How do you build a good family when relationships with parents and children can be so complicated, and life is far from ideal? This sermon turns to the Letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 6), where the Apostle Paul leaves just two seemingly simple pieces of advice: children are to honor their parents, and parents are to raise their children without provoking them to anger. You will hear the moving story of Viktor Frankl, who gave up his visa to America because of one commandment, and the testimony of a family everyone had already written off. Listen if you want to know where to begin rebuilding relationships that seem beyond repair.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In Ephesians 6:1-4 Paul recalls the command to honor father and mother, calling it the first commandment with a promise. What does that promise tell us about how God sees family relationships?
- For the first readers of the letter, telling fathers not to provoke their children to anger was revolutionary. What might have shocked them, and how does it connect with the call to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ?
- The speaker distinguishes respect from obedience, trust and closeness. What does showing respect to your parents look like in your current season of life, even when it is hard?
- The story about the 'mean parents' suggests that rules and presence do not breed anger, and that the worst thing is being absent. What do you think really provokes children to anger, and what builds trust?
- The restoration of the family described in the sermon began with one person who gave their life to Christ. How does experiencing God's unconditional love free you to forgive your parents or your children?
- What is one concrete step you can take this week to show respect to someone in your family or to model for the next generation how God wants us to live?
