Sermon Notes,
May 12, 2019 AM
Marvelous Moms
Steve W. Reeves
stevewreevessermons.blogspot.com
INTRODUCTION:
A. A
woman was shopping in Wal-Mart with her small daughter riding in the basket.
The daughter was crying and screaming. The mother kept pleading, “Ellen, it’s okay.”
“We’re almost finished, Ellen.” “We’ll go home soon and take a nap, Ellen.” “Ellen,
calm down.” At the check-out counter the associate commented, “I couldn’t help but
notice how patient you are with your little girl.” Then, looking at the child, she said,
“Are you having a rough day Ellen?” The mother said, “Her name is Charlotte. I’m
Ellen.”
B. An unknown author has written this quip called, “The Mommy Test.” “I was out
walking with my 4-year-old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and
started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do
that. "Why?" my daughter asked. "Because it's been lying outside, you don't know
where it's been, it's dirty and probably has germs" I replied. At this point, my daughter
looked at me with total admiration and asked, "Wow! How do you know all this stuff?"
‘Uh…’ I was thinking quickly, "All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mommy Test. You
have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mommy." We walked along in silence for 2
or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. "OH...I get it!"
she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test you have to be the daddy!”
C. Did you realize that “Mother’s Day” is the third most celebrated holiday in the world?
Only Christmas and Easter are more popular.
1. The first Mother’s Day took place 111 years ago on May 10, 1908 in Grafton, West
Virginia, and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2. The idea came from Anna Jarvis. Anna was a single woman with no children.
However, she remembered her own mother’s wish that there might be a day when
mothers throughout the nation were honored. The idea caught on and in1914
President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation designating the second Sunday in
May as Mother’s Day.
3. Anna chose her mother’s favorite flower, the white carnation as the official flower
for the occasion.
C. There has never been a book that has urged greater honor and respect for women in
general and mothers in particular than the Bible.
1. Both the Old and New Testaments contain the direct command, “Honor your father
and mother” (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:1).
2. This is not merely a suggestion or an admonition. It is a direct command from God
Himself.
D. Women play a crucial role in the story of Scripture.
1. Israel’s history began with women like Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel.
2. The deliverance of Israel from Egypt began with a woman named Jocabed.
3. One of Israel’s early judges was a woman named Deborah. Another woman, Jael,
killed the Canaanite commander, Sierra, and became a hero in the land.
4. The great judge and prophet Samuel was an answer to the fervent prayer of his
mother, Hannah.
5. The Davidic kingdom traced its ancestry back to a Moabite woman named Ruth.
6. The Genealogy of Jesus contains the names of four women: Rahab, Ruth,
Bathsheba and Mary.
7. Two mothers were significant to the coming of the Messiah, Elizabeth, the
mother of John the Baptist, and Mary, the mother of Jesus.
8. There were many women who were important in the ministry of Jesus.
9. Paul urged his friend, Timothy, to remember the faith he had received from his
mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois.
E. How to Honor Your Mom – notice these 5 practical ways to honor your mom.
I. HONOR HER
A. When God gave the Ten Commandments (literally “ten words”) on Mount Sinai,
the first four dealt with humanity’s relationship with God. The remaining six dealt
with relationships with others. The first of these concerned our parents.
1. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the
land which the Lord your God gives you” (Exodus 20:12).
2. When a society does not honor authority in the home it will not honor authority in
any other aspect of life.
B. In Edward Gibbon’s book, The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, he listed five
fundamental factors in the collapse of Rome.
1. The undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home.
2. Increasing taxes for frivolous purposes.
3. A mad race for pleasure.
4. An emphasis on armament while neglecting the decadence of morality.
5. The decreasing influence of religion.
C. According to Deuteronomy 27:22, the person who dishonored their father or
mother was to be cursed.
1. The only time I remember my father lashing out against me in anger was when I
“sassed” my mother. He was working outside with a carpenter’s level. When he
heard me talk disrespectfully to my mother that carpenter’s level ended up on
my backside. He told me that I was never, ever to talk to my mother, his wife,
like that again.
1. It is wonderful to have a mother like the woman of Proverbs 31:28-29, “Her
children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her,
saying: 29 “Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.”
2. What if your mother has hurt you? What it you have difficulty honoring your
mother on Mother’s Day or any day?
a. God does not call upon you to give your approval.
b. He does call upon you to love. Remember, “while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
3. You may not be able to control another person’s actions. You can control your
own.
II. OBEY HER
A. In Ephesians 6:1-2 and Colossians 3:20, Paul wrote, “Children, be obedient to
your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.”
B. Have you ever been out west to the Continental Divide? This is the point where
water on the east flows into the Atlantic and water on the west flows into the
Pacific. It is the dividing line. The moral continental divide can be seen in
obedience to parents.
1. A child brought up to obey parents will likely obey other forms of authority.
2. A child who does not obey their parents will also disobey the laws of the land
and those who enforce them.
3. Dwight L. Moody said, “No child who lives in disobedience to parents ever
prospers.”
C. Notice Romans 1:28-32, “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God
any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are
not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of
envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of
God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they
know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of
death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who
practice them.”
