After talking about this with my wife, we decided to do a daily devotional/bible study. It has been four years in the making. We have had spurts throughout our marriage, but it kind of quieted down after babies were born and we weren’t fully available all the time. But with our library downstairs, there were some books on family worship. I found this: The Family Worship Book by Terry Johnson.

We followed the outline as described in the book which is similar to a worship service.

Call to Worship - We began with a call to worship around 7PM on the couch with Psalm
Hymn – We tried singing “And can it be” but wasn’t following the notes too well, so we sang “Holy Holy Holy” instead
Confession – We read the Apostle’s Creed together. This was found in the hymnal but was a little bit different from the one we normally recite at church.
Scripture – We read through Psalm 4, this was the scripture preached on Sunday, but because of various distractions we did not remember much of it. The few points we did catch we reiterated and affirmed each other.

v.3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.

This was especially significant for me as I recalled my youthful days where I would place myself in a lot of trouble, but God protected me even during my most vulnerable times. It was a good reminder how God has set apart for himself a people. We reminded each other that God cares for his people in a special way, namely the covenant. We encouraged and reminded each other who we are in Christ and our status. This recollection was especially precious during our devotion time.

v.7 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.

We recalled our pastor saying that grain and wine represented all that we have. But the contrast is quite evident. Even if they abounded, they did not compare to the incredible joy we have as having the Lord in our life.

Prayer – We continued with a time of prayer. Some confession and some intercession and some praise. It was indeed a time to recall the goodness of our Lord.
Benediction - After that came the Aaronic benediction: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26
Doxology – We concluded with a doxology.

Overall this was incredible. With a few exceptions from our two year old daughter getting fussy (admittedly she was tired) we were able to finish in about 30 minutes. I think singing a song and asking questions during the bible study were very useful. As well as the prayer time. These are “essential” components in my opinion. Prior to intercessary prayer we discussed how we can use what learned to bless others. My wife felt she hasn’t worshiped in a while, so I tried ministering to her in order for her to minister to others.

Keep us in prayer as we test out this family worship time for the next month.

Soli Deo Gloria!