Walter on Family and Worship
On Family and Worship
February 12, 2006
Dear Paul and GFC Friends,
It seems to me that one part of family life
that is rarely talked about is worship.
So, I want to spin my yarn on that very idea today.
Now, you can't read much of the Bible without
figuring out that what God wants in worship is the heart of the
worshipper. Texts like these come to
mind:
Psalm 51:16 For
you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
John
4:23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people
to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who
worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
Matthew 15: 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8 "'This people honours me with
their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of
men.'"
All through the Bible the message is as
consistent as a well-ploughed field - the Lord looks on the heart. In fact, he desires that we folks would long
for Him more than anything else in the world!
Psalm 84:
10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I
would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of
wickedness.
In other words, it's better to live in the
hayloft of a good man than to have a spot in the bunkhouse of the wicked. And it is better to be a mere door keeper in
God's house, stealing glances at the Occupant thereof, than it is to sprawl out
in all the comforts this world offers.
So when it comes to worship, the Lord looks on
the heart first of all. And what He
looks for is a heart that longs for Him.
A heart that worships Him not out of duty, but delight. A heart that worships Him regardless of the
circumstances of life. A heart that
worships Him above everything else!
Now the same ought to be true for our
family. If we are forcing worship,
faking worship, or failing at worship - we ought to be more concerned than a
coon in a German Shepherd's mouth. The
Lord desires the heart and anything less is second best. That being said, how is it we can shepherd
our little flocks to genuinely delight in their Maker? Let me offer you some suggestions.
1. Not too long ago, most folks up here
understood the Sabbath to mean something.
I'm not so sure about their theology, but one thing I did like - they
got themselves ready for Sundays.
The movie player (whether DVD, VHS, or IYD[1])
has done more to trick the saints regarding Sundays than most care to
admit. I am always saddened when I watch
certain families walk into church bleary-eyed and wrinkle-faced all because
they were up to 2:00AM watching a bunch of dogs rescue a teenager or lion kill
a witch. I am not talking about the
wisdom of what you watch, rather the
wisdom of when you watch!
I am sure it seems like a nice thing to sit
down on a Saturday night with your brood gathered round, eating popcorn and
cheering the good guys on your television screen. But when such a thing is done too late, you
are teaching your family. And I fear
what you are teaching them is a Biggie-sized combo of "movies are life" and
"God's not that important."
Now, I am picking on the movie-goers and
movie-watchers, but only as they represent the point I am trying to make. The diversion of choice may be different for
every family... having company for one, visiting family for another... but the
issue is the same.
In the old days, a man set a bed time for
Saturday nights so that his family would be rested and ready for the Lord on
His day. This was because that man
valued that time at church with the Lord's people. Just like a business man who makes sure he
gets a good night's rest before a big appointment, so these fathers would make
sure that everyone was in and accounted for in good time so they were all ready
in the morning to meet with the Lord.
My first piece of advice then, for family
worship, is to learn to go to bed on time.
I like to make some money on the farm - that's how we live! So, I value hard work at the right time. Fact is, the cattle need milking every day at
5:30AM. That's just when it's got to be
done. Since I value my income, I get up
every day and do the milking. Now, I
think if you truly value the Lord, you will get to bed on time and to church on
time... wide awake and bushy tailed!
I don't recall the verse that suggests that a
gathering of the elect in this world ought to be for the purpose of a nap. We ought to be awake, at least, when we meet
with our God. "Worship now - Nap later"
ought to be one of the mottos branded across the back of our favourite pew.
Now, it may sound strange, but you may want to
think about having a departure time in order to get to worship on time. I don't know too many bosses that will let
you show up late week after week and keep your job. So a man who is always late to church ought
to think a little about how to get himself there on time. If he is always late, he always misses out on
the fellowship before the service, prayer for the service and important parts
of the service like announcements and singing.
If you are going to pick up your friend at
2:00, then you do a little math to figure out when you have to leave your house
in order to get to that pick up place on time.
Seems to me that your church services are in the same place week after
week, so you should be able to find a time that you need to leave. Once you have done that rocket science, you
come to the most important part... you remember it and do it! In fact, you may even learn to schedule in a
little more time than you actually need just to take care of things like ice on
your windshield, closed highway exits and a line up at the Timmy's. If being with the Lord's people is important,
and it is, then I think that the most of us could come up with some kind of
workable plan.
So, you need to go to bed on time, then get up
and leave on time. If you do those two
things you will find your stress decreases and your joy overflows!
Now thirdly, when it comes to family worship, I
think a man does well to prepare his family in advance. That means he could be
reading the text of the preacher during the week; or praying for his family and
their worship on Sunday; or training his littlest ones through the week how to
sit still for more than 23 seconds at a time.
To be more particular... if a man is always
complaining and whining about church and about everything that's wrong with
church - he ought to expect that his family doesn't want to be there. But if that man is genuinely excited about
worshiping the Lord, then I say watch out!
What makes Mr. Gunstra's kids so excited about old
cars? There ain't no question but that
it is Mr. Gunstra's excitement about old cars!
Excitement breeds excitement. Interest breeds interest. I recall testing this out one time when I
came to
There's a fourth part of this idea. I think we all have a mental checklist of
things we are willing to give up, if anything better should come along. If you invite me to a hockey game at the same
time I have dentist appointment, I know where I will be. For me, watching
someone get drilled into the boards is of much more importance than getting a
drill in my tooth. Some families just
seem to have "church" low on that priority list. An in-grown toenail would keep
some from coming, while others would have to lose both feet in a recent railway
accident for the thought of missing to cross their minds.
