Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Family Connection 05.11.2011

Family Connection
05.11.2011
“Children, obey your parents as believers in the Lord. Obey them because it’s the right thing to do. Scripture says, ‘Honor your father and mother.’ That is the first commandment that has a promise.”-Ephesians 6:1-2 (NIrV)
This past Sunday was Mother’s Day. And while this day has been set aside to honor and respect mothers and all that they do and have done for us, it is God’s plan for children to honor their mothers (and fathers) daily. One of the best ways children can honor their parents is by obeying them and doing this because God asks us to. Needless to say, children don’t usually like me reminding them of this fact (which I do at least monthly during our weekend services).
One of the reasons this is so important for children, apart from the fact that God expects it of them, is because respect and obedience for earthly parents actually helps children come into a deeper relationship with their Heavenly Father. If we can’t learn to respect and obey the parents we have before us, how can we learn to respect and obey our Heavenly Father whom we can’t see? I believe this is so important for children, I reinforce this as I teach the children (parents, I am your biggest advocate).
I would encourage each of us to gently remind the children in our lives this week about God’s expectations for respect and obedience towards parents. If you are a grandparent, you can also gently remind your grandchildren about this. If our goal is to raise godly children, we can all work together to reinforce this as children learn and grow.
I would especially like to honor all of you moms who read this Family Connection this week. Even though Mother’s Day is officially over your job doesn’t end. Even if you don’t have any children living at home any longer you are still “Mom”! And for those of us who are blessed to have our mothers still living, I would encourage each of us to give our moms a special call and say thank you to them for all the work they have done to help us get where we are today. And if your mom has passed on, take a moment to thank God for the mom He gave you. If you are a parent, you know how difficult that job is (and if you’re like me, at times you made your mom’s job even tougher than it should have been).
It is my prayer that all of us can impact the children in our lives by our words and deeds as we desire to see them grow in a real, dynamic relationship with Jesus.

Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H

PS-I thank you for praying for me and Josh as we were on our trip to Uganda, your prayers were felt.