D. Paul also wrote to Timothy, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will
come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers,
disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious
gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless,
conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of
godliness, although they have denied its power” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
III. CARE FOR HER
A. Francis Schaffer was a popular theologian and author in the 20th century. He once
wrote that “the measure of any society can be seen in how it treats its most
vulnerable embers.” Schaffer specifically mentioned the very young (including
unborn children) and those who are very old.
B. Jesus spoke directly to this issue in Matthew 15:3-6, “Why do you yourselves
transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said,
‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to
be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever
I have that would help you has been given to God,” 6 he is not to honor his father
or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your
tradition.”
1. The law said, “Honor your father and mother.” This implied caring for them when
they were old.
2. These people said, “I have designated the portion of my money that should have
been used to take care of you for God.” Was it important to give to God? Yes.
This was not the issue. The issue was they were taking money that should have
been used to honor their parents and leaving them in need and neglect.
3. Do you realize that in 1 Timothy 5:8, Paul wrote, “If a man does not take care of
his family he is worse than a non-believer.”
IV. LISTEN TO HER
A. Here’s what Proverbs1:8-9 says, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do
not forsake your mother’s teaching; 9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your
head and ornaments about your neck.”
B. When I was fifteen I doubted that my parents knew what they were talking about.
By the time I was seventeen I knew they didn’t know what they were talking about.
By the time I was twenty-five I was pleased that my parents were becoming more
intelligent. When I was forty I was amazed to discover that they had known all
along what they were talking about. I wish I could listen to my parents a little
longer.
V. THANK HER
A. Do you know where appreciation begins? It is with our parents. So many of the
difficulties families experience stem from not feeling appreciated.
1. Have you ever written your mother a letter of appreciation?
2. Many years ago when J.N. Armstrong was President of Harding he encouraged
the students to write a thank you letter to their parents or whoever it was who
had made it possible for them to attend college. A young student named James
Bales went to his room and wrote a letter to his grandmother thanking her for
helping him attend college. He had no way of knowing that it would be the last
thing she read.
3. When my mother passed away do you know what we found in her Bible?
Mother’s Day cards and flowers given by her children and grandchildren.
CONCLUSION:
A. I recently asked if any of you would like to share something with me regarding
“Mother’s Day” and your own thoughts. I only received four responses but they
convey the deep emotions many of us feel.
1. Janice Farley remembers her mother as an extremely hard worker. On Sunday
she would rise early, preparing a big breakfast and then a lunch with a main dish
and home-grown vegetables. She baked homemade cakes and rolls without a mix.
She did all of this in a very dark kitchen with no air conditioning. The only running
water she had was if someone ran outside and drew a bucket of water out of the
well. She made sure we were ready for worship in clothes she had sewn and
ironed, no permanent press. She drove us to church in an old car and then she
taught a Bible class. Daddy stayed at home, but I don't remember her ever nagging
at him. We were all glad when he would decide to go once in a while. Her example
paid off because she "won him over without a word" and he was baptized in his
50's. He was a faithful Christian for the rest of his life”
2. Sharon Pitt wrote this about her mother, Lotha Howell, “Mother always taught me
that if something was worth doing it was worth doing right. I still remember having
to take a zipper out 3 times before I passed her inspection. Way to go Mom! I love
you for it.”
3. Bruce Bryant shares this, “This is my mom. She passed away in 2011 from
pancreatic cancer. I am a "Mama's boy", so I miss her every day. She influenced
my life in a variety of ways, but she was the proudest when she would tell people
that all three of her sons were gospel preachers. She was a Bible Class teacher at
the Formosa Church of Christ. She converted my father and let the light of Jesus
shine through her life to teach and change the lives of many”
B. I want to close with an email I received from Lynley Turner.
"The Strongest Mother" by Lynley Turner
The roles and responsibilities a mother carries are many, and with such grace I watch many oman around me mother their children with patience and love. Too often a mother must step p to fill the roles that her child's father cannot or will not fill. I believe these women are trong. The women who raise kind children, the women who make it to all the sports practices and the women who always get their kids dressed and to church on time, or, well, at least ost of the time.
n the last year, I have come
to realized, though, the strongest mother of all may not e the mother trying
to keep 3 children quiet and behaved during worship service.
he strongest mother may be
the one who has an empty spot next to her in the pew. he mother who went to
the hospital carrying her child in her womb and left with othing but a box of
footprints, while her child's body was taken away to the funeral hom.
The strongest mother of all, very well may be the mother who loves a child she cannot hold. he child she can no longer see. After all, "Faith is the confidence in what we have hope for nd the assurance about what we do not see..." Hebrews 11:1
This Mother's Day I hope we will make a point to recognize all of the mothers who have a hild, multiple children, or, in my case, all of their children already in their eternal home.
Happy Mother's Day to the mothers who are waiting to be reunited with their children. May hey find joy and peace as they wait.
C. May you use this “Mother’s Day” to honor your mother. More importantly, may you
honor your Heavenly Father through your trust and obedience to His word.
