Family Worship Guide Week of August 12

Prayer (5 Minutes)

  • Have everyone share one thing they were thankful for in the week.
  • Have everyone share one prayer request.

Song (5 Minutes)

Catechism (5 minutes)

Have everyone read aloud simultaneously or allow everyone to try to answer before revealing the answer.
Q10: What does God require in the fourth and fifth commandments?
A: Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in worship of God. Fifth, that we love and honor our father and our mother.

Leviticus 19:3 (ESV) — Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.

Scripture (5 Minutes)

Luke 2:1-20 (NLT)

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Discussion (5-10 Minutes)

You can lead through a teaching or use the following questions to start a discussion:
  • What were the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth? If you were God, looking for a place for your own Son to be born on earth, would you have chosen this situation? Why or why not?
  • What do you think the shepherds thought when they saw the angels? How does their response to the angel’s announcement serve as an example for us?
  • What did you learn in these verses about God’s plan?

Closing Prayer (3 Minutes)

From Luke 1:38 and 2:31.
Father, nothing is impossible with you! Thank you for sending Jesus, who is your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations. I am your servant; may your word to me be fulfilled. Please transform me to be more like Jesus every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.