Rooting Path · Christian Living · Lesson 2: Family · Parents, Children and Family
This lesson in one sentence: Honoring parents belongs inside the fear of God; faith is handed on mostly at the dinner table and along the road.
Timing (about 60 minutes)
- Opening5 min
- Read Together10 min
- Discussion30 min
- This Week10 min
- Pray for One Another5 min
Opening
When you were little, what did your family talk about most at mealtimes?
Read Together
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you.”
Exodus 20:12 · WEB
But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”
Acts 5:29 · WEB
You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4 · WEB
But if anyone doesn’t provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
1 Timothy 5:8 · WEB
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
Exodus 20:12 · WEB
Discussion
- “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12)—how is Chinese filial piety like the Bible’s call to honor, and how is it different?
- “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29)—have you ever felt a pull between honoring your parents and obeying God?
- “when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:7)—in your home, where is faith most often talked about?
- Of what you received from your parents, what do you want to pass on, and what do you want to stop with you?
This Week
Do one small act of ‘care’ for a family member: call your parents for no particular reason, or have a meal with your children without phones.
Each person names the family member they will ‘care for’ this week, and the one small thing they plan to do.
Closing
In pairs, pray one sentence for your partner’s family member.
Tips for the leader
- Some in the group may be estranged from or hurt by their parents, or may have no children, or long for children and be unable to have them. Listen first; don’t rush to urge them to ‘be filial’ or ‘be grateful’.
- ‘Obey God rather than men’ is no excuse for defying parents; if someone takes it that way, gently bring them back to ‘putting honor back where it belongs’.
- If no one in someone’s family believes yet, encourage them to start with ‘caring’—there is no need to open with the gospel.
- Members caring for aging parents are often under great pressure and often feel guilty. Don’t compare who is doing enough, and don’t make decisions for someone else’s family.
General principles for leaders
- The leader is not a teacher but someone who walks alongside everyone.
- Give everyone a chance to speak; with someone who talks a lot, you can gently say, ‘Let’s also hear from friends who haven’t spoken yet.’
- Don’t rush to give answers. If someone is silent, wait a few more seconds.
- For a question you can’t answer, you can say, ‘I don’t know either; let’s look it up together,’ and note it down for next time.
- What is said in the group stays in the group.
- At the opening, the leader can give their own answer first, showing that it can be simple and honest.