One reason many of us are intimidated by the idea of family worship is that many of us don’t think of ourselves as worship leaders. Our idea of a worship leader is the person leading the music at church on Sunday mornings. 

But the truth is that all parents are worship leaders. We’re all instinctually leading our kids in praise of the things we enjoy and delight in every day. The question is, are we leading our kids to worship God because He is the most wonderful and enjoyable person in the universe? 

Establishing the practice of singing in our homes is one big way to lead our hearts (and the hearts of our children!) to delight in God together. 

You don’t need to be good at singing or be a competent instrumentalist to start singing together in your home. Technology makes singing together easier than ever before! All you have to do is hit the play button on the song of the day, print out some lyrics and start singing along.

If you’re almost sold on this idea of singing in your home, let me encourage you further with a few reasons why singing together is a powerful practice for everyone in the family. Full disclaimer: my wife Emily and I are songwriters— our emphasis over the last 10+ years has been on writing songs full of the Word. We are passionate about singing Scripture-saturated songs, and I think you’ll see why as you continue reading. 

Singing helps us learn the Word

Most Christian parents want their kids to know the Word. At my church growing up, our Wednesday night kid’s programming revolved around Scripture memory. The program’s strategy was to get us to memorize a bunch of Scripture by rewarding us with prizes after we recited verses to our teachers. 

It’s not a bad idea, but the problem is this: I don’t remember any of those verses.

On the other hand, I had much less trouble learning and remembering my ABCs or the 50 states of America. In fact, I’m willing to bet that you remember your ABCs as well and that as you recall them, a familiar tune plays in your head. 

Though I don’t remember any of the Scriptures verses I tried to learn by sheer force of will as a kid, I do have verses floating around in my head that I remember from childhood. The verses I remember are the ones we sang at church or at home. 

If you want to help every member of your family learn God’s Word, one of the best things you can do is sing Scripture-saturated songs together.

Again, technology has made this easy! No need to come up with your own tunes— though you can! Many wonderful people have attached beautiful melodies to the words of God. All it takes is a Google search and you’re likely to find a few musical options for the parts of God’s Word you want to learn together. 

2. Singing helps us meditate on God’s word

The Psalms are considered the songbook of God’s people. I think it’s wonderful that this songbook starts with a song about the importance of meditating on the words of God. Psalm 1:1-2 reads:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Singing the words of God helps us meditate on the words of God. The biblical idea of “meditating” isn’t about emptying your mind or humming. It’s this idea of ruminating on something, turning it over again and again to reexamine it. Think of a cow chewing cuds— ie. grass it’s already chewed and has come back up for some more chewing! Some cows chew for eight hours a day!

It’s a wonderful thing to sit down, read, and study God’s word. We love meditating on God’s Word in this way! But singing allows us to meditate on God’s Word as we do chores or drive in the car. 

Songs have the added benefit of helping pull our minds back to things that are worthy of our thoughts. Remember Paul’s encouragement in Philippians 4:8—  

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

3. Songs are weapons

A few years ago, Emily and I were eating lunch backstage at a ladies’ event where we led worship. During that lunch, we got the chance to talk with Ruth Ripken, one of the speakers for the event. 

Ruth and her husband Nik have spent their lives as missionaries in highly persecuted areas of the world. We found ourselves talking about the power of songs. She told us that Christians who had heart songs of faith in their own language and cultural style were much more likely to withstand persecution. 

It rocked our world to hear her thoughts on the power of songs and singing. Her words solidified in our hearts the conviction that songs are more than a nicety; they are weapons of faith. 

One of the uniquely powerful things about songs is that they are both input and output. 

Songs teach us— and often, the lessons are far deeper than simple facts like we mentioned earlier. Most songs are more than a lecture. They engage our minds and our hearts, impacting our thoughts and our emotions. 

Even the world uses songs to promote a worldview. Songs can become the heartbeat of a group of people. Songs can reflect and shape the culture.

Why wouldn’t we channel the power of songs and singing in our homes? 

Truth-filled singing in our homes…

• Helps us fight against lies that lead us to sin and disregard God.
• Can shape the culture of our homes, uniting us together in our shared faith and trust in Christ. 
• Teaches our kids what we believe about God. 
• Reveals to our kids the heart and emotions behind our belief in and love for God. 

By singing truth-filled songs in our homes, we are handing our kids weapons in their fight of faith. 

Learn, meditate, and fight through song

Singing songs of faith together communicates our love to God, but it also communicates important truths to own hearts and to those around us. Don’t rob yourself or your children of Scripture-saturated singing. Learn the Word, meditate on the Word, and fight the good fight of faith through song.