This week, we mark the halfway point of the Ten Commandments: Set Free to Live Free series with commandment V. Honor Your Father and Mother. Our parents are some of the most influential people in our live, for good or ill. However, we are still called to honor them, even when that’s difficult. The good news, however, is that God is our perfect heavenly Father who loves us first.
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Far from sinful, dishonoring one’s father and mother is now considered a rite of passage.
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One way to encourage kids to honor father & mother is for father & mother to honor one another.
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Don’t negotiate with your children. Lead them.
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One way to honor your parents? Make your own decisions and be a responsible adult.
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You’re little kids may not feel like a blessing right now. That’s okay. Parent them so that they become a blessing.
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The goal is not to raise good, moral kids, but kids who love Jesus with a new nature and a new heart.
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Good luck finding a TV show/band that tells kids to honor parents. Instead, we idolize rebellion and demonize honor.
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Commandments 1–4 are about how we love God. 5–10 are about how we love others, starting with our family.
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If you can love and forgive your parents, you can love and forgive anybody.
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If you do not honor your mother and father, how do you expect to raise children who will honor you? Reap, sow.
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The fifth commandment isn’t just for little kids. You’re always someone’s child, and we’re always called to honor them.
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Our goal is to raise kids who are not outwardly compliant but inwardly love Jesus.
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Recommended resources
How to do Bible-based parenting
By Mars Hill Church
Parenting is hard, no matter the circumstances, and everyone needs a little help. Yesterday, we put together a list of our favorite parenting resources.
Jesus the Boy
By Pastor Steve Tompkins
In the sermon from 2009 on Luke 2:41–52, Pastor Steve takes this single brief glimpse into the life of the 12-year-old boy Jesus and pulls out deeply convicting and inspiring principles for all ages. This sermon is especially a must-listen for parents and kids as the exhortations and applications for these life stages throughout the sermon are many and of eternal significance.
10 Ways to Love Your Kids
By Rachel Jankovic, via Resurgence
The author of Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches give 10 principles for pointing your children to Jesus through how you parent.
What Does God Want for Families?
By Richard Pratt, via Resurgence
Unless you live in complete isolation, you have seen a broken home. Previously, Richard Pratt wrote about the first broken family: Adam and Eve’s. But what about now? Can we overcome the brokenness of our homes in the present age? Hasn’t God promised that Christian families can overcome their brokenness?
“To my mom, I love you forever. Your son, Jake”
By Pastor Phil Smidt
In honor of Mother’s Day earlier this year, Jake Smidt, son of Pastor Phil and Jen Smidt, wrote a letter to his mom. It is very loving, sweet, and honoring to her, and an example of the redemption that Jesus can work in the hearts of teenagers.
