Well, few passages lend themselves to family worship better than this one!! One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is a clear vision for family life. What is it parents are called to… what is it that children are called to… and that all fits into God’s strategy for raising mature men and women of God. Jesus and his family submit to that vision and it is adequate for raising the Son of God, so that seems a pretty good endorsement!

There are at least three great conversations that you could visit with children of any age. The first is that of Festivals. We’ve just had one, so there is a sense of immediacy about this.

Jesus and His family go up to Jerusalem to celebrate on the of the Festivals that was embedded in the structure of the Ancient Church: Passover. Festivals are designed to give a rhythm to the worship of the Church, constantly re-connecting us to the great works of God in the past and/or lifting our eyes to focus on the works of God in the future. They mark our pilgrimage, and punctuate the Christian year. Our Culture has its own Festivals, some of which they hijacked from the Church! But working out as a family how you can mark, celebrate and benefit from your engagement with the Church’s Festivals would be a great way to use ‘Family Worship time’. Marking them on the calendar, talking through the focus and curriculum of each, thinking of ways to engage them… how will your family celebration interconnect with the Church-family’s celebration?

We did do an All Age series on the OT festivals (and how they connect with the NT Church’s worship) a couple of summers ago, so you might want to dig out the Youtube services from Summer 2021.

A second area to talk about would be Jesus’ engagement with the Scriptures, and His study with others. This is a great pattern for Children to follow, and is actually how Jesus learned about His own identity and mission. You have a great opportunity here to explore why the Bible features so much in your own life, and in the life of your family. If appropriate, you could study together the story of the Passover (maybe over a Passover meal, see e.g. here: PASSOVER MEAL), and explore how it would have helped Jesus grow in His understanding of what His Father had sent Him into the world to do! It’s also how we grow in ‘wisdom’ (v.52). It’d be great to read the Passover account in Exodus…

Another option would be to reflect together on Jesus’ pattern of obedience to His parents. It always helps us to know why we are being told to do something. Jesus’ obedience to Mary and Joseph is part of how He ‘learned obedience’ to His Heavenly Father (Heb.5:8). Similarly, our families are schools in which we learn how to obey ‘first time and straightaway’. It’s where we learn to trust those who love us to instruct us and train us. If you wanted to develop the idea of imitating Christ from this passage, His humility is deeply compelling. He submits to the structures of worship found in Scripture, to His parents, and to the limits of His humanity. What might it look like for us to follow His example of humility? Have a look at Phil.2:1-11 if you’re struggling to come up with an answer!