I was first introduced to family worship while reading Voddie Baucham’s book, Family Shepherds. Coming from a home where family worship was not practiced this was a unique concept to me. After meeting with the President of the Bible College and Seminary I attended, I decided that family worship was a practice that we should exercise at home. Many men hesitate to lead their families in family worship because they aren’t teachers. Thankfully, God has given us men like Dr. Bruce Ware. In his book, Big Truths for Young Hearts, Ware has given fathers a resource that they can use in family discipleship. Not every man in the church is called to teach, but every man is called to shepherd his family. If you find yourself struggling to explain certain theological topics to your family, this is the perfect book for you.

The Structure

     Dr. Bruce Ware is a New Testament theologian, and he writes this book much like a catechism or a confession of faith. The historical confessions are divided into topics that are known as articles. There are normally articles concerning Scripture, the nature of God, the church, God’s purpose of grace (election), and other various theological emphases. It’s helpful for readers since there is a specific order, and I believe that is why Ware writes this book in a similar fashion. Like many of the historical confessions, Ware begins with the Scriptures. Our children need to know what the Bible is and how it came about. Ware then shifts his focus to creation and how God sovereignly created all that we see. He then shifts his focus to the nature of God. His chapter on the Trinity is an incredible resource for explaining one of the harder tenets of Christian doctrine. There are many other concepts that Ware touches on, but from start to finish your children will be taught basic Christian doctrine without ever stepping foot in a Seminary classroom.

Personal Impact

     For five years, we were blessed to be a part of the Metro MCG. We watched the group grow, get smaller, and grow again. The heart of the parents in that group, as is the heart of every parent at MCC, is that their children would come to know and love God. For a while, we would just dismiss the kids after singing, and then we would proceed with our study. However, we had a desire to involve the kids in a lesson. For a few months, we used this book as our lesson for the kids. Listening to KJ, Keith, Meridith, Dustin, Chloe, and other children answer questions about God’s work in creation and his supreme rule over the Universe was a huge blessing to me. As a volunteer in our Walk Worthy ministry, I have seen these kids grow in their knowledge of Scripture and theology. Pray alongside of me, the other parents of MCC, and our elders that the Lord would use books like this and ministries like Walk Worthy to bring our children to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Using the Book as a Guide for Family Worship

     In our Church Covenant, we pledge to practice personal and family worship. I do not doubt that this is practiced faithfully in all our homes. While we are not in discipleship season anymore it is important to note that discipleship never ends. In a day and age where our children are introduced to perverse material on human sexuality from a young age, taking a work like Ware’s will be helpful. I want to offer a few ways you can utilize this material in family discipleship in a way that will be interesting for your children.

1. Pick a topic that corresponds with the passage you’re reading together. For instance, if you are studying Genesis 1-3, use the chapters that Ware writes on Creation and sin.
2. Sing a song that matches the theme you will study. Music is something that everyone loves, especially kids.
3. Use this in conjunction with the Walk Worthy material during the school year.
4. Meditate on these writings before you teach through them. Though this is a work intended for children, adults will be edified as they read through it.
5. In light of Titus 2, let’s train one another in this idea of family worship.