David Green's sermon on 'Family Worship' emphasizes the importance of spiritual education within the family, particularly led by fathers. Using Genesis 18 as a starting point, he highlights Abraham's role in commanding his household to follow the Lord amidst a sinful environment. Green stresses that family worship is not about idolizing the family but placing Christ at the center. He draws from historical examples and biblical figures like Joshua and Cornelius to illustrate strong leadership in faith. The sermon underscores the need for regular family devotions alongside church attendance, warning against societal influences that distract from godliness. Green provides practical advice on conducting family worship, including the use of scripture, prayer, and flexibility in scheduling. He also addresses the role of mothers and grandmothers in spiritual education, citing Timothy's upbringing. The sermon concludes with a call to be reverent, loving, and attentive during family worship, encouraging dialogue and requiring attention to God's word.

If you have your Bibles, let's go to the book of Genesis chapter 18. Genesis chapter 18. Good to see everybody was able to make it out this morning. We'll begin reading verse 16. Genesis 18, beginning at verse 16.

And the man rose up from the tents and looked toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him, for I know him, that He will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him." The Lord said, "'Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it which has come unto me, and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thints and went towards Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the Lord." There are some things in Scripture that you may not find a direct command for, But if you search the scriptures you'll find that it's such a duty and responsibility that there are many examples for it.

Our text today is coming from verse 19, speaking of Abraham. It says, For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him. They shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." My subject today is on the subject of Family worship. Family worship. Some folks may call it family devotions.

There's different variations of the term, but by family worship we do not mean that we're worshiping the family. Indeed, this is not focus on the family, but rather the family is most blessed when Christ is the center. In short, family worship is the spiritual education of your family by you, the parents. And particularly, we are given a responsibility as fathers in the leading of this. And when we consider this topic, it is one that is not preached on very often, at least not that I have seen or heard, But it is one that needs attention in the day and age that we live.

There, when we think about family worship, J.W. Alexander wrote extensively on the subject in the 1800s, and he defined it, family worship as the name implies, as joint worship rendered to God by all the members of the household. We see from our text that Abraham was one who God knew would command his family. Now this was in the midst of great sinfulness and wickedness that was going on with the sodomites. Is it much different today?

The only difference I would suggest is that Abraham was still outside of Sodom. We are in the midst of it. And not that we chose to live in such a place. Lot made a great mistake by pitching his tent towards Sodom and moving on in there. We did not make such a choice as this, but what has happened is our society has gone and rebelled against God in such a way that there is great trouble and sin in our culture.

And in the midst of that, we find that God expected Abraham, even though there was sinfulness going on with his neighbors down the road in that city, God was pleased with Abraham because he said, I know him that he will command his children and his household after him. They shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him. What he meant by this, that he commanded his children and his family, his household as the word is there in our King James. What he meant by that, that is this fellow Abraham was the type that would use the authority God had given him to enforce the duties of godliness. And God has given to each of us who are fathers and husbands, that same authority God expects us to be the same.

Galatians chapter 3 verses 26 through 29 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise." And with that, John chapter 8 and verse 39. John 8 and verse 39.

They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus sayeth unto them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. Are we indeed Abraham's seed if we do not the works of Abraham and neglect family worship? This is, as I said, a subject that I have not heard preached on much at all. However, in some of the old Baptist statement of faith, it is mentioned.

Some churches have covenants in which they adopt and most usually family worship, family devotion is mentioned in these. We cannot be derelict in our duties here. It is something that I will admit that for a time in my life and in my marriage, I was not following this like I should. But I have become so convicted of it that we have gone from not having family devotion, family worship very often to not missing it very often. You see there's a difference.

And there are indeed, And there are indeed, this is necessary not only to be obedient to our Lord, but also for the education of our families and particularly our children. This is not to say that there is less of a need for church attendance. There is the worship of God that we have as a church when the church meets together. This is commanded and also We find much example for it. And so you ought to be in church with your family every time that the doors are open.

