Mother's Day - Contemporary

In one paragraph

It was Mother's Day, and Pastor Ray preached on what it means to honor your mother, drawing on the fifth commandment and several New Testament passages that reaffirm it. He acknowledged that not everyone carries the same experience of their mother into that Sunday morning, and he tried to speak to both groups. The sermon kept circling back to forgiveness as the hinge point between honoring a...

Read together

1. John 1:12 quoted to explain that those who receive and believe in Jesus are given the right to become children of God
2. Exodus 20:1-17 the Ten Commandments listed, with particular focus on honoring father and mother
3. Deuteronomy 5:7-21 the restatement of the Ten Commandments before Israel entered the promised land, with the honor commandment quoted
4. Ephesians 6:1-3 children obey your parents in the Lord, quoting the first commandment with a promise
5. Matthew 15:1-9 Jesus rebukes Pharisees and scribes for using the Corban tradition to void the commandment to honor father and mother
6. Isaiah 29:13 quoted by Jesus against the Pharisees: this people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray sang 'Mama Tried' and said that ultimately what we do with the instruction we've been given lies at our own feet. What does that mean to you personally, and where have you seen that play out in your own life?
2. The commandment to honor your father and mother sits right in the middle of the Ten Commandments, between the commands about relating to God and the commands about relating to other people. What do you think that placement tells us about how God views that relationship?
3. Pastor Ray said that honoring your mother looks different depending on your experience, and that for some people it has to start with forgiveness. What do you think makes forgiving a parent harder than forgiving other people?
4. Pastor Ray pointed out that Jesus confronted the Pharisees for using a religious technicality, the Corban declaration, to get out of caring for their parents. What are some ways people today might use good-sounding reasons to avoid honoring or caring for their family?
5. Pastor Ray listed the 'one another' commands from the New Testament and said forgiveness is where they all begin. Which of those commands feels most directly connected to how you relate to your own family, and why?