Dear Family of Grace Bible Church,

It is a joy to worship the LORD together when we assemble as a local body of Christ on Sundays and other times.  We do this because the LORD in HIS Word calls us to assemble together for corporate worship and because we as Christians love to obey HIM.  In obeying HIM we bring HIM Glory and find our greatest joy.

Not only does the LORD call us to Worship HIM corporately with other believers, but HE also calls us to Worship HIM in homes with our family (Deut. 6:6-9; Joshua 24:15; Eph. 6:4).  What we do together on Sunday in corporate worship should not be foreign to our children or family members.  It should be a continuation of what we do in our homes.  Jonathan Edwards had some great insight into this truth when he said, “Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church.” We all desire that our families Love God.  It is important for us to remember that Loving God and knowing HIS Word are inseparable.  Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” In order to obey HIM we must know HIS Word.  Knowing HIS Word goes beyond just knowing what it says, we must internalize it and by HIS grace apply it to every area of our life to bring HIM glory. After all this is our purpose as Christians as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”  Setting aside time for Family Worship each day enables us to fulfill God’s Word and emphasizes the central place HIS Word has in our home and lives.

I would also encourage you to be very intentional in bringing the precepts and principles of the Bible into your every day conversations, which teaches that the Word of God is applicable for every situation.  Just think about the practical application you can discuss throughout the day from Philippians 2:14 -“Do all things without grumbling or disputing.”

Family Worship should consist of Bible reading, prayer and singing to the LORD. Therefore, we are providing family devotions for the Family of Grace in order to glorify God in our homes.  These devotions will cover 52 key Bible passages during 2009.  Each week we will focus on one of these 52 passages.  These 52 passages of Scripture will cover major teaching in the Bible such as; God’s Word, Trusting God, God’s Sovereignty, the Cross, Salvation, Evangelism, etc…  In order to cover these passages we will provide a short devotion for each day of the week focusing on the passage for the week.  The devotions for days 1-5 will include reading and memorizing the passage for the week, understanding the passage, applying the passage and praying based on the passage.  We will also provide a list of songs from which to choose in order to worship the LORD in song.  The devotions for days 6 & 7 will include reading and memorizing the passage, as well as working through the Grace Bible Catechisms.  We have one catechism for the younger children and one for the older children and teenagers.

The devotions, songs, and catechisms will be posted on our website – www.gbctx.org

If you have any trouble downloading the information, please let me know.

May the LORD be glorified in our homes and in HIS church in 2009.

By HIS Grace and for HIS Glory,

Bryan