But also we understand that even if you are here every time that the doors are open, If you are here on Sunday morning and you hear both messages, if you are here on Wednesday and hear the preaching of God's Word on Wednesday, the midweek service, understand that there is still more to be done. That whenever you consider how that Satan is after the family and we are being bombarded constantly through TV, through humanism and socialism, in the school systems and all of those things There is a great need for us to instruct our families at home It is a sad thing That's Along with church attendance family worship has lost ground in our day and age. In the book of Deuteronomy chapter 6. Chapter 6. Do not only chapter 6.

Begin at verse 4. Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy might. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart. Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. Thou shalt write them upon the post of thy house and on thy gates." In the scriptures, The home is the place where children and the family learn about the things of God. We see it's not just a set time of the day, but every day and all day. We are to be teaching our family through the words that we say, but also in the examples that we live. Children may not always listen to what we say, but they are great imitators, and they will see whether you are the real deal or not.

Study history and you'll find that past generations, great generations, that did some great things. What was it that they were doing? Well, they were not spending their time in idleness or depriving their happiness, or deriving, rather deriving their happiness from entertainment, watching of movies, or reading of fiction. These folks, Christian men of times past, they were finding pleasures and leading their children in these things by enlarging their religious knowledge and entertainment in songs that were dedicated to the praise of God. That's what we need in this generation.

Indeed, this was passed on to their families. In Joshua chapter 24, Joshua chapter 24 and verse 15 says, Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, Choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served, that are on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Talk about a statement, a stand, a strong stand. Joshua made a stand that day.

It's implied here, And I think we can glean from this that Joshua was a man much like Abraham. He commanded his household after him to follow the Lord. We need more Abrahams and more Joshua's in this world. Men who are not afraid to take a stand to lead their families in the way of the Lord. If you don't teach your family the things of God, the world is going to teach them the things of this world.

I'm telling you, if you don't show them to love the Lord, the world will show them to rebel against the Lord. There is no question of it. We have great duty here. And the Old Testament isn't the only place that we find examples of this in the book of Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10 verses 1 and 2.

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian Band. A devout man and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people and prayed to God all the way. It's said about this man of Caesarea that we learn about who he was, we learn his name, we learn about what he did, but we find that he was a devout man. He was one that feared God with all his house. You see, we glean from this that Cornelius was the kind of man that led his house in the fear of the Lord.

And we know that he must have been very purposeful in doing so because it said of him that he feared the Lord in his house. He kinda set the tone, no doubt, in his house and commanded his household after him, like Abraham did. If you go into the book of Acts chapter 18, Acts chapter 18 verses 24 through 26. I love this. This passage impressed upon me as I was once a very young preacher, called of God at the age of 15, 16, right in there.

And anyway, in Acts chapter 18, verses 24 through 26, it says, And a certain Jew named Apollos, born in Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord and being fervent in spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in a synagogue, whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, that they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly." So here we find this young preacher who knew only the baptism of John, but man, I'm telling you the things he knew, He was mighty in it, he was mighty in the scriptures, but he needed some more teaching. Aquila and Priscilla were there, this husband and wife team, as all husbands and wives should be, ought to be. They were there and they heard Him.

And they began to... They pulled Him aside and expounded on Him the way of God more perfectly. It is It is something to consider. How did they become so useful as husband and wife? How did they know how to be able to instruct this preacher?

Well, I believe that it was through their family devotions, through their study of God's Word together. This is important. We don't grow by sitting on the sidelines. We don't grow and learn by having a Bible, but leaving it on the table all week long. We grow through the Scriptures and the study of it.

And, you know, Aquila and Priscilla could have said, hey, why don't you go talk to Peter? Peter will show you some things. They could have said, hey, what, let me introduce you to Paul. They could have done that, and maybe they did, but while they had opportunity, they taught this preacher, not publicly, not making a shame out of him, but pulling him aside and teaching him the way of God more perfectly. You know, we see these things.

We see that they both did it. The wife didn't say, oh, you know, that's my husband. He's all interested in that theology stuff. I'm going to go shopping while you men talk. No, she was there too, no doubt, in submission to her husband.

