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 November 15, 2026
Prepare for Songs and Psalms
A Song to Learn During TGP Unit 17
Practice this hymn with your children, and talk about what it means.
780 | “Joy to the World,” Isaac Watts, Psalmodia Britannica, Lowell Mason
From The Sing! Hymnal: “With its triumphant cadence and rousing spirit, this carol was written by the man commonly called the Liberator of the English Hymn, Isaac Watts. This hymn, intended as a setting of Psalm 98, speaking of the second coming of Jesus, was published in 1719. Since then it has become America’s best-loved carol, as it encapsulates the joy of the season like nothing else—and was not even originally considered a Christmas song!”
Responsive Reading: Psalm 23
Read the Psalm together. Practice saying it responsively. Try memorizing one or more verses.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
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 17 Memory Verse | Isaiah 25:9 — “It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’”
Unit 17 Big Picture Q&A | How did God plan to fix what sin broke? Before He created the world, God planned to send the Messiah.
Bible Story | “God Brought His People Home,” Ezra 1–3. Read this story to your children from the Bible or from a storybook Bible. Prompt your children to describe the characters and events of the passage.
Christ Connection | Just as God promised, He brought His people back from exile to Jerusalem. One day, God will bring all His people together—all who trust in Jesus to save them from sin. There will be no crying that day. The people will worship Him in the new heaven and new earth.
Introduction to the Story
The Bible is described as a book about God fulfilling His promises to His people, and in Ezra 1–3, we see how God fulfilled the promise He made to bring His people home after 70 years in captivity. God used King Cyrus of Persia to issue a decree that allowed the Israelites to return home.
Just as the prophecies of Daniel remind us of God’s control over the kingdoms of the world, so do the first few verses of Ezra. We learn how God “roused” the spirit of King Cyrus to move him to release the Israelites. God’s control over kings and kingdoms was even more evident because Cyrus didn’t send the Israelites home empty-handed. They returned with resources provided by the king and their neighbors. Only God could reverse the Israelites’ fortunes in such a quick way—from exiles with nothing to a returning remnant with resources to rebuild.
God often works through a remnant of people, no matter how large that group may be. Once this remnant of God’s people returned to their homeland, they set about the process of rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple. At the center of their rebuild, the leaders of the people rightly recognized the importance of worship. Just a few months after returning from exile, they began rebuilding the altar of God so they could restart their worship according to God’s commands. They knew the rebuild would only succeed when God’s people turned to Him in proper worship, turning away from their sin and obeying Him.
Before the foundation of the temple was laid, the leaders rebuilt the altar, demonstrating their desire for God’s people to atone for their sin. Through opposition and uncertainty, they established a place for the priests to offer burnt sacrifices on behalf of the people.
Like the remnant of Israelites, we need to remember that true restoration begins with a reconnection of God through worship. We were created to worship God and glorify His name. Encourage kids to remember that before we try to rebuild the outer elements of our lives, we must first prioritize the exaltation of our Savior.