Family Worship Guide

Call to Worship: Psalm 98:1–4

Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! (ESV)

Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 3:13–20

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed. The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew. (ESV)

Prayer of Praise: Refer to the Call to Worship and the OT Reading above and the hymn below.

Hymn:‍ All for Jesus!

Reading of the Law: Psalm 24:3–6

Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah (ESV)

Silent Confession of Sin/Confession of Sin:

Almighty God, we acknowledge and confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed; we have not loved you with all of our heart, soul, and strength; we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. Deepen within us our sorrow for the wrong we have done, and the good we have left undone. Lord, you are full of compassion and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy; there is always forgiveness with you! Restore to us the joy of your salvation; bind up that which is broken, give light to our minds, strength to our wills, and rest to our souls. Speak to each of us, and let your word abide with us until it has wrought in us your holy will. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Isaiah 55:6–7

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (ESV)

Response: The Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen, amen.

Confession of Faith: Westminster Larger Catechism - Questions 111-114

Let’s continue to study the WLC by looking at the third commandment: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Question #111

Q.Which is the third commandment?

A. The third commandment is, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Ex. 20:7.

Question #112

Q. What is required in the third commandment?

A. The third commandment requires, that the name of God, his titles, attributes, ordinances, the word, sacraments, prayer, oaths, vows, lots, his works, and whatsoever else there is whereby he makes himself known, be holily and reverently used in thought, meditation, word, and writing; by an holy profession, and answerable conversation, to the glory of God, and the good of ourselves and others.

Matt. 6:9; Deut. 28:58; Ps. 29:2; Ps. 68:4; Rev. 15:3-4; Mal. 1:14; Ecc. 5:1; Ps. 138:2; 1 Cor. 11:24-25, 28-29; 1 Tim. 2:8; Jer. 4:2; Ecc. 5:2, 4-6; Acts 1:24, 26; Job 36:24; Mal. 3:16; Ps. 8:1, 3-4, 9; Col. 3:17; Ps. 105:2, 5; Ps. 102:18; 1 Pet. 3: 15; Mic. 4:5; Phil. 1:27; 1 Cor. 10:31; Jer. 32:39; 1 Pet. 2:12.

Question #113

Q. What are the sins forbidden in the third commandment?

A. The sins forbidden in the third commandment are, the not using of God’s name as is required; and the abuse of it in an ignorant, vain, irreverent, profane, superstitious, or wicked mentioning or otherwise using his titles, attributes, ordinances, or works, by blasphemy, perjury; all sinful cursings, oaths, vows, and lots; violating of our oaths and vows, if lawful; and fulfilling them, if of things unlawful; murmuring and quarreling at, curious prying into, and misapplying of God’s decrees and providences; misinterpreting, misapplying, or any way perverting the Word, or any part of it, to profane jests, curious or unprofitable questions, vain janglings, or the maintaining of false doctrines; abusing it, the creatures, or any thing contained under the name of God, to charms, or sinful lusts and practices; the maligning, scorning, reviling, or any wise opposing of God’s truth, grace, and ways; making profession of religion in hypocrisy, or for sinister ends; being ashamed of it, or a shame to it, by unconformable, unwise, unfruitful and offensive walking, or backsliding from it.

Mal. 2:2; Acts 17:23; Prov. 30:9; Mal. 1:6-7, 12; Mal. 3:14; 1 Sam. 4:3-5; Jer. 7:4, 9-10, 14, 31; Col. 2:20-22; 2 Kings 18:30, 35; Ex. 5:2; Ps. 139:20; Ps. 1:16-17; Isa. 5:12; 2 Kings 19:22; Lev. 24:11; Zech. 5:4; Zech. 8:17; 1 Sam. 17:43; 2 Sam. 16:5; Jer. 5:7; Jer. 23:10; Deut. 23:18; Acts 23:12, 14; Esther 3:7; Esther 9:24; Ps. 22:18; Ps. 24:4; Ezek. 17:16, 18-19; Mark 6:26; 1 Sam. 25:22, 32-34; Rom. 9:14, 19-20; Deut. 29:29; Rom. 3:5, 7; Rom. 6:1-2; Ecc. 8:11; Ecc. 9:3; Ps. 39:1-13; Matt. 5:21-28; Ezek. 13:22; 2 Pet. 3:16; Matt. 22:24-31; Isa. 22:13; Jer. 23:34, 36, 38; 1 Tim. 1:4, 6-7; 1 Tim. 6:4-5, 20; 2 Tim. 4:3-4; Rom. 13:13-14; 1 Kings 21:9-10; Jude 1:4: Acts 13:45; 1 John 3:12; Ps. 1:1; 2 Pet. 3:3; 1 Pet. 4:4; Acts 13:45-46, 50; Acts 4:18; Acts 19:9; 1 Thess. 2:16; Heb. 10:29; 2 Tim. 3:5; Matt. 23:14; Matt. 6:1-2, 5, 16; Mark 8:38; Ps. 73:14-15; 1 Cor. 6:5-6; Eph. 5:15-17; Isa. 5:4; 2 Pet. 1:8-9; Rom. 2:23-24; Gal. 3:1, 3; Heb. 6:6; 2 Tim. 2:14; Titus 3:9; Deut. 18:10-14; Acts 19:13.

