“Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD!
“Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the LORD is to be praised!
“The LORD is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!
Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!” [1]
Some years ago, it was reported that a prestigious Manhattan school banned making Mother’s Day gifts. The rationale for this move was to protect the feelings of children of same-sex couples. [2] The push to eliminate Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day as well, continues in our world. [3] The push to rid the world of the concept of mothers (and fathers) seems only to intensify with each passing year.
I suspect that many mothers would miss “treasures” such as pencil holders created from cast-off soup cans, coloured string, and Styrofoam pictures. I never had any particular difficulty with the concept of Mother’s Day, but I do confess that Mother’s Day presents pastoral difficulties for me. As a student in elementary school, I made such gifts, but they were created to be presented to my Grandma Nellie. She served as a surrogate mother, saying on one occasion after I had grown to manhood, “I had to love Mike, no one else would.” The reason I treated this woman to my childish gifts is because my own mother had deserted the home. You can understand the reason I inured myself to hearing the accolades to mothers, I had no such memories of my own.
In earlier years of my service among the churches, I found it beyond challenging when I was required to prepare a message for the second Sunday in May. On some years, I would simply continue with the particular series of messages I was delivering, giving the observance of Mother’s Day what amounted to a cursory acknowledgement. In other years I struggled to prepare an appropriate message, which seemed often to turn into a rather tepid presentation of God’s ideal for motherhood.
Eventually, the pain of the day was ameliorated through God’s gift of a gracious wife. Lynda revealed the beauty of motherhood, and I grew to appreciate this day through watching her mother our children—the children God had entrusted to our home. Mother’s Day grew until the day had become an opportunity for me to honour my wife as a joyous mother of children. Today, I have no doubt that mothers are truly a divine gift.
I believe it is right for churches to set aside a day in which mothers are honoured. In part, such honour is required because the concept of family is under assault. Same-sex “marriage” is the law of the land, and support for this novel idea has grown dramatically in such a short time that it takes away one’s breath. [4] The concept of “alternative life-styles” is rapidly becoming acceptable not only within contemporary society, but among contemporary evangelicals. [5] Of course, same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada for more than fifteen years. [6] Therefore, if for no other reason than that our children should be encouraged to honour the family as God created it, we should observe Mother’s Day.
It is folly-wide-the-mark for anyone to expect the public education system to provide moral instruction for our children. I am grateful for godly teachers who serve as salt and light within the public-school system. Nevertheless, it is unrealistic to expect an educational system created by the world system to provide moral guidance for our children. Sound moral guidance can come only through godly families and through the instruction in the Faith provided by the churches of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our children need opportunity to acknowledge God’s righteous plan in their own lives. As families are increasingly assaulted from multiple directions, we need to exalt God’s ideal for the home. Join me in an all together too brief exploration of the estimate placed on mothers in the Word of God. Among the texts exalting motherhood within Scripture is the 113th PSALM, which I invite you to examine together with me at this time.
GOD’S POWER IS REVEALED THROUGH HIS COMPASSION — This 113th Psalm is thought to have originally been a victory Psalm, sung at the time of victory during war. The style of the Psalm harkens back to the earliest days of Israel’s history as a nation. The Psalm begins with praise to God and concludes with praise to Him. You will recognise the opening words in the Hebrew tongue as Hallû yah! The words mean “Praise the LORD,” just as the translation used for this message indicates. However, we are not out of line to simply exclaim, “Hallelujah!” Perhaps more importantly in light of our recent commemoration of the Resurrection and the ongoing observance of the Lord’s Table among the faithful, this Psalm begins “the Hallel,” which was sung at the three Great Feasts, at the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah), and at the New Moons.
At the Feast of the Passover the Hallel was divided into two parts, the first of which, consisting of PSALMS 113 and 114, was sung before the meal, that is before the second cup was passed round. The second part of the Hallel consisted of PSALMS 115 through 118, and was sung after the meal, when the fourth cup had been filled. As a point of interest, it would have been this 118th PSALM which the Lord and His disciples sang after His last Passover, [7] as related by Matthew: “When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” [MATTHEW 26:30]. The inclusion of this information provides a decidedly Jewish touch that is especially fitting in Matthew’s Gospel. Therefore, a study of this 113th PSALM has especial interest to Christians who celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
God is God of Creation. There is no place where the Name of the Lord GOD is not praised. All the nations of the world are dependent upon Him for their continued existence. The LORD rules over the nations and He overrules the nations. How awesome is the might and power of our God! Little wonder that the people of Israel, identified as servants of the Lord in this Psalm, are called upon to praise Him.
