Honor Our Parents
Honoring Our Parents TOPIC: Honor Our Parents By Obeying Them
SCRIPTURE: Ex. 20:12
OBJECTIVE: Teach Heavenly Father has commanded us to honor our parents, and by obeying our parents we show Heavenly Father our love, and obedience to His commandments.
O. SONG: Quickly I'll Obey
PRAYER:
Share this story: (Have visual, either photos or drawings of a mother bear and one or two cubs, perhaps a cougar or other predator, and a tree.)
When spring comes mother bears come out with their cubs. The mother begins from that first day to teach them how to be safe. She shows them the right food to eat, and what plants and berries are dangerous. She shows them how to fish, and eat, where the best things can be found in the forest, including places to play, eat, and sleep. She also shows them what to do in case of danger. When danger comes, she teaches them to climb a tree and wait for her signal to come down. Over and over she practices this with them, so they will be safe.
The time comes when they meet danger--a hungry animal, just waiting for the chance to have a good meal, maybe even a baby bear! The mother bear signals the cubs and they race up a tree. The mother bear fights the hungry animal and chases him away. The cubs were safe, and they were all thankful the mother had taught them what to do, and that the cubs obeyed.
Just as animal mothers protect their babies, human parents love their kids and want to keep them safe. (If you want you can share feelings you had when they joined your family, and the ways you have tried to keep them safe physically and spiritually).
DISCUSSION:
Heavenly Father loves us, and wants to keep us safe--He is a parent as well. He has given us rules to follow; and by following His guidelines (the commandments), we can be safe from dangers in the world. One of the 10 commandments is about parents; what does it say?( Ex. 20:12)
Discuss different ways to honor our parents. Make sure to include obedience; also ways to honor the grandparents in the family by keeping in touch, loving them, respecting their opinions, etc...
STORY: Too Much YES!
(Visual: two children, girl or boy, pictures or dolls, or use your own children as examples, 10 Band-Aids or stickers/drawings of Band Aids, also pictures of dangers you discuss--some suggestions follow.)
Once upon a time there were two children. #1's mom always said "Yes" because she didn't want #1 to be upset. #2's mom sometimes said "No," even though it made #2 sad or angry sometimes.
(STOVE PICTURE)
Once #2's mommy was making cookies. The minute the cookies came out of the oven, #1 wanted to eat them. #2's mom said "No," they were too hot! #1's mom said "Yes," but they were so hot they burned her mouth! She cried, and her mouth hurt! (Place a Band-Aid on one of the pictures/dolls/ child.)
(Car Picture)
The kids were riding with their moms to the store. They wanted to take off their seat belts so they could see out the window better. #2's mom said "No." But #1's mom said "Yes," and she took it off. A few minutes later her mom had to stop really quickly, and she slammed her head into the window. It made a big lump on her head, and hurt lots! (place another Band-Aid)
Continue with more examples. Some could be geared toward different ages, maybe riding a bike, cleaning up broken glass, using scissors, pouring milk out of the jug, staying in the sun too long, crossing the street to get a ball, falling off something too high, knocking over a glass object mom told you not to touch, etc... How many examples will depend on the size of your example child. You want to cover the child in band aids. A fun idea would be to use your own child, and bandage the head, put the arm in a sling, use ace bandages, etc... to really make the point.
Conclusion:#1 says "look at me, I am covered from head to toe with owies, Mom; sometimes I wish you would say no!"
DISCUSSION: Why would #1 want the mom to say no? Sometimes parents say no to keep you safe, not to be mean. Discuss times you have said no, and how it may have kept them safe.
GAME: Hidden Word:
Cut out all the letters in the word "HAPPINESS." Hide them separately all over the room. Have the children follow your directions to find the letters. Explain why it is necessary to follow our directions in life. A fun variation might be to hide parts of sundaes or banana splits all over the room, or different ingredients to make a favorite treat. By following directions they will be able to find and eat the reward!
GAME: Mother May I?
CLOSING SONG: Keep the commandments
Dessert: I would recommend something that has lots of different ingredients, and when put together it is a dessert. If you don't follow the directions, it just doesn't come out right. Sundaes would be fun, or caramel popcorn. If you want, you could find the ingredients early in the lesson, and make it and bake while you finish the lesson.
Submitted by Jamie °Ü° in Texas