“Honoring Our Parents Honors God”

 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12 NLT

The contextual definition of Old Testament “honor” means “heavy” or “weighty.” To honor someone is to give weight or grant a person of position respect and even authority in one’s life. It means to prize highly, care for, show respect for, and obey.

 

THERE ARE NO PERFECT PARENTS. 

 

THERE ARE NO PERFECT KIDS.  

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Psalm 139:13-16 NLT

 

1 Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. 2 “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: 3 If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

Ephesians 6:1-3 NLT 

 

THERE ARE NO PERFECT FAMILIES. 

51 Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart. 52 Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people. Luke 2:51-52 NLT

 

HOW DO WE HONOR OUR PARENTS?

• By obeying them Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. Ephesians 6:1
• By affirming them 
• By showing appreciation

PARENTS, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES:

• What are we modeling for our children? 
• Do I honor my parents?
• Do I put God first? 
• Do I worship God in front of my children? 
• Do I make going to church a priority for myself?
• Do I make being in church together as a family a priority?
• How do we speak to others or about others in front of them?
• Do we speak life-giving words over them and over others?
• How do we treat one another in front of them?
• How is my attitude?
• Do I pray in front of my children and over them?
• Do I read the Bible in front of them?
• Do I discipline them?

 

A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Proverbs 24:3 NLT

 

THE BEST GIFT WE CAN GIVE OUR KIDS IS A HEALTHY MARRIAGE.  

• A healthy marriage builds confidence and stability in our children. 
• A healthy marriage has Jesus Christ at its center.
• A healthy marriage is a place of forgiveness.

 

OUR HOMES NEED MORE GRACE AND FREEDOM!

• The freedom to be different 
• The freedom to be candid 
• The freedom to be vulnerable 
• The freedom to make mistakes 

 

DON’T GIVE UP ON YOUR FAMILY!  

Next steps for me today…

• I choose Jesus today, and I want to honor God in every way.
• I will choose today to honor my parents with my words and my actions.
• I will choose today to forgive my parents.