Few of us have actually witnessed the glory of the Lord in His sanctuary. The reason I make such a seemingly confrontational statement is that we are able to enter into worship with a casual attitude. The sanctuary of the Lord is His Church. Where the Body of Christ is gathered, there is the innermost sanctuary. Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by the Chaldeans. The second Temple, Zerubbabel’s Temple, was built beginning with the service of Nehemiah. Zerubbabel’s Temple was more of a fortress than a temple, and so it was rebuilt by Herod. Herod’s Temple was ultimately destroyed by Titus’ marauding troops in seventy A.D., only six years after it was completed.
The church gathered for worship, is now seen as the Temple of the Living God [cf. 2 CORINTHIANS 6:16]. In a greater sense the whole of God’s people constitutes a holy Temple [see EPHESIANS 2:21], but the local congregation is especially designated as the Temple of God [see EPHESIANS 2:22]. Whenever you see any congregation gathered and Christ is exalted as Lord in their assembly as the people unite to worship Him, you are witnessing the Temple of the Living God. This truth forms the foundation for the stern apostolic admonition against anyone bringing harm to the local congregation. You will no doubt recall that warning issued in the first Corinthians letter. “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you” [1 CORINTHIANS 3:16]?
This knowledge lends meaning to the exclamation of praise in EPHESIANS 3:20-21. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Amen, indeed!
If we allowed ourselves to see as God sees, what would we see in our worship this morning? If the scales that obscure our sight, scales resulting from our fallen condition, scales that now blur our vision, were removed, would we actually see the Risen Son of God walking among us? Would we witness His august glory in our midst? Would we see Him Who walks among the seven golden lampstands walking up and down the aisles of this assembly? And when we saw Him, would we be awed at His presence? Would we fall down before Him and worship Him as the Risen, Reigning Saviour?
I suggest to you that the Son of God is even now walking among His people as they gather in worship and His might is being displayed in ways that few of us acknowledge. Could we but see the glory of God revealed in His people as we shall one day see, would we not find ourselves awestruck? We who have believed in Him reveal His glory as we worship and as we pray and as we see His might uniting us and adding to the congregation. This is the glory of God and we are sharing in that glory even now.
Christ the Lord is coming again. He is coming to call rebel sinners to account; and we must warn all such rebels that they must receive Him or perish. However, we are remiss if we fail to remind the people of God that “He comes … to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at among all who have believed” [2 THESSALONIANS 1:10].
Thus, you will understand why I dare say that it is likely that few of us have witnessed the glory of the Lord in His Temple. The statement is less a condemnation of any of us than it is a plea for each Christian to determine to witness the power of God at work in our midst. I mean this statement to be an encouragement to seek His presence that we may marvel now, not waiting until that glorious day when He shall be revealed among His holy people. We are that people and He is at this moment in our midst.
This is the where the 113th PSALM begins. In The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Derek Kidner titles this Psalm: “Nothing too Great for Him, No-one too small.” [8] It is an appropriate title. Whenever we think of God’s greatness, we consider His might and power. He created all things. By Him, all things have their existence. He performs wonders on behalf of His people, extending grace and mercy in time of need. God is awesome in might and power on behalf of those who love Him. His goodness extends beyond our comprehension. He has redeemed us and called us by His Name. There is nothing too great for our God. Who wouldn’t stand in awe of such a God?
I consider the most exciting portion of the Psalm to be this final verse, however. This same awesome God stoops to lift the needy from the ash heap. He willingly dirties His hands. He exalts the humble. Among those God exalts is the barren woman. This latter demonstration of mercy merits our attention in this service. Though I would not insult anyone, I will challenge that far too many women, including some of our own dear sisters in the Faith, have been contaminated with contemporary mores which have left them with less than God’s best. Let me explain, before you take umbrage at my words.
MOTHERHOOD THROUGH THE EYES OF GOD — Perhaps you consider outdated concepts to have contaminated the Word of God, but it is evident that childlessness was seen as a demeaning condition for women throughout the pages of the Bible. The verse before us speaks of God making the sterile woman “to keep house” [literal meaning of ?aqere? habbayi?]. God pointedly promises, “I will make a house for you.” God pledges His concern for the most helpless member of that society—a childless woman.
