The Godly Family: Essays on the Duties of Parents and Children

The Godly Family presents timeless counsel from several seventeenth- and eighteenth-century pastors on ordering the home God’s way. Although some circumstances of family life have changed over the years, the basic purpose, relations, and duties remain the same. Reading this book, Christian parents will appreciate and benefit from a host of essays related to family religion, the duties of parents, the duties of children, and the eternal family in heaven. Authors in this collection include Samuel Davies, George Whitefield, Samuel Worcester, Henry Venn, Samuel Stennett, Arthur Hildersham, Philip Doddridge, and Thomas Houston. Allow the wisdom of generations past to guide you today in cultivating a godly family.

Contents:

Foreword

Section 1: Family Religion

The Necessity and Excellence of Family Religion—Samuel Davies

The Great Duty of Family Religion—George Whitefield

A Plain and Serious Address on the Important Subject of Family Religion—Philip Doddridge

Section 2: The Duties of Parents

Parental Duties Illustrated—Samuel Worcester

The Duties of Parents Towards Their Children—Henry Venn

Disciplining Children—Arthur Hildersham

On the Method of Instructing Children—Henry Venn

Four Sermons on the Religious Education of Children—Philip Doddridge

Blessings Consequent upon Parental Fidelity—Thomas Houston

Section 3: The Duties of Children

The Duties of Children to Their Parents—Samuel Stennett

The Duties of Children—Henry Venn

Section 4: The Eternal Family

Heaven Considered as a Family—Samuel Stennett

Endorsement:

“You may ask why a theology of the family is important. The answer is that the family, not the individual, is the value-generated institution of every society. Once it becomes secular in its thinking, each subsequent generation suffers. Therefore, the cause of God must be maintained in the world, and the family must serve as God’s primary mouthpiece. Your soul will feast on this wisdom.”

—from the foreword by Garry Ezzo