Introduction:
A brief look at two of Redeemer Day School’s four core values.
Redeemer’s four core values:
Christ-Centered
Teacher Directed
Academically Challenging
Mentoring Relationships
Two of our Core Values talk about obedience.
Christ-Centered
Nurturing students in displaying obedience.
Teacher Directed
Respect is fostered through listening and obeying.
Ephesians 6:1-4 NLT
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Children and Parents
6:1 Children, 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: 3 If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
Examine the scriptures:
Ephesians 6:1-4 NLT
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Children and Parents
Previous lesson:
Living by the Spirit’s Power
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Wives and Husbands
Today’s lesson
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Children and Parents
Next lesson:
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Slaves and Masters
Ephesians 5:18 NLT tells us to:
18 … be filled with the Holy Spirit,
- A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live.
6:1 Children, obey your parents
Both parents.
because you belong to the Lord,
Additional scriptures:
Ephesians 5:21 NLT
21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Colossians 3:20 NLT
20 Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord.
Proverbs 6:20 NLT
20 My son, obey your father’s commands,
and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
21 Keep their words always in your heart.
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, their counsel will lead you.
When you sleep, they will protect you.
When you wake up, they will advise you.
23 For their command is a lamp
and their instruction a light;
their corrective discipline
is the way to life.
for this is the right thing to do.
As if obeying the Lord Himself.
- Obedience is the right thing to do.
- Obedience pleases the Lord.
2 “Honor your father and mother.”
Additional scriptures:
Exodus 20:12 NLT
12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Deuteronomy 5:16 NLT
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.
Honor is more than obedience.
Hebrews 12:9 NLT
9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
Proverbs 1:7-9 NLT
7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
8 My child, listen when your father corrects you.
Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
9 What you learn from them will crown you with grace
and be a chain of honor around your neck.
Honor is more than obedience.
Honor shows respect.
Honor displays a right attitude.
Honor is an act of submission.
- Honor is more than obedience. Honor recognizes the importance or value of obedience.
This is the first commandment with a promise:
This might not actually be the first commandment with a promise. (See Exodus 20:6)
Exodus 20:6 NLT
6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
This might not even the greatest commandment. (See Matthew 22:37 – Mark 12:30 – Luke 10:27)
This is a commandment of primary importance for children.
3 If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, disobeyed Eli and ….
1 Samuel 2:12 & 25
12 Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord …
25 … But Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death.
1 Samuel 4:10-11 NLT
10 So the Philistines fought desperately, and Israel was defeated again. The slaughter was great; 30,000 Israelite soldiers died that day. The survivors turned and fled to their tents. 11 The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed.
- The environment in a home (classroom) is more pleasant when obedience is being practiced.
Jeremiah 7:22-23 NLT
22 When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them. 23 This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’
Isaiah 1:19-20 NLT
19 If you will only obey me,
you will have plenty to eat.
20 But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
4 Fathers,
The head of the family, responsible for disciplining the children.
do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them.
Colossians 3:21 NLT
21 Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.
Not excessive
Not harsh
Nor unjust
Domineering and thoughtless acts will discourage children.
Loving and gentle
No unreasonable demands, petty rules, or favoritism.
- Fathers (parents) do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.
Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
Disciple
Teach by example.
Reflect on the Lord’s discipline.
Hebrews 12:5-11 NLT
5 And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,
“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t give up when he corrects you.
6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”
7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
- The Lord disciplines those he loves.
- There are numerous scriptures that are amazing similar to Ephesians 6:1-4 directed to us as adults.
Remember, we are children of God.
As children of God:
Deuteronomy 6:1-9 NLT
6:1 “These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, 2 and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. 3 Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
4 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 11:13-21 NLT
13 “If you carefully obey the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, 14 then he will send the rains in their proper seasons—the early and late rains—so you can bring in your harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil. 15 He will give you lush pastureland for your livestock, and you yourselves will have all you want to eat.
16 “But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods. 17 If you do, the Lord’s anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the Lord is giving you.
18 “So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 19 Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.
The Biblical principles found in Ephesians 6:1-4 certainly apply to adults as well as to children.
They applied to Jesus.
Philippians 2:8 NLT
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
We are commanded to obey those in authority.
Romans 13:1 NLT
Respect for Authority
13:1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.
- A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live.
“We will…tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord…
so that they should set their hope in God.”
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Children and Parents
Ephesians 6:1-4 NLT
6:1 Children, 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: 3 If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
- A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live.
- Obedience is the right thing to do.
- Obedience pleases the Lord.
- Honor is more than obedience. Honor recognizes the importance or value of obedience.
- The environment in a home (classroom) is more pleasant when obedience is being practiced.
- Fathers (parents), do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.
- The Lorddisciplines those he loves.
- There are numerous scriptures that are amazing similar to Ephesians 6:1-4 directed to us as adults.
- A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live.