Bible readers will witness a similar statement of God’s compassion and loving concern when reading the 68TH PSALM.
“Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the LORD;
exult before him!
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.”
[PSALM 68:4-6]
Passages such as these reveal that God is concerned for the weak and for the defenceless in society; and a childless woman was exceptionally vulnerable in that ancient society. Should a woman be divorced, or should her husband die, children assured her a place in the house. Thus, it is apparent that the childless woman was particularly vulnerable.
Children were a mark of divine favour in the mind of our spiritual forebears. When Leah had borne Jacob four sons, Rachel cried out, “Give me children, or I shall die” [GENESIS 30:1]. Jacob understood that the gift of children lies within the purview of God. “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb” [GENESIS 30:2]? Later, we do read that God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and rejoiced, saying, “God has taken away my reproach” [GENESIS 30:22-23].
Hannah is another woman who struggled for children. We read specifically that “the LORD had closed her womb” [1 SAMUEL 1:5]. She prayed in her grief, asking the LORD to give her a child; and the LORD heard her prayers. Eli announced, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” [1 SAMUEL 1:17]. Listen to these succeeding verses. “Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked for him from the LORD” [1 SAMUEL 1:19b-20].
The language recorded in these passages appears quaint to us; and the ideal behind what is written is more quaint still. In our modern society, we seemingly know the mechanics of childbirth, but we seem to have no understanding of the process. In what we imagine to be scientific superiority, we have excluded the Living God from the concept of giving life. Whether the world is prepared to agree or not, Christians acknowledge that God is the giver of life. And throughout the pages of the Word of God, those who walked close to God were cognisant of His participation in the gift of children. As one prominent example, consider that when God wished to bless Shiphrah and Puah, midwives to the Hebrews, he gave them families of their own [EXODUS 1:21]. Children were a divine gift to express the LORD’s pleasure with these two women.
In our contemporary view, children are not necessarily seen as a blessing. Nevertheless, the biblical view is that children are God’s blessing. Do you believe the 127th PSALM to be inspired of God? What do you suppose is meant by the words of that Psalm? How would you interpret the Psalm?
“Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”
[PSALM 127:1-5]
Clearly, the Psalm is testifying that God gives children to a family; and therefore children are to be seen as a divine gift, a blessing to grace the home. Jesus Himself was clearly of the opinion that the birth of a child was a joyous occasion for a mother [cf. JOHN 16:21].
Why should this be? Holy women from ancient days (as Peter identifies them) are seen as models for holy women of this day. Godly women accepted their role of bearing children as ordained by God. They embraced this most significant assignment, knowing that they could influence the children He gave for good and for God. Thus, the birth of children was vindication of their role as women and indicative of God’s favour on them, just as we witness in numerous studies on the role of women in the church. [9]
This is the normal and historic understanding of Paul’s words in 1 TIMOTHY 2:15. Paul writes, “[women] will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.” This understanding is strengthened by the recurring motif throughout the Pastoral Letters urging Christian women to devote themselves to the care of homes and the raising of children [e.g. 1 TIMOTHY 5:9, 10, 14; TITUS 2:4, 5]. [10] This action would have been especially important as the false teachers plaguing the early churches appear to have been teaching abstention from marriage [cf. 1 TIMOTHY 4:3] and even showing disdain for the divinely ordained and distinctive roles of men and women.
It is important to summarise this point by stating that our Lord esteems mothers—He did give each of us a mother. Motherhood is valued in the mind of God; and the Lord is honoured when women embrace that precious role as mothers, raising their children to His glory. Just so, whenever the people of God esteem the role of mothers, God is honoured. To depreciate that role, to insinuate that being a mother is less than God’s best, to imagine that some role is of greater value than serving as the “happy mother of children,” is to doubt God, calling into question His goodness and His compassion.
Young women may question whether they have either the wisdom or the ability to raise children in our complex world, but with God’s help they are able. As society changes with lightening speed to seemingly denigrate the role of mothers, the task of motherhood becomes more difficult still. To young women hearing the message today, may I say on the authority of God’s Word that no higher calling can be given you than this role of being a godly mother in God’s time and by His mercies. Keep yourselves pure and wait for a godly young man who shares your faith in the Son of God so that you will have a life partner who will always stand beside you in the struggle to honour God.
