From One Mother to Another

Introduction:

Fellowsville AG

May 13, 2018

AM Service

Mother’s Day

Scripture:

Introduction:

Things my mother taught me:

My Mother taught me LOGIC... “If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you can’t go to the store with me.”

My Mother taught me MEDICINE... “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they’re going to freeze that way.”

My Mother taught me TO THINK AHEAD... “If you don’t pass your spelling test, you’ll never get a good job!”

My Mother taught me ESP... “Put your sweater on; don’t you think that I know when you’re cold?”

My Mother taught me TO MEET A CHALLENGE... “What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you... Don’t talk back to me!”

My Mother taught me HUMOR... “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”

My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT... “If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.

My mother taught me about GENETICS... “You are just like your father!”

My mother taught me about my ROOTS... “Do you think you were born in a barn?”

My mother taught me about the WISDOM of AGE... “When you get to be my age, you will understand.”

My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION... “Just wait until your father gets home.”

My mother taught me about RECEIVING... “You are going to get it when we get home.”

And my all time favorite thing: JUSTICE... “One day you will have kids, and I hope they turn out just like YOU... then you’ll see what it’s like.”

Sometimes, it's hard for mothers to get respect.

Illustration:

There was an 4th grade teacher trying to lead a lesson on magnetism. On a pop quiz she asked the kids to name a six-letter word, starting with “m”,that picks things up. Over half the class said ...“mother.”

Illustration:

A four-year-old and a six-year-old gave their Mom with a house plant for Mother's Day. They had used their own money and she was thrilled. The six- year old said with a sad face, "There was a bouquet that we wanted to give you at the flower shop, but it was too expensive. It was real pretty, and it had a ribbon on it that would have fit you perfectly: 'Rest In Peace.' You're always talking about how you'd like a little peace so that you can rest."

This morning we are going to focus on the life of a truly extraordinary mother...Her name was HANNAH, and she was the mother of the prophet Samuel. This godly woman is first mentioned at the beginning of the book of 1 Samuel-she lived during the time in the history of Israel when the age of the Judges came to an end. Just as I mentioned last week, the book of Judges tells of a period of cycles in which the Hebrew people: rebelled against God...began to worship the pagan gods around them...suffered the painful consequences...cried out to God for help...and He responded by sending a judge who would deliver them. For a while they would return to God but when the judge died the people would rebel against God and the cycle would begin all over again. This cycle repeated itself seven times. When these seven cycles came to an end, Israel was nothing more than a loosely organized federation of anemic tribal territories scarcely able to keep the Philistines and other enemies at bay. But as 1 Samuel begins, a new era is about to dawn. You’ll remember that

Judges 17:6 NLT

6 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

Well, in Samuel’s day Israel would get a king. This nation would become unified under the rule of monarchs like King Saul and King David, and King Solomon. Our text for today tells the story of the events that led to the birth of the prophet Samuel...the man, who God used...more than any other...to begin this new era in the life of Israel.

Well, in Samuel’s day Israel would get a king. This nation would become a unified under the rule of monarchs like King Saul and King David, and King Solomon. Our text for today tells the story of the events that led to the birth of the prophet Samuel...the man, who God used...more than any other...to begin this new era in the life of Israel.

His father was Elkanah, a name that means “God has created a son” which was amazingly prophetic of what was soon to occur in his wife Hannah’s womb. Take your Bibles and let’s read the story of Hannah together. We’ll start with , :

1 Samuel 1:1–20 NLT

1 There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim. 2 Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not. 3 Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the Lord at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas. 4 On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children. 5 And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children. 6 So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children. 7 Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat. 8 “Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?” 9 Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. 10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. 11 And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.” 12 As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. 13 Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. 14 “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!” 15 “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. 16 Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.” 17 “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.” 18 “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad. 19 The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea, 20 and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”

1 Samuel 1:24–28 NLT

24 When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. 25 After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. 26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. 27 I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there.

1 Samuel 1:24

Thoughts from the passage:

Thoughts from the passage:

-Elkanah must have been a wealthy man because he could afford not 1 but 2 wives.

-We know Hannah was the love of his life but in order to have sons to carry on the family name, he married another woman who bore him many children; which she reminded Hannah every chance she could.

