-so last week we didn’t meet because it was Mother’s Day, and next month we won’t be meeting because of Father’s Day.
-by the way, did you know both of these holidays started here in the church? Mother’s Day was started by a woman whose mom did a Bible Study on moms of the Bible over a hundred years ago. When she died, the church held a service based on her teachings to honor moms and it was huge, so they petitioned Washington and got Mom her own day. Father’s Day was started by a United Methodist Church a few miles down the road who had gone through a mine explosion that killed a lot of fathers, so they had a Father’s Day service.
-both of these holidays now legal in the US, both started by churches.
-so why these days? And why are we talking about it here? One simple little verse, I’m sure you could memorize it if you try (it’s in the bucket).
**Col. 3:20 -> 20Children, it is your Christian duty to obey your Parents always, for that is what pleases God.(GNT)
-there’s a mouthful right there, so let’s take a look at it.
1. OBEY YOUR PARENTS ALWAYS
-yeah, that’s right, it says in every little thing, even if you disagree, you are supposed to obey your parents all the time. Not just when you agree, or when you feel like it, or if it makes sense to you, all the time!
-basically, you’re supposed to be like the kid who ran away from home. I’m not sure if you’ve heard this one, but there’s a story of a little boy who was sitting on a street corner, by himself, just sitting there. This older man walked by and asked him if he was okay, he said yeah. He asked the boy what he was doing and the boy said running away from home (I’m sure none of you did that when you were little, or now). The man understood, then asked the boy why he was sitting at the corner. The boy said he wasn’t allowed to cross the street.
-I know, it’s all cute, but think about it. The boy was running away from home, but still obeyed mom and dad.
-you know, we have an example for this, you may know Him, His name is Jesus.
-there’s a story of Jesus when He was twelve, His parents had lost track of Him and found Him three days later in the Temple teaching. They get a little mad, He says He was in His Father’s House doing God’s work. They say to come home with them now! What does He do?
**Luke 2:51a -> 51Then He returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. (NLT)
-remember, this is God. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be God’s earthly parent. How do you tell Him He’s doing something bad? I mean, really, which one of us would be wrong here? But they tell Him to come with them and He obeys. Mom and dad rank pretty high.
-and I know what you’re thinking, He was twelve and away from home. You’re older, can drive, have friends who can drive, you go to PG-13 movies, it’s a little different.
-in Roman law, there was a law like this one to honor your parents. Just it was worded slightly differently so that there was no question, it counted for the rest of your life, no matter how old you were. So even now, let’s take Rich for an example, if Rich’s dad [Adult Volunteer]were to call right now and tell him to drive a few hours and get over there to help him move a couch, Roman law would be that Rich has to go do it, doesn’t matter how old or independent he is.
-let’s go back to Jesus, yeah He obeyed when He was twelve, but what about at thirty?
**John 2:1-12 -> 1Two days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2and Jesus and His followers were also invited to the wedding. 3When all the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.” 4Jesus answered, “Dear woman, why come to me? My time has not yet come.” 5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you to do.” 6In that place there were six stone water jars that the Jews used in their washing ceremony. Each jar held about twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled the jars to the top. 8Then he said to them, “Now take some out and give it to the master of the feast.” So they took the water to the master. 9When he tasted it, the water had become wine. He did not know where the wine came from, but the servants who had brought the water knew. The master of the wedding called the bridegroom 10and said to him, “People always serve the best wine first. Later, after the guests have been drinking awhile, they serve the cheaper wine. But you have saved the best wine till now.” 11So in Cana of Galilee Jesus did His first miracle. There He showed His glory, and His followers believed in Him. 12After this, Jesus went to the town of Capernaum with His mother, brothers, and followers. They stayed there for just a few days.(NCV)
-first, let’s take a second to acknowledge that Jesus made about 150 gallons of wine, who was at this weeding?!
-but look at it, Jesus did not want to do it, He had other plans, but what mom wanted came first! Even God did was His mom asked even when He had other plans, and I’m going to wager a guess that any plans Jesus had are way more important than any excuse you or I can come up with as to why we can’t do what our parents want.
-did you ever think about what Jesus wanted to do for His first miracle? Think it would have been bigger and cooler? Oh well, thanks Mary…
-but back to our verse, there’s more to it. Yes we’re supposed to honor our parents, but why?