Question #114

Q. What reasons are annexed to the third commandment?

A. The reasons annexed to the third commandment, in these words, “The Lord thy God,” and “for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” are, because he is the Lord and our God, therefore his name is not to be profaned or any way abused by us; especially because he will be so far from acquitting and sparing the transgressors of this commandment, as that he will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgment, albeit many such escape the censures and punishments of men.

Ex. 20:7; Lev. 19:12; Ezek. 36:21-23; Deut. 28:58-59; Zech. 5:2-4; 1 Sam. 2:12, 17, 22, 24; 1 Sam. 3:13.

Prayer of Thanksgiving:

Our most Holy God, we thank you for being near to us in everything that we do or say. You know our thoughts before we speak and you know are iniquities because you are all knowing, omniscient, not because you learn as you go but because you have created all things. Nothing surprises you because you have ordained all things. Lord, we are so thankful that you forgive sin, without forgiveness we could not stand before you, our holy God. We give thanks to our triune God for you are always working for us and not against us. If you are for us, who could be against us? You have loved us from before the foundation of the world and therefore have redeemed us and we bless your holy name. We pray these things in your Son’s most holy name, AMEN.

Prayer of Supplication:

Our loving Father, we come before you on bended knees, humbled by your majesty, in awe of your beauty. We petition you for the sake of your Son. We pray now, O Lord, that you would bless our church and its ministers. We ask that you give them the time to prepare for their sermons this week and that they have time to spend with their families. We ask for peace in our community and that you would call our leaders to repentance. We pray that you would work in their hearts to see that your holy Law is how our land should be governed. Please with the infirmed in our congregation, help those in need of physical healing and for those weak in faith. Help us O Lord, we pray in his name, AMEN.

Bible reading and commentary: Mark 3:13 -21

In this section of Mark’s gospel Jesus calls the 12 disciples

Questions to think about for the bible passage:

What does it mean to be called by Jesus?

Why were the crowds following Jesus?

Why would Jesus’ family say that he was out of his mind?

Commentary

In these verses, Jesus appoints his twelve disciples to do the will of God which constitutes a further movement toward the formation of the gathering of the people of God.

As is often the case, Mark presupposes further actions of Jesus without narrating them explicitly. By this point it is evident that Jesus had already selected and appointed the twelve, calling them out from the larger crowd that had been following him (vv. 7–9). Their task is twofold: first, to be with him, emphasizing the developmental nature of discipleship; and second, to be sent out, which is why they are called apostles — those who are “sent out.”

Their commission reflects Jesus’ own ministry. They are to preach the message of the kingdom of God and to cast out demons, and Mark later clarifies that healing is also part of their charge (6:13). This commission is enacted in 6:7–12. Jesus’ initial proclamation focuses on the descendants of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the selection of twelve apostles likely symbolizes these tribes (Rev. 21:14). Their period of direct oversight under Jesus is essential, for they will soon oversee the ministry of others after his death, resurrection, and ascension.

After listing the disciples by name, we are told that Judas Iscariot betrayed him. He was called to be an apostle like the other 11 and to the same functions; to proclaim, to heal, and to cast out demons but Jesus never trusted Judas.

Then Jesus went home to the place where he stayed in Capernaum. The crowds gathered around him again and there were so many people that Jesus and his disciples could not eat. Having heard about this, Jesus’ family went to get him out of the crowd and as they did they were saying that he is ‘out of his mind’. Now, besides his religious opponents he has to also contend with his family not believing in him. Jesus will never forsake his family, yet he will always pursue the call of God above all else.

Discuss questions above

Closing Thought

Jesus calls people intentionally, forms them deliberately, and sends them purposefully—and that calling will often be misunderstood by others. The Twelve were appointed on a mountain, but their first steps into ministry were taken in the chaos of a crowd and the confusion of family who couldn’t yet see what God was doing. Remembering this helps us hold fast to the truth that Christ’s call on a person’s life is clearer and more trustworthy than the opinions swirling around them.

Closing Hymn: The Doxology

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, ye heav’nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen

Closing Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (ESV)

The Lord’s Prayer (together):

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.