To you who are single moms, struggling against what must seem insurmountable odds to raise godly children in an unsympathetic world, may I say that God is still the compassionate God who experiences the pain you feel in your struggle to raise your children. He has not forgotten you, and though providing for your children is a great struggle, I would encourage you to see that those precious little ones are evidence of God’s goodness. Each child is a precious gift from God, and He will not fail to give you strength or ability to raise sons and daughters who honour Him—if you but look to Him.
To the church, may I say that we are responsible to know the mind of God. If we know His mind, we will value children and rejoice with those godly women who wish to honour God through being godly mothers. We will resist the efforts of the world which depreciates children in general, or which sees them as commodities to be used by wicked men and women. We will strengthen the hands of godly women in every way possible and seek to equip them to raise their children to the glory of God. We will pray continually for the children and seek to give what aid we can to those mothers.
MOTHERS DEMONSTRATE GOD’S MERCY — If we accept that children are a gift from God (and not merely a biological necessity), then we must accept that the Lord gives only what is good. Children are a good gift, and likewise that woman who accepts God’s gracious gift of children becomes a blessed individual. She has received the best God can give, and having received God’s best, she is charged with an awesome responsibility—the responsibility to raise the children who have been entrusted to her to be a benediction to her life. Thus, she will present them to God, seeing her motherhood as a stewardship.
Some weeks past, I asked a couple of young women to share their insight into the impact their mother had on them. The mothers of each of these women are themselves women who exemplify in great measure a gracious woman who accepted God’s gift and who then invested her life in her children. These young women were able to reflect as mature adults when they provided their views recalling the impact on their own lives of their mothers’ training. I have asked these ladies to share their insight anonymously. Their mothers will no doubt recognize themselves in their daughters’ words.
The first memory I will read was written by a daughter who is herself a mother of two active children. This young mom honoured her mother with these memories, written in her own words.
When I was first asked to form some thoughts on the impact and importance of a mother in one’s life, I struggled with knowing where to start. How is it possible to encapsulate someone who has taken a lead role in your life through the writing of a mere 500 words? However, if there is one word I would use to describe my mother, it would be, “faithful.” She has shown unfailing faithfulness to her family, to serving others and to the Lord. Faithfulness has been a main thread she has used to weave the rich legacy she will one day leave behind. Beginning in my earliest childhood memories, Mom has instilled the concept of faithfulness into everything she taught me. As a young child, lessons in faithfulness came in the areas of: finishing chores I don’t want to do, completing schoolwork I’d rather not finish, being civil towards a sister I’d love to hate, and being relentlessly kind to friends who are snobbish and rude. As a teenager, the lessons in faithfulness continued — much to my disappointment. Now I was learning things like: being faithful in making the morally right decision (especially when it’s hard), showing punctuality and work ethic in the jobs you don’t really care about, and being constantly willing to help others (even when it may feel like an inconvenience for you). Now that I am a young mother, I have realized that a mothers’ work is never truly complete. As such, the lessons in faithfulness from my Mom continued into young adulthood. During this time, the lessons of my younger years began to build onto the more meaningful aspects of life, such as: picking a college (is it faithful to God’s Word, faithful to student growth?), deciding which friends I wanted to surround myself with (and which ones to cut loose) and ultimately, choosing a career path and a spouse.
Looking back over my short life, I am now beginning to deeper appreciate the faithfulness my mom has exhibited throughout hers. Most children pay no particular attention to the life their mother lives. Only as an adult, do we have the insight to appreciate the effort it takes to live a godly life and raise children in a manner honouring to the Lord. I can now clearly see the years of faithfulness that have marked those periods in my mother’s life. Mom remained faithful in her early mornings of prayer before starting a gruelling day with the children and continued in her late nights of preparation for the next day. She consistently showed insight regarding which friend to check on, and never hesitated to provide for their needs by giving back. She had a knack (and still does) for knowing who may need a little encouragement, and was constantly having people over for meals or delivering flowers and cards. Mom also remained faithful (and continued to) in serving at church. She was consistently one of the first people to offer her services when called upon, and soon became a faithful member in all the congregations she was a part of.
