Family Worship Guides
Our Family Worship Guides are designed to help you prepare for worship the upcoming Sunday, with parents and children especially in mind. You can use this guide and the other resources to make yourself and your family more familiar with the songs, Scriptures, practices, and concepts that will be part of our worship in the coming Sunday, and so more ready to worship together with the church.
Family Worship Guide for September 13, 2026
Prepare for Songs and Psalms
A Song to Learn During TGP Unit 15
Practice this hymn with your children, and talk about what it means.
45 | “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee,” Henry Van Dyke, Ludwig van Beethoven
From The Sing! Hymnal: “Tertius Van Dyke, son of Henry Van Dyke, beautifully explained what these words meant to him: ‘My father’s hymn . . . is a vital and happy expression of the cheerful note that is the heart of the Christian religion. It begins, as Christianity itself began, in a whole-souled and hearty yes to life as Jesus lived it in God. It is the natural paean that leaps to the lips of a man who receives his life at God’s hands and purposes to live that life in Christ’s law of liberty.’”
Responsive Reading: Psalm 100
Read the Psalm together. Practice saying it responsively. Try memorizing one or more verses.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Talk About the Songs and Psalms
Choose a verse from a song or psalm. Read it together and discuss these questions using the “Swedish method.”
- What do you notice about these words? What do you like? What is surprising?
- Is there anything you don’t understand? Is there anything you wonder about?
- What do these words tell you about God? What do they tell you about yourself?
- Talk to God together about what you’ve discussed. Praise Him, thank Him, and ask for His help.
Prepare for Children’s Worship
Use this guide to prepare your children for their time learning in the classroom on Sunday morning (and for the Old and New Testament readings).
Unit 15 Memory Verse | Psalm 145:9 — “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
Unit 15 Big Picture Q&A | What is God like? God is holy, good, and loving.
Bible Story | “Judah’s Good Kings,” 2 Kings 18–19; 2 Chronicles 14–24. Read the stories of Asa, Joash, Hezekiah, and/or Josiah to your children from the Bible or from a storybook Bible. Note the pattern of good kings being like David, faithful to the Lord, and opponents of idolatry.
Christ Connection | Judah’s good kings led the people to God and away from sin. Yet when they died, the people returned to their sinful ways. Jesus is our good King who died and rose again, and always leads us to God and away from sin.
Introduction to the Story
Good kings and evil kings—both were seen throughout the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Depending on who was king, the people would either be led to worship the one true God or led the opposite direction toward idolatry and wickedness.
King Asa sought to do what was good in the eyes of the Lord and removed the places of idol worship. He commanded the people of Judah to worship and obey God. But once Asa died, Ahaziah became king and led the people to once again turn to idolatry. When he died, his mother Athalia made herself queen by force. She ruled as queen for six years and did evil in God’s sight.
The priest Jehoiada planned to overthrow the evil queen. His men captured her and made one of Athalia’s young sons, Joash, king. Following Jehoiada’s lead, Joash tore down the temple of Baal and restored worship in the temple to God alone.
After Joash came King Hezekiah. He also sought to do what was right in the sight of the Lord. After cleaning out the temple so the people could worship, Hezekiah invited Judah and Israel to celebrate the feast of the Passover. Afterward, everyone went back to their towns and destroyed their places of worship to false gods.
When the king of Assyria came to attack Judah, King Hezekiah prayed to God, and Judah was saved. God sent an angel to destroy the Assyrian army.
The last good king of Judah was Josiah. King Josiah was only eight years old when he came into power, but he also did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Under his rule, the people renewed their covenant with God and remained faithful to Him.
The good kings of Judah led the people to worship the one true God. The Lord raised up kings who would lead Judah to turn away from idolatry and keep His commands. Judah would serve God under the rule of the good kings but returned to their sinful ways after the good kings died. Yet, despite the people’s inconsistent worship of the Lord, God proved faithful to preserve His people. The line of Judah would one day give rise to the King of kings, who would make the way for people to worship God in spirit and truth.
Watch the Biggest Story video about Josiah
Prepare for Pulpit Ministry
This Week’s Text | John 8:12–30
Some Context for Adults | From the Gospel Coalition Commentary: “On the last day of the feast, Jesus identified himself as the source of life-giving water, an emblem of the Spirit who would be given after Jesus was glorified (cf. Ezek 36:26–27). Now, Jesus asserts that he is the light of the world and the source of eternal life for all who follow him. In both cases, these claims continue the themes of light (1:3–5, 9; 3:19–21) and water (4:10–15) found earlier in the Gospel. They also connect with torch-lighting and water-pouring rites commonly practiced as part of Tabernacles observance. The water-pouring ceremony commemorated God’s provision of rain during the exodus, while the torch-lighting rituals commemorated God’s presence with the Israelites in the wilderness in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (cf. Exod 13:21–22).”
COMA Questions
Context, Observation, Meaning, Application
- What do you remember from the previous story in the Gospel of John?
- What do you notice about this passage? Are there any words you don’t know?
- What do you think is the message or story of this passage?
- What do you think God wants you to think or do after reading this passage?
Pray | After you have read and discussed the passage, thank God for His Word and ask Him to apply it to your life. Ask for the specific applications you identified in your discussion.