Habits of Enhancement: Serving "The Least"

As we've been talking about family worship, we've been working to think in a couple directions. First, to think of worship as more than singing songs. Second, to think of worship in our families as how we live and order our home lives.


We've looked specifically at the idea of worship as a life offered to God. And we've looked at things like prayer, Scripture reading, and music not as worship in themselves, but important habits that enhance our lives of worship offered to God.


Many of us are used to associating the words "serve" and "worship" in the context of serving in a worship service. We serve by helping out with some part of the public worship service on a Sunday morning, whether that's acolyting, ushering, helping with communion, playing music, or leading a prayer.


But what if the words "serving" and "worship" should go together in a different way than this? What if associating serving and worship like we've known in the context of the Sunday worship service is not quite on track?
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Habits of Enhancement: Songs

We don't sing songs in our house.

Well, we do, but we don't sit around and sing, like, a praise song or a hymn together after we read Scripture or pray together. Just ain't gonna' happen.

It's not that we think this is bad or corny. It's just not us.

But, music is alive in our home, you can be sure of that. And we are often timely and intentional about when we play certain songs and how we go about it.

Habits of Enhancement: Reading Scripture

Reading Scripture has been a central part of Christian life for a long, long time. But it was not always something that could be done in the home. Reading Scripture in the home is a relatively recent innovation, partly due to Martin Luther and a combination of other factors, including the invention of the printing press.

Prior to this, Scripture reading was something left to the religious educated to do, the elites. But the common people were to do more than just passively receive the words of Scripture. The words of Scripture were heard (not quietly read) and then modeled in lived life. The process of hearing Scripture and then being shaped by it is a sacred thing.

This is how we want to understand the importance of reading Scripture as we think about being families who worship, as we have been taking a look at what worship is (see posts here, here, and here), and how we can be families who worship. The book inspiring these thoughts, Family Worship, holds reading Scripture highly as part of being a family who worships.

Reading Scripture itself does not make a worshiping family. Reading Scripture is another "habit of enhancement" for the purpose of inspiring lives of worship and devotion to God that are lived and experienced by others in our actions and interactions.

Habits of Enhancement: Prayer

Last week we took a look at the second chapter of Family Worship. The author gave examples of people of the past (and present) who have taught about and modeled practices that are "habits of enhancement." These are daily habits of prayer, Scripture reading, singing songs, as well as other things that enhance the life of worship.

Such habits have great importance. That's why Christians throughout generations have regularly practiced them. One cannot live the Christian life well without them.

Some of you might be thinking of something like the Faith 5, a simple method for family devotions that has been put out by Faith Inkubators in recent years. This is very similar to these habits. Faith 5 includes more than just these practices, and focuses on the importance of sharing and connecting with one another. The difference is that we're focusing more specifically on understanding these as spiritual practices that form our lives as lives of worship. 

Habits of Enhancement

We've been going through the idea of family worship, and worship in general, as we are blogging along through ideas and content from the book Family Worship. As we've been getting our minds around the idea of worship so we can practice it in the home, we've been focusing on understanding what worship is and is not. In last week's post, we looked more at worship. Particularly we looked at when "worship" isn't worship.

Chapter two of the book, Family Worship, is very interesting and helpful. In this chapter, the author takes us through stories (very briefly and just skimming the surface!) of Christians of the past who have cultivated "family worship." This includes people we know like Martin Luther, Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Spurgeon. It also includes important, yet forgotten Christians of the distant past like Tertullian (from the 3rd century) and John Chrysostom (from the 4th century).

When "worship" isn't worship

To whom to we lift and direct our hands in worship?

We can be easily fooled--by ourselves--into thinking that what we're doing, or what we've been doing is just fine if there are no clear signs to the contrary.

In the previous post one point about worship is that it is a life thing. It's not defined by the songs, the liturgy, the prayers. In fact, sometimes the songs and praises and other stuff we usually associate with "worship" can get in the way of worship.

There are times when "worship" isn't worship.

What is worship? (Part II in a series on family worship, using the book "Family Worship")

It's happened before. We get ready to go to "worship" on Sundays and I get this unsettled feeling when someone says, "Let's get ready to go to worship."

Lately, I've been inclined to say something like, "No. We're going to sing songs of praise and gather with other Christians for prayer, fellowship, and encouragement. It's part of the Christian life, but does not define worship."

Maybe you've thought this. Maybe you have not. Maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe there's something more to "worship."

As we get into the book Family Worship, it is important that we get our heads around what "worship" is in the first place.

A new book about worship...family worship

So, I am always looking for good books. New research. New ideas. New ways to say old things. Books that explain something from a different angle. Books that challenge, inform, upend, encourage.

I'm usually pretty careful of two things. First, I am careful to not always read books by writers who are "on my team." It's important, I think, that we are reading things by writers who come from a different perspective, or by writers who we might think we won't agree with completely.

Second, I am careful to read books that have some "street cred." By that, I do not mean that a book must have the approval of all reviewers. I mean that they should be found respectable and worthy of engagement, even if someone does not agree with everything said.

Well, I found one such book that fits these criteria. And I offer it to you, parents and families, as a resource. Oh, and I'll be blogging and talking through it over the next several weeks. If you want to read along, I'd invite you to get a copy also.