Snow Day Resources

How do we honor the Lord’s Day when we have to cancel church? One of my girls asked, “Do the daddies read some scripture and we sing?” She’s on to something there. Maybe you do family worship together with reading some Scripture, discussing what you read, singing a hymn or two, and praying with one another. Maybe you pray and watch another church livestream their service. Below I have a recommended “order of worship” for when we cannot gather together. I will also include some links to various resources that I hope will help.

I. Family Worship (adapted from Terry Johnson’s The Family Worship Book).

• Singing - Begin with singing a psalm or hymn together. You can find lots of hymns from our Trinity Hymnal on YouTube (resource below)
• Prayer - We pray a lot in church and you can pray a lot at home. Maybe follow ACTS to give form to your prayers: A-doration, C-onfession, T-hanksgiving, and S-upplication. You could also end a time of prayer by saying the Lord’s prayer together.
• Scripture - Pick a portion of Scripture and read it aloud together.
• Teaching/instruction - Fathers, maybe you can use a study Bible and offer a few thoughts on the passage. Or maybe you can discuss it with the family. Ask open ended questions, “What does this passage say about God?” “What does it say about us?” “Is it calling us to believe something or do something?” Or turn on the internet and enjoy a sermon together either by livestream or a previous sermon from a pastor you enjoy.
• Doxology - close the time together by singing the doxology.

II. Resources

Music: 

• Trinity Hymnal on YouTube - This is an excellent playlist featuring 620 of the hymns from the Trinity Hymnal. 
• The Sing Hymnal - Created by Keith and Kristyn Getty, this modern hymnal contains not only wonderful contemporary hymns, many we sing at the Kirk, but some of the best hymns of our Christian heritage. They have a list of all the songs in their hymnal categorized by topic: abiding in Christ, assurance, children and family, calling, etc. Also, I would strongly encourage every family to have a hymnal, but especially this one. It has resources for Scripture readings, prayers, and beautiful hymns.
• or even, The Kirk Hymnbook! - Pull it up on the home screen of the Kirk App

Prayer: Matthew Henry’s Method for Prayer - If you are looking for some assistance on how and what to pray, this is an incredible resource based on Matthew Henry’s classic book, Method for Prayer.

Sermons (Live)

• Briarwood Presbyterian - Many consider Briarwood to be the “birthplace of the PCA” as it was the host of our first General Assembly on December 4th, 1973. For over 50 years Briarwood has led the PCA with strong pastors and a heart for missions. Dr. Harry Reeder pastored here for almost 25 years. The current minister is Dr. Scott Redd.
• Tenth Presbyterian - This historic church in the heart of Philadelphia was a leader against liberalism in the Northern churches. She has been blessed to name as pastors: Donald Barnhouse, James Montgomery Boice, Philip Ryken, and presently Johnny Gibson. I’ve been blessed by the preaching of Dr. Gibson in recent years and know you will be too.
• There were other churches I could have listed but I avoided ones in the South East this time since we are all facing the same weather.

Sermons (Recorded)

• Alistair Begg - He recently retired from ministry but Alistair Begg was pastor of Parkside Church in Cleveland for forty years. He is a gifted preacher. You can visit his ministry site, Truth For Life, and find hundreds of sermons spanning the whole of his ministry.
• Martyn Lloyd-Jones - Many believe he was one of the greatest preachers of the 20th century. I frequently consult Lloyd-Jones and have read many of his sermons. By God’s provision though, you can still listen to them. The Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust as painstakingly digitized and preserved thousands of his sermons. Heads up: they are usually long but worth it. Families with younger children may want to choose a different pastor based on the length of his sermons.
• Ligonier - The ministry founded by the late R.C. Sproul. I have shared the YouTube link as it will give you quick access to hundreds of sermons and teachings from Sproul but also several Ligonier fellows like Sinclair Ferguson, Joel Beeke, Derek Thomas, and recently Michael Reeves.
• or even, Sermons from the Kirk - Always reliable and from your own pastors. Pull them up on the Kirk App or online.