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One of the most important lessons young Christians should learn is respect for their parents. The fifth commandment, in fact, requires Christians to honor their fathers. Sunday School is a great place to teach children this valuable lesson, and one effective way to do this is by playing games to help them understand the importance of this rule.

Lesson from Ephesians
Read in Ephesians 6: 1-3: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and your mother '- this is the first commandment with a promise -' that he may be well with you and that you may enjoy a long life on earth '”. Have students choose words that are active in the reading, such as “obey”, “honor”, ​​and “live”.

Define these active words with the students, making sure they understand the implications. Discuss with the children what their parents do for them and ask them why they think parents are doing so much to care for their children. Discuss why the Bible says we will have a longer life if we obey our parents. Make sure students understand the idea that parents receive no reward for their actions unless children thank them, and encourage children to thank their parents and offer to help when they can.

Examples of honoring your parents
Invite Sunday School students to participate in an activity that provides examples, good and bad, of honoring their parents. You can distribute this handout and have students work in small groups, or you can do the activity as a whole class, depending on how many students you have and how they work together.

The list of scenarios should include examples of good and bad examples of honoring parents. For example, "Do what your mom says without asking" or "Thank daddy for making dinner" can be good examples, while "Arguing with mum about cleaning my room" or "complaining about what we have for dinner 'can be bad examples.

Invite students to discuss among themselves why each example is or is not a good example to honor their parents. How could we improve bad examples? Why is it important to honor your parents?

What I like about you
Have students create a card or letter for their parents (or just for their mother or father, depending on the family situation). Students should list in their letters the things they like about their parents: "I like the way you read me before you go to bed" or "I like the way you throw the baseball with me. after school ”are good examples.

Students should decorate their cards so that they are individualized for their own parents; you can even ask them to bring a picture of their parents to stick on the card. As students decorate, ask them the same questions as above: Why is it important to remember that our parents do good things for us, and how can we thank them?