Is Christianity about rules, or about relationship?

The answer is both — and they can’t be separated. In this Mother’s Day message, Pastor Tim Carroll unpacks the fifth commandment by first establishing that God always initiates relationship before giving rules — and that the rules exist to deepen that relationship.

Pastor Tim shows that the command to honor our mothers applies to all three kinds: biological mothers who gave us life and nurtured us physically, adoptive mothers who took us in as their own — like Pharaoh’s daughter with Moses — and spiritual mothers who passed on the way of Christ through teaching and example.

What makes Christian honor distinct from the world’s is that it’s done with an eye toward God, with Jesus’s promise that as we keep his commands, he will manifest himself more fully to us.