Mother’s Day — May 10, 2026
How to Honor Your Mother
Pastor Brent Snook · May 10, 2026 · AM Service
Text: Exodus 20:12
“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” — Exodus 20:12
To honor means to add weight — to think of someone with seriousness, reverence, and respect. Here are six ways to honor your mother today and every day.
1. LOVE YOUR MOM
Love her unconditionally — when she is young and when she is old. When she is fun and when she is not. When she has much to give and when she has nothing left. Show your mother genuine affection. Hug her. Tell her.
2. LEARN YOUR MOM
Strive to understand your mother sympathetically. Moms wear so many hats — cook, cleaner, referee, sounding board, accountant, teacher, taxi driver, and grandkids’ babysitter. Try to understand what she carries.
“I have lived over 60 years and have learned one thing. No man or woman who dishonors Father or Mother ever prospers.” — D.L. Moody
A word about Cancel Culture: Our society too often embraces cutting off communication with parents rather than pursuing grace, reconciliation, and forgiveness. No parent is perfect — and neither are you. Healthy boundaries may sometimes be necessary, but should always have the goal of restoration.
• Grace over cancellation — Christians are called to grace, not abandonment
• Focus on reconciliation — restoration should always be the goal
• The danger of “no contact” — it punishes the aged parent, withholds grandchildren, and denies the possibility of redemption
3. LISTEN TO YOUR MOM
Listen attentively. When a boy was hurt in the field in 2 Kings 4, his father’s response was simple: “Take him to his mother.” Moms are the ones little kids run to — and in return, we should run to them.
Older people have more than book-smart intelligence. They have experience, wisdom, understanding, patience, and longsuffering. They know more at 60, 70, and 80 than any 20 or 30-year-old ever had. Listen to them. Ask them. Open up to them. Share with them. Think of how they listened to you — all your life. Now it is time to listen to them attentively.
4. LIFT YOUR MOM
A. Lift Her with Your Work
Don’t make your mom nag you to do the dishes or beg you to clean your room. When you are young, help your parents. When they are old, care for your parents. Even on the Cross, Jesus made sure His mother was cared for — entrusting her to John.
“But if any provide not for his own… he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” — 1 Timothy 5:8
B. Lift Her with Your Words
Communicate with your mom — gratefully and often. Call her. Text her. Invite her to eat, to the grandkids’ games, to your home. Lift her with appreciation. She gave you the best years of her life.
5. BE LOYAL TO YOUR MOM
Remind her how much she is needed. Satan wants to whisper lies to her — that she is not important anymore, not needed, that her value is small, that she is inconvenient. Push back against those lies. Can she pray? Can she advise? Can she care? Can she give you her recipes? She is needed. Tell her so.
6. LIVE YOUR LIFE FOR JESUS — FOR YOUR MOM
Your godly mom cares more about you serving Jesus than your big house, fancy car, bank account, or important job. The greatest honor you can give her is a life lived for Christ.
“Who can find an excellent wife? For her price is far above rubies.” — Proverbs 31:10
How to Keep Your Heart — Proverbs 4:23
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
1. Verse 24 — Be careful with what you say — “Put away from thee a froward mouth.”
2. Verse 25 — Be careful with what you see — “Let thine eyes look right on.”
3. Verse 26 — Be careful with what you seek — “Ponder the path of thy feet.”
— Are All the Children In? —
Anonymous Poem
I think oft times as the night draws nigh
Of an old house on the hill.
Of a yard all wide and blossomed-starred
Where the children played at will.
And when the night at last came down
Hushing the merry din
Mother would look around and ask –
“Are all the children in?”
I wonder if when the shadows fall
On the last short earthly day
When we say good-bye to the world outside
All tired with our childish play.
When we meet the lover of boys and girls
Who died to save them from sin.
Will we hear Him ask as mother did
“Are all the children in?”