Testimonials of Worship Connected + Family Worship Guide 1 Chronicles 1
Worship Connected is written to complement the weekly Lord’s Day sermons of Springs Reformed Church (SRC) by focusing hearts, minds, and lives throughout the week on the preaching passage and connecting household worship with the church’s gathered worship.
At SRC we distribute a weekly guide running from the Lord's Day to Saturday with Monday-Wednesday reviewing the sermons that were preached the Lord's Day at the start of the week and Thursday-Saturday previewing the sermons that will be preached the coming Lord's Day.
However, for the posts here I will link to the guide from Thursday to Wednesday so that all are aimed at the Lord's Day as the peak of the 7-day rhythm as seen in the image above. The Lord's Day post includes links to the sermons.
In addition to a brief comment on my preaching series of Christ in the Old Testament, I will also give brief comments on the how and why of Worship Connected. This week we are considering the names of 1 Chronicles.
Thursday 1 Chronicles 1—The Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve.
Friday 1 Chronicles 1:1-4—Adam, Seth, Enosh…
Saturday 1 Corinthians 11:23-34—He took the bread and blessed it (communion preparation)
Lord’s Day
Monday Luke 3:23–38—Jesus, son of Adam
Tuesday Revelation 20:11-15—Written in the book of life
Wednesday Romans 5:12–21—First and Last Adam
If you find it useful to use these in your household/family worship, consider asking your pastor to speak to me about him developing something similar in your congregation.
Thoughts for Pastors:
About half-way through my first year of ministry at Springs Reformed Church, I requested feedback from any who would be willing to fill out a survey on Worship Connected. I received responses from about one fourth of the households in the congregation.
About half of those who responded indicated that their household worship has become more consistent since they began using Worship Connected. These are some of the factors they gave for more frequency.
That the guide is contextualized between Lord’s Day sermons is helpful in keeping us focused on what we’ve heard the previous Lord’s Day and what we’re expecting to hear the next. The guide being split up into assigned days is also helpful in keeping us on track.
Worship Connected provides a framework and guidance that helps us to get back in the saddle and stay in it.
I also asked specific questions related to the three aims of this household worship guide (see chapter one). Here are the questions and some responses.
How has Worship Connected helped you worship together as a household throughout the week?
It has been a concrete, concise resource for being in Scripture and having helpful commentary each time.
How has Worship Connected helped you better take in and live out the Word preached?
I love how it keeps Sunday’s message alive all week. Focusing on what was preached and what will be preached assists me in keeping the message active in my daily life.
How has Worship Connected helped you to more deeply remember and observe the Sabbath?
As we read and study the scriptures we look forward to gathering on the Lord’s day to continue the time of worship.
It is obvious from the responses that those who use it are finding it helpful. How they are expressing the value they get from using it is encouraging and certainly motivates me to continue preparing it weekly.
I think using Springs Reformed Church as a test case validates that this Worship Connected household worship guide is at least capable of meeting these stated aims:
1. Encourage household worship as a regular practice and connect it with the church’s corporate worship.
2. Enhance the saints’ mindful hearing of and meditation on the Word preached week by week.
3. Exhort Christians to spend the early part of the week looking back at the Lord’s Day just past, then spend the last part of the week preparing for the Lord’s Day to come.