But as they worked together, they complemented one another and taught the scriptures as a team. In 1st Timothy chapter 5, 1st Timothy chapter 5 and verse 8. But if any provide not for his own, and especially those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." We often read this verse and think of it in terms of physical. Certainly, we men, we've got a responsibility to make sure our houses are taken care of physically. We need to make sure that food is on the table and that our family has been taken care of.

But there is also a spiritual aspect to this as well. What good is it for us to provide physical food if we're not also providing spiritual food also? It is vanity for a man to sit back and complain about the way that the world is, to sit back and complain about even the misgivings of the preacher. And they'll do that too. If they're not handling the word of God properly in your own, if you're not handling the word of God properly in your own house, how can you sit and complain about the way the world is going, or the way that the preacher needs to do more.

You've got a duty right there in your own household. Be it. Be faithful. There. It is vain for us to complain about the younger generation.

Certainly they have much that we can complain about them. But let us remedy the situation beginning in our own home. It's been said and also observed that when the head of the family is lukewarm or worldly, he will send a chill through the whole house. And no doubt that is the truth. We have got to step up on this man.

But, preacher, wait a minute, hold on. What if some woman comes and says, preacher, wait a minute, my husband is not doing his duty. Perhaps he's lost or backslidden or whatever, but he's just not doing his duty. What then? Well, I believe we find the answer to that in the scriptures.

Again, not by commandment, but by great example. In the book of 2 Timothy chapter 3, 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 14 through 17 notice what it says here but continue thou in the things which thou has learned and has been assured of know knowing of whom thou has learned them that from a child thou has known the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." So here's Timothy. Paul's writing to him and he says, he says continuing the things that you've learned, the things that you've heard, the things that you've been assured of, knowing that from a child you've known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise and to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Where did Timothy learn that?

He learned it at home. But from who? He learned it from his mother and his grandmother. In the book of 2nd Timothy chapter 1, if you go back just a little bit there from where we are, verses 5 and 6, When I called to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, And thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." You see, Paul kind of took Timothy under his wing, but the foundation was laid with his mother and his grandmother.

The fact is that Timothy's dad was not a follower of the Lord. And so, rather than sit back and moan and complain about how Timothy's dad wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing, his mother and his grandmother made sure that young Timothy knew the things of God. They taught him the scriptures and God blessed it in a great way. To have family worship or family devotion in your home, it doesn't need to be complicated. You don't need to be a theologian to do it.

All you need is first of all the Word of God. The Bible needs to be primary. Other books are good and certainly there are some good books out there, but the Bible is the best. You won't go wrong with the Bible. The Bible and only the Bible is the Word of God.

Right there in 2 Timothy where we were, and verse 3, verse 16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Whenever you think about physical food and you want to feed your family, you want to make sure that they get something that is good for them. They can't be snacking on the sweets and desserts all the time. They've got to have some good food.

Well when it comes to spiritual food, This is the best. It's profitable. All of it. Genesis to Revelation. It is all profitable.

Now, When you use other books and kind of get into some of that sort of thing, you've got to understand that oftentimes there is a lot of fluff out there. There is A lot of stuff that really is not scriptural and can lead you astray. Some of it even comes out of Christian bookstores and publishers. But let us never forget James chapter 2 and verse 19. James chapter 2 and verse 19 says, Thou believest there is one God, thou doest well, the devils also believe and tremble.

No doubt some of those books that have been written, sold by Christian bookstores, have been written by people who believed in one God, but the devil himself believes in one God, and it trembles. And so, Just beware that some of that stuff, especially some of it that's steered toward children, but not only the stuff that's steered toward children, some of it that's steered toward adults, Be careful of it. It may not be scriptural always Be marine in your studies and Make sure that your standard is the Word of God Some people get all excited about a certain author and so they say well thus saith so-and-so author No, it's always thus saith the Lord. And if there's a contradiction between your favorite author or that nice-looking book that you've got in the Bible, the Bible is always the answer. In 2nd Peter chapter 1 verses 20 and 21, Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of men, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Sometimes we say, well Paul wrote in this or Peter said this, but understand beloved, this is the Word of God. This is God's Word And so this must be our standard for our family worship. We have got to be people of the word. Not just when we're in the church building, but when we're at home too. As Charles Spurgeon put it once, if we do not love the Bible, we certainly do not love the God who gave it to us.

