CHILDREN BIBLE STUDY OUTLINE BY PASTOR (MRS.) OLANIKE BANSO
 TOPIC: HONOUR THE LORD
TEXT: 1 Samuel 2:12-36.
MEMORY VERSE: “……Those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed” (1Samuel 2:30 NKJV).
SONG: God must be honoured, must be honoured, must be honoured. Jesus must be honoured in my life everyday.
INTRODUCTION: To “honour the Lord” means to “give high regard or respect to God.” When you honour God, it shows that you are recognizing and respecting His authority. God desires honour that comes from our heart. Some people do not honour God in the way they live their lives. Such people honour God with their mouths but their hearts are far from Him (Mathew 15:8).
Hophni and Phinehas were the sons of Eli the priest, but they did not treat God and His things with honour. 1 Samuel 2:12 says, “Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the Lord.” Because Eli’s sons did not honour the Lord, God sent another man of God to announce to them what he would do to the family of Eli.
Let’s read what the Bible says in 1 Samuel 2:30-33: “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and your father’s house would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, in your family line there will never be an old man. Every one of you that I do not cut off from my altar will be spared only to blind your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life”. This is the lot of anyone who does not honour God. May this never be our lot in Jesus’ name.
EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE WHO DID NOT HONOUR THE LORD
1.Pharaoh: He did not honour God’s request to let the Israelites go. He suffered so much loses through the ten plagues (can you name them?) and he and his army perished in the Red sea (Exodus 5:1-4, 8:1, 20, 9:1, 14:5-28).
2. Hophni and Phinehas: They did not honour God’s presence and God’s offerings. They died young and both died on the same day. They also brought a curse upon their family (1Samuel 2:12-36).
3. Herod: He did not give glory to God for a good speech he gave at a special event. He died a disgraceful death (Acts 12:20-25)
4. Nebuchadnezzar: He did not acknowledge God’s power for the glory of his kingdom. He was sent away from among men. He lived with animals and behaved like them (Daniel 4:28-37).
5. Moses: God told him to speak to the rock to bring out water but Moses struck the rock out of anger. He did not get to the Promised Land (Numbers 20:2-12).God said that Moses did not honour Him before the people.
6. Belshazzar: He was the son of Nebuchadnezzar who drank wine with holy vessels from the temple of God. He saw a hand writing on the wall, God judged him and he was killed the same night (Daniel 5:22-31).
DANGERS OF NOT HONOURING GOD
1. Untimely death or sudden death (1Samuel 2:31-32).
2. Shame and disgrace (1Samuel 2:30).
3. Failure (James 4:6).
4. Unanswered prayers:
5. Curses (Malachi 2:2).
WAYS WE CAN HONOUR GOD
1. Fear the LORD: This means to have holy reverence for God. God is a good and loving God but He is also a consuming fire (Ecclesiastes 12:13; Hebrews 12:29).
2. Acknowledge God’s help and involvement in your life: Nebuchadnezzar did not acknowledge God’s help and he suffered for it (Psalm 124:1; Daniel 4:28-33).
3. Give glory to God: Herod was struck by an angel of God, worms ate him and he died because he did not give glory to God. He died a shameful and disgraceful death (Acts 12:20-23).
4. Believe and obey God’s word: God will always do what He says. God has exalted His word above His names (Psalm 138:2, Eccl. 12:13).
5. Live a holy and consecrated life: Anyone who wants to honour God must live to please God. You are called to holy living, a life set apart for God because you are not an ordinary person. You are different from others (Leviticus 11:44; 2 Corinthians 6:17).
6. Honour God’s servants: When we honour God’s servants, we honour God in their lives and their God will bless us in return (2 Chronicles 20:20; Hebrews 5:4).
7. Treat as holy what God calls holy: Do not despise or treat as ordinary what God calls important or holy. These include God Himself, His name, His word, His house, His offering, His children, His servants or ministers (Ezekiel 22:26; Acts 10:15).
8. Give to God: When we give to God out of what He has given us, it shows that we honour Him. This may be in terms of giving offerings in church, giving to a church project, giving to the poor or giving to God’s people (Proverbs 3:9, 19:17). Abraham wanted to sacrifice Isaac to God, as He had commanded him, before God stopped him (Genesis 22:9-12).
CONCLUSION: Let us cultivate a lifestyle of honouring God in everything we do. If we will be honoured by God and men, we must honour God. Let us not take God for granted and let us not be familiar with God. May the curse of Eli’s family never cling to us in Jesus’ name.
Pastor (Mrs) Olanike Banso is a servant of God in Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria. She has a ministry to children.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
  
  
  
  
