A Home That Worships

The heart of it

God's instruction is remarkably domestic. Talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk, when you lie down, when you rise. In other words, all day, in the flow of normal life. Faith taught only on Sunday is faith the household will file under 'special occasions.'

Joshua's line is a decision made out loud in front of everybody: as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Notice he decided for his household. Somebody has to say it plainly, and in a marriage the two of you say it together.

Psalm 127 keeps it humble: unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. You cannot manufacture a godly home with rules and routine. You can only offer your home to God and let Him build it.

What to notice

• The command begins with loving God with all your heart, before any teaching of anyone else.
• 'These words shall be in thine heart' comes before 'thou shalt teach them.' You cannot pass on what you do not have.
• The instruction covers doorposts and gates, the boundaries of the home. What comes in and goes out matters.
• Joshua invited the people to choose; he did not force them. He simply declared where his own house stood.

Talk together

1. 1If someone lived in our house for a week, what would they conclude we serve?
2. 2What did each of us grow up with, spiritually, and what do we want to keep or change?
3. 3What is one simple rhythm we could start: a blessing at meals, a Scripture at bedtime, a Sabbath afternoon?
4. 4Are we united about our church family and our part in it? If not, where do we differ?
5. 5Say Joshua's sentence out loud together, using your own last name. Then talk about what it will cost.

Pray together

Give your home to God out loud, room by room if you like. Ask Him to build what you cannot.