How To Use this guide
Throughout Christian history, families have participated in both the corporate worship services of the church, and in private family worship in their homes. One of the keys to worshipping together as a family is simply to have a plan. We want to encourage you to pick one time a week and designate that as the time when you will gather as a family and spend some time in worship. Remember this doesn’t have to be long or formal but you can simply follow the short guide we have here. This guide requires little to no preparation and is connected to what we are doing together on Sunday mornings.
Each week the guide will contain four main elements: Sing, Read, Teach, and Pray, with the elements in the guide pulled from our corporate worship service that week. There are also some recommended resources included at the bottom of the guide that may be helpful to your family at some point during your time together.
You can do the whole thing in 15 minutes as a family or, if the discussion is going well, feel free to go longer. Remember to give yourself grace and trust that the Lord will supply what you need. It won’t always be smooth and it may sometimes feel like little was accomplished. The key is just to spend regular time together in worship and point each other to Jesus. Think of ways to make this time interactive and engage your kids if you have them.
You aren’t in this alone. The Lord is with you and so are we. Feel free to share with us how your worship together is going. We would love to help you with any struggles you may be facing and celebrate all the victories. Know that we are praying for you each week as we send out this resource. We are so excited to see what the Lord does as he works in and through you and your families.
Each week the guide will contain four main elements: Sing, Read, Teach, and Pray, with the elements in the guide pulled from our corporate worship service that week. There are also some recommended resources included at the bottom of the guide that may be helpful to your family at some point during your time together.
You can do the whole thing in 15 minutes as a family or, if the discussion is going well, feel free to go longer. Remember to give yourself grace and trust that the Lord will supply what you need. It won’t always be smooth and it may sometimes feel like little was accomplished. The key is just to spend regular time together in worship and point each other to Jesus. Think of ways to make this time interactive and engage your kids if you have them.
You aren’t in this alone. The Lord is with you and so are we. Feel free to share with us how your worship together is going. We would love to help you with any struggles you may be facing and celebrate all the victories. Know that we are praying for you each week as we send out this resource. We are so excited to see what the Lord does as he works in and through you and your families.
SING
READ
1 Corinthians 1:10–17 (ESV)
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Discussion Questions From The Text
1. Who is writing the letter, and to whom is it being written? (If you have kids that are able to read have them find the verses that tell you the answer)
2. In v.1-9 Paul reminds the Corinthians believers of all that God has done for them in Christ. He even says that they have been sanctified (v.2). However, in v.10-17, as well as a number of other places in the letter, we see that these believers struggle with all kinds of sin in their lives. What does this teach us about our position in Christ but also the way in which we are still to grow in godliness?
3. In v.10 Paul calls the believers in this church to unity. What are the different ways he exhorts them to be united in this verse? Why do you think disunity is something even Christians are prone to?
4. Is Paul’s exhortation to these divided believers mainly theological or mere changes in behavior? What does the way he addresses such a practical problem teach us about the nature of the sin and problems we face in our lives?
5. What specifically does Paul give as the remedy to the problem of division in the church? How does the gospel inform our unity in with each other?
6. As you think about your own life and our church how might we guard ourselves against unnecessary division and instead look to continue unified as a body and of the same mind?
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Discussion Questions From The Text
1. Who is writing the letter, and to whom is it being written? (If you have kids that are able to read have them find the verses that tell you the answer)
2. In v.1-9 Paul reminds the Corinthians believers of all that God has done for them in Christ. He even says that they have been sanctified (v.2). However, in v.10-17, as well as a number of other places in the letter, we see that these believers struggle with all kinds of sin in their lives. What does this teach us about our position in Christ but also the way in which we are still to grow in godliness?
3. In v.10 Paul calls the believers in this church to unity. What are the different ways he exhorts them to be united in this verse? Why do you think disunity is something even Christians are prone to?
4. Is Paul’s exhortation to these divided believers mainly theological or mere changes in behavior? What does the way he addresses such a practical problem teach us about the nature of the sin and problems we face in our lives?
5. What specifically does Paul give as the remedy to the problem of division in the church? How does the gospel inform our unity in with each other?
6. As you think about your own life and our church how might we guard ourselves against unnecessary division and instead look to continue unified as a body and of the same mind?
TEACH
New City Catechism, Question 3
Q: How many persons are there in God?
A: There are three persons in one God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Nicene Creed (AD 325/381)
We believe in one God,
the Father All Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all time,
Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten not made,
of the same essence as the Father,
by whom all things were made.
Who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
and suffered and was buried and rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures;
He ascended to heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
And his kingdom shall have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy universal and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Q: How many persons are there in God?
A: There are three persons in one God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Nicene Creed (AD 325/381)
We believe in one God,
the Father All Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all time,
Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten not made,
of the same essence as the Father,
by whom all things were made.
Who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
and suffered and was buried and rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures;
He ascended to heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
And his kingdom shall have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy universal and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Pray
1. Pray that God would guard us from unnecessary division and instead unite us in the same mind and same judgment.
2. Thank God for the unity we have with each other because of Jesus.
GIVE
We can also continue to worship through our giving, just as we do each Sunday in person. If you would like to give, you can do so by clicking the button below.