Scripture Passage: Exodus 20:12 and Ephesians 6:1-4

1. Honor Begins with Obedience


Parents are responsible for giving their children clear rules and guidelines to follow. Guidelines remove the guesswork for kids and provide them with a foundation for obedience. One way in which children can honor their parents is by obeying them.

• If you are a parent, do you give clear guidelines for your children to follow?

• If you are a child, how has obeying your parents protected you from potential harm?

2. Honor Leads to Blessing
The Fifth Commandment states: “Honor your father and mother so that you may have long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

The universal command for all people of any age is not obedience but honor. The Bible doesn’t tell grown-ups that they have to obey their parents. As adults, we honor our parents by giving weight to their counsel and by giving consideration to their needs as aging adults.

• If you are an adult and your parents are still living, what are some ways in which you can honor your mother and father?

Consider these suggestions for how you can honor your mother on this Mother’s Day and beyond.

• Listen to your mother (Proverbs 1:8-9)

• Respect Your Mother (Proverbs 30:17)

• Protect Your Mother (John 19:26-27 and 1 Timothy 5:8)

• Thank your mother (Proverbs 31:28)

3. Honor Changes Culture
The promise in the Fifth Commandment was more than a personal promise to an individual. It was a promise to the entire culture. There is a foundational aspect to honoring our parents — and when we lose it, then the entire structure of society starts to crumble.

• If children of all ages were to stop honoring their parents, what would be the potential impact on our society?