Undoubtedly, her dedication and faithfulness to her family is what truly shines. She has been, and continues to be, a real blessing to those who have the privilege of knowing her. I have no doubt she will enter the pearly gates of heaven and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
The second missive I will share is from a young woman who serves as one of God’s choice servants in her capacity as a missionary working with disadvantaged youth. This young woman is not living in her mother’s home any longer, but it rather quickly becomes obvious that her mother’s training prepared her for the critical service she now provides. These are her words as she recalled the training she received from her mother.
Every where I’ve been, whether it be Los Angeles, [the Philippine Islands], Mexico or Winnipeg, one thing I often repeat “My Mom would say…” The things I would share after that, were less tips on how to get a stain out of clothes and more biblical truth and wisdom. Her impact reaches further then she knows. There is a group of women in the Philippines, who have heard my mom’s story and have been encouraged. A single-mom in Winnipeg, who’s heard of my mom’s steadfast faith in God no matter the trials and is assured. It goes on. One day, I’m sure, I will tell my own grumpy teen, “It’s harder to be holy when you’re tired.”
If I tried to find a Mother’s Day card that suited her, it would be difficult. I would have to find a card that pictured a woman holding her Bible head bowed in prayer, but also holding a chainsaw and a shovel and carrying a 20-pound purse with random tools and pipe-fittings in it while also driving a tractor and holding a chicken. Or maybe cutting a cord that is still plugged in, but that part she can’t help, it is in her [bloodline].
She has always had a certainty in who her God is no matter what has come her way. Watching her build a home and single-handedly raise 5 kids from children into teens and beyond was crazy, when I actually thought of it. She always persevered amidst the chaos of a broken marriage, homeschooling her kids, and building a small farm up. Anytime a neighbor asks, “How do you do It?” She always attributes it to God.
Growing up and seeing how missionally minded she lived, I know is what pushed me on to do ministry. She is constantly making connections with the person on the other side of the till at any store or visiting with her neighbors. When I call, she will update me on the news of home and also talk about the latest person who she’s comforted in their own chaos and pointed to Christ.
I often tell people if I could be half the woman my mother is, I would be doing pretty good. She always said she didn’t care as much what career her children chose but as long as they loved Jesus. In her words and actions it is easy to see how much she loves Him and intimate her relationship is with Him. And I see her as a model of the Proverbs 31 woman to follow.
I suppose that these letters could have been penned by any daughter writing lovingly about her mother. These memories happen to be written by daughters of our own congregation. These young women are making their own mark in the world, and either of them will quickly tell you that their mother has served as a major influence in the women they have become.
Their mothers would no doubt agree with another woman who lived long years past. That woman spoke highly of her children as recorded in some ancient writings. When a woman boasted of her jewels, Cornelia, the mother of the Roman Statesmen known as the Gracchi (Gaius Sempronius Gracchus and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus), kept her talking until her children had come home from school. Gathering her children to her, Cornelia then stated, “And these are my jewels.” [11] If a woman, not a Christian, could realise this truth one hundred fifty years before the birth of Christ, shouldn’t we expect at least as much of Christian women in this day? And the sense that their children are their jewels would undoubtedly be echoed by the women who wrote these memorials as they recall the input of their mothers on the lives of their children.
Perhaps we need to re-evaluate our view of children. How we view children in no small measure reflects our view of God. Are children a divine gift? Or do we see children as a nuisance? Is the presence of children within the church an evidence of God’s goodness to us? Or do those same children impose such responsibility that we want no more of it? The manner in which we see children will in no small measure reflect our view of motherhood. I suggest that in each mother we see something of the goodness and compassion of God, because that woman who raises her children before God has received great mercies by being permitted to be the happy mother of children.
We began with the concept of worshipping a God great enough to accomplish anything, and sufficiently gentle to take note of the most vulnerable among us. May I say that such a God is worthy of your worship. That worship must begin with receipt of His gift of life through His Son. So it is stated with the gentleness of Christ and the compassion of the Father, that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. We are bold to call each individual to faith in this God, for He has convinced us through His Word that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved [see ROMANS 10:9, 10, 13].
Here is the essential question for all who hear the message this day: Can you worship if you have never believed the One you claim to worship? The answer is obvious. It is impossible to worship the Son of God if you have never believed Him. He calls all who are willing to believe His message of grace. The Risen, Living Son of God offers forgiveness of sin and life to all who believe this message.
