On Family Worship – Part One

The history of Christianity in America is a rich one. While not without its challenges and compromises, the church in America has been a consistent stronghold. That strength, however, is not best seen only in the church. Indeed, that strength perhaps finds its greatest root in the American family.

It has been said:

As goes the home …

So goes the church …

So goes the nation.

That is not just a clever adage applicable to America. It is a right reflection of God’s plan for a nation. The first institution God established on this earth was the home.

Genesis 2:24 - - Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.

From the very beginning the family was the seat of worship. Even after God had established a worshiping community in calling out His own people, Israel, the call to worship continued to resonate in the home.

Joshua 24:14-15 - - Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

In early America, God’s pattern for worship, rooted in the home, continued. Consider the words from the 1677 Declaration of the Congregation at Dorchester, Massachusetts:

We commit to reform our families, engaging ourselves to a conscientious care to set before us and to maintain the worship of God in them; and to walk in our houses with perfect hearts in a faithful discharge of all domestic duties, educating, instructing, and charging our children and households to keep the way of the Lord.

The text in Joshua 24 gives us three simple truths that should be pressed into our daily routines:

1. Worship is not optional.

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth…” This is not a suggestion - - it is a command; a clear command, we will see, to worship.

2. Joshua establishes the example.

“… as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Men, fathers, this is your charge. You must become the example by leading your family in worship. Joshua’s example would serve to challenge an entire nation. Imagine what your example might accomplish, not just in your home, but in your church and community.

3. To “serve” is to “worship”.

When the command was issued to “fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth” followed by the response of Joshua – “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” – it should be understood as a call and a response to worship. To fear, or revere, is to worship the Lord. To serve Him in sincerity and truth points to His Word as the foundation of all true worship. Joshua was saying: in my home, we will seek the Lord, and worship Him, and pray to Him as a family. We will read His Word and reinforce its teachings in our family.