Family Worship: Leading in Adoring Christ

December 19, 2019

The past several weeks, we’ve focused this blog upon the matter of family worship. Together, we’ve considered the practice of gathering our families together for the purpose of worship. We’ve touched upon the pivotal roles of praying together, reading Scripture together, of listening carefully to our family members, and how we can point them to Jesus in doing such things. But we miss the mark if our aim in parenting and leading others in discipleship ends with merely “teaching” itself or the acquisition of knowledge.

The true aim of discipleship is the worship of Christ. We were made to adore him as our Lord, our Redeemer, and the Lover of our souls. And so when we lead our spouse, kids, close friends, or others in our circles of influence in spiritual direction, our goal is to lead them not to spiritual disciplines or good practices in and of themselves, but to the person and work of Jesus.

Think of it this way: have you ever practiced praying as a family and left feeling dissatisfied? Perhaps, as a parent, you have prayed with your kids before they shut their eyes and fall fast asleep, but it seemed as though the practice, as good as it was, had just become a tradition. Or perhaps, as a husband or wife, you pray with your spouse, talk about “churchy” things, and even bring up the Lord’s name in conversation, but your religious affections have run dry. Perhaps you’ve gone to a close friend’s house and shared a meal with them and noticed that their joy in the Lord seems to be overflowing, infectiously, and you’ve left feeling as though you’re missing that same sense of awe toward the things of Christ.

It is in our nature to feel such spiritual dryness at times, because we were made to adore and worship Christ, and yet we steer our focus upon lesser things (Colossians 3:1–4).

In other words, each one of us is designed to worship, to find ourselves in awe, to give our time, attention, and devotion to that which is pleasing, fulfilling, and life-giving. And as Christians, we know that our object of worship is namely Christ. When we try to derive our happiness from lesser things, we will find ourselves drained of real joy. When we are captivated by the things found in creation, rather than being held captive in awe toward our Creator, our hearts become cluttered and unfocused. It is like celebrating the holiday of Christmas without considering, dare I say, “the reason for the season.”

Speaking of Christmas, have you heard the song Joy to the World yet this season? Perhaps you have heard it more times than you can count! But this hymn rightfully deserves its place upon the sound waves around us, as it is brimming with the universal scope of the gospel.

Consider these words that you probably already know by heart:

“Joy to the world: the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing.”

Our King, Jesus, has come for us, to seek and save the lost, to redeem his own from their sins and sorrows, and restore and recreate this broken world at the last. And it’s amazing how a simple song like this can remind us of such a truth and stir our affections for Christ.

When we sing such songs, they are designed to reorient our minds. When we hear the word preached on Sunday, it is purposed to lead us to repentance and faith in Christ, confidently expecting him to work in our lives for his glory. Through the act of worship, the Holy Spirit leads us to adore Christ, to receive our King as such, and to acknowledge the bounty that we have in him of God’s love, and favor, and covenantal blessings.

And just as every Sunday service is carefully designed to lead us as God’s family to the adoration of Christ, we as individual family units are so called by God our Father to guide our own families to a place of worship, throughout the week. And our leading of those in our own care is to nothing less than a person—namely, Christ.

Friends, as you observe Christmas this week with your loved ones, what is one practical way that you can, prayerfully, help them adore Christ?

My prayer for each of us at Grace this Christmas is that we would prepare Christ the room in our hearts that is due him, that his name would be esteemed as great and mighty, and that his love and joy and peace might captivate our minds.

Merry Christmas, Church!