-Three times a year all Israelite men were required to be at the central or most important sanctuary to offer sacrifices in observance of the main religious festivals. These were held at Shiloh which was located about 16 miles east of Elkanah’s home in Ramah. Shiloh was the town in which the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant were located. The festival mentioned in the first chapter of 1 Samuel was probably The Feast of the Tabernacles which was celebrated in the fall. Festival celebrations like this were times of rejoicing in God’s blessings, especially that of a bountiful harvest. When Elkanah’s family arrived, he followed the custom of his people and distributed a portion of the sacrificial meat to Peninnah and to each of her children but he provided Hannah a double portion because of his great love for her.

-Her prayer shows that Hannah knew that Elkanah was not the source of children....God was. She recognized that children are always a gift of God-one of His greatest gifts!

-I don’t know why God doesn’t allow some women to have kids and others to have kids. But I do know this: God understands the pain we go through and I know He loves us and knows what is best for us. He remembers our prayers just as He did those of Hannah. There comes a time when in the midst of things we don’t understand we simply have to trust God’s heart.We need to simply trust in His omniscient goodness.

-SAMUEL grew up to become one of the most influential leaders in all of Israel’s history. He lived from about 1090B.C. to 1015B.C. and was the greatest biblical character between Moses and David. Under his leadership Israel renounced idolatry and shook off the yoke of the Philistines. And, I am sure that no one was prouder of his accomplishments than his mother! So understand. Here is a woman whom God used to bring into being a man who became one of the greatest of the prophets of Israel...a man who would be the spiritual guide and mentor of the first two kings of Israel! I’m sure you would agree that when it came to mothering, Hannah did good work.

-Well, what was it that made her such a good mother? I mean, how do you raise a child like Samuel? I’d like to suggest three things:

Body:

I. Hannah teaches us to put God first and pray for our children.

1 Samuel 1:10 NLT

10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord.

, ; ;

1 Samuel 2:1–10 NLT

1 Then Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the Lord! The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me. 2 No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. 3 “Stop acting so proud and haughty! Don’t speak with such arrogance! For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done; he will judge your actions. 4 The bow of the mighty is now broken, and those who stumbled are now strong. 5 Those who were well fed are now starving, and those who were starving are now full. The childless woman now has seven children, and the woman with many children wastes away. 6 The Lord gives both death and life; he brings some down to the grave but raises others up. 7 The Lord makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up. 8 He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the Lord’s, and he has set the world in order. 9 “He will protect his faithful ones, but the wicked will disappear in darkness. No one will succeed by strength alone. 10 Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered. He thunders against them from heaven; the Lord judges throughout the earth. He gives power to his king; he increases the strength of his anointed one.”

; ;

Matthew 22:37 NLT

37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’

;

Matthew 6:3 NLT

3 But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

Matthew

-this was something Hannah and her husband shared. They both loved the Lord (v3)

-in 2:19, they continued to travel to the temple even after they gave Samuel to Eli

-Hannah’s prayer life is seen in her prayer for a son and after it was answered she prayed with thanks which is found in chapter 2

-You might ask, “What does this have to do with parenting?” “Everything!” be-cause the quality of the relationship we have with God will influence our children’s spiritual development. You see our kids are watching. They are looking to see if God is indeed real to us. They notice how much we pray. They see how often we apply the teachings of the Bible to our daily life. And they will be the first to notice any hypocrisy.

Quote:

Paul Harvey once said, “If you don’t live it, you don’t believe it.”

And while some might say that statement was too harsh, here’s a statement that is more difficult to debate: “If you don’t live it, your CHILDREN won’t believe it.”

If you want your kids to believe in God and live in ways that please Him then you have to do so as well. Having a deep faith in God is not enough. We must also model it.

Illustration:

There were once some gold prospectors who discovered an exceptionally rich mine. One of them said, “Hey, we’ve got it made as long as we don’t’ tell anybody else before we stake our claims.” So they each vowed to keep the secret.

Well, when they ran out of provisions, they headed for town. After buying all the supplies they needed, they hurried back to the mine site. But they weren’t alone. A crowd of people followed them, because their discovery was written all over their faces.

You see, what happens on the inside shows on the outside! So the question for us as parents is this: are we letting show on the outside...what God has done on the inside?

