I am interested to know the various orders of worship in confessional households. I am considering revising mine.

Please list out the order your family uses.

Reeder Family Worship:

Call to Worship
Song: Selection from The Book of Psalms for Singing
Federal Prayer
Catechism Review
Catechism Instruction
Prayer
Three Fold Amen

*Old Testament Reading and New Testament Reading are after meals and Benediction is at Bedtime

__________________
--chRis
Psalm 115:1

Christopher Reeder
Husband to Kara, Father to Abigail (7), Caleb (6), Grace (4 1/2), Zoë (3), Elijah (1 1/2) and Hannah (born 8/8/2008)

Member: Pilgrim Presbyterian Church (OPC), Raleigh, NC

Truelove Family Order of Worship (After Dinner):

Scripture Reading by Dad with Brief Explanation/Application

Song, Hymn, or Spiritual Song

Prayer (Beginning with Dad, we go around the table and Mom closes.)


(Catechism is taught in home school and Dad helps with division reviews.)

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Robert Truelove
Pastor
Christ Reformed Church
Lawrenceville, GA

Morning, following breakfast:

Psalm (1650 Scottish Metrical Psalter ... Current Schedule this post)
Prayer ending with The Lord's Prayer

Evening, following supper:

Daily Bible Reading (McCheyne Calendar, 2-year version)
Psalm (1650 Scottish Metrical Psalter ... Current Schedule this post)
Prayer

__________________
~Jay~
Husband of ENS, father of J II. | Indian Trail, NC
Currently disabled due to health issues
Communicant Member, Precentor | Presbyterian Reformed Church of Charlotte, NC | Presbyterian Reformed Church

van der Laan order of worship, dinnertime:

Dad opens in prayer
Scripture reading and discussion
HB Catechism/Canons of Dordt/Belgic Confession/other ("Billy talks to his pastor about God" has been a frequent request since it was posted on the PB and printed out here for the kids)
Joseph closes in prayer

I think we'd like to add singing sometime in the near future - thanks for the tips.

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Kevin
Far East
Deacon, Int'l Church

Chloë and I don't have a particular chronological order each time, but this is how we usually do it:

1. Prayer
2. Singing of a Psalm (sometimes 2)
3. Catechizing
4. Chloë's memorizing the Beattitudes
5. Scripture reading with a brief exhortation by me.
6. Prayer

__________________
Josh Hicks, Chloë's Daddy
Member of TRBC. My Blog
The Puritan Pub (Team Blog)
Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

Myers Family Worship Outline:

Call to Worship
Psalm (The Book of Psalms for Singing or the 1650 Scottish Metrical Psalter)
Brief prayer
Scripture reading (in 2008, per the M'Cheyne Bible Reading Plan)
Briefly, questions / discussion of the text
Prayer requests
Prayer

__________________
Andrew Myers
Husband of Jessica, Father of Jackson, Katie and Samuel
Member, Presbyterian Reformed Church of Northern Virginia
Warrenton, VA USA
Editor, The Matthew Poole Project

"Let your Morning Thoughts, and your last Evening Thoughts, be what shall become of you to all Eternity." -- Matthew Poole

thanks we usually sing consecutively through the psalms and read consecutively through scripture. I think it is the historic practice in Scotland as follows and as adhering to the Directory of Family Worship. There is a good study guide to this by Douglas Comin. Ordinarily it is just the head of the household that leads in everything except perhaps the precenting this is as per the Directory "the ordinary performance of all the parts of family-worship belongeth properly to the head of the family". In case of his absence the wife or one of the boys of a sufficient age may substitute. When someone is visting the home for a meal or to stay we would always have the worship with them and they would take an active part if they are God-fearing men.

The usual practice in our circles is to ask a blessing on the word (usually seated), then to read some verses of a metrical psalm and sing them together, then a chapter is read and then prayer is made (kneeling).

We are not so good at what the Directory calls "catechising in a plain way, that the understandings of the simpler may be the better enabled to profit under the public ordinances, and they made more capable to understand the scriptures when they are read; together with godly conferences tending to the edification of all the members in the most holy faith: as also, admonition and rebuke, upon just reasons, from those who have authority in the family." Though this will happen in families.

I take it we agree with the Directory when it says that those neglecting family worship should be disciplined?

"And, to the end that these directions may not be rendered ineffectual and unprofitable among some, through the usual neglect of the very substance of the duty of Family-worship, the Assembly doth further require and appoint ministers and ruling elders to make diligent search and enquiry, in the congregations committed to their charge respectively, whether there be among them any family or families which use to neglect this necessary duty; and if any such family be found, the head of the family is to be first adminished privately to amend his fault; and, in case of his continuing therein, he is to be gravely and sadly reproved by the session; after which reproof, if he be found still to neglect Family-worship, let him be, for his obstinacy in such an offence, suspended and debarred from the Lord's supper, as being justly esteemed unworthy to communicate therein, till he amend."

__________________
Mr Matthew Vogan
Member - Inverness Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland www.fpchurch.org.uk
Scotland UK
my website www.holdfast.co.nr

Despite having gone PCA, my wife and I use the 1928 BCP Evening Prayers. Good stuff!

__________________
~etexas~

Before dinner:
Dad reads a Psalm (usually the first Psalm for the particular evening from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer)
General Prayer of Thanksgiving from '62 BCP

Then we eat dinner.

After we are done eating, we read from the 1979 BCP Lectionary, and Dad teaches on a particular part for 10-15 minutes. Right now I'm teaching on the Gospel readings.

Then we pray the General Petition from the '62 BCP, and we remember those in need at that time. We close with the Lord's Prayer.

Singing is usually during family time after supper, we'll sing 5-7 hymns per night.

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Bryan Maes (on Facebook)
Trinity Reformed Church (CREC mission)
Edgewood, NM

Thanks everyone for posting. This is a great thread!

In our house we are very simple. I read a passage of scripture. Chronological or seasonal as the day seems suitable. I (and my wife) ask questions of the children based on the reading. Then I pray. On rare occasions do we sing. And then only a Doxology.

The fact that I can not sing a note limites our singing. Also all catechism work is done as a part of the school day. So my wife will hear the catechism from the children on a day-to-day basis & I only ask the questions on an irregular basis (say, once a week).

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Kevin Rogers
Sovereign Community Church, PCA
Moncton NB

My wife teaches the children the catechism everyday in school. At night during family worship I review what they should already know and then the primary lesson is an explanation of the catechism.

Our family Bible reading plan is centered around meal times and not specifically during Family worship although the scriptures explaining the catechism are read and studied.

But I am considering revising the order of worship to align more with the Regulative Principle. As was seen in this thread even among the the Reformed churches their is not a consistent order of worship, so is the case with Family Worship.

Private worship? That may be revealed in a thread to come when the Stated Worship Trilogy is concluded.

__________________
--chRis
Psalm 115:1

Christopher Reeder
Husband to Kara, Father to Abigail (7), Caleb (6), Grace (4 1/2), Zoë (3), Elijah (1 1/2) and Hannah (born 8/8/2008)

Member: Pilgrim Presbyterian Church (OPC), Raleigh, NC