Mother’s day 2016
Proverbs 31:10-31
“Hall of fame for Momma’s”
I don’t mind telling you
I get wadded up tight when it comes to preaching special occasions
I much prefer to do book studies and let God’s word dictate what I preach
Mother’s day is one of the toughest for me
And if truth be known for many preachers
I do not believe I can or could ever say enough about
How special my Mom is
How special the Mother of my children
How special the Mother of my grandchildren
Or your moms are
I could never in a million years
Explain all of the big things that Moms have done for us
Let alone the everyday behind the scene things that often go unnoticed and are very often unappreciated
Preaching on Mother’s day is a huge balancing act
Part of me wants to make us all laugh
Like preaching on the Mothering ability of a mule
Or the characteristics of a Good cow
Which by the way the most important is mothering ability
Another part of me wants to make us all cry
With heart wrenching stories
That brings to mind
Things
Good and bad things about our moms
Make us think of the times when we were less than loving
And times when our Mom’s went way above what they were called to do
Like cleaning our dirty diapers
Wiping our snotty noses
And putting themselves last in almost every situation
Protecting their kids like a grizzly protecting her cub
Like a brindle cow fending off the wolves from her new born calf
Providing for us like the bluebirds nesting on our porch
Sometimes by working 1-2-3 jobs
And then coming home and washing clothes, dishes. Cooking cleaning
Praying for us
Often
No usually behind the scenes
Staying up at night
Worrying
Comptemplating
Pleading
Planning
Praying for the best for their kids
When I look in God’s word
I see patience in many of the moms
And
Patience is a word that often comes to mind when I think of my own mom
I recently heard a story about a mother in Wal-Mart
She was shopping and had her 2 year old daughter strapped safely in the child seat of her buggy
And the kid was going nuts
Screaming
Crying
An all out hissy fit
Finally the woman finished her shopping and was waiting in line to checkout
The kid was still not behaving
The checker over heard her saying
It’s alright Ellen
We will finished soon Ellen
Just relax Ellen
Over and over the woman calmly said these words
The line cleared and the mom got her turn at the register
The kid was still having a melt down
The checker looked at the mom
And said
I just want you to know I have been watching you and you showed a great deal of patience with little Ellen
The Mom looked back a bit puzzled
And said
I’m Ellen
Patience is a hard thing sometimes
And Moms have been given more than their fair share
But even Mom’s get overwhelmed sometimes
My Mother was a very patient woman
She had to be to raise a knot head like me
And she also tried to teach me patience
A lesson that as many of you know
I sometimes forget
All joking aside
I can’t tell you how much I truly learned from my mother and how much I have learned from the Godly mother figures many sitting here today
That Our Lord has placed in my life
I want to say thank you to all moms
I want to say I’m sorry for the grief we caused you
And today I want to use God’s word to honor each of you and to teach all of us how to treat our moms
When I look into and study God’s word
I see many Moms
Kind of a hall of fame for Mommas as the old county song says
Moms
With many different jobs
Many different attitudes
Many different lives
And many outcomes
I see Mary the Mother of Jesus
And I see how God chose her
To be the mother of his child
Not because she was divine
Mary was a human just like us
In fact it was partially because of her ordinariness that he chose her
You see
She needed a savior just like us
She just happened to give birth to the savior
And then raised him as God directed
Changed his diapers
Wiped his nose
Loved him
Taught him
And then watched as he died
For her sins and our sins
Mary – an ordinary woman
Who became a special mom
Then my mind goes to Hannah
Mother of the prophet Samuel
A barren woman
Who longed for a child
And who made a promise to God that if he would give her one
That she would dedicate him to the Lord’s service
Teaching him
Preparing him
And then fulfilling her promise
By taking him and giving him to God
A wonderful Godly woman
God blessed her obedience by giving her more children
And more joy
Then I think of Bathsheba
Not normally a woman who gets credited with being a good mother
An adulteress
But a mother who even though she had a bad start
Ended up with a great finish
The Mother of Solomon
Son of David
King of Israel
The wisest man who ever lived
I have no doubt that Bathsheba played a huge part in making Solomon into the man he became
Then I think of Rahab
The bible says she was a prostitute
And even so
She was obedient to the Lord
And her name is listed in the linage of our Lord Jesus Christ
Not a lot is said about her mothering ability
But the very fact that she is listed in Jesus genealogy
Tells me
That she became a good and Godly mom despite her past
Bathsheba and Rehab both show me that God can use less than perfect people in amazing ways
My mind then goes to the gentile woman from Luke who came to Jesus on behalf of her daughter
Against all social etiquette
To ask Jesus to help her
To heal her daughter
Putting herself aside
To intercede for her child
I recall a story from 1 Kings
About 2 mothers fighting over 1 child
One mom’s child had died and she tried to steal a child from another woman
When Solomon interceded
His solution was to split the child
I’m not talking about joint custody
He actually suggested cutting the child in half
The real mom
Pleaded against such action
Preferring her child to live
Preferring to lose her child to the other woman
Than to have that child harmed
Thus proving she was the mom
And being rewarded for her selflessness
Many more moms come to mind
Jochabed who gave up Moses to save him
Timothy’s mom and grandmother who trained him
And many unnamed Moms throughout scripture
I could go on and on
Here is what I want you to understand
Here is why I listed all these moms
Each of these women was special
Each had a job to do
They had varied pasts
Some good
Some bad
Some way past bad
But each one rose to the occasion and became the Mom God wanted them to be
What I also need you to remember
Although women
Especially moms are not usually in the forefront in God’s word
This does not diminish their importance
Moms are an important part of God’s plan
We all have moms
Some by birth
Some by adoption
Some by proxy
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
Noah
All had moms
Moses and Joshua
Samuel
And Isaiah
David- Daniel
Solomon
Peter and Paul
And Jesus Christ himself
Behind each of these great men including our Lord and savior
Was a mom who
Protected them
A mom who provided for them
And more important
A mom who prayed for them
Proverbs 31:10-31
NLT
Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.
11
Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
12
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13
She finds wool and flax
and busily spins it.
14
She is like a merchant’s ship,
bringing her food from afar.
15
She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
16
She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17
She is energetic and strong,
a hard worker.
18
She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
her lamp burns late into the night.
19
Her hands are busy spinning thread,
her fingers twisting fiber.
20
She extends a helping hand to the poor
and opens her arms to the needy.
21
She has no fear of winter for her household,
for everyone has warm[b] clothes.
22
She makes her own bedspreads.
She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
23
Her husband is well known at the city gates,
where he sits with the other civic leaders.
24
She makes belted linen garments
and sashes to sell to the merchants.
25
She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future.
26
When she speaks, her words are wise,
and she gives instructions with kindness.
27
She carefully watches everything in her household
and suffers nothing from laziness.
28
Her children stand and bless her.
Her husband praises her:
29
“There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
but you surpass them all!”
30
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
31
Reward her for all she has done.
Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.
Tells us what a Godly woman
A Godly Mom looks like
It tells us of her character
Please keep in mind
This proverb
Like this sermon
Uses many women from many walks of life to paint the picture God wants us to see for today
God uses women from all walks of life
With varied pasts
To accomplish his purpose
So today
Let us say thank you to all Mom’s
I encourage you to tell your own mom thank you
Tell her you love her. She knows but she needs to hear it
Thank her
Love her
Honor her
And Praise God for her
I would hate to think about where I would be today without my mom
Worse yet I hate to think about where I would be without my savior
And it was my mom who first taught me about Jesus
Close from the heart
Pray