We've got to be people of the Bible. I've got a large library in my study with books about the Bible and every topic connected, but you'll not find anything better than the Bible. And so whenever you sit down with your family, somebody says, what should we read? Read the Bible. Start in a book of the Bible and just read it going all the way through.

Depending on where your family's at, you might want to go through the Gospels. You might want to read through the epistles of Paul, you might want to go through the book of Proverbs. But wherever you're at in life or wherever the Lord leads, Begin it and go through it. It will be a blessing. Give them the whole of the scriptures even when they are young.

This will set them in a habit of reading for themselves and also give them the opportunity and the example so that later, Lord be willing, when they have a family of their own, They can take the example that you set forth and carry it on. As the Father reads the scriptures to his family, God will bless, but involve the family as well. So, it doesn't always have to be the father that reads. Maybe involve others. If they're old enough to read, they ought to have a Bible and have the ability to read it along with the family, to read it out loud.

So maybe you have a few verses that you read as the father to kind of set the stage and then Call on others within the family to read as well. Encourage them to read the Bible. Remarkable transformations can happen within a family when the head of the home is faithful to reading of God's Word. So not only do we need the Word of God, but we need prayer. Anything worth doing in this world needs to be saturated with prayer.

We need to be a praying people. Family worship is no exception. As the head of the house, we need to be in prayer as we consider this topic and how we ought to lead our family because we have been the chosen leaders. But our prayers ought not to only be private. We need to pray with our family.

One old Puritan said it this way, a family without prayer is like a house without a roof, open and exposed to all the storms of life. We ought to be a praying people. There's a lot of things that we can say about prayer, especially in relation to this topic of family worship. But there's just a few things I'd like to point out. We ought to be short.

There's time to catch up on our prayer life, and that's usually not during the time of public prayer, even in family worship. Long tedious prayers are for the closet. Long prayers are for our private time with the Lord, but when we're out in public, we ought not to be like the Pharisees who love to be heard for their much speaking. I'm not saying to put a timer on it, but ideally probably five minutes or so, right in there, or even less. But when we pray, we need to be direct.

We're not only praying to the Lord, but we're also setting an example for our family. When we're direct, we thank God for specific blessings. We thank Him for those things that He has provided for us, specific things. But also, we spread our needs before God and ask for mercy. Let us name names in our prayers, specifically the names of our children, our wife.

They need to know that you are praying for them. And if they have a specific need, then certainly pray for that need. When we pray, we need to make sure that we're not teaching in our prayers. Some men are apt to do that, but understand that God does not need direction. He does not need instruction.

So let us remember this thing. Teach with your eyes open. Pray with your eyes shut. And so that's a good way to remember that sort of thing. And then be varied.

Don't pray the same thing every time. In Matthew chapter 6, Matthew chapter 6 and verse 7, But when you pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathens do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your father knoweth what they should ye have need of before ye ask him." So we don't need to pray the same thing every time. Be varied about it. And then thirdly, for family worship, not only do you need the Bible, you need prayer, but you need some flexibility.

Don't be so rigid about it that it has to happen at a specific hour of the day. But by all means, make time. Perhaps in your family, it works better in the morning, but perhaps with other families like mine, it works better in the evening. Whatever it is, know that you need to be a little flexible. Because guess what happens?

If you set the time at 6 o'clock every day and something comes up and not everybody can get together until seven. You might be tempted to just skip it and We've got to be a little flexible on those things. There might be something that comes up. But understand this. Ephesians chapter 5 verses 15 through 17.

See then that you walk circumspectly not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Wherefore, be ye not unwashed, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Redeeming the time. The days are evil. I guarantee you we have time to turn on the TV.

We've got time to get on Facebook, we've got time for a lot of things in this world. We need to make sure we make time for the things of God in our families and our homes. Be flexible about it, but understand that you've got to make time for it and understand too They may not be that everyone everybody expresses the same amount of interest for it but it's up to us. I speak to the fathers, to the husbands, it's up to us to make sure that we're faithful in this. Whenever there was sin in that first family, We know what happened with Adam and Eve.

