Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

This morning as we celebrate this special Sunday, called Mother’s Day, I hope that we can all rejoice and be glad in it.

Whether your mom is alive or already passed on, my hope is that today you can remember and let those past or present memories bring a smile to your face.

ILL:

Favorite memory of mom and snake…

I am sure that most of you have a favorite memory of your mom or of a mother figure in your life.

One summer evening during a violent thunderstorm a mother was tucking her young son into bed.

She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, "Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?"

The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug.

"I can’t, Dear," she said, "I have to sleep with your daddy."

A long silence occurred then he said in a shaky voice "That Big Sissy!"...

Meat:

We could share story after story, but our best picture of parenting especially being a mom is found in God’s Word.

Turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 1.

This morning I want to look at the life of Hannah and as we do, we can glean several principles or

Characteristics of a Godly Mom:

Before we read today’s passage, let me give you a little bit of context…

There was a man named Elkanah who had two wives: Hannah and Penniah.

Penniah was able to have children but Hannah could not.

You need to understand that, in this culture, to be barren, was believed to be a sign of personal sin or a cursed life.

Penniah loved to point out that Hannah was alone and incomplete.

Hannah could ignore Penniah most of the time, but every year they made a trip to worship.

The entire family would go along.

Penninah with all her children and Hannah who felt very much like a fifth wheel.

Finally Hannah reached her breaking point.

She could not endure the ridicule any longer so she went to the door of the tabernacle, fell face down and began to pray and weep.

(Read 1 Samuel 1:9-20)…

The first characteristic of a Godly Mom as seen in the life of Hannah is one who...

1. Believes in the Power of Prayer

Hannah realized that the only one who could help her was God.

In that day many men and women went through the motions in prayer.

But scripture says that Hannah laid it all out before her God.

v.10 “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish.”

The Hebrew word that is translated as “bitterness” is “Marah”… does that sound familiar??… … When Naomi and Ruth moved back to the Land of Judah and some of Naomi’s old friends saw her, what did she tell them??… … “Don’t call me Naomi (which means Pleasant), but call me Mara, for the Lord has dealt very bitterly with me...”

This word “Marah” describes being discontent, maybe harboring a bit of anger, impatient, annoyed… you know… bitter.

The night that Caleb went missing, I had come back to the campground to wait for the park ranger to show up to begin with the search party.

Melissa was still up on the hill side looking.

As I was talking with the park ranger, I saw her come back into camp, as I walked towards her, she just collapsed on the ground, weeping in anguish… and for the next 14 hours we wept and we prayed.

In bitterness of soul Hannah collapsed on the doorway of the tabernacle and there she wept in anguish and prayed to the Lord...

In fact her prayer was so intense that The priest, Eli, thought she was drunk.

vv.

12-14 “And it happened, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth.

13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.

Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk?

Put your wine away from you!”

Have you ever been so distraught, you are crying uncontrollably and you want to say something but you just cannot get the words out?

Or maybe, you were cry uncontrollably but you are able to get yourself calmed down enough, but if you try to speak you will just lose control again?… … I am pretty sure that is what is happening here.

Hanna’s mouth was moving, but no understandable words were coming out.

Either because of all the weeping and she could talk legibly or because she new if she tried to speak out loud she would just start weeping uncontrollably again.

Eli’s first thought is “who is this crazy woman?”

He draws an assumption an rebukes her for being drunk.

Hanna, through the tears is able to correct him and says…

vv.

15-16 “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit.

I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

16 Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”

Two weeks ago we looked at “The Power of Prayer” and we saw the importance of having “laser guided missile prayers” as opposed to “carpet bombing prayers”.

Even though laser guided missile’s wouldn’t be invented for thousands of years, Hannah understood the concept… Back in v. 11 we find her specific request…

“Then she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

We are not going to get into the logistics of her vow this morning, but what was her request?? Did she just ask for a baby?… no, she specifically asked for a “male child”…

Hannah’s situation seemed hopeless and so out of hopelessness and helplessness came her “laser guided missile” prayer.

Randy Travis has a song entitled “When Mama Prayed”… and I couldn’t help but think about that song as I was developing this sermon.

The chorus of the song says…

“When Mama prayed, good things happened

When Mama prayed, lives were changed

Not much more than five foot tall

But mountains big and small

Crumbled all the way when Mama prayed”

But I want y’all to understand something… it is not just mama’s prayers that get answered.

Through Jesus Christ, we all have access to the Father and we must make sure that we are spending time with Him in prayer.

Philippians 4:6 “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”

The power of prayer is available to anyone who has put their faith in Christ.

After Hannah assured Eli that she was not drunk and that she was just making her request known to God, he blesses her with these words…

vv.

17-18 “Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

18 And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.”

So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.”

Why was her face no longer sad??… because she fully believed that her prayers would be answered and that God was going to give her a son… And that is what it means to “believe in the power of prayer”… in vv.

19-20 we see that Samuel is born.

The second characteristic of a godly mother is that…

2.

She Teaches Her Children About God

vv.

21-23 “Now the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and his vow.

22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the LORD and remain there forever.”

23 So Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him.

Only let the LORD establish His word.”

Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.”

Hannah made motherhood a priority in her life.

She actively poured as much of her life, love, and care into her little baby boy.

Susanna was a Christian mother whose witness and love for her children helped alter the course of church history.

Born in England in 1669, Susanna oversaw the spiritual and educational development of her 19 children — only 10 of whom survived to adulthood — while her husband Samuel was away from home for lengthy periods.

On a rotating basis, each child had a night for individual conversation and prayer with Susanna.

She wrote commentaries on the Apostles Creed, the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer as curriculum for her children.

Susanna’s last name was Wesley… she was the mother of John Wesley, who lead thousands to Christ, and his brother Charles Wesley, who is responsible for writing over 6,000 hymns, one of which is “Hark the herald angel’s sing”

Another preacher said this of his mother;... “Of all the people I have ever known, she had the greatest influence on me.

… She and my father didn’t have much education … but my mother was a woman of God.

She always had devotions with us, she always prayed with us, she always loved us, and did so many things, as I look back now, out of the way.

And she and my father, when I was in Bible school, they would go up to a room upstairs and kneel down every morning at 10 o’clock to pray for their son in Bible school.”

-Billy Graham