Family Unity Emphasis Sabbath
by Jillian Vassen
Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18
Carolyn Larson wrote:
Belonging to a team or family unit means you have the support of the other members. Sometimes that support is what keeps you going when you don’t feel that you can take another step.
You experience that same kind of support from the family of God. Each of us should be in constant prayer for one another, lifting up and encouraging one another every day. Be alert to those around you, sense their needs, and constantly bring them before the Lord. They will do the same thing for you – you can’t fall too far, no matter what happens, when you know your brothers and sisters are holding you before the Lord. What Power!
Is family worship practical in this day and age? How many excuses do we come up with for why we stopped having worship? There will be no family worship in our homes unless we recognise its vital importance and are willing to carve out time for God and family togetherness. “Fathers and mothers, however pressing your business, do not fail to gather your family around God’s altar. Ask for guardianship of holy angels in your home” Child Guidance, p 520
I can think of a few reasons why Family worship is important:
1. Children learn to pray. They begin to recognize the power of prayer as they see family prayers answered
2. Regular family devotions will build a wall of protection around your children. In Counsels on Sabbath School Work p.36 we read “The youth in this age must be fitted by the grace of Christ to meet and overcome evils which have been introduced into society.... There should be a living, growing interest in storing the mind with Bible truth. The precious knowledge thus gained will build a barrier about the soul.”
3. Family worship helps build family solidarity. In this hectic age, we need family togetherness. A genuine closeness is hard to achieve.
4. Regular morning and evening family worship will help to “turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers...” (Mal. 4:6)
You didn’t need me to tell you the importance of family worship today, since as Adventists we have so much literature on the subject. In the book the Ministry of Healing chapter 28 titled “Ministry of the Home” we read:
What is the condition of your family altar? If it is broken down take the initiative and re-establish it. If you are conducting regular worship, think of ways to make it interesting. Our sole purpose in life should be to be prepared for the second coming, and what better way to prepare, than studying the Word of God with your loved ones. Remember, a family that prays together, stays together!
Carolyn Larson wrote:
Belonging to a team or family unit means you have the support of the other members. Sometimes that support is what keeps you going when you don’t feel that you can take another step.You experience that same kind of support from the family of God. Each of us should be in constant prayer for one another, lifting up and encouraging one another every day. Be alert to those around you, sense their needs, and constantly bring them before the Lord. They will do the same thing for you – you can’t fall too far, no matter what happens, when you know your brothers and sisters are holding you before the Lord. What Power!
- Scripture Reading: Joshua 24: 15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell : but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.
When I was given the task to take today’s Sabbath school with the theme Family unity, I immediately thought of family worship. It is the single most important factor in helping kids to grow up loving Jesus and the church. Is family worship practical in this day and age? How many excuses do we come up with for why we stopped having worship? There will be no family worship in our homes unless we recognise its vital importance and are willing to carve out time for God and family togetherness. “Fathers and mothers, however pressing your business, do not fail to gather your family around God’s altar. Ask for guardianship of holy angels in your home” Child Guidance, p 520
I can think of a few reasons why Family worship is important:
1. Children learn to pray. They begin to recognize the power of prayer as they see family prayers answered
2. Regular family devotions will build a wall of protection around your children. In Counsels on Sabbath School Work p.36 we read “The youth in this age must be fitted by the grace of Christ to meet and overcome evils which have been introduced into society.... There should be a living, growing interest in storing the mind with Bible truth. The precious knowledge thus gained will build a barrier about the soul.”
3. Family worship helps build family solidarity. In this hectic age, we need family togetherness. A genuine closeness is hard to achieve.
4. Regular morning and evening family worship will help to “turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers...” (Mal. 4:6)
You didn’t need me to tell you the importance of family worship today, since as Adventists we have so much literature on the subject. In the book the Ministry of Healing chapter 28 titled “Ministry of the Home” we read:
- P349 – “The restoration and uplifting of humanity begins in the home. The work of parents underlies every other. Society is composed of families, and is what the heads of families make it. Out of the heart are “the issues of life”; and the heart of the community, of the church, and of the nation is the household. The well-being of society, the success of the church, the prosperity of the nation, depend upon home influences”
- p.351 – It is by the youth and children of today that the future of society is to be determined, and what these youth and children shall be, depends upon the home. To the lack of right home training may be traced the larger share of the disease and misery and crime that curse humanity. If the home life were pure and true, if the children who went forth from its care were prepared to meet life’s responsibilities and dangers, what a change would be seen in the world!”
- p.352 - The mission of the home extends beyond its own members. The Christian home is to be an object lesson, illustrating the excellence of the true principles of life. Such an illustration will be a power for good in the world. Far more powerful than any sermon that can be preached is the influence of a true home upon human hearts and lives. As the youth go out from such a home, the lessons they have learned are imparted. Nobler principles of life are introduced into other households, and an uplifting influence works in the community.”
- p.355 - “Our time here is short. We can pass through this world but once; as we pass along, let us make the most of life. The work to which we are called does not require wealth or social position or great ability. It requires a kindly, self-sacrificing spirit and a steadfast purpose. A lamp, however small, if kept steadily burning, may be the means of lighting many other lamps. Our sphere of influence may seem narrow, our ability small, our opportunities few, our acquirements limited; yet wonderful possibilities are ours through faithful use of the opportunities of our own homes. If we will open our hearts and homes to the divine principles of life we shall become channels for currents of life-giving power. From our homes will flow streams of healing, bringing life and beauty and fruitfulness where now are barrenness and death.
What is the condition of your family altar? If it is broken down take the initiative and re-establish it. If you are conducting regular worship, think of ways to make it interesting. Our sole purpose in life should be to be prepared for the second coming, and what better way to prepare, than studying the Word of God with your loved ones. Remember, a family that prays together, stays together!