You can go back and study it. But understand this. When God saw an answer, He went to Adam. Adam was held responsible for his family, and so are we as the head of our family. We can't say, well the woman you gave me, she's always busy, and no, we can't make excuses.

We can't say, well these kids, they never listen. It falls on us. It falls on us. And so some final thoughts when it comes to family worship or family devotion. We need to make sure that it's enjoyable.

Don't make it into a toil or a drag, a dread. Make sure it's enjoyable, but at the same time, be reverent about it. In the 111th Psalm, verse 9, He sent redemption unto His people. He hath commanded his covenant forever, holy and reverend is his name." Only time in the Bible will you find the title of reverend. And he belongs to God.

We need to be reverent about the things of God. Is it a joy to serve the Lord? Yes it is. Is it a joy to worship God? Yes.

But let us be reverent about it. Let us make sure we're respectful about these things and consider what the Word of God has for us. We need to make sure that we're affectionate in 1st Corinthians chapter 13. We need to make sure that we're showing love as we, as we read the word of God, as we teach and instruct. In 1 Corinthians chapter, or 1st Corinthians 13 in verse 11 And I'm sorry chapter 14 in verse 11 No, that's not it either one second here Well, sorry, 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 1, that's what I wanted.

I knew it was around here somewhere. It says here, though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Verse 2, he says, and though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charity I am nothing. You don't need to be a theologian to lead your family in family devotions. You don't have to be a God called preacher to lead in family worship in your home.

But if you are those things and you understand all sorts of the scripture and you don't have love about it? He says you've become a sounding brass or tinkling symbol. If you have all the faith in the world and have not charity, if you don't love like you should then you're nothing. Verse 3 says though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned, have not charity profited me nothing. You yourself may be the example Christian, but if you don't have love about it, then I question whether you'd be the example Christian that you think you are.

But he says, if I have great faith and bestow my goods to feed the poor and give my body to be burned, If I have not charity, profiteth me nothing. So be loving, be affectionate in your teaching. Thirdly, encourage dialogue. When you're reading the Word of God, Remember, in the home it's different from in the church in the sense that you can have back and forth dialogue more often. Encourage it.

Ask questions. Answer their questions. Questions. Answer their questions. In fact, 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verses 33 and 34 says, for God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

That your women keep silent in the churches, for he has not permitted unto them to speak. But they are commanded to be unobedient As also saith the law. Now notice what verse 35 says, and if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. And so the home is the place where further learning happens and that is directly from the Lord. Encourage dialogue.

Encourage it. Ask questions. Get them to think a little bit. Your children especially as they grow, but your wife as well. Encourage these things.

And then lastly, require attention. Require attention. Yeah, you're at home. And it might be that the kids are used to playing on their phones at home or playing with their toys depending on their age. But folks, go with me to the book of Proverbs chapter 4.

Proverbs chapter 4 verses 1 and 2 it says, Hear ye children the instruction of a father, and attend to no understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. When the Word of God is opened, I don't care whether it's here or at home, God deserves to be heard. God deserves to be heard and we've got to make sure that our children and our families understand that. This is the law of God and certainly we need to make sure that all are hearing and understanding.

In conclusion, Maybe you've not been faithful here. You know, Joel chapter 2, verse 25, The book of Joel chapter 2 and verse 25, it says this, I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker worm and the caterpillar, the palmer worm, my great army, which I have sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, verse 26 says, and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God that hath dealt wondrously with you and my people shall never be ashamed." We can't go back in time. We can't have back our years that we've neglected some duty. Whether it's this duty or any other duty, we can't go back and change the fact that we've been negligent in the things that God would have us to do.

But in a strange way, He can, God can give us the wasted blessings. Somebody said, when's the best time to plant an apple tree? The best time was 25 years ago. When's the second best time to plant an apple tree? Well that's right now, today.

If God can restore the years that the locusts have eaten, so he can do great things in your home even now. Being faithful, God is still giving us his word, he's still blessing us. And as long as we have air to breathe, there is still time to be faithful. May the Lord add a blessing to his word. Brother Kenny, Kenny Vomber, would you please pray for us?