3rd November 2025

3rd November 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Exodus 20:12)


Message (Alan Burke) 


The word ‘honour’ can depending on the context mean a few different things, the next time you meet me you could say that it is an honour to be in my company which of course it is, ok maybe not but if you were in the presence of the Prime Minister of course that would be an honour wouldn’t it! To be in someones presence may be an honour, you can also use honour to refer to someone like a judge addressing them as “your honour” or it could be that you receive a new years honour from the King who I think should introduced an honour for being a royal pain. 


Here though we are told to honour our father and mother. Now let’s be frank this isn’t a simple one is it, I don’t know your upbringing, I do not know your situation, you might be the son of a drunk who beat you, the daughter of a woman who ridiculed you at every opportunity, what then! Well hopefully was we work though this command we will see that it’s scope is much greater than you might imagine and how we honour others will look different depending on the circumstances. 

So first off let’s ask the question, who we are to honour. Who are we to honour then? Well isn’t it obvious you might say it’s your ma and da the most basic fundamental relationship that all of us have. But there is more to it than that for what it teaches us is to honour those in authority over us. The WSC gives this summary of what this commandment teaches in Q64 when it asks; What is required in the fifth commandment? A. The fifth commandment requireth the preserving the honor, and performing the duties, belonging to every one in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or equals.


In 1 Peter 2 we are told; Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. (1 Pet 2:13-14) We are to live as servants of God, we are to submit and show respect to everyone, the word that the NIV translates as respect is to subject ourselves, ie it is to to honour, we are to subject ourselves, to honour those who are over us. Jesus Christ is our example of this, he was God and is God, and yet he tells us in Mark 10 (45), that "the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”


Of course authority can be abused, and we are to honour these in authority, not because they have earned it, but because God has appointed them over us. God has appointed our parents, our rulers in this land and our elder. With parents, rulers, elders, those in a position of authority over us, even a boss in work, even though they are flawed we still honour them. We do so because they have been set over us by the LORD himself. We might want to say that “well I’l honour them when they sort out the issues that are there”, “I’ll honour them if they when they face the consequences for what they done”, but that is not what we are called to do. 


When we act like that, when those in authority over us fail, we are tempted to dismiss all honour for them, we want to go our own way but we honour them nonetheless because God has appointed them over us. Living this way, we honour God, we honour our parents, we honour those in authority over us we bring glory to God and that is our goal, our task, our purpose, our chief end, to live a life that is pleasing to our God and bringing glory to his name. We are look to Christ our saviour as our example of what it is to honour those who are over us. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q9 What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is, God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.
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