As The Family Goes Series

America: A Christian Nation Series

Where We Are: “As the Family Goes”

Malachi 2:15-16

Introduction

If you haven’t noticed (I’m sure you have) the family has been under attack for a long time in America

If America is going to survive and thrive, it will require a moral revival of the American family

I truly believe the expression “As the family goes, so goes society” because the family unit is the heart of our society

Whatever hurts the family hurts society

The government should get out of the way and let the family do its job – with exception to genuine cases of child or wife abuse

It’s important for America to get back to the tried-and-true biblical principles of family relationships

My message is entitles “As the family goes” and we will explore how important the family is in the decaying of our nation

Read passage / Pray

TRANS: One of the first things we have to do is to get back to…

1. Honoring Our Parents

The fifth commandment says in Ex 20:12 “Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord you God is giving you”

This is called the first commandment with promise…there are actually two promises

In Deut 5:16 “…that your days may be long AND that it may be well with you”

There is a quick story I want to share with you from a book called Grimm’s Fairy Tales and you may have heard it before

There was an older man that had gotten where he couldn’t take care of himself so his son brought him to live with him and his family. The son’s wife wasn’t too happy about that but she tolerated it. His hands were very shaky and at times was so bad that he would clink his silverware against the dishes. The wife got very upset and said she shouldn’t have to put up with that in her own home. So she went out and boat a wooden bowl and put the older man’s food in it and sat him in a chair in the corner to eat. The older man would sit every day in the corner and eat while the family sat at the table. One day his hands were shaking so bad that he dropped the bowl on the floor and spilled his food all over the carpet. The wife got very upset and said “That does it…you want to eat like a pig, we’ll feed you like a pig.” She made him what looked like a pig trough, put in on the floor and told him to kneel down to eat. And so he did. So one day the wife called all the family to the table to eat but their son did not come. So the wife called to her son again and said it’s time for supper. Tommy came in with something he had made out of wood. “Look Daddy” he said, “I am making a trough to feed you and Mama when I get big.” The husband and wife looked at each other with tears in their eyes and without a word went over and picked up the older man and led him to the table. And, it didn’t matter anymore how much clinking he made with his silverware of how much he spilled.

That’s a story that has a great lesson to it and I think we need to hear it again

We teach a little by what we say, more by what we do, but most by who we are

We all will walk the path of aging and we need to honor our parents even at the later stages of life

There was a time when this nation actually adhered to this 5th commandment

There was a young man who wanted to join navy...see the world…may be become a captain of a ship

Mom was not too thrilled…son of 16…going off to sea…still she walked him to the port

As he said goodbye…Mom not happy…have no peace…really wished you wouldn’t go

How do you think he responded? He got his stuff…said he couldn’t go and break mother’s heart

Well he never became a captain of a ship but he did command the entire navy, as well as entire armed forces

Who was he? George Washington who had been taught the 10 commandments as a child

As he honored his father and mother…God kept his promise that it may go well with you as he was honored himself as the great father of our nation

Daniel Webster, 19th Century senator said this “America has furnished to the world the character of Washington. And if our American institutions had done nothing else, that alone would have entitled them to the respect of mankind”