Mothers On Mission

Luke 1:45–55 ESV

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Luke 2:16–20 ESV

And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Introduction: It’s always a good question to ask on Mother’s Day. What do Mother’s Need?

18 - Mom’s have a Meaningful Mission.

- List, how Mom’s were used throughout scripture in God’s Story of Redemption.

Eve - the promise of her seed crushing the head of the serpant.

Sarah - the mother of Isaac the promised one.

Rachel and Leah the mother of the twelve tribes of Israel

Hannah - The Mother of Samuel.

Ruth the Mother of Obed, the Grandfather of David.

Telling the Story of Jim Elliots wife.

Genesis 1 - Part of the Mission to bring God’s image over the whole earth.

To partner with husbands in ruling over creation and develop leaders.

A number of mothers and grandmothers - My Mission right now is to raise my kids in the Lord.

My Sister - At first didn’t want to be a Mother - “As she said, “I knew what I was like as a child.” - Now a wonderful mother.

So Many Amazing Stories, But Mom’s do you feel like you have a meaningful Mission?

19 - Mom’s Can Trust God for their Contribution.

- Mary Trusted God

- Mary Pondered - What did she ponder, the meaning of the Shepherds. - It’s important for us to spend some time pondering - the meaning.

- First Beatitude in Luke - Blessed are you.... - Because she believed what God was calling her to do, and aligned with it.

- A Mother’s Calling is more than just being a Mother. More than just raising the kids. - Mary’s mission impacted the Cosmos, the Salvation of and redemption of this world through her Son. She was not the Savior, but she was a part of that mission. But her mission was not just raising Jesus. - It is believed that one of Luke’s sources for his Gospel was Mary - you can picture her having told these stories of Jesus’ birth to him. She had a life and mission after raising Jesus - She told his story.

“She begins by praising God (see 1:46)—a normal opening to any prayer. Then at once (see 1:47) she confesses to great joy (the Greek word Luke uses to translate her original Aramaic indicates exultant, overwhelming, religious joy). She is, then, emotionally aware of the stupendous wonder of the thing that is happening to her. Aware also of the immeasurable contrast between her present obscure, humble state, and the immense publicity and honour which inevitably shall be hers throughout all succeeding generations (see 1:48)” (David Gooding, According to Luke: The Third Gospel’s Ordered Historical Narrative, Myrtlefield Expositions [Coleraine, Northern Ireland: Myrtlefield House, 2013], 38, Logos).

- Mothers model what it means to be a believer when they listen to God’s mission in their life and model it for their kids.

- Funeral - Minee’s funeral - The question I ask, how did she instill Faith in you?

- For some women, not being a Mother is a part of their calling. For some it is adopting children

Whatever the calling, Mary models for us that we will be blessed, when we Trust God for our unique contribution.

1. One of the most admirable qualities in a mother is tenacious courage. We see that in Mary, Jesus’s mother. We see it in the best moms portrayed in pop culture too. Writing about the formidable mom of Netflix’s Stranger Things, Joyce Byers, K. B. Hoyle says, “Mothers, will you take up an axe to fight for your children? Will you string lights in the darkness to bring them home, should they lose their way? Will you be their advocate and their champion should everyone else abandon them? Too often, we sell ourselves short as women—considering ourselves only in light of passages like Proverbs 31 or Titus 2 that tell us how to order our households, relate to our husbands, and live our daily lives. Too often we are told to leave the fighting to the menfolk—to be meek and mild and non-offensive. But God created us to be protectors, advocates, sacrifices for our children. Motherhood asks us to lay down our lives for them—to demonstrate Christ’s sacrifice for them again and again, if needed—not because we can save them, but because he can, and he’s ordained us to be lightbearers to lead them to him. Our daily acts of mothering may not be as dramatic as what we see in Joyce Byers, but each one adds another strand of lights leading our little ones safely home” (K. B. Hoyle, “Walking in Joyce Byers’s Footsteps: Motherhood in a Stranger Things World,” Christ and Pop Culture, January 22, 2018, https://christandpopculture.com/walking-joyce-byerss-footsteps-motherhood-stranger-things-world/).

We believe Mom’s can Trust God for their Mission, but How can we help?

20 - We Can Encourage Mom’s Faith.

21 - Let’s see a potential picture of Jesus - The Chosen

22 - Mary’s attentiveness to the promises of God and Luke’s description of her as one who ponders the things she is learning is a wonderful picture of mothers who are striving to leave a legacy. We must encourage our mothers—biological, bonus or adopted, mentor)—to see themselves for who they are. They are called to consider the things of God, and then when the opportunity presents itself, praise God for his ongoing presence and blessing of making them mothers.

One of the things that is amazing about women is that they can multi-task. - In fact Mythbusters scientifically showed that women are better at it than men.

On the other hand, I see a lot of mothers who have a lot of to do lists. In the midst of those to dos they are reflecting - because they can do that.

We can encourage Mothers to take some space for themselves, to reflect with God and

-Mom’s have big to do lists - But here Mary Praises God for his to do list. Some of it is a to done list.

We can help Mom’s reflect on their contribution by thanking them for it. Letting them know How God has called them to a unique contribution.

Conclusion:

Mom’s do you see your calling, can you Trust God for it?

For those of us who have Moms. What are you doing to help your Mom see what God is doing through her?