2. HONORING YOUR PARENTS PLEASES THE LORD
-note it’s not just something God wants, it makes Him happy. Listening to your parents makes God happy! Think about that for a second, all the things people do in this world to try and make God happy, and really the best way to start is simply doing what your parents ask you.
-and think of how important that is, it makes God happy!
**Eph. 6:1-3 -> 1Children, 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: 3If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”(NLT)
-I don’t know about you, but long life sounds good. But then again, if your mom is like mine, if you don’t do what she says, she’ll end your life for you, and no more long life.
-but it’s true, ten big commandments. Nine say do it or don’t do it, that’s it. There’s no “Do not murder, and people will like you” or “Do not steal, and God will make you rich”. They all say simply do it or don’t do it, but one.
**Ex. 20:12 -> 12“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (NLT)
**Deut. 5:16 -> 16“Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (NLT)
-those quotation marks, that would be God talking, just a reminder…
-yes, God gives a little incentive for honoring mom and dad. Maybe it’s because He knows sometimes it’s harder to honor them than it sit to not go on a killing spree.
-but God wants you to do this, and He’s willing to give you a gift if you do it. Honoring mom and dad comes with a reward.
-but it’s more than just a reward:
3. THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS
-God was not kidding around with this one.
-first, it’s one of the big ten, and not just any one, it’s high up. The first three commandments have to do with God, Him being the only God, don’t take His Name in vain, don’t make idols. After that is to honor the Sabbath, to keep Sunday as holy, that’s right below remembering God as holy. Honoring mom and dad is right below that. It’s higher up than murder, adultery, stealing, lying and coveting. It was important.
-and what happened if you didn’t honor mom and dad?
**Ex. 21:17 -> 17“Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death.” (NLT)
**Lev. 20:9 -> 9“Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death. Such a person is guilty of a capital offense.” (NLT)
-in other versions it says curses mom or dad, but you get the idea.
-if you dishonored mom or dad, yeah, you died. Honestly, don’t show your hands, but how many of you think you would be just a little dead right now?
-here’s another one.
**Deut. 21:18-21 -> 18“Suppose someone has a son who is stubborn and rebellious, a son who will not obey his parents, even though they punish him. 19His parents are to take him before the leaders of the town where he lives and make him stand trial. 20They are to say to them, ‘Our son is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey us; he wastes money and is a drunkard.’ 21Then the men of the city are to stone him to death, and so you will get rid of this evil. Everyone in Israel will hear what has happened and be afraid.“ (GNT)
-that’s right, you could stand trial for being a bad child, and you could be killed for it. I’m really, really, really glad I don’t live back then.
-and remember the part about it not being just little kids? I doubt there’s many ten year olds that were brought before the town counsel because they were wasting money and a drunk. There could be, but I doubt it.
-yeah, you were forced to honor mom and dad. And I think there’s one more part to it, one I’m pretty sure none of you want to admit.
4. THEY’RE SMARTER THAN YOU
-yeah, mom and dad usually have a reason for what they do, and they usually know more than you do. Hard to believe, I know, since everyone between the ages of eleven and nineteen are all knowing, but it’s true.
**Prov. 6:20-23 -> 20Good friend, follow your father’s good advice; don’t wander off from your mother’s teachings. 21Wrap yourself in them from head to foot; wear them like a scarf around your neck. 22Wherever you walk, they’ll guide you; whenever you rest, they’ll guard you; when you wake up, they’ll tell you what’s next. 23For sound advice is a beacon, good teaching is a light, moral discipline is a life path. (MSG)
-I know, it’s hard to admit, but they are smart people and they’re not giving you rules or asking you to do things just for their own sadistic enjoyment, most of the time. They actually want you to learn something, something that will stick with you the rest of your life.
-so now the big question:
5. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO HONOR THEM?
-the first question when we break into groups, what are you going to do to honor your parents?
-and think a little beyond simply obeying them like mindless robots. Bravo, way to be original. We just had a breakfast to honor the seniors. What about a dinner to honor your parents? You can think of things you can do as individuals, or you can think of things you can do as a group, maybe a few of you together, maybe all of us, I don’t know.
-but don’t just steal my ideas here, come up with some of your own.
