#5 (Part1)
Emmanuel Christian Church 5.11.2025
INTRODUCTION: Ask any preacher, and he’ll tell you- Mother’s Day is one
of the toughest Sundays on the sermon calendar! Why is that? It’s
because unlike any other day, it is filled with powerful and conflicting
emotions. Frankly speaking, that’s NOT what this morning’s message is
going to focus on. However, I want to take just a few moments up front to
acknowledge those emotions so as to give us all a little space to breath,
so that we CAN hear what I believe God wants us to hear on THIS
Mother’s Day.
So, what are some of those powerful and conflicting emotions? Love
and joy; guilt, disappointment and grief.
The love and joy of motherhood are fairly easy to understand, after
all, the God given privilege of transferring and nurturing the sacred gift of
life has got to be near the top of life’s list of God’s exalted calls upon
humanity! As a matter of fact, the recognition of that fact ought to be one
of the most important purposes of every Mother’s Day celebration.
So, where do the emotions of guilt, disappointment and grief enter
the picture? Usually, at some point after birth!
Being a parent, especially a mother, is one TOUGH job. Not only is it
physically demanding, but it is an emotional mine field!
There’s the “Perfect Mom” landmine- it doesn’t take long to step on
that one! It explodes and mom gets showered with guilt (Oh, and by the
way- there is no such thing as the “Perfect Mom”!).
Then, there’s the “Perfect Child” landmine. Sometime in the first
several months of life, every child steps on that one! It explodes and again,
mom ends up covered in the emotional mud of disappointment (Oh, and
by the way, there is no such thing as the “Perfect Child”- all of us are born
into this broken world with the free-will ability to become its broken
citizens- and so we do! Oh, I stand corrected, there WAS one Perfect
Child- His name is Jesus! He came to save the rest of us!).
And then there’s the landmine of grief. Grief, being the regret over
“what might have been”. For mothers of children, those unfulfilled
expectations can be a bitter pill. For women whose desire for motherhood
itself has gone unfulfilled- even more so.
Prayer: For every woman with a mother’s heart. Peace in the midst of the
emotional mine field. Strength in the face of relentless responsibilities. Joy
in the work of nurturing life for the glory of God.
PROPOSITION: Having said all that, the time has come for me to share
with you the message God has given me for this Mother’s Day:
IT IS #5
Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live
long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
That’s right! It’s the fifth of the TEN COMMANDMENTS! Now, here’s
something worth taking notice of: of the Ten Commandments, eight are
NEGATIVE. Quite frankly, the eight negative commandments are the easy
ones- DON’T DO THESE EIGHT THINGS!
Of the two positive commandments, the first is relatively easy-
Remember the Sabbath: God’s our Creator, He made the world in six days
and rested on the seventh - we should REMEMBER who He is, and do
what He did - REST on the seventh day!
It’s that second positive commandment however that is our focus
this morning- and it’s the one that gives us the greatest challenge: “Honor
your father and mother”!
Here’s the question that needs answered: “How are we to do THAT!”
Today’s message is the first part of a two-part series intended to give
a practical answer to that question. The first installment is today, this
Mother's Day- the second will come a month from now on Father’s Day.
Here’s the challenge we face: while the 5th Commandment tells us
WHAT we should do “honor your father and mother”, it doesn’t tell us
HOW we are to do that. The answer to that question will require us to look
elsewhere in Scripture. What’s more, there’s not just one answer to the
question. As a matter of fact, the answer depends upon the stage of life in
which we find ourselves.
Now, what you will hear this morning directly applies to each of us
here; because, mother or not, we all have this in common: our very
existence proves each of us have a mother and God has given us His
command in regard to her: “Honor your mother.”
PROPOSITION: All I want you to remember this morning is one number,
and four words. If you can manage that, you will be well on your way to
fulfilling God’s command “Honor your mother”. So let’s begin! Remember
the number 5! The second of the two positive commandments in the Ten
Commandments. The commandment with the promise: “so that you may
live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”
Now to those of you still living in your parent’s home, here’s the first
word:
OBEY
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2
“Honor your father and mother” — which is the first commandment with a
promise — 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life
on the earth.”
