Guilt-Free Family Worship…At Home! ~ A Neglected Grace

[This review and blog post was done by Mike as he is the head of our home and leads the charge as we strive to incorporate family worship.]

We’ve started…We’ve stopped…
We’ve been excited and gung -ho… We’ve had bored kids and unmotivated parents.

Yes, we have been all over the map when it comes to worshipping together as a family.  I suspect many who have tried this at home have had similar experiences.  If you are the poster family for family worship, God bless you!  This book I am going to tell you about is for you!  If you have tried and failed or haven’t ever tried because you were sure you would fail, this book is for you. Author and pastor, Jason Helopoulos, lays out the what, why, and how of worshipping together in A Neglected Grace: Family Worship in the Church Home.

The Bottom Line

There is so much to like about this book.  Heloponlos gives practical suggestions and resources for worshipping as a family.  He lays out convincing reasons to start or even persevere if worshipping as a family has been difficult. Many parents feel guilty for not having regular worship with their kids.  This book is not meant to cause the reader to feel guilty about struggles in worship leadership at home A Neglected Grace is a small and simple book to read.

Instead, the basis of A Neglected Grace is that family worship is a response to God’s magnificent and infinite grace; by this grace “we gather together with our family members to delight in His excellent goodness and eternal glory” (p.  16).  Our good standing with God is not about whether we participated in family worship or for that matter that we have done anything to earn his grace.  We can only be in good standing with God because of what Christ has done for us.  Family worship, like other spiritual disciplines, is something that we want to do. When we are impacted by God’s grace, we will want to worship him through Bible reading, singing, and prayer .

[Tweet “Start the new year out right. Guilt-free and inspired worship at home.”]

Helopoulos shares three spheres of worship: secret, corporate, and family worship. Secret worship is individual private time with God.  As Christ was our example, we will be in God’s glorious presence when we spent quiet time daily with the Lord.

Corporate worship is the pubic and communal part of worship. Helopoulos argues that corporate worship is essential and cannot be replaced by another form of worship for the individual Christian (p. 24).

The third sphere of worship is family worship, which is when all who live together have a regular worship time.

All three are important parts of a Christian’s life.

Helopoulos continues with the reasons for family worship, what makes family worship different from other family time. He covers the blessings reaped and practical considerations for establishing family worship. He also provides some examples for family worship and gives additional titles that can aid in making a regular worship time with the family.

If you have considered implementing family worship or have struggled with family worship, this book is an excellent resource.  It’s a quick and easy read, but packed with practical and biblically rich information.  I am looking forward to sharing it with some men who are looking for these resources at our church.

[Tweet “Nothing can replace worship with other believers, but a family who worships together reap blessings”]

Book Description

Pastor Jason Helopoulos calls parents and church leaders to reclaim the practice of family worship. This indispensable means of grace directs our children to seek Christ daily, preparing them to go out into the world as fully functioning Christian adults, who love Christ and see all of life in relation to Him.

Product Details

Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Christian Focus (July 9, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1781912033
ISBN-13: 978-1781912034
Product Dimensions:          7.7 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
Retail: $10.99

Available at these retailers!

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Christian Book Distributors

About The Author

Jason Helopoulos is assistant pastor at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan, and a guest blogger at The Gospel Coalition. He and his wife, Leah, are parents of two young children, Gracen and Ethan.

 

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this title from Shaun Tabat at Cross-Focused Reviews and Christian Focus Publishers for an honest review if this title.