How To Survive As A Mother Series

SURVIVOR SERIES

#3 – HOW TO SURVIVE AS A MOTHER

Today, we are continuing with our sermon series entitled SURVIVOR

And what we’ve been doing over the last several weeks, is talking about the fact that in light of…

--the bad economy

--lay offs

--bail outs

--these tough times we’re living in

We can be A SURVIVOR

Now the thesis of this series is that God wants you to do more than SURVIVE – He wants you to THRIVE

But in order to THRIVE, you have to SURVIVE!

And so, that’s what we’ve been talking about

Already, we talked about…

--The Assurance of Salvation

--Is There A Reason To Be Excited

And over the next few weeks, we’re going to be talking about many other things

--How we need each other

--How to survive the end times

--How our church will survive

--Hall of Fame Fathers

And so many more things we will cover

BUT TODAY, being MOTHER’S DAY, I want to talk to you about HOW TO SURVIVE MOTHERHOOD

And if you have grown kids and they’ve moved out of the house and you survived, can we see your hand?

Someone said…

• Motherhood is full of frustrations and challenges. Eventually, though, they move out.

• Mother – “Every time you’re naughty I get another gray hair.” Son – “Gee, Mom, you must have been a terror when you were young … just look at Grandma.”

Oh, let me tell you, it can’t be easy

And sometimes, we can take MOTHERS for granted

But I like what this mother said…

I heard about one of these working women whose husband complained he wanted a hot breakfast. She gave him a match and said, "set your cornflakes on fire."

I like that!

But the TRUTH OF THE MATTER is that today, it’s tougher than it’s ever been to be A MOTHER

And with that in mind, I want to talk to you about SURVIVING AS A MOTHER

Let’s read…

Genesis 21:14-21 (NCV) 14Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a leather bag full of water. He gave them to Hagar and sent her away. Carrying these things and her son, Hagar went and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. 15Later, when all the water was gone from the bag, Hagar put her son under a bush. 16Then she went away a short distance and sat down. She thought, “My son will die, and I cannot watch this happen.” She sat there and began to cry. 17God heard the boy crying, and God’s angel called to Hagar from heaven. He said, “What is wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid! God has heard the boy crying there. 18Help him up and take him by the hand. I will make his descendants into a great nation.” 19Then God showed Hagar a well of water. So she went to the well and filled her bag with water and gave the boy a drink. 20God was with the boy as he grew up. Ishmael lived in the desert and became an archer. 21He lived in the Desert of Paran, and his mother found a wife for him in Egypt.

INTRODUCTION

When I thought about preaching about learning how to SURVIVE as a MOTHER, I thought about the story from which we read in our text today

And here’s the BACKGROUND of the story from which we read – God called Abraham and Sarah and promised that they would have a child and that thought there promised child, they would become the progenitors of a mighty nation!

And as any would-be parents, Abraham and Sarah were excited, BUT one year, two years, 20 years later, no child

So Abraham decides at the urging of his wife to have a child by her servant – Hagar

In those days, that was not uncommon for infertile couples but PROBLEM: God said that it would be Abraham and Sarah child that would be the heir of the promises

Well, in time, Abraham and Sara did have the promised child, and now Hagar and her child, Ishmael, are now on the outs with Abraham and Sarah

And so Abraham does the unthinkable – he sends her away

And this was a big deal back then because it was a very, very hostile and dangerous world for a single woman

And our text picks up the story where Hagar and her son are floundering in the dessert and finally, their water bottle is used up

And Hagar goes away from her son because she knows that they are both about to die

I mean, they absolutely have…

--no resources

--no hope

--no help

They are all alone

GET THE PICTURE: She is a single-mother in a hostile world

But about the time when it seemed all hope was lost, God came on the scene, opened her eyes and there was a well of water