- Sometimes it’s easy to obey, sometimes it’s hard! So when it’s hard,
WHY is it hard? Because you want to do something else! But here’s
what I want you to remember- when you do the hard thing, especially
when it’s NOT your thing, you will honor honor your mother, and God is
going to be pleased with you!
- Let me give you some tips:
- When mom gives you a direction just say “Yes, ma’am!” Whatever
you do, DON’T ARGUE!
- Whatever mom tells you to do, do it with a good attitude.
- Whatever mom tells you to do, do it to the best of your ability.
APPLICATION: Let me give you three reasons why “OBEY” needs to be
one of your favorite words. First, when you obey mom, you will honor your
mother and please God. Second, when you obey mom, you will save
yourself A LOT of pain and heartache by avoiding the dumb things other
kids do. Not only that, but you will gain the blessing of her experience and
discover the really good things in life. Finally, learning to obey is one of
life’s most important lessons- if you learn how to do it now you’re going to
get along SO MUCH BETTER in life. (Dismiss kids to Junior Church)
The next two words are for those who are just at the point of leaving
mom’s house to set off on their own, into the big “adult world”. Here they
are…
BE RESPONSIBLE
1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a
child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways
behind me.
- There’s a term for this that has gotten popular in the past few years,
they call it “Adulting”.
- So exactly when does someone become an adult? Well, the moment
they decide to STOP being a child- it’s exactly what Paul means when
he says “I put childish ways behind me”.
- At what age does that happen? In ancient Israel, it was 13; for many
today it might be 30, 40 or NEVER! Here’s the point: it’s a DECISION,
NOT a DATE on the calendar!
- I remember when it was for me: my Senior year in High School! I got a
job in a neighboring town, moved out of my mother’s house (using her
car, wearing the clothes she provided!) and went to live with my
grandmother! I remember what I said to her, and boy do I remember
what she said to ME! She said: “I’ve been raising you all these years
for this very moment!”
- So what are the “childish ways” we must put “behind” us in order to
become the responsible adults that honor mom?
- Let’s answer that by looking back at our text. What is the subject of 1
Corinthians 13? (LOVE).
- What do children love? They love themselves and their own desires! If
you doubt that, just get in the way of either and see what happens!
- What is the point of 1 Corinthians 13? It’s not about love in marriage,
it’s about learning to love other people in the Body of Christ.
APPLICATION: The heart of “adulting” is learning to love something other
than yourself and your own desires! Remember the “Greatest
Commandments”? The first: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
mind, soul and strength” the second, “Love your neighbor as yourself”!
Leaving our selfish, childish ways behind, learning to live for God and
selflessly love others is one of the surest ways to honor our mother!
One more word to our list. This word is for those who themselves have
fully navigated the adult world and now find themselves caring for their
aged mother. That word is…
PROTECT
Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise
your mother when she is old.
- What Scripture is talking about here is: RESPECT. To respect our aged
mother is to carry out God’s command to honor her.
- To RESPECT is to PROTECT.
- Protect her DIGNITY
- Use your ears. Take the time to listen (even if you’ve heard her
say the same thing a dozen times) what she has to say IS WISE, and
the reason she may be repeating herself is that she may have reason
to think you have yet to hear it!
- Use your words. Don’t talk down to your mom. Use honesty and
respect as you would with any other adult- that’s honoring your
mother.
- If you talk to her like a child, or like she’s not in the room you will
cause her to withdraw and shut down- it’s very dishonoring.
- Protect her AUTONOMY
- To the best of her ability, let her make her own decisions.
- Allow yourself to be inconvenienced by her decisions (after all,
she has likely been inconvenienced by a few of yours, down through
the years).
- Be sympathetic when the time comes that she has to give up
elements of her autonomy.
CONCLUSION: Honor your mother. It’s NOT simply about what you and
I feel- it’s about what we DO as we interact with her- NOT just one day out
of the year, but everyday we have her with us this side of eternity.
But you might say: “My mother has long since passed, how can I
honor her now?” There are two ways: First, if she was a Christian, continue
to live out the legacy of her faith- it’s exactly what Paul encouraged
Timothy to do when he wrote:
2 Timothy 1:5 I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived
in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded,
now lives in you also.
Honor mom as you carry that torch of faith.
If your mom wasn’t a Christian, choose to be one yourself. I can guarantee
that from her perspective in eternity, nothing would please her more or
make her more proud.