1. LOVE GOD First Table II III
REVIEW:
What one word summaries all of the Ten Commandments? (Catechism page 55)
LOVE.
It tells us how to love God and it tells us how to love our neighbor.
The Ten Commandments are divided into two tables. Who does commandments 1-3 (The first table of the Law) show us to love and how to love Him?
God.
Matthew 12:37 says, “Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul and mind.”
Commandments 1-3 show us how to love Him.
They help to clarify our relationship with Him.
Jesus replied, “Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, mind.
First Table

2. 10 Commandments First Table of the Law You shall have no other gods.
2. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
3. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
10 Commandments
Here’s how you love God….
1. You shall have no other gods.
2. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
3. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

3. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
GOD I II
III
Our neighbor
HUMANS IV V VI
VII
VIII IX X
The Second Table of the Law, Commandments 4-10, shows us how we are to love who?
- Our neighbor - It is summarized in Matthew 22:39, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Catechism page 73; question 45)
And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus replied, “Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, mind.
Second Table
First Table

4. 10 Commandments Second Table of the Law
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not murder.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or high man servant, or his maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
10 Commandments
How do you love others….
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not murder.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or high man servant, or his maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

5. Who is “our neighbors?” All people are our neighbors
Who is “our neighbors”? (Catechism page 73; question 46)
All people are our neighbors - We are to love those we like as well as our enemies.
‘Who is my neighbor?’ is the question posed by the expert of the law to Jesus in Luke 10:25.
The word neighbor in the Greek means “someone who is near”, and in the Hebrew it means “someone you have an association with”.
Therefore all people are our neighbor.
Jesus said not only are we to love our neighbors (people we like) but also love our enemies (people we don’t like or who mistreat us).
We are to love and treat our enemies just as we love and treat our selves.
Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44)
Loving our enemies is hard.
However, it is only through God’s love and the power of the Holy Spirit when we can love our enemies.
All people are our neighbors
We are to love those we like as well as our enemies. (Matthew 5:44)

6. “Love your neighbor and yourself” (Matthew 22:39)
How should we love our neighbor? (Catechism page 73, question 47)
- The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” which is Matthew 22:39,” Love your neighbor as yourself” - We do this by keeping the Second Table of the Commandments
“Love your neighbor and yourself” (Matthew 22:39)

7. “Honor your father and your mother”
Fourth Commandment
What is the Fourth Commandment? (Catechism page 74)
- “Honor your father and your mother”
How does Martin Luther explain the meaning of the Fourth Commandment?
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.
Introduction:
What does this commandment mean in a world where teenagers are expected to rebel, where most portrayals of parents on television are stupid and where some parents don’t act in very honorable ways toward their own children?
In this commandment we are confronted with the truth: We are commanded to honor our parents.
This is not a suggestion, but a command of God.
Let’s find out how to honor our parents & others in authority…..
“Honor your father and your mother”
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise
or anger our parents and other authorities but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.

8. AUTHORITY
Who are the authorities we are to honor? (Catechism page 74, question 48)
Father & Mother are mentioned in the commandment but Luther in the Catechism goes on to say we are to honor, serve, obey and love not only parents but anyone in authority over us.
This includes police and government rulers.
Examples: Home: Parents, Grandparents, Aunts/Uncles School: Teachers, Principles, even the Janitor Church: Sm. Group Leader, Pastor, Youth leaders Ball field: Coaches Job: Boss Government: Police
To live an authentic Christian life is to live Biblically.
We are to live a life that honors our mother and our father.
Not just because they’re our parents but because they’re valuable to God.
As a Christian you also have an obligation to be a witness to everyone you come into contact with, including your own family members.
God’s word is very clear about what your relationship with your parents should be like.
You are to honor, respect, submit, obey, serve and love them.
Parents and anyone who God has place over us and has authority over us.

9. To give honor means “to show them and treat them with great respect.”
“to show respect and publicly esteem someone”
RESPECT
“to hold someone in honor and esteem”
ESTEEM
“to regard highly or favorable with respect or admiration.”
To give honor means “to show them and treat them with great respect.”
Each commandment has two sides- what God doesn’t want us to do (what He forbids) and what He does want us to do (what He requires). What does God require us to do in the Fourth Commandment?
1. Honor
Honor means “to show respect and publicly esteem someone.”
Respect means “to hold someone in honor and esteem.”
Honor & respect go hand in hand.
Esteem means “to regard highly or favorably with respect or admiration”
If something or someone is considered honorable, that means they are worthy of honor or worthy of respect.
But to give honor to a person means, basically, to show them and treat them with great respect.

10. OBEY “to do as they ask” 2. Obey Obey means “to do as they _ask_.”
Submit means “to give over and yield to the power or authority of another.”
God wants us to obey them in everything which God has placed them over us by submitting to them.
“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” (Colossians 3:20)
To honor your parents means you respect the authority God has given them over you and do as they say.
It means you obey them.
To do as they ask.
Why should you obey them?
Well, because it pleases not only them but God when you do.
He knows obeying your parents is what’s best for you because He created you and He loves you.
So, in the very clear words of the Bible- do what your parents tell you.
That’s one of the way you honor them.

