Sermon Discussion Guide 6-7-26

Sermon Discussion Guide
The Ten Commandments | Honor Your Father and Your Mother | Exodus 20:12

Gathering Question
What is one way you’ve encountered God this week?

Gathering Prayer
Father, by Your Spirit, would You guide us into all truth. Help us to hear and be attentive to Your voice as we work through this study. In the name of Jesus, Your Son, we pray, Amen.

Opening Questions

• What stood out to you in the sermon?
• What insights did you gain?
• What questions did it raise?

Read Exodus 20:12

The Covenant and the Generations

• The promise attached to this commandment  (live long in the land) is about the covenant made to Abraham. How does connecting this commandment to the salvation of the earth change the way you think about it?
• Reflect on Deuteronomy 6:1-9 and Psalm 145:3-7.  What does that kind of ongoing testimony look like in your own life? Where does it feel natural? Where does it feel difficult?

Honor, Not Just Obey

• The Hebrew word for honor means to treat something as weighty or important. Who carries weight in your life right now? What voices do you find yourself listening to most?
• This commandment cuts both ways: younger generations are called to honor, but older generations are called to have something worth honoring. What does it look like for an older person to steward that responsibility well?
• We live in an age that divides the generations, often pitting them against each other. Where do you see that division most clearly? How can a church push back against the division? 
• In the church, we belong to a new family. Who have been the spiritual fathers and mothers in your life? Who might you be that for?

The Challenge of Honor

• For some people, honoring parents is the easiest commandment; for others, it is the hardest. Where do you fall, and why?
• Our culture tells people who have been hurt by their parents to double down on anger and cut toxic people out. Jesus offers a different path: blessing and not cursing (Matthew 5:38-48). How does that land for you? What makes it hard?