One activity that will bond a family together in the Lord is regular family devotions. A family that worships together at home will have little difficulty worshiping together at church. With careful preparation and effort, you can teach your children to look forward to family devotions. Even children who have not learned to talk can be taught to sit in their parents' laps quietly during this time. The training they receive at an early age will bear rich fruit in the years to come. Although most families recognize the importance of family worship, some are confused about how to begin. Let me suggest you be imaginative. Here are some things you may find helpful:

• Begin the time with prayer. Ask God to make his presence known during your worship time and to help your family understand the Bible.

• Read a passage of Scripture. Ask the children two or three basic questions at the end. This will help them to be attentive. Have them retell the story in their own words.

• Make a family prayer list. Ask your children what needs to be added to the list. Pray for specific items during your prayer time. Thank God when prayer is answered. Do not be afraid to pray for specifics like tight finances and the reconciliation of broken relationships. This will teach your children to be dependent upon God for all things. Be sure to get your children to think about lost relatives and friends, and pray as a family for the courage to share the gospel with them and for their conversion.

• Try to learn together one Bible verse a week. Insist that they be learned "word perfect," and that your children be able to cite where the verse is found in the Bible. You may also want to teach your children the answer to a question in the Shorter Catechism. If you teach your child one answer every week or two you will find that much will be learned over the course of a year. Do not be too ambitious. Learn slowly and carefully. The benefits will come over time. Take care to explain difficult words.

• Many churches provide sermon notes in the bulletin each week. Take time to review them one evening with your family. Some churches also print in their bulletins the Bible passage for the next Sunday and the hymns that will be sung. Read the passage together. Discuss it. Teach your child one of the hymns to be sung. Begin to look forward to the Lord's Day.

• Bring a world globe or map to family devotions and a copy of Patrick Johnstone's Operation World. A nation is listed for every day of the year, along with prayer requests for that country. Teach your children to find the country on the globe and pray for it. You will be amazed how much geography your children will learn while developing a perspective for global missions and evangelism.

• Use family devotions as a time for reconciliation. Set a good example for your family by asking, receiving, and granting forgiveness. Encourage your children to be open in sharing with the family.

Do not try to do everything listed here each evening. Fifteen to thirty minutes is plenty of time for family devotions. (If you think this is a lot of time, compare its value with watching one TV sit-com together.) Do not become stagnant in your family worship. Use a variety of materials and ideas in order to make this a time that your family will love and enjoy.

One further value of family devotions is the educational opportunity it provides. Let's face it, one hour at Sunday school or Pioneer Clubs is not sufficient to give your children a thorough grasp of the Bible. Unless you send your children to a Christian school or home-school them, you must make additional time for formally instructing your children. Family devotions provide one such opportunity. Also, use the many hours you spend in the car and around the dinner table to help your children grow in their knowledge of the Christian life. Simple discussions of biblical truths and the application of them to life can have immeasurable benefits for you and your children (see Deuteronomy 6:1-9).

Don't be discouraged if it takes time to get a good, healthy devotional life started in your family. Bad habits are easy to slip into; good habits that will reap an eternal reward take many hours of prayer, sacrifice, and hard work to establish. Don't give up. Be patient with yourself and your family. As you persevere in this area of family life, it will become one of your family's most cherished times together.