Use Technology Wisely

For busy families, apps or websites with hymnal or psalter music can be very helpful as you sing together (see recommended resource list below), particularly if you are not an especially musical family, and you might need help learning or following along with the tunes as you sing together.

Persevere Through Resistance

Wiggles, interruptions, blank stares, and completely non sequitur comments about hot dogs and giraffes are normal with small children. Do not be discouraged. The fruit of family worship often appears years later, not in the moment. Trust in the Lord’s sovereign timing, his covenant promises and providence, his good care, and keep going.

Suggested Books and Resources

To cap off this series, let me conclude by offering this brief list of recommended resources. These are books, websites, and other resources that you may wish to make use of in providing structure and content to your family’s devotional practices. For some parents who may not know where to begin, use these resources, as they have done all the hard work of planning and outlining family devotions for you. All you need to do is follow along!

Devotional Guides

• Terry L. Johnson, The Family Worship Book: A Resource Book for Family Devotions (Christian Focus Publications).
  A practical guide with sample outlines, prayers, creeds, and songs. Johnson provides a compelling case for family worship and equips parents with tools to get started, including sample devotional templates that a family new to the habit can easily follow, making it ideal for beginners.
• Jason Helopoulos, A Neglected Grace: Family Worship in the Christian Home (Christian Focus Publications).
  Helopoulos presents family worship as a joyful privilege, not a burden. With real-life examples and advice for common challenges (e.g., wiggly kids), it is a grace-driven resource for busy families.
• Joel R. Beeke, ed., Family Worship Bible Guide (Reformation Heritage Books).
  This guide offers brief insights for every chapter of the Bible, making it easy to discuss Scripture with children. Its Reformed, confessional perspective provides warm devotional and theological richness.
• Joel R. Beeke and Nick Thompson, Teach Your Children the Scriptures series (Reformation Heritage Books).

This series is a set of family worship guides by Joel Beeke and Nick Thompson designed to help parents lead daily devotions with children ages five through twelve (though the whole family benefits). Each volume (e.g., Beginning on Genesis, Wilderness on Exodus–Deuteronomy, Conquest on Joshua–1 Samuel, Fulfillment on the Gospels and Acts, and Salvation on the Epistles) provides structured, low-prep lessons using a Review/Read/Reflect/Request format to teach biblical truths, point to Christ, and encourage prayer and discussion. It is part of a planned multivolume project covering the whole Bible.

Jonathan Gibson, Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship (Crossway). This book is a thirty-one-day devotional guide that provides a structured, liturgical format for daily personal or family worship (typically fifteen to twenty minutes), incorporating elements like Scripture readings, prayers culled from various eras throughout church history (particularly from the Reformed tradition), creeds, catechisms, and songs to enrich devotional times in a gospel-centered, Christ-focused way. It is designed to bring focus, depth, and historical richness to everyday devotions.

Catechisms for Children

• The Westminster Shorter Catechism (with explanations for kids, e.g., Starr Meade’s Training Hearts, Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Westminster Shorter Catechism [P&R]).
• The Catechism for Young Children (a simplified version for ages two to five).
  These tools teach doctrine in bite-sized portions, perfect for small attention spans.

Children’s Bibles (none of which contain illustrations of the Deity)

• The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos (Banner of Truth).
• The New Children’s Bible by Anne de Vries (Christian Focus).
• 365 Great Bible Stories: The Good News of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation by Carine MacKenzie (Christian Focus).
• Christian Focus Story Bible by Carine MacKenzie (Christian Focus).
• Follow Me: Bible Stories for Young Children by Liesbeth van Binsbergen (Reformation Heritage Books).

Music/Prayers/Video Resources

• Trinity Psalter Hymnal (OPC/URCNA)—includes psalms and hymns for family singing. The TPH website (trinitypsalterhymnal.org) has words and simple recordings of the hymn/psalm tunes available free of charge to help you learn the tunes and sing along together better.
• The Trinity Psalter Hymnal app for help with learning parts and providing accompaniment ($10 on the Apple App Store) or hymnary.org.
• Grab a copy of your church’s worship bulletin from last week. Sing a favorite psalm or hymn from one of last week’s services and incorporate it in your family’s worship at home during the week.
• If your congregation has a weekly prayer sheet or section in the church bulletin for prayer requests, pray through those items together as a family throughout the week.
• This recent Reformed Theological Seminary video interview with Dr. Jonathan Gibson regarding daily worship and its importance.
• This Sunday school lesson presented by Jason Helopoulos for Christ Covenant PCA (Matthews, NC) on the topic of Helopoulos’s book Family Worship in the Christian Home.

Family worship is truly a gift and grace from God. Keep it in its proper place, guard it from distortion, and practice it with grace and joy. By God’s grace and with his blessing, may it be that in time our families will look back with gratitude for every evening spent worshiping together.

©Sean Morris. All Rights Reserved.

You can find this whole series here.

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Post authored by:

• Sean Morris

  

  Sean was educated at Grove City College, Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson, MS), Edinburgh Theological Seminary, and the University of Glasgow (Scotland). He earned his PhD from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He is an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America, and serves as a minister at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge, TN. He also serves as the Academic Dean of the Blue Ridge Institute for Theological Education and has published numerous theological and devotional articles. Sean lives in Oak Ridge with his wife, Sarah, and their children.

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