A Healthy Family
Audio Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Tim Chang
Sermon Series: Joined Together, Growing Together
Ephesians 6:1-4 (ESV)
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Sermon Outline
1. Our Responsibility as Children (v. 1-3)
[1] Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
[2] “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), [3] “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
2. Our Responsibility as Parents (v. 4)
[4] Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
3. Our Responsibility as a Family (v. 2)
[2] “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),
Prayer of Confession
Our heavenly Father, you have brought us into this world to be in a family. Help us in our role as children to rightfully honor our parents. May we see them as gifts and not as burdens. Forgive us for believing the lie that we always know better than anyone else. You also gave us the gift of the local church to be our spiritual family. May we see that we are vitally connected to one another as fathers and mothers, and brothers and sisters. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
What connected with you from the sermon or the passage?
How do you understand the nuance between the command to obey parents and to honor them?
How have you seen the command to honor your parents lived out? How have you seen beautiful examples of this? Describe any struggles you have had to honor your parents.
In what ways can we grow in our understanding and practice of seeing our children as gifts from God? How can we see them as opportunities to invest in and nurture?
How can we assist the parents in our church community in the spiritual development of their children?
How can we cultivate a culture in our church where we see each other as spiritual family members?
How do God’s covenant promises that he will be our God and we will be our people provide the power and support for our church to be a spiritual family?
What do you sense God calling you to do from this passage?