For centuries, the life of the church and the culture have been impacted by the type of worship which is practiced in the home. All homes are marked out by worship, and therefore it is incumbent on us all to be diligent in seeking that our families worship the one true God. Richard Baxter captures the essence of this in his work, The Reformed Pastor (1656):
The life of religion, and the welfare and glory of both the Church and the State, depend much on family government and duty. If we suffer the neglect of this, we shall undo all…If you desire the reformation of the welfare of your people, do all you can to promote family religion…You are not like to see any general reformation, till you procure family reformation. Some little religion there may be, here and there; but while it is confined to single persons, and is not promoted in families, it will not prosper, nor promise much future increase.
While there are many, many helpful resources for families to begin in family worship, we have found that simplicity is a virtue. Taking wisdom from the helpful writing of Don Whitney, we commend men to do at least three things in family worship: