There’s lots of good material out there on why you should do family devotions. But here’s a short post on how our family is spending time in family worship together. We’ve tried different things in the past, but this is what we’ve settled on lately that really seems to work well for us. In case you’re looking for ideas, here’s what we do (in this order).

Music

I’ve had my guitar since high school but have played it very little since then. We’ve been having a great time singing a few songs along with some easy guitar chords. Our current favourites: “Blessed Assurance” and “Silent Night”.  And you don’t have to use a guitar. Break out the hymnal or sing songs you know acapella. We do that too.

Reading

Per our senior pastor’s good recommendation, we’ve been using Training Hearts, Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism by Starr Meade. Each week has a catechism response to learn along with six short devotional readings to be read throughout the week. We have our kids look up and read the Scripture references. (Note: If you’re Baptists, like us, or another denomination, you might want to modify some of the responses. Just a heads up!)  

We also use God’s Love: A Bible Storybook. It offers a broad overview of the storyline of Scripture. It’s divided into single page readings and our kids love it. And you can download it for free on Kindle! 

Prayer

I ask for prayer requests before praying a fairly short prayer addressing the theme of our devotion along with personal requests and those of others. My two oldest boys are zealous for the rapture and protection from “the virus.” 

That’s it! It works for us. We do it right before bed after the kids have brushed their teeth and put on their PJ’s. Maybe you do something else. But do something. Read the Bible and sing “Jesus Loves Me.” But do something to worship the Lord together as a family.

Photo by Brent Niedergall