Family Religion

11/10/2025 pilgrim Sermons
Family Worship Fourth Commandment

This sermon by Rev. Brent Evans was delivered on 11/03/2019. Click here to view or download from Sermon Audio.

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Exodus 20:10

I. The Confirmation of Family Religion

The Fourth Commandment confirms and implies the duty of family worship:

  • It addresses heads of households
  • It bridges duties to God and man—joining worship (duty to God) with relational responsibilities (duty to others)
  • It highlights the family unit with a detailed mention of household members
  • It provides the pattern and principle for family worship

II. Reasons for Family Worship

  1. Families Dwell Together Daily
    • Since families share daily life, they should daily acknowledge God
  2. God Includes Households in the Covenant of Grace
    • God relates to families, not just individuals (e.g., Abraham, household baptisms)
  3. The First Church was a Family
    • Examples: Job, Abraham, Jacob
    • After Jacob, the church grew from one family to a nation
  4. Natural Affection
    • Love among family members should include spiritual fellowship
  5. Common Experiences
    • Families share mercies, afflictions, provisions, and thus should praise and pray together
  6. Distinction from Pagans
    • Unbelievers share homes without worship, and pagans eat and sleep in the same place; Christians should do more than this
  7. God is Pleased to Bless Family Worship
    • Example: Timothy instructed from childhood
    • Proverbs commends early, continual instruction
  8. Family Worship is a Barometer of Relationships
    • It reveals spiritual health within relationships, exposing sin and providing means for repentance and renewal
    • Negative examples: Cain and Abel, Michal and David, 1 Peter 3:7
    • Positive example: Philip's household (Acts 21:8-9), where faith and purity flourished
  9. Need for Grace in Family Duties
    • Each member (husband, wife, children) has relational duties that require God's grace

III. An Outline for Family Worship

  1. Teaching and Instruction
    • Fathers must instruct households (Genesis 18:19; Deuteronomy 6:7)
    • Catechizing
  2. Prayer
    • Families should call upon God's name together
    • Neglect of prayer invites God's fury (Jeremiah 10:25)
  3. Singing of Psalms
    • Following David's example (Psalm 30)
  4. Spiritual Mourning
    • Zechariah 12:12-14
    • Occasions for family fasting and humbling before God