Even Me - An Unusual Mother's Day Sermon

Even Me

An Unusual Mother’s Day Sermon

By

Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.

OPENING: - In Proverbs 31 we find the description of a virtuous woman and this passage of scripture will no doubt be used by many today. This virtuous woman that was described so many years ago is still the epitome of women today and has caused us to develop in our minds a type of super woman that is expected to get up early in the morning put breakfast on the table, make sure that the coffee has its sugar and cream, the eggs are over-easy, and the toast done lightly. She looks of a movie star, can cook like a master chef, have the stamina of a world-class athlete, the intelligence of a college professor, the tenacity of a military general, the wisdom of Solomon, the sensitivity of a Mother Theresa, the business sense of Elan Musk or Jeff Bezos, the grace of an etiquette expert and the spirituality of Mary the mother of Jesus.

The question then becomes what if I don’t quite measure up to the Proverbs 31 woman? Is there any hope for me? Can God use me? Let’s not just talk about the women because we all have times and circumstances in our lives when we ask these same questions? Is there any hope for me? Can God use me? Can God take me with all of my flaws, my sins, my lack of faith, my past, my pain, my sinned stained character and use me? Will God forgive me?

Well today just tap yourself and say, “Even Me”.

PRAYER: -

SCRIPTURE: - Matthew 1:1-6 & 16 says, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias (Bathsheba); And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ”.

Now someone may wonder why on Mother’s Day I am reading about the genealogy of Jesus and not about a virtuous woman or a certain woman in the Bible. Understand there are 5 women mentioned here in the 1 chapter of Matthew in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The number 5 symbolizes God's grace, goodness and favor toward mankind. Grace is mentioned 318 times in Scripture, 3+1+8 =12 which is Divine Government. Five is the number of grace, and multiplied by itself, which is 25, is 'grace upon grace' John 1:16. The Ten Commandments contains two sets of 5 commandments. The first five commandments are related to our treatment and relationship with God with the remaining one concerned with our relationship with other people. There are 5 primary types of offerings God commanded Israel to bring to him. 1.) Burnt Offering (Leviticus 1; 8:18 - 21; 16:24), 2.) Sin (Leviticus 4; 16:3 - 22), 3.) Trespass (Leviticus 5:14 - 19; 6:1 - 7; 7:1 - 6), 4.) Grain (Leviticus 2) and 5.) Peace Offering (Leviticus 3; 7:11- 34). The Book of Psalms is divided into 5 major sections. Section 1 (Psalm 1 to 41) refers to the Passover, Israel's beginning, and the start of the God's plan of salvation that centers on Christ. Section 2 (42 to 72) sings about a unified Israel in the land and pictures the creation of the New Testament Church. Section 3 (73 to 89) bemoans the destruction of both God's Temple and Jerusalem. This section also hints at prophecies regarding the End Time Great Tribulation. Section 4 (90 to 106) rejoices over the 1,000 reign of Jesus and shows Israel gathered again. Section 5 (107 to 150) pictures a time when Judah (representing all Israel) shall again be delivered. There are five books of God's Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) commonly referred to as the Pentateuch ('Penta' means five). The 4 Gospels plus Acts equals five books that, as a set, can be designated as "the New Testament Pentateuch." They reveal Jesus' teachings concerning the Law and the Prophets. The apostle John wrote 5 books centered on the grace of God and eternal life (the gospel of John, 1John, 2John, 3John and Revelation).

Let’s talk about Grace.

So, what about these five women mentioned in Matthew 1 that are in the lineage of Jesus Christ? First, these women were mothers who are vital in the lineage of Jesus and along with all mothers are celebrated today, but before they became mother’s these women had some problems, they had some issues, four of the five have what we would categorize as a checkered past, they were outsiders, they were around the way girls, the kind of girls you don’t take home to mother.