Resources for Family Worship (Part 1)

Sometimes I feel it may be a bit odd me writing book recommendations for children as I don't have any yet, but I feel working in a bookshop and being responsible for children's books means that at least I know what's out there and what seems to be good even if I don't know whether children respond well to it or not!

Family worship is such an important part of Christian family life. The Bible commands that parents teach their children the things of God, for example in Deuteronomy 6: 6,7 it says:

"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

 Jason Helopoulos on the Gospel Coaltion Blog gives 11 reasons to worship together as a family, which are wonderful reasons why this should not be forgotten in families today. I was blessed to grow up in a home where everyday day after dinner we would all remain around the table while Dad read to us from the Bible. Over the years we used a variety of different resources, when we were all really little we used children's Bibles such as Leading Little Ones to God or The Children's Bible in 365 Stories . As we grew up we used various devotional books where Dad read a passage and then an author explained it in a child friendly way. Then finally we moved on to reading the Bible with maybe a bit of exposition from Dad or a question session at the end. We would then finish up with Catechism and prayer.

As I wrote that it all sounded rather twee. I can assure it was not. My family is INCREDIBLY loud. I am by far the quietest. When my sister enters a room you know all about it. She literally has the loudest voice I have ever heard. So family worship in our house was full of LOUD debate and talking. Sometimes it was also full of laughter and sighing. This mostly happened in the middle stage, the era of the devotional books. Now, some of these were OK. Others how ever were horrific. Some were dull. Some were super twee. Way too may revolved around animals, especially dogs which for our dog disliking family often took away from the whole point of the story.

However, there seem to have been a good few books  published in recent years suitable for family devotions which aren't twee but teach the truth! Before I review these may I point out that I am all for reading the Bible itself, alone to children but am also aware that there are lots of different ways to conduct family worship.Over the next few days I hope to review some of these, starting today with some resources for families of young ones:

God and Me- Penny Boshoff- Make Believe Ideas

God and Me is a colourful book that helps really young children find out about God. Real-life photographs of other children and simple, child-friendly text examine all kinds of everyday experiences and encourage children to think about Christian values.There is an introduction, prayer and Bible passage to be read.

 Good points:

• Really colourful and will appeal to small children who (apparently) like looking at pictures of other children.
• Do-able even for the youngest child.

Bad Points:

•  Perhaps focuses too much on being a good book of Christian values rather than showing children's need for a Saviour. However, parents could emphasise this themselves. 

The Dinnertime Bible-  Mary Manz Simon- Make Believe Ideas

The Dinnertime Bible is a daily devotional designed especially for families. Themed around the evening family meal, it contains 51 Bible references and a retelling of the Bible story, some facts relating to the story, a discussion point,  a  prayer and a note to parents.

Good Points:

• Something for the whole family, young and older children will benefit and there is a daily application for parents which could also be used for teens.
• Will get children talking.

Bad points: 

• There is a daily memory verse but it's very much paraphrased.
• The discussion points are perhaps too general and don't really focus enough on spiritual things.

The Big Picture Story Bible- David Helm- Crossway 

I love this book. I also know lots of families who have use it for family worship. I've already reviewed it HERE!

The Jesus Storybook Bible-Sally Lloyd- Jones- Zonderkids

"The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the Story beneath all the stories in the Bible, it invites children to join in the greatest of all adventures,... to discover for themselves that Jesus is at the centre of God’s great story of salvation---and at the centre of their Story too."

Good points:

• Suitable for a wide range of ages
• All the stories point to Christ
• Tells the story in a new way so even if children have heard the story before, they will not simply turn off.

Bad points:

• Doesn't cover all the 'traditional' stories found in most children's Bibles, however I don't really feel this is a problem.