More Than a Mom
Notes
Transcript
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Scripture 1 John 4:7-17
Scripture 1 John 4:7-17
Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) first suggested the national observance of an annual day honoring all mothers because she had loved her own mother so dearly. At a memorial service for her mother on May 10, 1908, Miss Jarvis gave a carnation (her mother's favorite flower) to each person who attended. Within the next few years, the idea of a day to honor mothers gained popularity, and Mother's Day was observed in a number of large cities in the U.S. On May 9, 1914, by an act of Congress,
President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. He established the day as a time for "public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country." By then it had become customary to wear white carnations to honor departed mothers and red to honor the living, a custom that continues to this day.
Let’s look as these items and see what we can learn about mother.
1. First of all, what is the definition of the word mother?
The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word “mother” as a female parent. It also states that a mother is one who gives birth.
1. What is a mother?
1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Every individual has a mother. I say that because we were not created the way Adam and Eve were created.
The mother carries the baby normally for a nine month period. The mother protects and nourishes the baby with her own body from the time of conception to the day of birth.
There is Elizabeth. She was the wife of Zacharias. For some reason, Elizabeth was not able to bear children. Zacharias and Elizabeth were very dedicated to following God’s laws. They were very obedient to God’s will. Elizabeth felt very bad because she could not bear any children and now being past the childbearing age, she felt hopeless. But God was waiting for the right time and when the right time came, Elizabeth became pregnant and bore a child whose name was John the Baptist.
Hannah’s story is similar to that of Elizabeth in that she could not have children for a long time. She was also a Godly woman who prayed for a son. Hannah’s life was a little different than Elizabeth’s life. Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah. The other wife was Peninnah. Back in those days, it was common for a man to have more than one wife. What made it even worse was that Peninnah was able to have children while Hannah was unable to conceive. God heard the prayers of Hannah and Hannah conceived and gave birth to Samuel.
The next story that is similar to that of Elizabeth and Hannah is that of Rachel. This is the story of Rachel and her sister Leah. Both of these people were wives of Jacob and both of these people wanted children. Jacob loved Rachel more than he loved Leah, but Leah was able to conceive and bear children. She bore Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah before Rachel bore any children.
Rachel remained barred for a number of years. Rachel became jealous of Leah (her sister) and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” Genesis 30:1-2
1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
2 And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
When the timing was right, Rachel bore Joseph and Benjamin.
Then there was Mary, the mother of Jesus. Scripture says that the angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth to a virgin named Mary. Gabriel said to Mary, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:26-28
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
2. What are the characteristics of a mother?
a. Loving
b. Caring
c. Protective
d. Understanding
e. Helpful
f. Knows God and prays to God
I hope that each one of you had a loving mother. I can honestly say that my mother was a loving mother. I could always go to my mother and talk to her about anything. If I was hurting for any reason, she was able to take the hurt away.
My Mother was a dedicated woman.
Jesus said,
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mother would say, “Come here and tell me what is bothering you. I believe I can make it better.” There wasn’t a hurt that mother couldn’t make better with her kindness expressed through the love of God.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mothers, like Jesus, are “gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Her love was not only for her family, but it was for whoever needed it. If someone needed something from the store, mother was willing to go for them. If someone was hungry, mother was at their doorstep. If someone needed clothes, mother always found clothes somewhere. Everything mother did was done with a touch of God’s love.
When Jesus was talking to Peter and Jesus asked Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” Peter responded with the words “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Then Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep” (John 21:16)
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Jesus is using the word “love” in connection with the word “care”. By the same token, a mother who loves cares. The shepherd loves his sheep and cares about them. A mother loves her children and cares for them.
The next characteristic of a mother is that she is protective. Just as you and I protect the belongings we have, mothers will protect their children. Female animals will protect their young. This is a natural thing to do.
Remember the times you went to bed but couldn’t go to sleep because the monsters were in the room. Mother came to protect you. All of us had times when someone was going to knock the tar out of us. Mother was there to protect us. Mothers try to protect their children from getting sick. Mothers protect their children by telling them not to talk to strangers or what to do if a stranger approaches them. Mothers are protective because they love their children and they care about them.
A mother needs to be understanding. Proverbs 16:22 says, “Understanding is a fountain of life.” A Christian mother is enlightened by the Word of God. A mother who understands her relationship with the Father will understand her relationship with her children. Children have many questions as they mature; therefore, mothers must have answers to these questions. A mother understands those questions posed to her by her child and does not consider them dumb questions. She listens and responds to her child just as the Heavenly Father listens and responds to her.
A mother is helpful to her children or anyone else who is in need of help. The mother is responsible for helping her child with schoolwork. Mother is willing to help with school activities. Mother is ready to take the child to music lessons or scout meetings. Mother is helpful in these various settings. As a young child, mother is helpful when it comes to dressing the child or putting on their shoes. Mother is helpful when a child is hungry.
In Isaiah 41:10, God says, “I will strengthen you and help you.” Mothers say, “I will help you now and this will make you a stronger person.”
A mother needs to know God. As I said previously, my mother was a Godly woman. My children’s mother, Liz, is a Godly mother. Scripture says, “Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God” (I John 4:7).
All of us believe that love is important, but many times we think of love just as a feeling. The kind of love we are talking is the kind that God demonstrated by sending His Son into the world to redeem us. Jesus loved us so much that he gave his life for us. The Holy Spirit, who lives within our hearts, gives us the power to love.
Without love, there would be no understanding, helping, caring, protecting or knowing God. The love a mother has is the love that comes from God because God is love.
In Closing
In Closing
Here is a mother’s day poem called
“Thank God for Mother's Love”
There is no love, like a mother's love,
no stronger bond on earth...
like the precious bond that comes from God,
to a mother, when she gives birth.
A mother's love is forever strong,
never changing for all time...
and when her children need her most,
a mother's love will shine.
God bless these special mothers,
God bless them every one...
for all the tears and heartache,
and for the special work they've done.
When her days on earth are over,
a mother's love lives on...
through many generations,
with God's blessings on each one.
Be thankful for our mothers,
for they love with a higher love...
from the power God has given,
and the strength from up above.
As I take my seat, remember this
Mothers deserve the greatest respect.
Mothers go through the pain of childbearing.
Mothers get up when the baby cries.
Mothers walk the floor to ease the tummy ache.
Mothers change the diapers.
Mothers feed the baby.
Mothers wash the clothes.
Mothers bathe the baby.
Mothers cook the meals.
Mothers do the shopping.
Mothers dress the children.
Mothers chauffeur the children.
Mothers help with school projects.
Mothers work with the scouts.
Mothers clean the house.
This is only a partial list of what mothers do.
Mothers work is never done.
Mothers are: loving, caring, protective, helpful, understanding and prayerful.
Howard Johnson (1915) put it this way:
“M” is for the million things she gave me,
“O” means only that she’s growing old,
“T” is for the tears she shed to save me,
“H” is for her heart of purest gold,
“E” is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
“R” means right, and right she’ll always be,
Put them all together, they spell
“MOTHER,”
A word that means the world to me.