Family worship is critical for spiritual growth

The whole family must worship together. Parents and children should be able to listen to the same message together. We have to get rid of the stereotype that one must fully understand the Word. There is not a single person in this world who can comprehend the messages in the Bible in their entirety, thus there is no one who lives according to the Word based on “understanding” the Word alone. Who has ever grasped the meaning of God’s messages and based on that understanding, moved it into practice right away? Who believes they can do that? Anyone who claims to be able to do so is either arrogant or childish. Even if that individual has done so, it is because of God’s power that pushed him or her to do so. In other words, God gave us the Word not necessarily so we could understand it, but so we could carry out what God wants us to do. For example, we get to know God little by little as we go through times of suffering. The Word is there to give us an understanding of why pain and suffering come our way, and also for us to believe in God with all our hearts (John 16:4). The same goes for why parents and children should worship together. In order to help our children lead a life of faith, we must listen to the same message, whether or not they comprehend it. In doing so, parents will be able to explain to their children the message they received together, and give them clear guidance on positive behavior based on that message. That is, if the family worships together, parents will be able to nurture their children in a way founded upon the Word.

Kids don’t like worshipping apart from their parents. The only reason why they have slowly become accustomed to worshipping separately and may like it more is because their parents forced them to attend separate services in the first place. If you visit a Sunday school, you can see a lot of parents who drop off their kid in class and leave when the kid isn’t watching. Do you really believe this is the right way for your kid? Training your children so that they can worship with you is not only a more effective method in teaching them the Word, but also a way that gives them joy and a sense of security, which corresponds to Biblical principles.

Worshipping together as a family is a tremendous blessing for children. Going to service together increases their self-esteem. When parents treat their children like adults, they perceive that they are valuable individuals. We can see how much kids want to be like adults just by looking at the toys they play with. Children’s toys are basically miniature imitations of items used by adults. Toy cars, toy bikes, toy guns, toy computers, toy cell phones, toy ovens - the list goes on and on. Kids also imitate adults through the way they play. By looking at girls who play house with baby dolls and boys who play war with toy guns, we can know how much children want to be like adults. In one instance, a pastor intentionally told children attending Sunday school that his sermon was much too difficult for little kids and that their older siblings would barely be able to understand it. He added that they might be able to understand the message only if they pay attention and listen carefully. Surprisingly, the children listened to his sermon earnestly and proudly informed the pastor that they had too understood his words. Adults must know how much children wish to be treated like adults. Even though kids might not be able to understand the Word, we must be aware of the fact that treating children like grownups by having them worship with their parents together, brings them great pride and joy.