I think a family needs to put church on their non-optional to-do list. You can be sure the devil will always be offering
candy-coated alternatives to the worship of God, so we might as well make his
wiles lest winsome. No wonder the Bible
says,
Hebrews 10:
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let
us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit
of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day
drawing near."
If you just have it in your mind that church is
what this family does on Sundays, then it is not nearly so tempting to drift
the other way. You don't dangle steak in
front of a hungry dog if you want him to sit still. But if that dog has it in his mind that he
will not move until his master commands him, the temptation to seize and eat is
much less. Have it in your mind that
church is a priority - over work, family, homework, chores and even minor
sickness.
Matthew 6: 33 But seek first
the
34 "Therefore do not be anxious
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day
is its own trouble.
So, a family needs to get to bed on Saturday
nights, get up on time on Sunday mornings, stay positive about church
throughout the week and put Christian assembly high up on their priority
list. Now, of course, all of that is
only as good as your heart devotion!
Seems to me there are a lot of folks more disciplined and devoted than
the average Christian! But discipline is
only profitable if it is kept with the goal of delighting more in God. Good discipline and decisions are like a good
fence. But what use is a fence if you
haven't got any cattle? What use are
good decisions if you aren't seeking God with all of your heart?
Now let me change to another topic for a
moment. I once read the autobiography of
John Paton, that great missionary to the
"They went to church
full of beautiful expectancy of spirit - their souls were on the outlook for
God; they retuned from the church, ready and even anxious to exchange ideas as
to what they had heard and received of the things of life... The talks that we
heard were, however, genuine; not the make-believe of religious conversation,
but the sincere outcome of their own personalities." Back home in the afternoon "my father would
entice us to help him to recall some idea or other, rewarding us when we got
the length of 'taking notes' and reading them over on our return; how he would
turn the talk ever so naturally to some Bible story, or some martyr
reminiscence, or some happy allusion to the 'Pilgrim's Progress!'"
(Autobiography, pp.23-25)
The old Puritans used to speak of the home and
family as being the church in miniature.
Now I have read some lately of folks giving up on the local church and
thinking that Dad needs to be a full-time pastor on top of the rest of his
work. Well, let me borrow your pastor's
word for that: hoogly! The Lord never
intended for families to cocoon themselves like a cold caterpillar. That's just plain weird and goes against all
that the Book has to say about true fellowship.
But the family is a reflection, or a miniature of the church. By that I mean that what happens behind your
4 walls through the week ought to be gearing everyone up for what will happen
between the 4 walls of your assembly on Sunday.
If I never thought or spoke to Mrs. Walter except for supper time - she
would have every right to offer my meals to the swine. She is my wife and I need to know her and
talk to her and be with her and love her all through the week.
Do we think less of our God? Ought we not to be thinking and praying and
loving and singing and looking to Him all week long so that when we get to
church on Sunday it is with a "beautiful
expectancy of spirit?" The family is
the place where worship preparation takes place. The soil of the heart is tilled during the
week. The lumber for the barn-raising is
cut and hewn in advance of the big day.
What takes place in your living room has much to do with how things will
go in the sanctuary on Sunday. So, learn
to use your family time as an investment into your worship.
I have another idea for you too!
It probably seems old-fashioned now, but I
think the family is a great place to teach!
You can start by reading through the Bible together. My Pappy would read our Bible every night
after supper. Mostly he would read just
a few verses or a story or as much as would make sense... then we would talk
about it. He would ask things like, "Why
do you think this is in the Bible?" or "What do you suppose Jesus meant here?"
or "What does this teach us about God?"
Then we would pray. That was it.
But boy I learned a lot about life and Truth and God from that little
investment.
Others have more elaborate designs and prepare
whole studies and activities and the like and that is great!
Some use the catechism. I like that idea and think that every family
ought to try and learn the catechism at least once. There are lots of ways to do it, and I dare
say mom and dad may learn more than anyone else!
You may want to act stories out or have
different children read different parts.
I think another good idea is to sing
together. We sing all the time as Christians,
and the home ought to be the training ground for that. You can buy a few hymnals and sing one hymn
every day! That would be wonderful! It would also get into the minds of your
littlest ones some of the deepest doctrine of the day. If you have some musicians, the family is a
great training ground for the church. Get them to play along as you sing and
watch their gifts improve.
Finally, let me urge you to never forget where
we began this letter. The Lord looks on
the heart. It would be a mistake to
suggest that just doing a few of these things will solve all your problems or
make you into a true worshipper. True
worship is in spirit and truth and that means that it is from our inner person
and according to what is true. That also
means that true worship takes work and is not natural. Cows give milk and pigs grunt, but Christians
don't automatically worship. They have
to work at it and work at it according to what the Bible says.
But when a family seeks after God with all of
their heart, and perhaps tries out a few of these ideas to help along the way,
I am convinced that good things will happen.
My prayer will be that each of you look to your
own lives and ask the Lord where you need to improve to His glory.
With much love for you all,
Walter
P.S.
Larry Brown's cat had a litter and there are a bag of calico's for free
to anyone who wants them. Thing is, most
of them appear to be blind.