Telling our kids to pray is not enough. We must pray with them. Telling our kids to read the Bible is insufficient. We must read it with them and talk to them about how it’s principles apply to our lives. This is what

Deuteronomy 6:7 NLT

7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

is referring to when it says that we are to teach our children God’s commands, “...when we sit at home and when we walk along the road, when we lie down and when we get up.” You see we are not always going to have our kids. The day will come all too quickly when they will be out on their own. Hannah certainly discovered this; she only had a few years with her son. So while we have them with us, we need to show them how important it is to us know God personally.

is referring to when it says that we are to teach our children God’s commands. You see we are not always going to have our kids. The day will come all too quickly when they will be out on their own. Hannah certainly discovered this; she only had a few years with her son. So while we have them with us, we need to show them how important it is to us know God personally.

Illustration:

Three little boys were once playing and they got into one of those “My dad’s better than your dad” routines. One boy proudly said, “My dad knows the mayor of our town!” Another said, “That’s nothing-my dad knows the governor of our state!” Then the last little boy topped them all when he said, “That’s nothing-my dad knows God!” Does your child know by the way that you live, that you know God? Its unlikely that they will want to know and follow God unless you do!

II. Hannah teaches us to put our husbands second and honor them.

1 Samuel 1:4–5 NLT

4 On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children. 5 And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children.

1 Samuel 1:8 NLT

8 “Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?”

,

1 John 3:17 NLT

17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

hostility between parents fosters insecurity in our kids

;

hostility between parents fosters insecurity in our kids

devotion between parents fosters security, peace and well-being

children need to understand that mom and dad have something special going and they notice when mom and dad hug each other, kiss one another, show affection to each other. It tells them mom and dad relationship is solid.

Quote:

In her book, Growing a Family Where People Really Like One Another, Karen Dockery writes,

“Spirituality is showing: LOVE when you feel like attacking, JOY when you’d rather whine, PEACE when you’d rather argue, PATIENCE when you’d rather demand, KINDNESS when you’d rather be cruel.”

the way we relate teaches our kids how to relate

When a husband and a wife deal with one another in a loving way, then their children are more likely to relate to each other and to their peers throughout life in a loving way. Remember how lovingly Elkanah treated Hannah? He saw her grief and related to her with gentle empathy...in his actions he showed a love that is “patient and kind.”

This is the quality of loving devotion that was shown to Samuel in his formative years. I believe was one of the primary factors that made it possible for him to grow up to become a great man of God....and then...a second thing that contributed to this was.....

III. Hannah teaches us to love our children with all of our hearts and give them to God.

1 Samuel 1:26–28 NLT

26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. 27 I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there.

You know we all want our kids to grow up and be happy and fulfilled. We all want the best for our children....in fact we’re willing to sacrifice so that they will have it. We want to give them the best homes, the best clothes, the best vacations, the best education. But if we give them all of this and do not guide them into a love relationship with God we have really given them nothing.

You know we all want our kids to grow up and be happy and fulfilled. We all want the best for our children....in fact we’re willing to sacrifice so that they will have it. We want to give them the best homes, the best clothes, the best vacations, the best education. But if we give them all of this and do not guide them into a love relationship with God we have really given them nothing.

On the other hand, if we give them a relationship with God and nothing else, we have really given them everything! The very best thing we can give our sons and daughters is a personal faith in God....AND...it’s also the best thing we can give ourselves.

Conclusion:

This brings to mind two questions:

1) Are you running your family in such a way that you can give your kids God’s best? And do you have it yourself?

2) Do you know God personally? A personal relationship with God only comes through Jesus Christ. And if you’re here this morning and have never committed your life to Jesus I encourage you to do so

Others of us may need to make private commitments to God — pledging to enrich our marriages or deepen our own walk with God so that our children can find God’s best.

You may be here and feel that God is leading you or your family to join this church. I’ll be standing here at the front with Steve and would encourage you to walk the aisle and share your decisions with us....won’t you come as we sing?

Mother’s Day Gift:

God's order is that the husband is the head of the wife as God is the head of Christ, but there is no inequality or inferiority implied. God and Christ are equal and united, just as the husband and the wife are one. This is not a passage that teaches the woman is inferior to man or that she should be submissive to every man. It is teaching God's order and spiritual headship in the marriage relationship. In the Corinthian culture, a woman who covered her head during worship or when she was in public displayed her submission to authority.