How can parents maintain their joy and perspective when leading their families in worship and why is this important?

In this video, Dr. Carlton McLeod discusses the importance of maintaining joy and perspective when leading our families in worship. He notes that when we lose our perspective, routines can become drudgery and our children can pick up on this attitude. On the other hand, when we maintain our joy and perspective, this attitude can become infectious in our households. Dr. McLeod emphasizes that as parents, we need to model our excitement and joy for worship to our children and they will follow our lead.

Dr. McLeod uses the example of the Lord's Day to illustrate the importance of maintaining our perspective. He notes that gathering with the people of God for worship should be the highlight of our week and we need to build our lives around the local church. If we lose our joy and see worship as a routine, this attitude can infect our children and turn them away from the church. However, if we maintain our perspective and excitement for worship, our children will be more likely to see it as a privilege and joy as well.

Dr. McLeod concludes by discussing the importance of family worship and mixing things up to keep it fresh and exciting. He notes that we should be excited about the privilege of sitting with our children around the Word of God and singing and praying together. If we maintain our own joy and perspective, our children will be more likely to be joyful and excited about family worship as well.

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV) - "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it."

I think as a dad, when I lose my own joy, when I fall into routine, fall into rote, which can, you know, routines can be very helpful, But when I lose my perspective about what the Lord's day is or what family worship really does and what it really is Or what just living for God is and and I've kind of defaulted to you know, this is what we do I think you know that that Some of that can filter over into family life. It can filter over into the children. Okay, okay, dad's gathering us for family worship again. Okay, we gotta go through the same questions we went through yesterday, okay. But if I stay before the Lord and maintain my joy, maintain my perspective, then that also can filter over into the family.

I think anything can become drudgery when you lose a sense of what's really happening, what's really occurring. For example, on the Lord's Day we get the honor and the privilege to gather with the people of God on the Lord's day for his worship. And so that should be the highlight of our week. We've built our lives around the local church. Can't wait to get there.

And I think that that heart, that joy, can become infectious in the household. Likewise, if you're tired or you lose your perspective a bit and you know, okay, we got to go to church today, that's what Christians do, we go to church and you know, you get that kind of heart, then that eventually, if that lasts long enough, then that can also kind of infect the children. They're looking at you, they're taking their cues from you even when they think they aren't. And so I think it's important that we maintain our perspective and if we maintain our perspective, then we can continue to make things joyful. Family worship is another great example.

Instead of every once in a while you mix it up a little bit. You think about what this is, the wonderful opportunity to sit with your children around the Word of God. And so sometimes you may sing different songs. You may say, hey, we're going to go do family worship down at the beach today, or hey, we're going to, you know, because you're so excited about the honor and the privilege to sit with your children and read scripture and pray and sing. So I think leading well as parents and maintaining our own joy, our own perspective will be a help.

There will be times where it feels like drudgery and you press through those times. But in general, if we are joyful and excited, then they will be joyful and excited.