Christ died because of your sin, and He has been raised from the dead. Now, “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord, shall be saved” [ROMANS 10:13]. Our invitation to all who are willing to receive the message of life is, believe the Word of God, receive the Christ as Master over your life, and be saved today. Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice because of your broken, fallen condition. He rose from the dead so that you can be declared righteous before the Father. Now, He calls you to believe Him, to receive Him as Master over your life. When you do receive Him, all your sin will be forgiven, and you will be immediately adopted into the Family of God. This is the invitation to life that is offered to all people now. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers, 2001. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Marina Jiménez, “New York school deems Mother’s Day offensive,” NATIONAL POST, May 9, 2001, Page URL: http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story/html?f=stories/20010409/557384.html; accessed 9 May 2001
[3] Mahvash Ali, “Farmers apologises for ‘hurt and offence’ of Mother’s Day email,” NZ Herald, 6 May, 2016, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11634625, accessed 2 December 2019; Natalie D., “Social-Justice Warriors Attack Mother’s Day as ‘Offensive,’” USA Supreme, May 16, 2017, https://www.usasupreme.com/social-justice-warriors-attack-mothers-day-offensive/, accessed 2 December 2019; “Critics Attack Mother’s Day as ‘Offensive’, ‘Gendered Holiday,’” Liberty Headlines, https://www.libertyheadlines.com/critics-attack-mothers-day-offensive-gendered-holiday/, accessed 2 December 2019; Emma Teitel, “It’s time to get rid of Mother’s Day: Teitel,” The Star, May 12, 2017, https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/05/12/its-time-to-get-rid-of-mothers-day-teitel.html, accessed 2 December 2019; “Left Hijacks Another Holiday: School Renames ‘Offensive’ Mother’s Day,’ 100 Percent Fed Up, May 11, 2019, https://100percentfedup.com/left-hijacks-another-holiday-school-renames-offensive-mothers-day/, accessed 2 December 2019; Charlie Moore, “‘We no longer subscribe to a binary world’: Primary school renames its Mother’s Day stall in case it offends children who don’t have a mum,’ Daily Mail, 8 May 2019, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7004335/School-renames-Mothers-Day-not-offend-kids-without-mother.html, accessed 2 December 2019
[4] Sintia Radu, “Globally, Support for Gay Rights is Growing,” USNews, June 7, 2019, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2019-06-07/countries-agree-that-gay-rights-are-human-rights, accessed 2 December 2019; “Attitudes on Same-Sex Marriage,” Pew Research Center, May 14, 2019, https://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/, accessed 2 December 2019; “Majority of Public Favors Same-Sex Marriage, but Divisions Persist, Pew Research Center, May 14, 2019, https://www.people-press.org/2019/05/14/majority-of-public-favors-same-sex-marriage-but-divisions-persist/, accessed 2 December 2019
[5] Aaron Earls, “Growing Share of Evangelicals Supports Same-Sex Marriage,” Facts & Trends, May 8, 2018, https://factsandtrends.net/2018/05/08/growing-share-of-evangelicals-supports-same-sex-marriage/, accessed 2 December 2019; Dora Mekouar, “Support for Gay Marriage Grows Among Young US Evangelicals,” VOA News, March 18, 2015, https://blogs.voanews.com/all-about-america/2015/03/18/support-for-gay-marriage-grows-among-young-us-evangelicals/, accessed 2 December 2019
[6] “Same-Sex Marriage in Canada,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/same-sex-marriage-in-canada, accessed 2 December 2019; “Same-sex marriage in Canada,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Canada, accessed 2 December 2019; “Same-sex marriage, britannica.com, https://www.britannica.com/topic/same-sex-marriage/Same-sex-marriage-and-the-law, accessed 2 December 2019
[7] Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms, in C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. V (Eerdmans n.d.) 202-3
[8] Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150: A Commentary on Books III-V of the Psalms, in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (InterVarsity, London, UK 1975) 401
[9] cf. Thomas R. Schreiner, An Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:9-15: A Dialogue with Scholarship, in Andreas J. Köstenberger, Thomas R. Schreiner, and H. Scott Baldwin (eds.), Women in the Church: a Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 (Baker, Grand Rapids, MI 1995) pg. 151
[10] Douglas J. Moo, “1 Timothy 2:11-15: Meaning and Significance,” Trinity Journal (1980) pp. 71-72
[11] Robert Burton, quoted in John Bartlett and Justin Kaplan (ed.), Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 16th Edition (Little, Brown and Company, Toronto 1992) 235:15
