Know Your Target + Household Worship Guide Esther 6-7

By way of reminder, at Springs Reformed Church 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 am linking 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.

This week we will consider the Invisible God at Work and Finding Favor in Esther 6-7.

Thursday Esther 6—God’s Providential Dealings

Friday Esther 7—Spare My People.

Saturday Esther 7:1–4—If I have Found Favor

Lord’s Day

Monday Matthew 27:15–26—You’ve God the Wrong Man

Tuesday Matthew 1:1-17—The King is Coming.

Wednesday Hebrews 4:14–16—Finding Favor (Mercy and Grace).

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:

Obviously if this is a household worship guide for your congregation, then you must keep your congregation in mind as you prepare. If you have small children in your congregation, then I suggest you prepare the weekly material with at least an aim toward the hearts of these little ones. “Jesus said, ‘Leave the little children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to me, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’” (Mt 19:14). The older congregational members won’t be neglected in this. Most of us have been in a setting where a children’s Bible talk is being given to a mixed group and the adults are getting more out of the message than the children, even when the language and points are “kid friendly.” So, I have always aimed for this guide to be at least “kid friendly.” Recently a father of two young children aged two and four suggested some small changes that I have incorporated in the hopes of this being even more useful for households with young children.

In the hopefully unlikely event that you have no small children in your congregation, then adjust accordingly. The length of the daily Bible reading for which your family worship guide acts as a commentary should also be selected with your congregation in mind, remembering what they are made of, as the Lord does with us. “For he knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust” (Ps 103:14).