11. “to give over and yield to the power or authority of another.”
OBEY
“to do as they ask”
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.
The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Romans 13:1)
To submit means “to give over and yield to the power or authority of another.”
Submission goes along with obey.
When you obey your parent’s you are submitting to God Himself, because He is the one who gave them their authority.
You are to submit to your parent’s authority and they are to submit to God’s authority.
“to give over and yield to the power or authority of another.”

12. SERVE “to gladly provide what they need” 3. Serve
Serve means “to gladly provide what they need”
- Jesus modeled what it means to serve.
- He was the master who took on the typical job of a servant by doing one of the dirtiest jobs, washing His disciple’s feet.
- He was their master yet He humbled Himself so He could help others.
- Jesus wants us to serve others, which includes serving our parents.
Serving isn’t the same as slavery.
To be a slave means to do a task by force.
To serve means doing the task of our own free will.
The difference is all in the attitude.
So one way to serve your parents is by doing the tasks without complaining or before they even ask.
You are in a family. And part of being in a family means helping each other.
When someone in the family isn’t pulling their share, it can cause the others to feel like “slaves”, even parents.
Honor your parents by doing what Jesus would do, serve!

13. “Putting the needs of another person before your own”
LOVE
“Putting the needs of another person before your own”
4) Love and Cherish
To truly love someone means you’re willing to put the needs of another person (or persons) before your own.
Jesus demonstrated this type of love when He died on the cross.
He could have easily put His own needs before ours by not dying.
Yet He didn’t because He loves us.
He was willing to sacrifice Himself so that our need to have our sins removed could be accomplished.
Jesus put our needs before His own by His willingness to die in our place.
- Jesus wants us to love our parents in the same way.
Not by dying but by our willingness to put their needs before our own.
What are way you can show your parents you love them?

14. It’s a life long commitment.
How long into our lives are we to honor parents and other authority?
Honoring parents doesn’t stop when one become an adult.
It is a lifetime commitment.
As they get older, this might include physically caring for them and, as necessary, help support them financially.
We should also be sure we do not neglect honoring our grandparents.
Find time to spend listening to and asking questions of them.
Conversations are like treasures because they help us better understand and appreciate where we came from.
Grandparents love it when grandchildren show interest in them.
It’s a life long commitment.

15. What promise does God give if we obey this commandment
What promise does God give if we obey this commandment? (Catechism page 76, question 51)
- “…that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” ( Ephesians 6:3)
- A life of health, love and great rewards will follow those who honor parents and those in authority.
One mark of a healthy family is children who respect their parents!
Within the context of family children are nurtured and prepared for a bright future of adulthood.
Children learn attitudes, knowledge, and skills from their parents; they provide for the child’s care and nurture; they bear the responsibility for the child’s behavior and actions.
God gives us families to prepare us for adult life.
“…that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Ephesians 6:3

16. your first loyalty is to God,
What if your parents ask you to do something illegal or immoral, do you still obey?
God desires us to obey those He has placed in authority over us.
What are you supposed to do if parents or authorities aren’t acting in a respectful fashion (e.g., abuse, stealing, selling drugs)?
How can you honor them if you can’t respect them?
“We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29)
If what parents or those in authority over us are doing things that are clearly harmful to themselves and others or if they are having you do things that disobey God, you may need to respectfully and clearly let them know that you can have no part in it.
Our first loyalty as Christians is to God.
If someone, even a parent, is breaking the laws of God, the most honorable thing to do may be to state why you know it is wrong and to offer to get that person help.
You obey God’s way first-then you obey your parents.
As Christians,
your first loyalty is to God,
then your parents.

17. God Forbids in Fourth Commandment
What does God forbid in the Fourth Commandment?
He forbids we despise them and anger them with our disobedience or by any other kind of sin.
Despise: Means to dislike, hate or loathe our parents.
He forbids we despise them and anger them with our disobedience or by any other kind of sin.

18. Your parents are NOT perfect. Communicate and spend time with them.
See things from their point of view.
Hold your temper and don’t raise your voice.
Tips for raising great parents…
Your parents are not perfect but then neither are you.
 - Remember, you don’t come with a handbook and their trying to figure it all out too!
Even if you’re the second child, your different from their first child & they may not always know how to react.
Cut them some slack & give them lots of grace & forgiveness.
2) Communicate with your parents and spend time with them.
Don’t try to avoid them.
Rather make an effort to find ways to opening up and communication at home.
It’s hard to live with complete strangers & when we don’t talk, it’s like living with people we don’t know.
3) Attempt to see things from your parent’s point of view.
Parents are under a lot of pressure, just as you are. Look for ways you can help take some of the pressure off your parents, which will only make life better for you.
Look for ways to help even without being asked…vacuum, do dishes, etc.
4) Hold your temper and don’t raise your voice. This is a mark of maturity!
- Eat, get enough sleep & don’t over doo it. Tempers will fly!!!
_______________________________________ (student’s suggestions)